Home

Comments on Evil

Anti-War Manifesto

Flim Flam I


Flim Flam II


Advertiser I


Advertiser II
 


 

WE NEED TO TALK
An Open Letter to The Honolulu Advertiser
jfischer@hawaii.edu


From     Joel Fischer <jfischer@hawaii.edu>
Sent     Friday, January 2, 2004 2:08 pm

To     MFisch@Honolulu.Gannett.com, MFisch@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, SKeyes@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, DFrancis@Honolulu.Gannett.com, DFrancis@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, JBurris@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, JKelly@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, DMontesi@HonoluluAdvertiser.com, DMontesi@Honolulu.Gannett.com


Subject     WE NEED TO TALK

Did you ever wonder why writers of major exposes -e.g., "Broken
Promises" (Bishop Estate) and "Dangerous Equations" (Evan Dobelle)
choose ultimately to publish their work in the "Star-Bulletin?"

Let me offer one possibile reason: It may be because the "Advertiser"
is viewed as not being willing to stick out it's collective "neck" to
take on controversial issues. It may also be because "Advertiser"
reporters and editors are too frequently taken in by smooth public
relations -or, more accurately, propaganda- operatives.

A very important case-in-point: Your apparent ongoing policy -as
symbolized most recently by your editorial of 12/14/03- re: Evan
Dobelle, and your refusal to see that the success of the UH and the
success of Dobelle, are not always intertwined.

With this and the following e-mail and their attachments, I hope to
convince you that you need a far more balanced, and, I hope,
investigative stance toward your coverage of UH.

As a professor at UH for 33 years, I have developed a number of
connections throughout the system that for the past few years have been
feeding me astounding information about the performance of Dobelle and
his closest associates. I have circulated this information in two
papers that I am now sending to you, which, incidentally, I sent to a
number of your reporters and columnists months ago. Perhaps because of
my writing style, perhaps because of the seriousness of the charges,
you may want to view these papers as a series of undocumented charges
concocted by a madman.

Let me assure you of two things. First, every point in these two papers
has, in fact, been documented by my first-hand knowledge or by
administration insiders at the very highest level of the UH. Second, I
am indeed a mad man, but I think you will understand why I am mad if
you are willing to examine these two papers.

You must understand that Paul Costello leaving and Wick Sloane being
removed is the begining of the end for Dobelle...rats leaving a sinking
administration. It, therefore, I would think,  behooves such an
important community voice as the "Advertiser" to search out the reasons
for the problems at UH rather than relying on such simplistic slogans
as "politics as usual." It is the belief of most faculty and
legislators who actually know what is going at UH that Dobelle's
removal is imperative in order to restore some semblane of progress at
the UH. There must be reasons for that beyond just "local politics."

Please allow me make one other point. The material I am sending you and
the material I hope you read in "Dangerous Equations" (See
Dangerousequations.com) is, unbelievably, only the proverbial tip of
the iceberg. Other than assurances that this is so by prominent UH
officials who know the facts, let me cite one other circumstance that
some of your writers were informed about but did not pursue, despite
the ease of verification. As you must know, Dobelle left San Francisco
State in the shadow of a fiscal crisis that he created with some of the
same shenanigans in which he engaged here. Perhaps less widely known,
but also reported to your reporters, was that Dobelle left Trinity in
thr shadow of a sexual crisis that has relevance to UH. He was sleeping
with a middle-level development person there whom he then tried to hire
here - at a large salary, of course- as the UH East Coast
representative, of all things! Many of the development people here
interviewed her, and can verify this scenario. While the woman was not
hired (for reasons I don't know), this unsavory situation was cause
enough to fire Dobelle on the spot, don't you agree? Politics as usual?
I think not! Dobelle has been caught a number of times in unseemly
situations here, so the Trinity experience was certainly not unique.

(All of this raises another, related, question. The "Advertiser,"
bravely I believe, did an outstanding investigative job in reporting
the delicate situation of Hamilton McCubbin's "sexual problems." Why
then ignore Dobelle's and those of coach June Jones who impregnated
Lily Kahumoku, was seen having sex in a car by Kaiser High School
students, is or was dating Timmy Chang's sister or cousin while touting
Chang as a Heisman Trophy candidate and who has an ignored moral
turpitude provision in his contract because of widespread community and
UH awareness of his sexual picadillos? Are Dobelle and Jones sacred
cows to the "Advertiser" while it is open season on Native Hawaiian
McCubbin? Your reporters were provided with all of this information.
Where are the investigations? There apears to be a major journalistic,
if not ethical, discrepancy here.)

The community needs your help in unvcovering the true story of the UH
shake-up, and the entire fiasco of the Dobelle presidency. I hope you
take this charge seriously.

I am ready to meet with your Editorial Board at any time, or to do what
I can to help you in your investigation.

Aloha,
Joel Fischer, DSW
Professor
 



 

Last modified: February 2004