Letters to the Editor

Hate crimes aren't created in voting booth

In her June 4 letter, Barbara Matthews ridiculously tries to link the Memorial Day attack on gay campers with the people who oppose "same-sex marriage" and voted for conservative candidates in the Board of Education elections.

Using her logic, she seems to be accusing 70 percent of Hawai'i's residents of perpetuating "hate crimes," due to their vote against same-sex marriages in 1998. It would also mean she feels that over 100,000 O'ahu residents were spreading a message of "hate" by the way they cast their ballots in the Board of Education election.

While Barbara talks of multiculturalism and diversity, what she really is saying is that everybody should share her values.

Instead of trying to blame the majority of Hawai'i residents for the crimes that were committed at the Kaua'i campgrounds, she should focus on the reality that the perpetrators will be brought to justice and that the rest of Hawai'i's citizens should have the freedom to have the belief system of their choosing and should not be made to feel bad about their beliefs.

Robert Owen

This retired teacher isn't that interested

Get serious. If the state, DOE and HSTA were really serious about trying to get retired teachers to "fill the many holes in the system," how difficult would it have been to send a letter to each retired teacher and ask him if he would be willing to return to teaching and what it would take to get them back to the classroom? For example, teaching only, no extracurricular activities, pay package?

As this issue now stands, the state has no idea how many retired teachers would even be interested in this offer and therefore the all-important bottom line — cost.

I am a retired teacher, and you couldn't pay me enough to go back to the classroom as long as I had to deal with inept administrators and a pile of extracurricular BS that in most cases does nothing to improve the students' reading, writing and arithmetic abilities.

Gary Beals

Hearings, not suits, should be the norm

Before the media again print how "woeful" special education is in Hawai'i, they need to do some investigative reporting.

Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law, it would be prudent to compare what is expected of Hawai'i in the Felix Consent Decree (85 percent service testing, Felix benchmarks and principles) with IDEA compliance. And, where else is there a judge who "wants the system to hemorrhage" and who is now finding a way to expedite parent lawsuits despite a contrary ruling from the Supreme Court?

Empowering parents with lawsuits when they want certain services only leads to more conflict and ill will at the individual education plan format. There is already a due process hearing in place when there is not agreement. And there is a lobby of lawyers regularly heard in the media. Judge David Ezra and the judiciary in general have been woefully indifferent in considering the cost of their decisions. The first case wants to settle for $1.8 million.

Approximately 95 percent of the special-education parents are caring and supportive parents who work cooperatively with the schools. But about 5 percent have been demanding and threatening when they don't receive services they want, which is generally beyond what is offered.

While Judge Ezra is giving compensation for the emotional distress of parents, there is never any mention of the emotional distress suffered by our teachers and administrators. Adding lawsuits will only further weaken efforts to staff this area.

Jim Wolfe

Here are the facts behind the fiction

On Oct. 16, 1941, Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote in his diary: "We face the delicate question of the diplomatic fencing to be done so as to be sure Japan is put into the wrong and makes the first bad (overt) move."

A Nov. 18 intercept indicated that, if a break in U.S. relations were forthcoming, Tokyo would issue a special radio warning. The message, to be repeated three times during a weather report, was "Higashi no kaze ame," meaning "East wind, rain." "East wind" signified the United States; "rain" signified diplomatic split — in effect, war.

On Nov. 25, the day before the ultimatum was sent to Japan's ambassadors, Stimson wrote in his diary: "The question was how we should maneuver them (the Japanese) into the position of firing the first shot ... "

On Nov. 26, just 11 days before the Japanese attack, the United States delivered an ultimatum that demanded, as prerequisites to resumed trade, that Japan withdraw all troops from China and Indochina, and in effect abrogate her Tripartite Treaty with Germany and Italy.

On Nov. 26, 1941, naval intelligence intercepted and translated the following, sent by Adm. Yamamoto to the Japanese First Air Fleet: "The task force, keeping its movement strictly secret and maintaining close guard against submarines and aircraft, shall advance into Hawaiian waters, and upon the very opening of hostilities shall attack the main force of the United States fleet and deal it a mortal blow. The first air raid is planned for the dawn of x-day. Exact date to be given by later order."

On Dec. 4, "Higashi no kaze ame" was indeed broadcast and picked up by Washington intelligence.

James Perloff

Florida could take lesson from Hawai'i

The calamity of Florida's 2000 general election makes me realize how timely Hawai'i was in getting rid of that antiquated, labor-intensive punch card system and all its related problems of dangling chads, dimpled chads, etc.

Using the Elections Systems and Software Balloting and Counting program gave Hawai'i the advantage of providing our voters the opportunity to correct their ballots if they cross-party-voted or over-voted, thereby reducing the number of spoiled ballots and concurrently increasing the number of valid ballots to be counted. No system is perfect, but now Gov. Jeb Bush's task force is recommending an optical-reader system for the counties.

Each Florida county seemed to have different rules in the recounting process and to make decisions for new procedures on the spot. Florida's task force should review Hawai'i's election code.

Unlike Florida where counties have different operating procedures and balloting systems, Hawai'i's elections operate under a single, uniform elections program, principally because of the cooperation and participation of the counties in the decision-making process. Hawai'i was one of the first in the nation to develop a uniform statewide voter registration affidavit application, a statewide computerized voter registry and uniform operating procedures at the polling place.

Hawai'i's chief elections officer has been criticized as having too-high standards in our bid specifications, which the critics believe many vendors of various counting systems cannot meet and therefore are unable to submit a bid. No standard is high enough when it comes to ensuring the integrity of the vote.

Ray Pua
Chairman, State Elections Appointment and Review Panel

Don't compare new fad with skateboarding

I saw the front page of your June 1 issue, which featured an article on "Heelys." Is this new fad, which you compared to the now-unpopular razor scooters, worthy of a full-color picture and an article that seems more like an advertisement with a list of retailers?

It appears you are trying to gain reader interest by showing the new "extreme" fad. The first sentence of your article states that "It's skateboarding without a skateboard," which leads the reader to associate this group with skateboarders.

Being a skateboarder, I take great offense to being compared to someone with wheels in their shoes. Skateboarding began over 40 years ago when surfers wanted to expand their sport to the streets. Since then, skateboarding has evolved into a difficult, technical and challenging sport with over 12 million participants in the United States. It has also spawned an industry that brought in over $800 million last year alone.

It's hard for me to believe that this new fad will last 40 years or bring in anywhere near the annual income of the skateboard industry. The only positive thing I see coming from Heelys is that the kids who get sucked into the new fad will get bored with it and realize they should have been skateboarding rather than "skateboarding without a skateboard."

If you want to inform your readers about "extreme" sports, you should let them know that there are four skateboard parks that have been approved and funded since July 2000, yet construction has yet to start on any of these sites. It may be a more newsworthy article if you report on the enormous need for these facilities and find out why these parks are being delayed.

Chuck Mitsui
Association of Skateboarders in Hawai'i

Here are some tips to protect winnings

Winning the million-dollar jackpot in Las Vegas must be an awesome feeling, but it could also be a frustrating feeling seeing almost half of it taken by Uncle Sam and Uncle Ben. A word of wisdom to Hawai'i's lucky winners:

• Establish residency in Las Vegas to avoid paying state taxes.

• Leave winnings at the hotel where the money was won and draw out the winnings in small portions.

• Register yourself as a professional gambler in order to claim your losses when filing your taxes.

At least this way you can keep more of your winnings.

Arsenio Pelayo
'Aiea

Commentary on China warped

As a recent visitor to Hawai'i, I noted with interest David Polhemus' June 4 commentary on China.

The Bush administration's "strategic competitor" approach to China, unlike the Clinton administration's "strategic partnership" concept, recognizes China for what it is: a totalitarian state whose leaders have adopted certain capitalistic measures in an effort to remain in power.

Last October, while Clinton was still in the White House, China's defense minister declared America as China's No. 1 enemy and threatened to "nuke" Los Angeles. Nationalistic pride has regularly been invoked by the communist regime to quell internal dissent, and when that doesn't work, press censorship and "anti-crime" efforts are used. Dissidents regularly disappear, and recently the government executed more than 800 souls in another "Strike Hard" campaign.

Unfortunately, Polhemus has bought into the well-planned propaganda efforts of the Chinese government.

Because of its size and world position, America must constructively engage China, but we must not kowtow to its leaders, as Polhemus seems to suggest. We should not change established World Trade Organization rules simply to accommodate the Chinese, nor should we abandon basic democratic values embraced by Taiwan for more than 50 years. Likewise, we cannot ignore human rights abuses, such as China's crackdown on the Falun Gong, other religious groups and all those who seek dialogue with their own government.

The communist regime needs the $1.5 billion weekly favorable balance of trade with the United States, much more than the U.S. needs quiet relations with China.

Ask U.S. businesses that have invested in China: Do they feel their investments are secure? Have they made the anticipated profits? Has the Chinese government kept its word about controlling piracy and providing open markets? The answer to all those questions is no.

Let's recognize the Chinese communist government for what it is: a competitor that'll do or say anything to win; and let's not forget the lessons of history: Appeasement of despots does not work over the long run.

With Bush's apparent stand-up approach of engagement, combined with the continuing benefits of capitalism and improved communications, China's people will eventually enjoy the fruits of democracy and self-determination. A focus on the long term is much more critical than appeasing China's current rulers. Let us hope that the current administration does not cave, as did the last administration.

Ron Stolle
Goodyear Executive Professor, Kent State University