Letters to the Editor

Relief act demonstrates nation values military

The American Bar Association applauds President Bush's signing into law the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

This long-awaited legislation expands and modernizes the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, giving the men and women of our military, along with their families, additional peace of mind when they answer the call to duty.

The act provides servicemembers and their families improved benefits in several areas, such as by:

• Easing existing debt burdens while in service to the country.
• Providing protection from eviction for servicemembers and their dependents while away on active duty.
• Preventing the unfair enforcement of lease terms when reporting for duty leads to breach of the contract.

Servicemembers and their families who want more information about the revised act, its provisions and the improvements to their benefits should contact their local military legal services office.

More so than words of praise or promise, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act demonstrates to our servicemembers and their families that our nation values their sacrifice and is fully behind them.

Have donations be traceable, nondeductible

Does the time for campaign finance reform draw near, or will the 2004 legislative session provide another no show on meaningful change?

After years of investigations and the best efforts of skilled investigators, voters have only learned what they already knew — that bending the rules to aid political candidates can bring in contracts; that businesses feel pressured to contribute to a system that rewards such spending with political power; that even educated people can be persuaded to take great risks when they feel protected; and that little, if any quid pro quo can be proven conclusively.

This leaves us with the question: What can we do to change a campaign finance system prone to corruption, but which benefits the players so much that broken reputations and a few fallen angels simply become another cost of doing business?

Instead of playing hide and go seek with campaign dollars, maybe we should allow businesses and individuals to contribute whatever they want to candidates of their choice, provided it is traceable and nondeductible.

We may not change much this way either, but could get a clearer picture of the full price of politics and vote accordingly.

Information lacking in sidebar on BSE facts

I was surprised that more information was not presented in the sidebar on yesterday's story about the mad cow case in the United States.

The "facts about BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy)" did not include whether or not we know what kind of agent causes the disease (virus, bacteria, etc.) or whether processing of tainted meat might be able to render the agent harmless (like heating to a certain temperature).

Surely this kind of information should have been included in your sidebar of facts.

Radio show hosts made fools of themselves

Lee Cataluna's Dec. 23 column about the comments made by two shallow individuals on the syndicated radio show "Loveline" about the intelligence or supposed lack thereof of Hawaiians was an eye-opener. How could two people make such fools of themselves by talking bad about people they have never met or talked with?

It goes to show that all a person needs is a dim-witted variety show, and all of a sudden they become experts in determining another state's residents' intelligence. I challenge those two knuckleheads to meet any one of our teen highschoolers here on the island to a full round of Jeopardy.

UH regents not living up to core values

On the University of Hawai'i Web pages, under the section "Commitments and Core Values," the Board of Regents in 2002 specifically stated that "overarching commitments reflect the core values that bind University of Hawai'i faculty, staff and students together ... These include: Aloha ... (and) Collaboration and Respect."

Evidently the new Board of Regents feels that this doesn't apply to them. Their behavior in publicly attacking President Evan Dobelle, his people and his programs is an absolute disgrace. They should apologize for their petty rudeness to those whom they have harmed, and to the people of Hawai'i for making us looked like a bunch of ill-bred yahoos.

Who can possibly take our university seriously when the highest level of leadership — the Board of Regents itself — behaves like squabbling seventh-grade clique members?

"Aloha" indeed. "Collaboration and respect" are apparently not spoken here.

Lucky you live Hawai'i

I'm sure everybody knows how lucky you are to spend Christmas in Hawai'i. Having spent 20 years living there, I've come to realize how special it is. In order to commemorate my thoughts of Hawai'i, especially during the Christmas season, I now end all my prayers not saying simply "amen," but "aloha" as well. Best wishes to all.

You can say this 'Grinch' definitely has a big heart

Following a series of articles concerning HMSA's unfortunate situation with the Hawaii Barber Association, the Advertiser's Dec. 20 editorial likened HMSA to the Grinch.

To set the record straight, the cancellation letters HMSA sent to the barbers were the unintended result of an internal review process that should not have included them.

It is true an Advertiser reporter contacted us concerning the barbers' complaint. Recognizing our error, immediate action was taken to reverse the situation. The leader of the barbers' group was informed of this action later that afternoon.

HMSA has apologized to the group leader, and a letter of apology was sent to each individual subscriber in the group. Internally, steps have been taken to improve our processes so that this situation does not recur.

The irony of the Grinch label is that the Dec. 18 edition of the Advertiser ran two stories that included HMSA.

The lead story on Page 1 noted that HMSA had donated 400 doses of flu vaccine to the Department of Health for distribution to those most in need. This batch of vaccine was what remained after HMSA completed a two-month program that inoculated 34,600 people at their workplace or at neighborhood clinics throughout the state.

On the other hand, the lead story in the Business section reported the barbers' story.

HMSA employees come to work every day to serve our membership and the community.

Sometimes we make mistakes. We accept responsibility for our mistakes. We correct them, and we learn from them. In the end, we are proud of the role we play in supporting a healthier Hawai'i.

As the Who who live in Whoville will say, the Grinch had a big heart at the end of the day!

Merry Christmas!