Joe Kent

About Joe Kent

Joe Kent teaches elementary music K - 5 in Hawaii. He's been a journalist, teacher, and writer for many years, and is running for US Congress for the State of Hawaii, District 2.

The Ring of Power

The other day someone said to me, “Wow, you’re going to make a lot of money if you get elected.”  And then I thought – oh yeah, I forgot . . . politicians make a lot of money!  What was I thinking?  Here I’m trying to run for U.S. Congress because I think it’s […]

Bitcoin Fraud, and Why it’s Good

In February of 2014, the largest and oldest bitcoin bank, MtGox, disappeared. It was really odd – one day they just . . . vanished! Hundreds of thousands of bitcoins disappeared along with it, totaling more than 450 million dollars. Many friends seized the opportunity to run to me and say, […]

Teacher Pay

 
Imagine if we gave students grades, the same way we paid teachers. In Kindergarten, all kids would get an F. By the first grade, the entire class would all get a D minus. Fifth graders would all get a C, and so on, until in the twelfth grade, every student would have […]

Copyright and Laughter

Currently, it’s almost impossible to copy someone else’s work of art and sell it as your own.  But there is one easy way to get around that.  Make it funny.  If something’s funny, no one can sue you.  That’s because parodies are protected under copyright law.

Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” has been parodied thousands of times […]

How Much Were You Taxed Last Year?

Sometimes I ask people, “How much did you pay in taxes last year?”

Usually they say, “Oh, I didn’t pay anything.  I got money.  Didn’t you?”

What they’re talking about is the refund.  But that’s just the money that you overpay, and the government kicks it back to you.  I’m not talking about that.  I’m talking […]

Private Roads

Sometimes when I’m stuck in traffic, my mind starts to wander.  I imagine a helicopter propeller opening up on the roof of my car, or inspector gadget like springs on my wheels that allow me to jump over everybody.  And then I start to think about private roads.  To many people, a private road […]

Why is Milk So Expensive in Hawaii?

Sometimes when I go to my local grocery store in Maui, I like to listen to what the tourists are saying. One time I found a lady just dumbfounded, staring at all the prices. Everywhere she looked, she had sticker shock. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I can’t believe it! […]

What I Learned in Middle School

In 1993, my family moved to the Big Island of Hawaii.  I remember it was raining.  They told us that Hilo was one of the rainiest places in the entire world.  Apparently it had been raining for a month straight.  I stepped out into the rain, and looked up at the sky, raindrops falling […]

All People are Selfish

I’m a selfish person. I want the best for me, all the time. In fact, I’m one of the most selfish people I’ve ever met, and I really have no qualms about it.

Now, you may be thinking, “How rude!”

But, being selfish doesn’t make me a bad person. In fact, just the opposite is true. […]

Power to the Principal

In the movie “Lean On Me”, Principal Joe Clark said, “Forget about the way it used to be. This is not a democracy. We are in a state of emergency, and my word is law!”

It certainly was. He fired teachers, and expelled kids. He was the ultimate, tough principal. But in the end, East […]

By |March 22nd, 2014|Uncategorized|1 Comment|