The Fight For Justice Never Stops

by Gary Hooser

I remember as if it was yesterday, saying to my daughter: “Aren’t you glad the campaign’s over?”

Her instant reply: “Are you kidding Dad, it’s never over.”

She’s correct, of course.

While November 5, 2024 is past and gone, the fight for justice must never stop.

Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, we must continue to beat the drums on behalf of people and the planet.

Ok, rest. Take a breath if you must.

Now let’s get back to work. Innocent women and children are dying – the madness must stop.

Two important actions must be taken now, before the dust settles, before the pomp and circumstance, and before they are settled into their new terms of office.

First

Join me in contacting our Hawai’i Congressional delegation TODAY. Tell them to stop funding the killing of innocents in Gaza and throughout the Middle East.

Senator Brian Schatz – (808-523-2061)

brian_schatz@schatz.senate.gov

Senator Mazie Hirono – (808) 522-8970

mazie_hirono@hirono.senate.gov

Representative Jill Tokuda – (808) 746-6220

jill.tokuda@congress.gov

Representative Ed Case – (808) 650-6688

ed.case@congress.gov

Yes, we must support Israel’s right to defend itself but we must vehemently oppose the use of U.S. weaponry and U.S. money – to support the retaliatory killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

According to Reuters, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have killed over 41,500 people in Gaza alone, with the majority of identified victims being women and children.

The U.S. funding of this killing must stop.

And second
Please also let our congressional delegation know you oppose the extension of U.S. military leases at Makua Valley, Kahuku, Kawailoa-Poamoho and Pohakuloa Training Areas AND ask them stop the bombing of Ka’ula which is just 23 miles southwest of Kaua`i County.

The U.S. has the largest military force on the planet. Here in Hawai’i, we must lead by telling them, enough already.

As of September 2022, there were approximately 750 U.S. military bases with active-duty troops stationed across 178 countries.

In 2022 the U.S. spent $877 billion on defense/war – spending more than China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, the U.K., Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine combined. http://www.globalaffairs.org

Heads up. The elected will respond with words like “This is about national security,” “This is more complicated than you know,” or “This is really out of my control.”

The answer is “hogwash.”

The United States is the largest provider of weapons, and has more troops, stationed in more bases, in more countries, than anyone else on the planet.

Do our U.S. Senators and Representatives support or oppose the continued U.S. funding of Israel’s military offensive operations and the IDF’s indiscriminate killing of civilians?

Do they support or oppose extending military leases at Makua Valley, Kahuku, Kawailoa-Poamoho, and Pohakuloa Training Areas AND the bombing of Ka’ula?

Fair questions deserve honest answers.

Readers – please help me out on this. Our combined energy, phone calls, and email – can make a difference.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address of January 17, 1961 – rings more true today than ever.

“Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government…

“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex…

“Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together…”

GARY HOOSER is a former Hawaiʻi State Senator and Majority Leader.