Letters to the Editor

Don’t increase fines; enforce existing laws

Your Feb. 7 editorial "New pedestrian safety bill makes good sense" does not make good sense. You are expected to present the pros and cons, not just rubber-stamp an idea.

Traffic fines of $250 to $750 are a set of draconian rules copied from Singaporean absolutism. It’s not the amount of the fine that brings results, it’s the enforcement.

It is the lack of enforcement that induces 90 percent of drivers to speed and cause most of the fatalities and maiming of people. Yet the enforcement is sporadic, at best.

Likewise with the disregard for pedestrian safety.

When a driver is cited for a moving violation, the fine is only incidental to the actual punishment of increases in insurance premiums by hundreds of dollars for three years. In such a case, if the driver cannot afford the higher premium, he has the option to stop driving for some time, but the fine must be paid, and when the fine amounts to hundreds of dollars, families will go hungry.

You got it wrong, Advertiser, and you are not alone.

George Avlonitis

George Perry had heart of a warrior

George P. "Keoke" Perry, 1959 to 2001. The devoted father, leader and friend who died in the recent helicopter collision lived life with a passion. He touched the lives of all who knew him in a way that will inspire us forever.

On every mission, my comrade-in-arms bolted with warrior pride. George’s physical and mental courage was unbreakable. His charisma sparked and motivated teammates to give their best, while his leadership steadied our resolves. His competitiveness was determined and targeted to ensure he never left a mission not fully exhausted. When the odds were totally against us, he led his best. When the conditions were the worst, he performed his best.

To know of him or about him is to understand his strength and determination to give all. We pay the highest tribute to our friend and fallen hero, George Perry, who embodied the heart of a warrior.

We are grateful to have known him, and honored for his friendship. God bless his soul and his wonderful family. As George Perry rests in peace, may his spirit be carried on forever in the heart of every warrior who accepts the challenge of a U.S. soldier.

Maj. Karl L. Kearney

Ignoring evolution shows ignorance

I am constantly amazed at the remarks of people who cite science as a "reason" for their stance and yet are completely ignorant of science (Letters, Feb. 19).

The query "Were you there?" deliberately faults a historic science (geology, cosmology, etc.) for not being what it does not pretend to be. A similar argument can be made against the presidency of Abraham Lincoln since none of us "were there."

Historic sciences, as with history itself, base their knowledge on records found in contemporary writings (history) or in geologic, fossil and astronomical evidence. This evidence, within that science, is just as valid as that obtained from a controlled experiment in the laboratory.

Doubting the reality of evolution means rejecting all current knowledge of cosmology, geology, genetics, comparative anatomy, biology, biochemistry, astronomy and statistics.

The "argument" about the statistical impossibility of the "200 bones of a human skeleton ... could assemble by chance" shows a complete ignorance of the laws of physics, chemistry and biology, all of which are controlling in the process of evolution.

Hank Kocol

Dog owners are ignoring leash law

I agree with Ginger Towle’s Feb. 13 letter, "Beaches shouldn’t be opened to dogs." I won’t take my grandchildren to the beach anymore because it’s so traumatic to have the dogs running around.

Where I live, in Lanikai, there are sometimes more dogs on the beach than people. And they’re virtually all running loose. Many people don’t clean up after their dogs.

When I say something to the owners about putting their dog on a leash, or if I point out that dogs are only supposed to run loose in the dog park, they almost always say, "My dog doesn’t bite." And they look at you with disdain, as if you somehow are being extremely unreasonable for asking them to follow the laws.

Of course, if nobody’s dog bites, then how come there are hundreds of dog bites every year, costing families an untold amount of heartache, pain and money?

Mary Yokayama
Lanikai

It’s time for Legislature to address special ed

Judge David Ezra’s reprimand to the lawmakers on the Felix Consent Decree is both sound and appropriate, given the circumstances.

As the December 2001 date for compliance with the federal decree to provide necessary services to special-education students comes closer, state lawmakers are crying foul, time out and let’s demand total accountability now (inevitably delaying the process dramatically).

Accountability for money spent is clearly important, and greater evaluation and perhaps review of programs should be done. However, this is not the time to be raising fists in defiance.

The state has had many years to request review of the programs and insist on accountability. During these final months, it is the time to push harder toward a successful finish, which is within our reach if the legislative blockades stop.

Regular-education programs will suffer if the federal government must step in, as monies are reallocated to special ed or monies for mental health services are disproportionately routed to the Felix population at the expense of a reduction in mental health services to others.

Chrys Rosen

Students could sue state over a strike

This is my first and only chance at getting my college degree. It has taken me 20 years to be able to attend college. So I am a little concerned about a possible strike.

Will I be able to get through it unscathed and continue with college, or will I be cast out of the system just because my financial situation won’t allow for a recovery from the lost school time?

If I lose my one-time shot at school due to the strike, I will have no choice but to sue the state for lost wages over the next 20 years because of lost income and lost opportunity.

Please pay the teachers what they deserve. I’d rather earn my millions than get it from the state. I’m sure all students would.

Mick Malkemus

Educational system is in need of overhaul

Public education in this state is a bad joke.

Nobody on the Department of Education has ever asked us if they could help our son with his learning and emotional problems. They only tell us what they can’t do, which usually comes down to nothing. We have only gotten some help for our kid by years of study and perseverance. Just when it looks as if we have things under control, we are struck by a wayward wrecking ball that sends us back to zero.

There are obvious remedies that can be made immediately that would solve many, many of our problems:

Each student must have a textbook that he can use at school and take home to study.

There must be enough classrooms for our kids. Multitracking must be abandoned because it disrupts all aspects of family life, including learning.

Large assignments like term papers must target appropriate learning goals. The projects that my kid has been compelled to do would be appropriate for advanced graduate students.

What is going on? Have educators completely lost their way? The sad answer is yes, they are completely lost. This state is doing all it can to low-ball public education from top to bottom.

We need someone to pull off the rusty scales of our educational system and see why its backbone is not straight and intact. Then we can slowly and carefully build a new system based on common sense and time-honored educational principles.

David Webb
Mililani

Creating a museum insults all Hawaiians

As a Hawaiian, I am strongly opposed to Vicky Cayetano’s proposal to turn Washington Place into a museum. This is an insult to all Hawaiians.

To change our beloved Queen Lili‘uokalani’s residence to a museum is like regulating Hawai‘i’s history to the past.

Is this the final "act of destruction" as we move forward into the new millennium of technology and change for Hawai‘i? You can’t rewrite history or pretend Hawaiians don’t exist. Very systematically, everything Hawaiian has been destructively altered.

I respectfully request that the Legislature seriously consider changing our state motto. Hawai‘i is no longer the Aloha State.

Carolyn Peters
Wai‘anae

VIP guests should not be allowed on subs

VIPs should not be allowed on submarines at any time unless a submarine is docked at its berth.

I am 65 and retired military. In plain English, the military likes to show off its capabilities, and this causes mistakes.

I do not care if someone is standing next to you or holding your hands at the controls: Your mind and thoughts are not the same. If you are around just your day-to-day crew members, you are not distracted from your normal duties. When you have a bunch of VIPs around (especially with 16 sets of eyes on you), you cannot wait to show them what the sub can do and rush things; distraction occurs even though you are not aware of it at the time.

Lester Forrest

U.S. must reimburse families, raise ship

The tragedy of the Ehime Maru remains vivid in our minds and hearts. The official inquiry is proceeding as it should, and in time we will all learn the causes of this horrific event. But the explanations will not satisfy each and every one of us, especially the families of the nine lost souls.

For those families, there will be nothing sufficient to erase their pain and grief. No amount of words, explanations, expressions of regret and even shared tears will make right this awful happening. The several misstatements and incomplete and untimely revelations of the facts by our government have compounded this matter.

The time will come soon when the United States must take appropriate steps to heal this gaping wound. In that context, I urge our leaders in Washington to carefully reflect on the Japanese mentality and custom in situations such as this. Although inadequate as it is, we must take into account the expected long life, especially for the students, and their denied earning potential, and offer significant financial settlements to their families without delay. Let's do it with sincere humility.

And one other important point: We must do our best to safely raise the Ehime Maru, even if it is to recover one personal item of the nine lost souls.

Joe Hale
‘Aiea

Mindless support of military unhelpful

The Advertiser is reflexively and irresponsibly supportive of the military, regardless of the issue. How else to explain your claim that "it's highly unlikely that the visitors (on the USS Greeneville) had anything to do with the accident" (" ‘VIP Cruises’ serve important purpose," editorial, Feb. 18)?

The truth is, we do not know what caused the accident, in large part because the military has pursued a policy of minimum disclosure. It is certainly possible that the 16 civilians on the submarine distracted those responsible for operating the periscope and sonar.

Military officials in Japan report that "at most" six or eight civilians should be let aboard such a submarine, and that more than that could well undermine the crew's capacity to fulfill its duties. Your inability (or refusal) to see this possibility speaks volumes about your paper's stance toward the military.

I summarize that stance as follows: Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. When it comes to military matters, The Advertiser is a lapdog, not a watchdog.

David T. Johnson

Blame human error for submarine crash

Is it easier to blame God for the tragic accident that claimed the lives of nine Japanese people than it is to acknowledge that something went terribly wrong that day?

Of all the excuses anyone could make, that is the most pathetic. God didn't put the two vessels in the same place so the accident could occur. Acts of God occur when forces of nature go out of control, not when humans make avoidable mistakes.

It’s time to stop making excuses and acknowledge that humans controlling a large, powerful vessel, in the largest body of water in the world, made a horrible mistake and that those humans may just have to pay for the tragedy with their careers. The nine Japanese and their families are already paying the price.

Robin Makapagal
Kane‘ohe

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