Letters to the Editor
Captain thanks people of Hawai'i for Rescue
The people of Hawai'i should be commended for their compassion, support and understanding of the special relationship between Forgea and me. It was definitely a positive humane response, and the entire episode has been heartwarming, not only to animal lovers, but to the entire world.
Forgea's name is really pronounced "HOK-GET" in Taiwanese, meaning happiness, good fortune, blessing — all that is good. Hokget was only 2 weeks old when she was given to me. I bottle-fed and raised her on board the Insiko 1907. To this little mixed-breed terrier, I was her family, resulting in a unique and special bond. To watch this white furry bundle of mischievous, playful, loving and friendly energy scampering all over the ship brought joy to all. It gets very lonely at sea, and Hokget was a precious and happy diversion, providing great companionship to the entire crew.
I thank the people of Hawai'i for their sincerity, generosity and compassion in their support of the search-and-rescue mission of Hokget. It demonstrated the true aloha spirit, for which I am forever grateful.
Chung Chin-po
Captain, Insiko 1907
Remember the animals abandoned in shelters
I'm still balking at the price tag on the rescue of Forgea the seadog: $200,000 and growing.
The Humane Society claims it is just spending the donations that have come barreling in in response to the plight of the abandoned dog. So why the wallet-opening for Forgea? Is it a knee-jerk reaction to the Humane Society's pathos-packed poster boy? Or just a reflection of the near-human value people place on their canines these days? Check the Internet to pay $20 for a decorator tin of heart-shaped, carob-coated cookies, $25 for a red satin party blouse and $650 a year for health insurance — all for your pooch.
Those concerned with equal rights for pets would do well to remember the 8 million to 10 million cats and dogs a year crowding Humane Society shelters across the country. Half of those animals are euthanized, and most of us don't bat an eye. Forgea is not the only one living a dog's life.
Stacy DeLange
Hawai'i isn't spending enough on homeless
A society is, and rightly should be, judged by how it treats the least of its members. How must the world be judging us?
The laws, regulations and ordinances are being used to harass the poor, the destitute and homeless. The state says that $11 million has been spent over the past two years to alleviate homelessness. The published figures show there are 16,000 homeless people in Hawai'i. That works out to approximately $1 per day for each homeless man, woman or child. What will that do?
If the distribution of the homeless across these Islands is the same as for the general population, then there are 13,600 homeless on O'ahu. The Institute for Human Services, the only shelter on O'ahu, houses about 350 people. That leaves 13,250 with no place to lay their heads at night. Since everyone must be somewhere, and even the dead are given a place and since our impoverished, homeless citizens are not allowed to stay on public property (the streets, parks or beaches), where are they to go? Your yard? Your neighbor's yard?
Recently, the Legislature appropriated $1 million for housing assistance for the needy. How far will this money go? After office expenses and salaries, what will be left? Just who and how many of the needy will be assisted?
If the costs for prisoner incarceration in Hawai'i are the same as the national average, then we are spending, at the very least, 10 times more on criminals than we do on the homeless. And if it is true that charity truly begins at home, why then does it appear that our famous aloha spirit is only on show for visitors with bags of cash to spend?
John J. Scarry III
McDermott's diatribe emotional, not factual
I was very surprised to see Bob McDermott's campaign diatribe against Patsy Mink positioned in your April 26 paper as an "Island Voices" commentary. He has made no secret of his intention to run against her, even if he has not officially completed all campaign filings.
I am always leery of anyone arguing with phrases such as "As everyone knows" or "Anyone with any knowledge of the area will tell you ... " These are the opening phrases of someone who wishes to argue emotion, not facts or consequences.
And while I cannot support what is happening in the Middle East, I also see that noncritical support for one side from our current administration has led to problems in the "war on terrorism." For us to succeed, international support will be required. I suspect anticipation of the corner the current president finds himself in is what may have led to Mink's lack of support for the resolution.
Please — will the editors of The Advertiser refrain from becoming an unpaid, commercial campaign? It'd make drinking my morning coffee so much more pleasant.
Lance Bateman
Lower gasoline taxes to West Coast average
I am no great fan of the oil companies, and just like everyone else, I would love to pay less for gasoline. I have been concerned, however, that all of the hype about our gas prices being so high might be blown out of proportion. I am extremely concerned about ideas like Andy Anderson's state-in-the-gas-business idea.
Just to see how our Honolulu prices compare to other major West Coast cities, I conducted an Internet survey of reported current prices for regular gasoline in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle. I then looked up the combined state and federal taxes per gallon for each area and deducted that from the sales prices to arrive at a pretax sales price per gallon.
For Honolulu, I used an average price per gallon of $1.60. Our total tax is $.547 per gallon, so our pretax price is about $1.05. My research found average prices from a low of $1.35 in Portland to a high of $1.64 in San Francisco. Pretax, the range was from 93 cents to $1.08. The average of the above cities was $1.50 fully taxed and $1.06 pretax.
If my research is accurate, we aren't paying any more before tax than the West Coast average. It looks like the culprit is our tax of $.547 compared to the average for the above cities of $.44.
Get our state taxes in line with the West Coast and we can save 10 cents a gallon.
Bob Griffith
Public TV access bill needs tweaking
Richard Turner wrote on April 23, "As deregulation allows media ownership to narrow ... the more we need PEG (Public/Edu-cation/Government) Cable Access to ensure there is local programming produced by and for Hawai'i."
Turner should have said, "by the people of Hawai'i, for Hawai'i" — because much programming is already being produced by the access corporations for the state and for certain nonprofits.
The intent of the PEG access mission is to "train people," not "to facilitate chosen content or clients" as the "primary purpose." It appears Hawai'i PEGs have forgotten the ancient proverb, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for one day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
The legislation Turner supports does not address the absence of public access user representation on the boards, which has resulted in lack of accountability for 13 years.
Unfortunately, our legislators seem to be listening just to those who support access because it supports them and their friends instead of those who believe in the concept of free speech for everyone. This could change by passage of HB 2351, but only with amendments that would assure "sunshine" and "democracy." In its present form, Turner's bill (the current version of the text is his) would make a terrible situation even worse.
Jeff Garland
Hawai'i Public Access Media
It's not our place to decide others' position
Regarding the commentary against the death penalty in the April 24 Advertiser: I find it great that the citizens of Hawai'i are happy with the fact that the death penalty does not exist as a penalty for capital cases in Hawai'i. I object, however, to The Advertiser editorial staff calling for a nationwide ban on the death penalty.
I'm certain the citizens of Texas are just as satisfied with their copious use of the death penalty as the citizens of Hawai'i are without its use. I'm also sure that Texans advocating a more liberal use of the death penalty in states like Hawai'i would be just as ridiculous.
Let's let other states decide the best policy for them and not try to force Hawai'i methods and policies on states that might not appreciate it.
Kory Turnbow
Waipahu
Second Amendment isn't problem; NRA is
In regard to Phil Robertson's April 18 letter about the Second Amendment: No, we don't have the right to amass nuclear weapons (nor is there anything in the amendment about handguns). However, the Second Amendment does state, " ... the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
The amendment means "we give the private citizen the right to keep and bear arms so that in times of national emergency, they will already have a weapon and be proficient in it so that their country may call upon them to form a well-regulated militia in order to beat back those who would have the audacity to invade us."
Outdated? Perhaps. But the problem isn't the Second Amendment. The problem is the NRA and the ACLU. There are 2 million or so members in the NRA, and if we, as private citizens, are concerned about the fact that they have something against background checks, safety locks on handguns, cop-killer bullets and automatic weapons, there are two things we can do:
- Join the NRA so that we who oppose handguns, demand safety locks and so on will be the majority voice and can change the NRA's stance.
- Get the wimps out of office who kowtow to the NRA on a regular basis via the ballot box.
Finally, no, the Second Amendment does not apply to the militia. It applies to the people who would be called upon to form it.
Tom Gartner
Mililani
Anti-bottle bill ads were wasted on fight
For those of you upset about the amount of money spent to rescue the dog on the tanker, think for a moment about how much the grocery chains and Hawai'i' "Citizens for Comprehensive Recycling" have expended on advertising against the bottle bill. Those ads aren't cheap.
I wonder how many hungry people could have been fed with those funds, which are instead being wasted on a senseless fight against a good law that will benefit our state.
Gwen Sinclair
Why didn't the HSTA cover health premium?
If the HSTA has over $12 million in the bank for the health insurance premium, how come it could not assist striking teachers with their health insurance premiums?
Why couldn't the HSTA provide a strike fund? And does the HSTA have other pools of money we don't know about?
Scott Tani
Korean War battle was not a 'defeat'
Concerning your newspaper's April 26 obituary on Medal of Honor winner Col. William Barber (USMC, retired): You are mistaken with your terminology that the battle of the Chosin Reservoir was a "defeat."
Col. Barber (along with countless historians and Marines) would tell you that the historical breakout (called an "advance to the rear") was a far cry from a defeat.
Surrounded by several battle-honed and well-equipped Chinese communist divisions in a frozen, snow-covered mountainous terrain, the Marines fought heroically for 79 miles, killing thousands (not 1,000, as your paper alluded to) of communist troops. Not only that, the Marines brought back their dead and serviceable equipment and vehicles.
This was a clear and decisive victory. No capture or annihilation of the Marine force. No surrender to the communists or the severe weather and terrain. Thousands of enemy troops dead and wounded.
These Marines are true heroes and deserve the respect and awe of all. To Col. Barber and the Marines of the "Frozen Chosin": "Semper Fidelis."
Gregory D. Casler
First sergeant (USMC, retired), Kailua
Kaiser, HMSA doing better job than state
As a small-business owner, I send lots of money to Kaiser and HMSA every year and feel I get my money's worth. I send even more money to the state and don't always feel I'm getting a very good deal.
Maybe having the Kaiser or HMSA guys oversee our state government would be be a better idea than the current one moving in the state Legislature.
Mike Gerry
Kula, Maui
Two Laura Thielens
While I am very proud of my sister-in-law, Laura E. Thielen, for her work at Health Care for the Homeless, it is bothersome to have people think her work is mine and vice versa. Could you please print our middle initials when using either name in the paper?
Laura H. Thielen
Kailua
