Inauguration High

"Let us turn to each other, not on each other."

Inaugural Speech

"I don't measure America by its achievement but by its potential."
Shirley Chisholm

"We will extend a hand of friendship, if you are willing to unclench your fist." President Obama

"When I'm trusting and being myself... everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously."
Shakti Gawain

Lawn Party at the Halekulani (above)

Royal Hawaiian Hotel Re-Opening. A Gala Local Inauguration Celebration!

Pics taken from outside da fence, and enlarge when clicked! Left, and Top.

Note family slide of young Barack in top picture.

Parrot Guy will place his feathered co-workers all over you, and take an unforgettable family portrait!

Inauguration day was like an unbelievable dream coming true. After years of ugliness, of dogma & talking points over science and dialogue. . . finally it's time to come home, America!

. . . Well, I possess no adequate words, just powerful impressions and memories: The tens of thousands of individual people and stories that came to Washington. . . Seeing Barack and his girls throw "Shaka" hand greetings to the Punahou School Band. . . Barack's greeting: "Aloha!" and Kauai`s General Eric Shinseki (discarded for speaking the truth but now confirmed as Veteran's Affairs Chief) dancing in a tuxedo at the "Home State Ball." . . .

. . . Barack & Michel dancing with military folks at the "Commander in Chief's Ball." Honolulu school children watching on TV and catching the "bug" of civic engagement. "He grew up around here just like me. Today I believe that anything is possible." Celebrations on almost every continent of the world; No one knows the full scope of what will come of this, and SO much more. . .

. . . Rick Warren and Rev. Lowrey both gave excellent excellent prayers. . .

. . . Intentions and beliefs are the cause of events. Enough people changed their minds, and the Berlin Wall came down. At this moment, millions of us all over the world are changing our minds about what is desirable and possible. . .

. . . I needed to take a break at last, and walked down Waikiki Beach around sunset last eve. Walk along with me through the pictures above.

And Welcome to the Next Chapter. . . A L O H A! Cloudia

Almost There: Indulge Me - I'm a Grandmom#links#links#links

Almost There: Indulge Me - I'm a Grandmom#links#links#links

Guardians

click on photos to enlarge

"If you love peace, be prepared for war."
Leonardo da Vinci

"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

“O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small"
Traditional

" The right things to do are those that keep our violence in abeyance; the wrong things are those that bring it to the fore."
Robert J. Sawyer


Last week a contingent of US Marines approached a tropical Oahu beach in their armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle. Around 6:30 pm the troop carrier was hit by a rogue swell about a half mile from the shore and forced against a reef. Suddenly, they were taking on water. As it headed for land, the vehicle lost power and sank about 500 feet off of Bellow's Beach a popular recreation & camping area. An assault exercise morphed into a rescue operation as all hands were ferried to safety. Then the rescue operation became an environmental protection mission as Navy divers monitored the submerged vehicle for leaking fuel. So far there has been no damage to the sea or land. Once the AAV is removed, the State will ascertain if reef damage was caused. Though I am a devout advocate for Peace, I refuse to demonize those who choose to serve in the military. During my childhood our family made the acquaintance of some Holocaust survivors. They never spoke of it, but I saw the numbers tattooed on their wrists. As an adult now, I realize that they kept those tattoos for a reason. While I deplore any war "of choice" and mourn the power that has no doubt been exercised in my name, I know that sometimes the right thing, the only human thing to do, is to fight back against the powers of tyranny. May this world outgrow war, and soon.
A L O H A! Cloudia

Inauguration A New Day

The White House where Barack Obama will live and work was built in large part by African-American slaves.

At least a dozen American Presidents owned slaves.

"Let us then turn this government back into the channel in which the framers of the Constitution originally placed it."

President A. Lincoln --July 10, 1858 Speech at Chicago

"I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision."
Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

It seemed that the dream had been lost.

The high ideals had flown, the sweetness of liberty was gone.

But now a new day is dawning for us and for the world.

The change has come. Our flag is beautiful again.

Today the people of the United States vibrate in harmony,

like the strings of a harp stirred by Spirit.

The man who grew up in Hawaii is reaching

a sincere hand of Aloha to all. . .

Things will never be the same. Cloudia

Maritn Luther King

click on photos to enlarge

"Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them."

Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, August 16, 1967

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction...."

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.

"I have a dream. . . "


". . . Free at Last. . ."

. . . Y E S

we DID!

I have spent my lifetime fighting for losing causes that glacially become 'common wisdom.' It has been a path of hurts, set-backs, and even assassinations: John, Bobby, Martin & so many others.

"It's been a long time coming-" but a change has come. . . and it's only the beginning.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Overthrow

click on photos to enlarge!

"States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions."
Noam Chomsky

"If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law." Henry Thoreau

"The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating."
Cesar Chavez







Yesterday, January 17th, marked the 116th anniversary of the overthrow of the legitimate Hawaiian Kingdom largly at the hands of American residents - some born in the islands.

Wearing a red shirt and carrying a small Hawaiian flag I joined the Ku I Ka Pono March commemorating the sad event, and protesting Governor Lingle (R). She is attempting to monetize the Royal Lands which the State administers SUPPOSEDLY for the benefit of the Native Hawaiian People, the Kanaka Maoli. Many of our airports, harbors & public university campuses stand on these so called "ceeded lands." and yet Hawaiian elderly, handicapped and families with babies sleep under tarps at remote beaches.



In 1998 scholars working in the National Archives in Washington D.C. uncovered a document forgotten for a hundred years: the Ku`e Petitition. It had been sent to Congress to protest the Queen's arrest and demanding the resotration of soveriegnty. It had been signed by almost every citizen of these islands. When copies circulated in the press, contemporary Hawaii citizens were touched and uplifted to see their Kupuna's (elders) signatures on the suppressed and forgotten document. President Clinton formally apologized for the U.S. role, but. . .

Loving Hawaii and her people as I do, while loving the land of refuge for my Kupuna - the U.S.A. - is like being the child of a complicated marriage. You love both of your parents, but must wonder at their relationship sometimes. Most Hawaiians are proud citizens of the U.S. and they serve, and have served the nation with distinction. But as they fight for the freedom of others, they no doubt long for their rightful dignity at home in these islands. . .

Kaulana Na Pua

"Famous are the Flowers"

or

"The Stone Eating Song"

Famous are the people of Hawaii

Who love the land, the `aina

Who care not for the wealth of the world

But are satisfied

With the pohaku, the stones of this `aina

They rather take the stones for bread

No one will fix a signature

To the paper of the enemy

With its sin of annexation

And sale of Native Civil Rights

We do not value

The governments sums of money.

We are satisfied with the stones

Astonishing food of the land.

January, 1893

A L O H A? Cloudia

Kalihi

"Where we love is home, Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

"Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and

grow old wanting to get back to." John Ed Pearce

m
"Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect!" Owens Lee Pomeroy

When I moved to Oahu from the Big Island, the neighborhood of Kalihi was Honolulu to me. To most visitors, heck – even to many locals- Kalihi is synonymous with industrial Nimitz Highway between the airport and Downtown. Most folks drive past the small factories, commercial businesses, docks, oil transport, and all the other necessities that most of us ignore without realizing that there is a gritty, but historic and homey neighborhood just blocks off the highway. Kalihi is working class and affordable, and (most importantly) it is a genuine neighborhood, perhaps Honolulu’s (or even Hawaii’s!) signature neighborhood – its lots more than a dusty highway! Kalihi Kai is the area makai (ocean-ward) of Nimitz Highway: little streets full of tiny, urban residences, the like of which are rarely seen this side of Hawaii 50 reruns on TV. At the shore one can look out at tiny Mokuea Island, which once was a flourishing Hawaiian fishing village, and is still visited by locals to fish or just get away from the city for a while. Between Nimitz and School Street (towards the mountains) is called Kalihi Waena, served by King Street and Dillingham Boulevard. Tiny, indispensable industries line Kalani and Colburn Streets. This is a tough urban enclave where successive waves of immigrants work hard, move up, and move on – possibly to lovely Kalihi Valley (Kalihi Uka) way up in the hills, where the Like Like Highway travels over the Ko`olau mountains like the Pali Highway’s poorer sister, ending in working class country-town Kaneohe, rather than the Pali’s rapidly gentrifying Kailua destination with it’s art galleries and beachfront homes. Being from Kalihi, saying that you graduated from Farrington High School, MEANS something in this town. It means that you are a down-to-earth person who has worked hard for all you ever got, and who never forgets where you came from. Yes, when I was fresh off the jet from Kona, Kalihi WAS my Honolulu, the bars, the jobs, the affordable housing, the amazing mix of people and cultures, the friends-for-life. That’s my Kalihi – food stands, happy-sticky children, the music, the great grassroots organizations like KOKUA Kalihi Valley, and the smell of diesel from Dillingham Blvd mixing with the Korean Kalbi Beef. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. If you go, especially check out Bob’s Barbecue at Dillingham & Waiakamilo, Mitsu Ken on School Street (go early in the day for garlic chicken!), or Papa Al’s favorite “classic hole-in-the-wall”, Ethel’s on Kalihi St. You GO Kalihi! You’ll always be special to me! . . .