Musings: Mixed Plate

Late yesterday afternoon, a friend, thwarted by dirty water in the unending quest for surf, joined Koko and me for a walk on the beach at Anahola. A big load of guava and hau wood had been washed down by the river and deposited on the sand, where some of it had been fashioned into a sculpture decorated with Christmas lights.

From that vantage point we could see, and hear, a huge thunderstorm rolling its way seaward from the interior, a swirl of heavy black clouds and flashing lightning that dumped big rain on Kapaa along the way, and kept raining and rumbling through much of the night.

This morning, it seemed to grow darker, rather than lighter, as dawn approached, and Koko and I went out walking under what could only be described as a lowering sky. Waialeale and Makaleha were obliterated, and even the Giant was enveloped in a floating cloud mist.

I’m loving all this rain, which seems to me to be a major cleansing of the earth, although I’m sure some folks have had enough, much like the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at the Prez, and unfortunately missed.

It was too bad to learn that afterward he was beaten in custody. I mean, wasn’t it clear he’s already suffered enough? Meanwhile, the BBC reports that Middle East newspapers are filled with glee over the incident:

Most commentators see it as beyond doubt that the treatment meted out to Mr Bush by Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi is a just response to the president's policies in Iraq, although one chides the shoe-thrower for expressing his protest through violence rather than "tough questions".

But surely everyone by now realizes that skirting “tough questions” is perhaps the one thing at which Bush is truly adept.

However, there was a bit of poetic justice in the incident, as Dana Perino, Bush’s shameless apologist, I mean press secretary, ended up with a black eye. Funny, isn’t it, how the universe works?

Meanwhile, it didn’t take flying shoes but a blog post to get the attention of Kauai County Council members Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara, who contacted Farmer Jerry and asked him to get involved in the county's pending ag land legislation. It seems some four bills are being considered that deal with saving ag land.

Still, as Jerry noted, what is being done to save the farmers? He apparently spent some of this recent rainy weather reviewing the documents he’s collected over the years, and in the past, both the state and county did much more to aid farmers than is being done now.

I haven’t had time to delve into the $1.86 billion economic stimulus plan — nearly all of which is directed at Oahu — that Lingle just unvieled, but in reading The Advertiser story, I see no mention of any agricultural initiatives.

Instead, it’s all about infrastructure, which is fine, but what about the basics of feeding us and achieving food independence? Or have those goals gone by the wayside again now that oil prices are in free fall?

The drop in oil prices has got to be good news for Hawaii Superferry, although what will happen when the Supreme Court hears the constitutionality of Act 2 case on Thursday is anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, thanks to Dick Mayer for directing us to this blog, which has posted the briefs in the case.