Letters to the Editor
A speeding vehicle just as dangerous as a gun
In light of all the traffic fatalities caused by reckless street racers, I think impounding an offender's vehicle is a good idea.
After all, if someone took their gun out somewhere and started using it in a reckless manner, wouldn't the authorities seize it? Haven't these maniacs given us enough examples that a little shoyu burner can kill as effectively as a gun?
How about taking some of the gun laws and replacing the word "gun" with "motor vehicle"? There is a time and place for everything. just as people take their guns to the firing range to shoot, racecars belong on the racetrack.
If someone is caught racing on the public roads, that person's car should meet the same fate as a seized gun. It should be disassembled and turned into artificial reef.
John H. Mayer
Hawai'i Kai
Sometimes, not having a home is by choice
Concerning Diane Myslicki's Aug. 29 letter, in which she says she is concerned with the so-called "homeless" at Ala Moana Beach Park and is upset that they are getting an escape from the burdens of everyday life:
I am concerned about people like Myslicki who feel they have more right to Ala Moana Beach Park than someone else. Even those without homes pay sales tax when shopping and are just as entitled as anyone else to enjoy their taxpaying dollars.
Many of the so-called homeless people are homeless by choice and are not hurting anyone by being in the park. It's no different than all the middle-class families bringing their stereos, TVs, barbeques, volleyball nets and their garbage to the park. In my opinion, that is much worse.
Homelessness is a state of mind, you can be a millionaire and be homeless in your soul. Being without four walls can be enlightening and give one a sense of freedom never felt by the masses consumed with materialism. The freedom of not having a home is addicting, and many people do this by choice.
Kudos to the city and the Police department for giving the homeless a few breaks.
Jim Rosen
Nothing more than a tax on poor people
On Aug. 28, Derek Stephens wrote that he was mad because this state has no lottery and advocated that we start one. Obviously, he has never lived in a state where you see parents spending hundreds of dollars a week for lottery tickets while their children go hungry. He does not understand one basic fact: The lottery is nothing more than a tax on poor people.
J. Rex Pippin
Kamuela
How do roads become streets or avenues?
I am curious. Does anyone know why our city's names of thoroughfares change from "road" or "lane" to "street" and "avenue" or "boulevard?" Is it due to the increase of the width in feet? If so, what exact footage determines the difference?
Some examples of name changes: Asylum Road to Palama Street, Kapahulu Road to Kapahulu Avenue, and the main road in Palolo Valley from Palolo Belt Road to Palolo and 10th avenues. Did the surface materials used, such as dirt or asphalt, make a difference in the name of change?
I have studied maps of our city in areas I was interested in and was fascinated how the names of roads and streets changed throughout the years. But I didn't understand why. Does anyone know?
Roy E. Shigemura
Articles, columns prove newspaper has agenda
The leftward slant of The Honolulu Advertiser is getting more noticeable everyday.
In the Aug. 30 edition, your newspaper ran a story claiming that gun control in some states has had a "dramatic" effect on criminals obtaining guns. On the very same page was a story about a gun-running ring in which guns were smuggled illegally into New York City.
This proves two things: Gun control does not have a "dramatic" effect on criminals obtaining guns, and your paper has a clear agenda.
Further proof of the left slant of The Advertiser are the two columns printed regarding the departure of Sen. Jesse Helms.
Deborah Mathis of USA Today and a Washington Post columnist both labeled Helms as a racist, homophobic and conservative hammer. Helms has served this nation for years and has served his constituency well, as evidenced by his numerous successful re-elections.
Robert Thurston
Vision could lead to bad state of affairs
Way to spin, Mr. President. Now it's Congress' evil ways — including its naughty urge to "waste" billions of dollars on helping the poor, protecting the environment, insuring worker safety, keeping tabs on bureaucrats, making smaller classrooms, etc. — that will sink this country economically. Please.
If Americans buy into Bush's oil-slick economic plan that requires billions more each day to run an efficient military (added to tax dollars thrown into the thin air of untested educational testing), then America will get what it deserves: a broken-down, uneducated society where only mad consumption and corporate acquiesce are considered great achievements.
Janice Palma-Glennie
Kailua-Kona
