Letters to the Editor

Letters expressed anti-Hawaiian views

It is really something to read the recent letters to the editor that express anti-Hawaiian sentiments in response to Alani Apio’s Feb. 25 commentary. Apio’s piece was excellent and to the point.

The facts on the status of native Hawaiians are not made up. We do occupy the top of all the social ills of Hawai‘i, yet we make up only 20 percent of Hawai‘i’s entire population.

The attitudes and ideas expressed in the letters could be construed as racist and bigoted.

Are these people determined to rewrite Hawai‘i’s history over the last several hundred years? Don’t they know that our ancestors knew of Hawai‘i’s existence before they came here on their first migration? The gods who created these Islands named the islands, mountains, valleys and ocean channels. Can’t they comprehend the fact that our ancestors "allowed" their ancestors to come here and to enjoy what we have here, not destroy it?

It is lucky the first missionaries did not have their attitude because they would have been the first to be sacrificed. Instead, the missionaries came with the promise of spiritual fulfillment, and in return the Hawaiians were systematically "removed" from their land by Western laws.

These same Western laws (the U.S. Constitution) is being used against us today, to take away the birthright to these Islands and our indigenous rights that were handed down from our kupuna.

We as native people will not take this lightly. History will inevitably prove me right.

Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell
Pukalani, Maui

Where’s the public in teaching crisis?

Public education in Hawai‘i is going down the tubes, and the silence is deafening.

The looming strikes by educators from kindergarten through the highest levels of the University of Hawai‘i should be sending a chill through the community.

Unfortunately, for the most part, only the voices of the teachers and faculty themselves have been heard.

Where are those who should be their advocates: the Board of Education, the Board of Regents, parents, students, the media, business, the Legislature and yes, even administrators?

The proposals put forth by the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the University of Hawai‘i Professional Assembly are not the offerings of fanatics. They are reasonable.

If we, the good citizens of Hawai‘i, remain silent, we are contributing to the death of the most important institutions that a democratic society has — its public schools and universities. I hope we are not so without souls that we permit it to happen.

Sidney M. Rosen
CEO, Adult Friends for Youth

Hawai‘i was fortunate to have Ken Mortimer

I congratulate Ken Mortimer for a job very well done as president of the University of Hawai‘i system, consisting of 10 campuses statewide and 45,000 students. The UH presidency is the toughest job in the state, especially during the prolonged economic slump, and Hawai‘i is very fortunate to have him.

I was a UH regent when we hired Mortimer eight years ago. He was the best candidate of over 40 persons who had applied. His successful eight-year tenure surpasses the five-year average for presidents of U.S. universities.

Currently as a trustee of the UH Foundation, I have seen Mortimer lead a very successful four-year campaign to raise $100 million by this June 30. He is the best fund-raiser UH has ever had, and the foundation will certainly miss his excellent leadership.

To President Mortimer and his lovely, supportive wife, Lorrie, Hawai‘i will miss you, and we all extend our best wishes in your retirement.

Edward M. Kuba

State Cabinet members should get pay raises

Hawai‘i prides itself on practicing fairness and equality. So I cannot understand how anyone could question whether the governor’s Cabinet members and other top state employees deserve a raise. It has been 11 years since these salaries were adjusted — 11 years.

During those same 11 years, the salaries of city-equivalent positions were raised twice. In fact, the mayor’s Cabinet, with less responsibility than the governor’s, is paid more. During those same 11 years, state employees covered by collective bargaining agreements had their salaries increased at least three separate times.

Obviously, the sheer number of state unionized employees places tremendous pressure on the Legislature to fund those increases every few years. The governor’s Cabinet, on the other hand, has tremendous pressures and responsibilities, but no political clout.

Fundamental fairness dictates that after 11 years, these salaries should be increased.

Kealoha Manaku

It’s not a question of ‘please,’ but ‘thank you’

I admire Lee Cataluna and often enjoy her column. Notwithstanding, I would like to comment on her Jan. 26 remarks on the Army’s use of Makua Valley.

She writes, "They are not stewards. They’re renters that don’t pay rent. And they need to say, ‘Please can we stay?’ And mean it. Especially, the ‘please.’"

Having served over 30 years in the U.S. Army infantry, I am reminded of the thousands of military renters at Punchbowl, Arlington Cemetery and the Normandy-European-Pacific gravesites. They paid the ultimate in rent.

I have also heard their voices on the battlefield: "Please Lord, let me live!" or "Please pray for me." And you know what, they really meant it, especially the "Please," but not many were listening.

Walk a mile in their shoes. Visit Punchbowl, listen to the quiet renters — the real stewards. Then say "Thank you" and mean it.

Don Gransback
Kapahulu

Cigarette smokers are bane of existence

Is there any habit more disgusting than smoking?

It’s bad enough that smokers subject the rest of us to foul-smelling and potentially life-threatening secondhand smoke, but who the heck gave them the right to pollute our streets, sidewalks and even our parks with their discarded cigarette butts? How are we supposed to get our kids to throw bubble gum wrappers in the trash can when they constantly see adults throwing cigarette butts wherever they please?

And talk about dangerous. Just the other day, I saw a guy walking down the sidewalk blindly toss his lit cigarette into the street; when it finally came to a rest, it was directly underneath a parked car. Can you imagine if there had been an oil spot there?

But the worst culprits are those selfish and thoughtless adults who smoke around defenseless children, forever polluting their innocent little lungs. How many times have you seen someone smoking a cigarette while strolling a baby carriage or holding an infant’s hand? I sincerely believe that parents who smoke within 10 feet of their children should have their kids taken away from them.

And, of course, older children see their parents and favorite film stars smoking and naturally try to emulate them. Every time I pass a 13-year-old punk at the mall trying to play grown-up with a cigarette dangling from his or her mouth, I want to walk up and say, "Wow, you really are something! You really do look cool."

Jonathan R. Peterson

Bill of Rights allows the pursuit of religion

The Founding Fathers wrote into the First Amendment that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ... " It seems to me that Mitch Kahle and Brent White remember the first, but not the second, part of this admonition.

There should be no harassment of legislators who choose to keep voluntary fellowship with each other. Therefore, the minimal use of an office phone or fax machine to arrange a meeting time should not offend anyone or break any law.

We seem to forget that it was not that long ago when prominent Hawai‘i legislators were calling each other to arrange "liquid lunches" at their favorite hostess bars. Since the Constitution does not proscribe such conduct, are we better off with representatives who discuss governance against a backdrop of booze and cheap sex?

Our test is whether we can craft bills that respect the First Amendment while we hold religious views. I trust Bud Stonebraker can make such a distinction, and am proud that he represents my district.

Khal Spencer
Kalama Valley

Stonebraker didn’t violate Constitution

I’m an agnostic who agrees that Rep. William Stonebraker’s recent actions did not violate the Constitution’s separation of church and state.

As a member of a tiny religious minority, I feel compelled to defend the right of others to practice their religion in a noncoercive manner even if they fail to reciprocate and show the same tolerance for my views. The religious freedom contemplated by the Founding Fathers means the right for everyone to practice their faith or their disbelief without interference from government.

Stonebraker did not pressure anyone to accept his beliefs. Rather, he notified other people whom he knew shared his faith about a change in a prearranged meeting. If you claim that the separation of church and state is so absolute that Stonebraker can’t use a state-owned fax in this innocuous manner, then logically you must also insist that we invoke this extreme separation in all other instances.

For starters, we would have to do away with having a minister open each daily session of the House and Senate with an invocation; we would have to prohibit churches from holding prayer meetings on school grounds on the weekends; and we would have to do away with stringing Christmas lights on public property in December. Is this what the Founding Fathers envisioned?

If Stonebraker or any other leader of our government brazenly crossed the line separating church and state, rest assured I would not suffer such foolishness gladly. But I urge you to not let people use the Constitution as a smokescreen for partisan political intrigue.

Jim Henshaw
Kailua

There are alternative ways to handle work

After several suggestions about when the Kalaniana‘ole water main work would start, the actual time has come. Isn’t it amazing that during all the planning, a more expedient plan has not surfaced?

What about:

Working 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Traffic could be handled with two lanes in each direction most of the day and provide a three/one traffic flow during rush hours. This should get the work done in one-fourth the time currently planned. It would also limit the disruption to homeowners along the route.

Working 12-hour workdays from 6 p.m. till 6 a.m.? This should limit disruption to residents along the route as well as limit the time needed to work on the project. It would allow two lanes of traffic to flow in each direction.

Increasing the number of workers doing the work? Perhaps working from both ends of the project at the same time?

The above suggestions would probably incur overtime costs, but these costs should be weighed against the costs of opening, closing and coning the job site day after day after day for two years.

Many of us have seen much more complex projects in other parts of the world completed in a much shorter time. Who and how can we address our dissatisfaction about the sluggish pace of roadwork on O‘ahu?

Celest Pearsall

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