Kaʻū News Briefs, Saturday, February 2, 2019

Kaʻū's Representative in the U.S. Congress officially announced her bid for the U.S. Presidency today. "We must stand  up," was her most spoken phrase, taking on war, big pharma, Wall Street, polluters, and much more.  Photo from live stream of  Gabbard's speech

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED HER CANDIDACY FOR U.S. PRESIDENT TODAY in Honolulu. The 37-year old Democrat represents Kaʻū and all of rural Hawaiʻi in the U.S. House of Representatives. "We must stand up," was the most spoken phrase in her speech.
     "We must stand up against bought and paid for politicians who kowtow to special interests selling their votes to the highest bidder. Instead of draining the swamp, our president has turned it into a cesspool of corruption," she said.
     "We must stand up against big pharma and insurance companies who extort those who are sick, who put their profits above the health and wellbeing of our people." She advocated for Medicare for All.
     "We must stand up against the big Wall Street banks who gamble with our money and our future.

Gabbard promised to reject any donations from PACS and corporations. Photo from live stream of Gabbard speech

     "Stand up against overreaching intelligence agencies and big tech companies who take away our civil liberties, privacy, and freedoms in the name of national security and corporate greed.
     "We must stand up against those who pollute our land, our water, and our air.
     "We must stand up against private prisons who are profiting off the backs of those who are caught up in a broken criminal justice system, a system that puts people in prison for smoking marijuana, while allowing corporations like Purdue Pharma, who are responsible for the opioid related deaths of thousands of people, to walk away scot-free with their coffer full. This so called criminal justice system, which favors the rich and powerful and punishes the poor, can not stand.
     "We must join hands and stand up against those who perpetuate bigotry, hatred, and violence against our brothers and sisters because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation.
     "We must stand up against this administration that claims to believe in America First but who sells our troops, our weapons, and our interest to whichever foreign country is the highest bidder.
     "We must stand up to those who dishonor our troops, treating them as political pawns and mercenaries for hire in wars around the world.
     "We must stand up against powerful politicians from both parties, who sit in their ivory towers thinking up new wars to wage, new places for people to die, wasting trillions of our taxpayer dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, and undermining our economy and our security, and destroying our middle class."

Aloha was a theme of Gabbard's Presidential campaign launch today, particularly in reference to fighting religious, racial, sexual, and political party discrimination. Photo from live stream of Gabbard's speech

     Gabbard said Trump campaigned against regime change wars, "but now he bows to the wishes of the neocons who surround him, clamoring for regime change wars that he claimed to oppose - this time in Venezuela and in Iran. These powerful politicians dishonor the sacrifices made by every one of my brothers and sisters in uniform, their families, as they are the ones who pay the price for these wars. In fact, every American pays the price for these wars that have cost us trillions of dollars since 9/11. Every dollar that we spend on regime change wars, or on the new cold war and this nuclear arms race, is a dollar coming out of our pocket; dollars that should be used to address the very real, urgent needs of our people and our community right here at home."
     She said there are more than 14,000 nuclear weapons in the world, some more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.
     "We must stand united, and stand strong against those in both parties who never tire of war - Neocons and Neolibs, who drag us from one regime change war to the next, and who are exacerbating the new cold war, pushing us to the brink of nuclear war. We deserve better. Our country deserves better."
     She said the nation was founded on the principle that "our government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people, where all people are treated equally and with respect in these United States of America." Today, however, she said, "that vision seems like a far off dream, while hatred
and divisiveness have cast a dark shadow across our country. We're being torn apart by powerful self-serving politicians and greedy corporations; people fomenting hatred, bigotry, and fear, inciting conflict between us because of the color of our skin, the way that we worship, or the political party that we might belong to. This corruption of spirit is driven by greed and selfishness, and its eroding the very fabric of our society and Democracy itself. This is not who we are, America...."

During the ocean front kickoff of Gabbard's Presidential campaign, she talked about standing up to polluters  of the ocean and land. Photo from livestream of Gabbard's speech

     Gabbard, a Major in the Hawaiʻi National Guard, promised to "bring a soldier's principles to the White House, restoring the values of dignity and honor and respect to the Presidency, and above all, love for our people and love for our country." She said the road will not be easy, the battles tough, obstacles great, "but there is no obstacle we can't overcome."
     During her speech, Gabbard stayed away from responding to criticism regarding her meeting with Syrian's dictator, considered an enemy of the U.S. She refrained from mentioning criticism of her meeting with Pres. Donald Trump, who invited her to Trump Tower when he interviewed candidates for his cabinet. During the speech, Gabbard said, "I will have the courage to meet with both friends and adversaries in the pursuit of peace and our national security... If we lack the courage to meet with those we disagree with, the only alternative is war."