More Maui

Today we visited South Maui and the communities of Kihel, Wailea and Makena. The community of Wailea is very upscale and probably the wealthiest on the island. Many plush homes and condos as well as high rise hotels. The guidebook said the best beaches are in South Maui and I agree. We walked a couple and took a beach path on the ocean side of some huge hotels and condos. The next trip we will be looking for a condo in this area. Still our condo is hard to beat with an ocean view and within a rocks throw of the water.

We had a late lunch and stopped at Fred's Mexican Cafe in Kihel. Despite the anglo named the food was good and the waitress earned my vote for waitress of the week. Gail might not agree. Stopped at Barnes and Noble in Lahaina on the way back to the condo. According to the lady in the quilt store this is the only book store on the island.

Maui

We were treated to a half hour rainbow this morning from our condo. Today we visited Lahaina, where we walked around town, bought a hat and left the t-shirts. Then off to the Iao Valley and the Iao Needle. We took the windy single lane road around the island, stopped at the blow hole, but missed the Olivine pools and finished at Kapalua and the tooth lava. Finished up with dinner on the deck watching the sun go down.

National Debt

Our federal government has a budget problem and at least one of the political parties is trying to reduce spending on those who have nothing to do with the bulging debt. It makes no sense to give tax cuts, start wars, run up the bill and then cut services to those in need. If the Bush tax cuts were never approved we would have a much different financial picture. We have two wars that are not paid for. If there had been a mandatory tax increase with each war we would have never gone to war. It there had been a draft we would have never gone to war. Public opinion wouldn't have allowed it to happen.

In the proposed federal budget $703.1 billion for defense, but then add in: counter terrorism activities of the State Department, Homeland Security, CIA, NSA, Veterans Administration, debt payments of previous wars and benefits for retirees, then we are over $1.2 trillion. Heck the Army even sinks millions into NASCAR sponsorship. We need to stop the wars and close many of our foreign military bases and let those countries provide their own defense. A bomb dropped in war is money blown up.