Action needed now at veterans home
How many more of our cherished veterans are going to die before someone with better medical knowledge and skills steps in and removes the Avalon Health Care system out of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.
These people served our country with honor and now they are forgotten with no sense of dying with dignity. It seems that our mayor and spineless governor are no different than Mayor Bill DeBlasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York.
Obviously, this is beyond the realm here on the Big Island. We keep hearing, “we are taking some things into consideration.” For God’s sake, these veterans are dying and need our help. We need action now not tomorrow or next week.
Laura Bollman
Kailua-Kona
Ginsburg lived and voted her values
Another great American has died leaving the rest of us to carry on. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg lain in state at the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol, is eulogized, and is buried alongside her beloved husband, it is appropriate for all of us to reflect on her career and how life has changed for us because of her efforts and for all those who fought for gender equality.
Justice Ginsburg who in her quiet voice said, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Many people did join her and their efforts led to the ability of women to get credit or sign for a mortgage in their own names; to become partners in law firms, judges and justices. Newspapers ceased advertising job openings as male or female positions. Women to be more than a token in the boardroom and military institutions. These efforts also brought family leave opportunities for both men and women, equal pay for equal work, and equal retirement benefits.
Women who benefited from these improvements were trail blazers. They also had to do as Ginsburg did herself. They had to “be deaf sometime.” They had to ignore the comments about taking away jobs that were meant for men or having to take sick leave to care for a sick child. They had to find ways of deflecting sexual innuendo in the workplace.
Ginsburg was also champion for voting rights. She lived and voted her values. We can continue her legacy by voting for people who value the things we care about and who can lead us with a quiet voice.
Shirley David
Kailua-Kona
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