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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 16, 2002

Letters to the Editor

Mainland companies will want a return

"There's no such thing as free lunch." This phrase comes to mind every time I think about the excessive amounts of money being contributed to Linda Lingle's campaign by big, Mainland businesses.

What I want to know is, what would she owe these companies to earn the thousands of dollars they're pumping into her war chest? For she would surely be beholden to them should she be elected — that's why they donate in the first place.

The bottom line for big business is profit.

Accordingly, a contribution to a political candidate is not a gift, it is an investment — one businesses hope will pay off in the form of favorable laws and regulations that allow them to profit even more.

I doubt any of these corporations have "protect Hawai'i's environment" in their business plans. I doubt they have "preserve worker's rights" in their mission statements. It frightens me to think about what kinds of governmental concessions Lingle's deep-pocketed benefactors would expect.

The people of Hawai'i need to be wary of the price that would have to be paid for feeding at the trough of Mainland corporate donations.

Jonathan Starr
Kahului, Maui


Mud slingers do not deserve support

It is amazing that a 9th grader has enough sense to comment that both Linda Lingle and Mazie Hirono are accentuating the negative, yet the candidates themselves do not.

I am so tired of the negativity. Any candidate who has to sling mud to win votes rather than focus on her own strengths is not deserving of her constituents' support.

Bernie Simmons
'Aiea


Democratic Web site is breaking the law

Regarding the Oct. 12 editorial discussing the use of "dirty tricks" by campaigns and political parties this election season: It states that the Democratic Party's Web site, which heavily criticizes Linda Lingle, is "hard-hitting" but no dirty trick. This is far from true.

Lingle's campaign committee said itself it is not denouncing the site's content, and though the site is full of denigrating half-truths, political parties are free to let their opinions be known. However, the real issue has to do with the fact that the word "Lingle" is part of the Web site's simple two-word address, and the fact that there is a cybersquatting law. This law, which was passed just last year, states that it is illegal for any person to "in bad faith register a domain name that consists of the name of another living person."

Oh, did I mention that Matt Matsunaga introduced and co-sponsored the bill and Mazie Hirono herself signed it into law?

Did I also mention how much of a "dirty trick" I believe this really is?

Richard Branco
Kane'ohe


Hirono should have disavowed attacks

The Advertiser is right to suggest in the Oct. 12 editorial, "Campaign must not be about dirty tricks," that the governor's race should be about "ideas and leadership style."

The Advertiser may also be right when it insists that the alleged smears and dirty tricks aimed at Linda Lingle are not the acts of "legitimate" supporters of Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.

To form their own opinion, readers would need to know more than the editorial and related news coverage told them about the alleged dirty tricks.

So who did prepare and anonymously broadcast this and other bogus newsletters filled with fabricated quotes from authoritative figures?

I have no proof that it is the work of the lieutenant governor's supporters. But unlike your editorial, I don't think it "absurd" to ask the lieutenant governor to disavow such fraudulent activities.

Your editorial is also wrong when it discounts the significance of the anti-Lingle Web site that has Mayor Lingle's name in the domain address. Readers should have been informed of the relatively new law that prohibits the bad-faith use of a person's name in a domain address without that person's permission.

They also should have been told that Sen. Matt Matsunaga authored the bill, and that Lt. Gov. Hirono testified in favor of it and signed it into law as acting governor.

It is true that the lieutenant governor has a constitutional right to say just about anything she wants to say about her opponent. But the issue here is a particular candidate's failure to obey a law that she championed.

Randall W. Roth
Volunteer in the Lingle campaign


No Child Left Behind editorial is puzzling

The tone of the Oct. 6 editorial on the No Child Left Behind Act puzzles me.

The Felix Consent Decree was preceded by criminal acts, and in place of paying massive fines or going to jail, the criminals — the state of Hawai'i — agreed to clean up their act and not do it again. Only they had their fingers crossed behind their backs and they're still at it.

This editorial highlights to what extent there is widespread denial over the fact that a major arm of the state of Hawai'i was — and continues to be — flagrantly in violation of federal law. This is why the process continues, not because Mainlanders have it in for Hawai'i.

I see articles in the media moaning about the cost. It is too bad that special education remains largely an unfunded mandate on the part of the federal government, but continued criminality isn't really a meaningful way to protest a law, is it? Also, paying about double per special-education student for 13 years is a whole lot cheaper than paying for welfare from age 20 to 75, particularly when you realize our prisons are full of people who have learning disabilities that were not addressed in school.

A further statement also puzzles me: the writer points out that, while only 131 students took advantage of the No Child Left Behind Act provision to move to another school this year, it's the tip of the iceberg because there are 40,000 students who could qualify. Where is the outrage that all the taxpayer funds spent to date on education are so obviously not educating a whopping 40,000 students?

Irene Newhouse
Kihei, Maui


O'ahu badly needs rail transit system

Hawai'i's traffic is murder. We need to adopt a rail transit system fast.

Hawai'i is growing at a very rapid pace, and as much as we love to preserve the aloha spirit of our state, it is obvious that spirit is slowly diminishing due to the overcrowded traffic on any given day.

If you are unfortunate enough to live in Mililani, as I do, then you have the daily chore of getting up at the crack of dawn to drive for approximately one hour to get to town in the enormous traffic. That is, if there is no bad weather.

A rail mass transit system would eliminate the traffic problem. If rail mass transit were placed along the H1 and H2 freeways beginning at 'Ewa Beach and ending somewhere along the Vineyard off-ramp, more people would have the opportunity to enjoy traveling without the hassle of driving bumper to bumper. This would free up the highways for carpooling and emergency vehicles. In addition, it would save on gasoline and help preserve the life of our cars.

Many may say that a rail system would perhaps diminish the beauty of our state, but in my opinion, the fumes from thousands of crowded cars along our highways every day have already killed the beautiful plumerias that used to line our streets. Talk about diminishing.

Theresa Joseph


Don't put a price on special elections

Much ado has been made over the expense of the special elections for Congresswoman Mink's seat. We have seen spins across a broad spectrum about conspiracy theories, excessive costs and on and on.

But the one thing we all fail to realize is, "What is the cost of democracy?" How can any of us dare put a cost on democracy?

Clearly, democracy has no price. Democracy's value is priceless.

For all of you who dare to put a price on democracy, take a trip up to Punchbowl National Cemetery. Ask those who have given their lives for your audacity: "What is the price of democracy?"

I am sure you will come to the same conclusion.

Greg Nishioka


Mink had introduced U.S. parole revival bill

Of all the well-deserved praise reported by the media for the late Patsy Mink, her final, courageous legislative act has yet to be mentioned.

On July 26, Rep. Mink introduced HR 5296 in the U.S. House of Representatives, titled "To Revive the System of Parole for Federal Prisoners."

Since the Parole Commission Phase-Out Act of 1996, federal prisoners have had little hope for parole or early release from long, mandatory minimum sentences, most of which (60 percent) are for drug law violations. Mrs. Mink's bill is intended to give hope to those nonviolent prisoners who are serving disproportionately long mandatory minimum sentences dictated by drug warriors in Congress and "lock-'em-up" prosecutors.

Hopefully, one of Rep. Mink's colleagues — perhaps a colleague from Hawai'i — will take the lead on seeing this bill through hearings. That will take someone with the courage of Patsy Mink.

Donald M. Topping
President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i


Feed a bird, pay a fine; kill one and you get paid

In the Oct. 9 Hawai'i section, your photos of the birds and benefactor, James Allen, were beautiful and heart-warming. Your photographer, Jeff Widener, is an artist. Do people still get arrested for feeding birds?

Last year the Parks Department hired "hit-men" (USDA) to kill birds, and I saw the contract. Does our cruelty law (HRS 711) cover this? Feed a bird, pay a fine. Kill one and you get paid.

Barbara Ikeda


Ramp fee increase would be devastating

Hawai'i has placed at or near the bottom of every small-business climate survey done in the United States. The DLNR's proposed fee schedule and regulatory changes provide considerable insight into why this is so.

Consider the proposed commercial ramp fees: 2 percent of gross revenues or $200 per month, whichever is greater. So a fledgling dive or kayak tour company that attempts to do a limited number of small, quality tours pays a vastly disproportionate portion of its income for the ramp fee, as compared to a high-volume "cattle boat" operation. Additionally, Kaua'i's reputation as a vacation destination also suffers when only high-volume, impersonal tours are available.

Considering the other costs a fledgling small business faces, such as insurance, boats, equipment, staff (including benefits and worker compensation insurance), advertising and commissions to activity sellers, an increase of fees such as this could drive the business under. A much fairer (and more easily calculated) fee would be a flat $1 per passenger.

The fee structure does an injustice to the public, as well. Increasing the ramp fee from $25 per year to $120 per year will make life difficult for those friends of mine who have been laid off from their jobs and who catch fish to feed their family. Please consider a much smaller increase — say to $30 or at most $35.

Certainly, I recognize that the state's harbor and launch facilities are not in good shape. Many boaters are asking where all the money went from years past. They'd like to know where the proposed fee increases will be used. What guarantee do we, the boating public, have that increased fees will be properly used and not wasted in fraudulent no-bid "contracts," as was the case with the airports? Publishing an annual, audited financial statement of fees collected and spent would be a vast help.

When making regulatory changes, the state had the option to save some boaters money. How? Current regulations require an annual inspection, by DLNR or an approved, licensed marine surveyor. The DLNR inspection costs the boater $25 and requires up to a week's notice for an appointment. Yet both the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadrons offer a national standard boat safety inspection for free.

I've been told by boaters who've had both that the Coast Guard Auxiliary/Power Squadron inspection was far more thorough than that done by the DLNR. How about helping the boaters and approving the national inspection?

William Frank Georgi
Kalaheo, Kaua'i