Letters to the Editor
Don't pay your ticket if caught by camera
I urge the people of Hawai'i to unite and not pay any fines imposed on them by the newly installed red-light and speeding-traffic cams.
I lived in Alaska when the people of Alaska did just that. Everyone got together on a class-action lawsuit on the unconstitutionality of the computer-operated traffic cams. It was found that traffic tickets first and foremost must be issued by an officer of the law.
If everyone who is issued a ticket bands together and refuses to pay, we will have overcome "Big Brother."
Kimo Orsen
Be critical of studies on same-sex parenting
I just got through reading Catherine Toth's Nov. 18 article on gay and lesbian families. In her article, she does her best to convince us that same-sex parents are no different from traditional parents and that they raise healthy, well-adjusted children.
Too bad Toth's assessment of the situation is dead wrong.
For anyone interested in seeing beyond the politically correct smokescreen that we call journalism, you should check out the Catholic University of America Marriage Law Project Web site.
There is an article at that site called "No Basis: What the Studies Don't Tell Us About Same-Sex Parenting." The study's authors rigorously examined 49 of the most cited empirical studies on same-sex parenting. They found that all 49 studies had at least one fatal research flaw. It was also determined by their research that we really do not have any solid information on how same-sex parenting impacts children.
So when you hear academics, lawyers and journalists explaining to you why having two dads is not really any different from having a mom and dad, ask them where they're getting their information. Chances are the information is coming from a few homosexual activists who are doing their best to advance their own personal agenda.
Rich Logan
Will the state do the right thing?
Since 1993, the state has sponsored the Hurricane Relief Fund, providing catastrophic insurance for homeowners who elected to pay premiums into the fund.
Although the premiums are paid annually, they were not priced to be adequate to cover claims on an annual-term basis, as that approach would be unaffordable.
Insurers for this type of coverage hold the premiums in reserves, earning investment income. The fund grows over time from both investment income and renewal premiums, with the objective of becoming adequate to meet policy claims when a hurricane does strike.
The state has a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard and grow these reserves solely for the benefit of the homeowners who remain insured.
We have been fortunate not to have experienced a hurricane during the nine years the fund has existed. During this time, the fund should have grown substantially. Although the state has not been forthcoming about the size of the fund and how much investment income has been credited to it, it should be adequate to cover a significant percent of hurricane damage for insured homeowners, should one occur.
What a strange time for the state to conclude the fund should be shut down with the policy-holders reserves absorbed by the general fund, rather than return the insured as closeout dividend.
Imagine what would happen if a private insurer, fortunate enough not to experience any claims for nine years, decided to shut its doors, exit the state and take all of the homeowner's policy reserves as profits. The state probably would initiate criminal action against the insurance company for misappropriating policy-holder funds.
Hopefully, the legislature or judiciary will prevent such a mistake from happening here. The fund belongs to the participants, not the general fund of the state.
Fran Brennan
Princeville, Kaua'i
Private education should earn tax break
Given the current economic situation in Hawai'i, legislators should make it a priority to give families with children in private schools a tax break. With an extra $10,000 to $15,000 being spent every year on private education per student, any type of tax break would be greatly appreciated.
In the case of my family, my sister and I have attended private schools from pre-kindergarten all the way till high school. Our family has paid more than $200,000 for our education. With taxes still being paid, our family is paying for my sister, me and two other children in the public school system.
This isn't fair. These types of families should be given a tax break, especially in this time of need.
Evan Asano
Kailua
Dine at restaurants that are smoke-free
Because secondhand smoke is still allowed in some restaurants, nonsmokers should be aware that it kills more people than anthrax.
Both are designed to kill people who are not aware of their hidden dangers. More than 440,000 individuals die each year from tobacco-related products; only five people died from anthrax as part of this current terrorism.
Parents, protect young toddlers from breathing all the carcinogens that are in secondhand tobacco smoke by dining in a safe, smoke-free environment.
Alvin Wong
Pearl City
Congress ignores a nation's sovereignty
I don't know the comic book where Nathan D. Miller learned American history, but his claim that "If there is a myth, it is the myth that an act of Congress can annex territory"; it very clearly demonstrates how Americans try to excuse thievery by presenting fiction as fact.
I am from the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, which, by treaty, the Congress of United States of America acknowledged as a sovereign nation.
As Sen. Inouye continues to remind us, "In the entire history of the United States, the Congress of the people, by the people and for the people has never honored one single treaty made with the native people of this land."
Fort Apache Indian Reservation is no exception and (to date) has been substantially reduced in size five times to accommodate greedy miners, ranchers, foresters and farmers, by the president and Congress, without any agreement or compensation. It wasn't done by "annexation." To salve public conscience, the land was "restored to the public domain."
Perhaps Miller's comic books explain how Congress can "restore to the public domain" land that was never part nor parcel of the United States of America.
The real tragedy is that people believe all this is history, whereas the government has never ceased trying to steal Apache land.
Rico Leffanta
Irony in Hawaiian group's campaign on Maui
Regarding your article on Na Kupuna o Maui's campaign against nude sunbathing at the Makena State Park on Maui: Surely the irony is not lost on everyone.
After the haole American missionaries arrived in Hawai'i in the early 19th century, they spent the next two generations sternly admonishing the Native Hawaiians to "cover their nakedness."
As for enforcing "pono" values on beach-going policy of today: I spent several years in Europe, where nude sunbathing is fairly common on most beaches...and their "pono" seems to be none the worse for (forgive the pun) wear. Hey, bra — lighten up!
Melonie Hofstetter
Hanalei
Public schools have a lot to offer students
As a former private-school teacher and now substitute teacher, I have found the public schools to be great. I see no difference in my old school and the public schools, except the tuition.
The teachers are excellent. The children are learning. The public schools have so much to offer: ESLL, special education, industrial arts class, computers, A-Plus and Cisco certification. All for free. I say free, because truthfully, how much of our own individual tax dollars is going to the public schools?
I was amazed when I visited McKinley High School and saw all the pictures of people who went to public schools and did well, like Sen. Daniel Inouye, Judge Sam King and Duke Kahanamoku.
We need to look at successful people and what they did to be successful. They are successful because they saw education, instilled and encouraged by their parents, their first teachers, to be their responsibility.
It is the job of the schools to teach. It is the job of the parents to prepare their child to be willing learners. It is the job of the child to want to learn and be teachable, as opposed to being coachable.
Michael Young
Broadcast media needs to forget about 'scoops'
If I were a member of a terrorist cell, I would be ever so grateful to the news director and staff of the NBC-affiliate KHNL television station for their informative news.
Without thought or malice, they televised the name of the American Special Forces member wounded in combat, the living location of his family members, their names and also the pictures of his loved ones. This information would be ever so useful in exacting revenge on the loved ones of this invader of our Islamic lands.
Isn't it about time that the broadcast news media demonstrated a sense of decency and responsibility to protect the public, instead of trying to always get the "scoop"?
Information is power, and it's the responsibility of the information brokers to wield this power with intelligence and wisdom.
Vernon Hoo
Kane'ohe
May Princess Aiko ascend the throne
Thank you for following the birth and naming of the new princess in Japan.
In a time when there have been so many stories of death, a story of new life brings light. I am glad to hear that her parents broke with tradition and named her Aiko, and what a beautiful name it is, full of hope and love.
Perhaps tradition will be broken again in the future, and she will be able to ascend to the throne. I hope her name is prophetic of the influence she will have within her own country and the world.
Pamela Saepae
Mililani
