Letters to the Editor
Torture only undermines our moral authority
It made me sad and angry to read that the CIA has been turning suspected terrorists over to foreign security agencies for torture, and that an American official says he would not be doing his job if he didn't violate the human rights of suspects.
As a proud American, I do not want a single person to be tortured in my name, whether the torturer is American, Jordanian, Egyptian or Moroccan. The use of torture is simply wrong and undermines our moral authority.
We can and will defeat terrorism. Let's not betray our values in the process.
Chris Parsons
Kapolei
Bush tops record for appointing minorities
In response to a Dec. 26 letter from Lorraine Akiba, I have to say: There they go again, "playing the race card!"
The Democratic Party chairwoman hopes to scare local voters into thinking that Republicans are all racists. Give me a break. Akiba criticizes President Bush for not having "appropriately chastised Republican Sen. Trent Lott."
I say action speaks louder than words. Rather than scolding a senator who had a serious lapse in judgment in making inexcusable remarks, look at the record. Bush has appointed more minority members to his administration than any previous Democratic or Republican president.
Regarding the Asian Pacific appointees, with which I am most familiar since I am a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Bush has an excellent track record.
He has appointed 97 Asian and Pacific Islanders to high administrative positions. Nineteen of them are U.S. Senate-confirmed posts. This list is headed by Cabinet Secretaries Norman Mineta of Transportation, a Japanese Democrat, and Elaine Chao of Labor, a Chinese immigrant. Hawai'i's own Mike Liu is assistant secretary at Housing and Urban Development and the president picked our new U.S. attorney, Ed Kubo.
Detractors should remember that two of the president's closest colleagues are minority members: Colin Powell, secretary of state, and Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser. Secretary of Education Rod Paige is a minority and Mel Martinez, a Hispanic, is secretary of HUD. Albert Gonzalez serves as White House counsel.
In addition to advancing the cause of minorities, the president is concerned about their welfare. He will make sure that the continuation of unemployment insurance is on the front burner when Congress reconvenes on Jan. 5. He is also committed to establishing a prescription drug program to help seniors pay for their necessary and expensive medicine.
Rep. Barbara Marumoto
Maybe we should explore alcohol ban at stadium
The disappointing turnout for the Hawai'i Bowl may be because of the holiday, the stadium rules, etc. But I think another factor may be the fans themselves.
I was sitting in the third row of Section PP (red) and there was an obnoxious young male sitting near us. He had some beers and then every other word that he yelled started with "F" or "S."
The stadium is a family environment and this guy had no consideration for anyone, only making pitiful attempts to draw attention to himself. He also spilled some beer on one of my friends. Luckily for him, he couldn't handle his liquor and he passed out in the second quarter before we would have had to confront him.
I've only missed one home game this year and sat near drunken fans about four times. As a beer drinker myself, I wouldn't want to see the stadium stop selling alcohol, but if that's what it takes to improve our fans' behavior maybe that's an option that needs to be explored.
The behavior of these drunken fools is enough to send any family home to watch the game on Pay-Per-View.
Myong Choi
We can prosper after military base conversion
Hawai'i cannot afford to lose any more land to military training. We may have already lost most of Kaho'olawe, Waikane, Makua and Pohakuloa forever because of unexploded munitions. Military expansion will worsen Hawai'i's environmental, cultural and social problems and escalate community-military conflicts.
An alternative path is military base conversion. The Pentagon has called for another round of military base closures in 2005. If Hawai'i moves quickly, it could get in line early for base cleanup and transition money. This is an opportunity to begin weaning ourselves from dependency on military spending. Money for environmental cleanups and economic conversion, which could add up to billions of dollars, can be targeted to local companies, workers and economic diversification initiatives. Let's learn from other communities that have prospered after military base conversion.
The proposed Army expansion is having one positive impact: It is helping to unite Kanaka Maoli, environmental, and peace and social justice organizations against military expansion and for environmental cleanup and economic conversion.
The DMZ-Hawai'i/Aloha 'Aina campaign is calling on the military to clean up, not build up. ("DMZ" stands for Demilitarized Zone.) Hawai'i's history has shown that militarism actually makes our Islands and the world less secure. Real security for Hawai'i begins with caring for the environment, meeting people's basic needs and protecting the rich cultural legacy and human rights of Hawai'i's indigenous people.
Kyle Kajihiro
Program Director, American Friends Service Committee — Hawai'i Area Program
Taxpayers deserve better services
The teachers were forced to strike, yet there is still a teacher shortage. Nurses are on strike and replacements are hired in an effort to lengthen the strike. Firefighters are negotiating. City and county police are leaving in droves and, once again, there is a shortage.
Corruption is rampant, yet we focus on those "greedy" public servants who educate us, protect us and save our lives. We focus on their "unreasonable" demands while superintendents award contracts to friends, state officials award contracts to ex-spouses, federal money is jeopardized because of mismanagement, et al.
Is the new governor the answer to the problem? I don't know. All I know is that the public servants mentioned above deserve more respect and we taxpayers deserve better services for our money. Otherwise, the situation will become even more dire, if that is possible.
Rob Flemm
Kailua-Kona, Big Island
Leaving force for money is less than honorable
I am writing in response to Tony Santos' Dec. 26 and Jim Grindey's Dec. 23 letters. These former Honolulu Police Department officers knew exactly how much money they would be getting paid when they joined the department. Were they surprised at what the job entailed once they were in and then decided on their own how much money they should be paid?
Having served with HPD, I can say that most people who enter law enforcement do so for reasons other than money. Using HPD to receive training and then deserting that same department for money reasons alone is, in my opinion, less than honorable.
An officer with HPD will never get rich ... but it is possible to make a decent living. To all my friends still serving with HPD, I say thank you for your continued loyal service to your community and keep up the good work.
Michael Young
Waipahu
Relief nurses have no loyalty to profession
In his Dec. 25 commentary, Randall Sexton portrays himself and traveling nurses like him as righteous, angelic figures who travel the globe wherever needed, armed with great skills and knowledge superior to those of mortal nurses, like myself. They work tirelessly in their humanitarian missions giving all they have and then more.
In reality, these professional scabs are the prostitutes of the profession — they do it for the money. Travelers have nothing in common with us. They are fly-by-night and have no commitment to the nursing profession as a whole, nor the communities where they work.
Sexton agrees that there are problems with our profession. These are the issues we are currently on strike for. His solution to "pack our bags and leave" if we don't like it is typical of a traveler's mentality. But that solution is not for someone born and raised in the Islands, deeply rooted in the community.
We are striking because we have a long-term commitment here and want to improve conditions for our profession, which ultimately benefits all.
So don't flatter yourself by proclaiming "local boy" status, Mr. Sexton.
Chad Shibuya, RN, BSN
St. Francis Medical Center
Nurses on strike deserve to be heard
My definition of a nurse is a person who holds the title of being a caretaker of the sickly or infirm. I believe the nurses deserve to be heard and that they are simply fighting for what they believe their services are worth. As in many jobs, they come with their benefits, their ups, downs and sacrifices. Being a nurse isn't just a regular job. To be a nurse, I believe, you have to have heart, determination and drive.
I don't think the nurses want to be in the current position they are in right now. I believe they would rather be back at work — performing their services and doing the deed of being a nurse.
Well, I fully support the nurses and if the hospitals don't like it, I believe they contributed to why this is happening. If they want the nurses back at work, I believe they should be willing to cooperate and compromise to fulfill both the hospitals' and the nurses' wants, demands or needs.
Ashley Napoleon-Kawelo
Wai'anae
Power lines may be cause of rockslides
The geologists and structural engineers investigating the rockslides and rock formations should also look at the high-voltage power lines strung along the hillside above the Lalea Condominium.
Here's why the power lines could possibly be a contributing factor to the threat of rockfalls: Strong winds force the power lines to sway. The stronger the wind, the faster and bigger the swaying of the power lines. When the power lines sway, the power poles shake. The vibration of the power poles extends down to the footing base and thus disturbs the immediate rock formations around the base of the power poles. Consider that the natural foot of the hillside is no longer there and the resulting steep slopes have most likely weakened the stability of the now altered hillsides with no compensating retaining wall.
Another concern about the location of the existing lines is why the poles were planted on the slopes with unstable rock conditions, instead of on a level ground with stable footing at the base of the hillside.
They could have instead erected the tall steel tubing type of power poles. It should also be noted, in fairness to HECO, that these power lines have been in existence long before the curving of the hillside base during the development of the Lalea property. There were no reported huge rockslides until the condominium was developed.
Andy Vidal
Mariners Ridge
Take stand on abortion, same-sex marriage
Almost none of the 44 candidates in the Jan. 4 special election to represent the Neighbor Islands and rural O'ahu through 2004 has taken a firm position in favor of the right to life nor in defense of traditional marriage.
One candidate, Republican Kimo Kaloi, has. The rest of the candidates appear to have taken the view of opposing traditional marriage and the right to life. A candidate's position on abortion and same-sex marriage gives us a clue as to their personal moral foundation that will determine their actions on other issues.
Too bad that most of the candidates don't have the moral courage to state plainly where they stand on these issues.
Laura Adolpho
Hau'ula
Open recruiting to all Hawai'i residents
Did I correctly read in the Dec. 27 editorial that a special education recruiter is getting paid $100,000 per year for each teacher it brings to the state? If that is the case, why are the teachers still getting paid peanuts?
My sister was thinking about moving to Hawai'i to teach special education because she had heard about the shortage of qualified teachers. She not only has more than 10 years of classroom and administrative experience, but also holds a master's degree in special education.
After losing her paperwork once, the Department of Education sent an offer to her with a starting salary at less than what she is receiving on the Mainland. Adding to the insult, the DOE would not negotiate the salary (union considerations), would not disclose what school she might be assigned to (no choice) and certainly did not have relocation assistance money available.
Needless to say, the state lost a qualified teacher.
All may not be lost, however. Let's open special education recruiting to all Hawai'i citizens. For example, if I get my sister to move to Hawai'i and she takes a job teaching special ed, the DOE will pay me $100,000. And every year my sister works here, the DOE will send me another $100,000 that will be spent in Hawai'i ... helping our economy.
When will the DOE get its act together and start paying teachers instead of recruiters? If $100,000 salaries were offered for "hard-to-fill teacher slots in rural areas," we would have the pick of qualified teachers lined up to apply.
My suggestion is to offer higher salaries up front to fill the immediate needs while getting the rest of the teachers' salaries on an upward trend to retain the good teachers we already have.
Kevin Kelly
Kahuku
