Letters to the Editor
It's a matter of logic: Honor teacher contract
If you want qualified teachers in Hawai'i, then they must be certified teachers.
If they must be certified teachers, then they must have teaching certifications or degrees beyond their bachelor's degree.
If they must have teaching certifications or degrees beyond their bachelor's degree, then teachers should be treated as professionals.
If teachers should be treated as professionals, then the state should pay teachers a respectable salary.
If the state should pay teachers a respectable salary, then the state should honor the contract.
Therefore, if you want qualified teachers in Hawai'i, then the state should honor the contract.
Donna Yamamoto
Math teacher, Moanalua High School
Independence would bring on inequality
Some Hawaiian independence activists say sovereignty is about nationality, not race. They admit non-native naturalized kingdom subjects had full rights, as should their descendants in the new "nation." As long as there aren't too many.
They don't admit that under kingdom law, anyone born in Hawai'i, plus newcomers who got "naturalized," would then be equal with natives. That's too many.
Independence activists try to look race-neutral while diminishing non-kanaka. Some say anyone with one drop of native blood is "indigenous," therefore entitled to racial supremacy over land and law. Some say tenant rights under the Mahele were only for natives (wrong). Some say most white people in the kingdom were traitors whose descendants therefore have no standing in the "nation." Very few ethnic Japanese or Chinese, and no Filipinos, would qualify as Hawaiian subjects without "naturalization."
The Hawaiian independence movement is ethnic nationalism. Token non-natives get second-class citizenship.
Ask the activists: Who would get to vote regarding independence? All ethnic Hawaiians, hardly anyone else. Racial separatism within the United States (the Akaka Bill) is also unacceptable.
Celebrate diversity while holding fast to unity and equality — precious results of 223 years of growing inclusiveness and full partnership.
Ken Conklin
FDA approval isn't the point on marijuana
On Sept. 4, medical student Frank Yuan expended over 500 words to make two points: Marijuana is illegal and it ain't medicine until the FDA says it is.
He says freedom without limits leads to anarchy and marijuana is still illegal. This is circular reasoning. (Also, the medical use of marijuana is legal in Hawai'i.)
The medical benefits of marijuana either exist or they don't. FDA approval doesn't change facts, it only indicates government's willingness to accept them. The FDA isn't an independent entity dedicated to a search for truth. It is a politicized federal bureaucracy dedicated to pleasing its pay masters.
For years the federal government has used its power to pick and choose which researchers could use marijuana in their studies. Research aimed at finding harmful effects has always been approved. Research aimed at finding medical benefits has been stymied.
Marijuana has been used as medicine for millennia. Government-funded research has yet to prove it is anything other than one of the most harmless drugs available to man. Lots of studies have shown it to have positive medical uses. It is also a natural product that can't be patented or controlled by the drug companies, whom the FDA is designed to serve.
Yuan opposes the politicization of science. Good. The political interference on this question is coming from the anti-marijuana side.
Tracy Ryan
Services are needed for many in Hawai'i
Indeed, as you pointed out in your Sept. 2 editorial, the state Department of Health keeps spinning its wheels and changing its plan regarding "fixing" the Hawai'i State Hospital. And again, as story after story focuses on the hospital's fiascos, and those of us in the community struggle to sustain fragile services to our citizens with mental illness, the tail continues to wag the dog.
The Department of Health has had over a decade to address the grievances that were brought to public attention by the State Hospital lawsuit. While federal judicial intervention has prompted an increase in funding for the State Hospital for special staff and consultants in search of solutions, remarkably little has changed for patients in the hospital, and attention to community-based issues and mental health consumer needs has received even weaker attention.
When the state is spending more than $600 a day to maintain someone in the hospital, it seems obvious that beefing up community services would be less expensive and more effective than adding to the State Hospital coffers.
Mariah Carey was lucky — she had the personal resources to get help she needed to recover from her breakdown. Most of our mentally ill citizens are not so lucky. There are few places for them to go in the community for the help they need, and no room at the State Hospital "Inn."
Wouldn't it be grand if we could make solutions relating to our mentally ill community members an inclusive community challenge? We in the field have visions of a system of care and services that reaches the many, not just the few who can be best be served at the State Hospital.
Leslie Ross
Chair, Hawai'i Behavioral Health Coalition
Joanne L. Lundstrom
Vice Chair, Hawai'i Behavioral Health Coalition
Jon Yoshimura didn't blame the news media
I recently attended Jon Yoshimura's speech to a group of prominent Democrats on Maui. He did not blame the news media for reports critical of him. What he did was cite two specific instances when Honolulu journalists told him that they cover him differently.
You have a responsibility to report the news accurately and fairly. If Volcanic Ash columnist David Shapiro had attended the speech, his opinions would have been based on what was actually said.
Morris Haole
Makawao
Art wasn't meant to be irreligious
I would like to respond to Taylor Lai's Aug. 23 letter commending Mayor Harris' office for prohibiting my painting — depicting a nude woman on a cross — from exhibition at City Hall. Lai asserts that my artwork is a "direct insult" to Christians. Generalizing, Lai suggests that banning my piece is not an affront to civil rights, but that displaying "naked women on sacred emblems" is an affront to the community.
The theme of my piece is not about Christ, religion or God. It is about the personal conflicting experiences women from all faiths and backgrounds face regarding self-sacrifice and self-dignity.
While I allude to the crucifix as a reference point, I don't intend to draw a literal parallel to Christ. I chose the cross — which happens to have been a common torture device of the Romans and other cultures, biblical significance aside — as a means of communicating the impression of "martyr" through a readily identifiable symbol.
I do not believe that drawing upon religious association for this purpose blasphemes that religion; if anything, using a widely revered symbol to illustrate important concepts in an original context could be considered a sign of respect for that symbol.
Those who, in their brittleness, cannot permit such creative license do the firmness of their faith a disservice.
Most importantly: Who decides what a "sacred emblem" is? To me, the human form is sacred, so I find no incongruity with nudity and spiritual or religious material. In fact, for this same reason, many biblical figures were represented in the nude — with vivid anatomical accuracy — by Renaissance painters and sculptors, as church commissions.
Because the definition of "sacred" is arbitrary and opinion-based, our country has determined that the government is in no position to interpret and legislate what does or does not classify as such. Doing so is the beginning of despotism.
Daria Fand
Maritime industry great place to start
Your Sept. 2 articles regarding the manpower shortage faced by American merchant shipping companies and the U.S. government is especially interesting to those of us who work in Hawai'i's maritime industry. Our industry is one of the fastest growing in Hawai'i. New jobs are created weekly.
One of the conclusions that is clear from the article is that there are many full-time, well-paid careers available to young people who are looking for something more than just a job. Most of these careers do not require a college education. To that end, the Seafarers International Union has open and on-going enrollment for young women and men interested in our national apprentice program. Upon completion, we guarantee a job to all of our apprentice graduates. The program is much less than the year cited in your articles.
The Seafarers' Apprentice Program rapidly moves graduates out of entry-level jobs (paying approximately $2,000 per month plus benefits) into jobs that will bring home around $4,000 per month, plus a full-range of benefits.
Hawai'i is fortunate because it is one of the few locations in the country that can give our apprentices the opportunity to work in Hawai'i's waters or to live and work around the world, returning home during vacation time.
This is an exciting time for anyone contemplating a career as a civilian merchant seaman. The job opportunities are plentiful. The prospects for continued employment are certain. And there is limitless room for advancement.
I would urge any young man or woman between the ages of 18 to 24 to contact us at 845-5222 for information on our apprentice program and a solid career for the future.
Neil Dietz
Port agent, Seafarers International Union
School air-conditioning shouldn't be priority
Your editorial of Sept. 3 headlined "School's air-conditioning should be priority" means well and it should be done, but only if and when our state government sets its other priorities, such as:
• Funding the cost of repairs that have been neglected at several schools, as reported over the years.
• Providing the required books and supplies for our students from kindergarten through high school.
• Proper funding of our schools and public libraries.
• Providing the proper compensation and support that the caring and hardworking classroom teachers deserve.
If the air-conditioning systems are installed in the classrooms and proper maintenance and repairs are not provided due to the lack of funds, mold can multiply. This harmful fungus causes illness and even death to humans.
We taxpayers are already burdened by high taxes, being in the upper five in the nation, and do not wish to fund increases in worker compensation claims by teachers and other school employees, and defense costs plus large court awards to students, their parents or guardians due to illnesses from mold caused by inadequate funding of air-conditioning systems.
Wilbert W.W. Wong
Kane'ohe
Is increased police presence necessary?
As a taxpayer, it is hard for me to appreciate the increased police presence on our streets and in certain locations of our city. You can't drive for more than a couple of minutes without encountering one or several patrol vehicles, and there is now a noticeable police presence in downtown Honolulu.
Is this much policing really necessary? It seems disproportionate amounts of our resources are being used to issue traffic tickets and have "Officer Friendly" stand on the street corners of downtown Honolulu. Our tax money should not be used to wage what amounts to a public relations campaign.
It is especially ironic that the HPD is cracking down on motorists when it is common to see patrol vehicles commit numerous traffic violations themselves just because they think they can. Within the past week, I have seen officers drive straight through stop signs, run red lights and perform illegal U-turns, all without turning on their lights or sirens. Is this leadership by example?
The HPD's new "high profile" approach comes at the expense of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Is the public good really being served here, or is the local government just serving itself?
Michael Harada
Japanese detective show worth watching
Why is this haole who is studying Hawaiian language recommending a Japanese detective show entitled "Hagure Keiji"? Because it is excellent entertainment, two times a week.
With subtitles by KIKU, the compassionate detective Yasuuda and his sidekicks (one female) solve crimes.
And bearing no guns, yet.
Despite his cranky chief, his hunches pay off. Look for the man with no tie who some Japanese say "looks like a horse." Try it, you'll like it: 8 p.m. on Mondays, 9 p.m. on Fridays.
Juel Makamae Gustafson
Here's a seconding for Case-Djou ticket
A recent letter to the editor came up with a good idea: Ed Case and Charles Djou for governor and lieutenant governor as Independents.
Case's views on the economy are probably too conservative for the Democrats; Djou's views on social policy are probably too liberal for the Republicans. Together, however, they can offer a fresh, new approach to Hawai'i government.
Wallace Souza
