Letters to the Editor
Senator should listen to the real stakeholders
Sen. Lorraine Inouye's comments about the legislative bill to end quarantine perfectly illustrated how far removed from the people Hawai'i government has become.
First, she condescendingly declared that she would be willing to give the bill a hearing in the upcoming session of the Legislature. (Golly ... thanks, Senator.)
Then she neatly confirmed Sen. Fred Hemmings' earlier statements that the quarantine system was useless and now only existed as a vehicle to collect fees to support a state bureaucracy.
By referring to the state Agriculture and Health departments as "stakeholders" that must be consulted, she revealed her belief that the bureaucracy is not just a governmental apparatus to deliver services. To Sen. Inouye, it is a dominating interest group that demands its due.
Senator, the people are the stakeholders. Listen to us.
Chuck Quackenbush
Sacking of investment firm was unwarranted
It's grossly unfair to not renew Hawai'i Benefits Inc.'s 20-year management of the deferred compensation plan for public employees — especially when no complaint or issue was directed to it prior to this action.
As a member of HGEA, I've been satisfied with Hawai'i Benefits' service. That the stock market has been down isn't the company's fault, and let's remember the state has the final word on Hawai'i Benefits' investment suggestions.
Also important: Hawai'i Benefits is a local company — for our local people. Why choose a Mainland outfit?
Janet Dagan
Death penalty legislation should be rejected
Willie Espero was the gentlest person I knew (I thought) before the most atrocious crimes were committed against 11-year-old Kahealani. Espero cited the recent death sentence against David Westerfield of San Diego in the case of 7-year old Danielle in his argument in favor of capital punishment.
But Westerfield's sentence is being appealed, and he may be retried because of a technicality, i.e., did he actually kidnap Danielle before he killed her or did he kill her in her room and make off with her body? (The crimes differ in California.)
All 156 death row inmates in Illinois have had their sentences commuted by Gov. George Ryan.
Gov. Linda Lingle says she will punt, but she may be forced to sign Espero's bill. Former Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed the bill raising the age of consent; however, the Legislature subsequently passed it by a veto-proof majority.
Lingle will make the Republican Party of Hawai'i opprobrious if she allows the intended legislation to become law without her signature. Republican legislators will rise to disassociate themselves from her position. If she holds out against capital punishment, then she will have or they will have — Republican and Democratic legislators alike — the aloha of this Democrat.
Richard Thompson
Editorial board lacks compassion for victims
It seems that liberals are incapable of compassion either for the victims of terrorism or for the victims of vicious crimes.
Whether thousands of fellow Americans are burned to death at the World Trade Center or a beautiful little girl is beaten to death with a pipe, The Advertiser's editorial board strains to find "the connection" — the connection that is all too easy for us ordinary folks to make.
Ask a liberal about his feeling for the victims of Arab terrorism and you get a long, convoluted "what the meaning of 'is' is" discussion. Ask members of The Advertiser's editorial board if they could relate to the parents of the child found in the pool of her blood, and they will tell you that punishing murderers is a "ghastly business."
I know you are not in the habit of publishing critical material — you have to stay ideologically pure and Democratic — but please understand that there is a gap between ideological zealotry and simple common sense — a common sense that includes punishing those who, for whatever reason (ideology, religion, greed, mental problems, sex, etc.), murder innocent victims. These innocents could be us.
Gregory G. Sheindlin
Case will be a strong voice in Congress
The recent election of Ed Case to the 2nd Congressional District is a signal to the voters of Hawai'i that the Democratic Party is alive and well.
Not only was Ed an overwhelming winner, but Democratic candidates received over 80 percent of the total special election vote, finishing first, second and third.
The voters on Jan. 4 wanted a strong voice in Congress and a trustworthy steward for Hawai'i's interests. Ed has a rare combination of intelligence, creativity and drive that will serve our state well. He will not be a rubber stamp for the president's far-right agenda.
Rather, Ed will fight for federal funding of school programs, rebalancing of the federal budget without raising taxes or raiding Social Security, maintaining our federal park lands, preserving the Patsy Mink Act, Medicare and Medicaid, obtaining federal recognition of a self-determining Native Hawaiian entity, and so much more.
It has been said that you get the government you deserve. The 2nd Congressional District must have deserved something special to get Ed Case as its newest member of Congress. Ed will honor the philosophy of putting people first in Washington, no matter their color, creed or capital portfolio.
Do us proud, Ed.
Joshua Wisch
Kailua
There's nothing funny about gambling letters
Regarding letters headlined "Let Hawaiians open casino on Kaho'olawe" on Jan. 8 and "Gambling on Kaho'olawe a blast" on Jan. 13: You all are having a real good time joking about explosives and casino gambling on an island many people love deeply and have given years of effort to protect.
Would the comments be as funny if they were about the sanctuary of your church? Would they be as funny if they were about your mother's rose garden?
Speaking as a Honolulu haole with an excellent sense of humor and no personal connection to Kaho'olawe, I am sickened by your contempt and thoughtlessness. Why don't you grow up and join the (I hope) vast majority of us who are trying to get along with each other?
Amanda A. Morgan
Hawaiians should look at their counterparts
Before Hawaiians decide to emulate the American Indian programs, they should study the plight of tribal members who are not a part of the governing bodies. They would get a totally different picture than the one painted by activists and their paid lobbyists.
Look carefully before you leap into a type of government where a few politicians control your lives. Once done, these things are very difficult to undo.
William Whiteley
Suquamish, Wash.
Dreaded 'red fire ant' isn't in the Islands yet
The Jan. 10 letter from Patrick Robinson begins with a discussion of the low-flying 747, and ends with an alarming, unrelated comment about fire ants being already present in Hawai'i.
He is correct in that two species of ants with the common name "fire ant" are established here. These are the "tropical fire ant," Solenopsis geminata (most people here call them "red ants") that is found statewide, and the "little fire ant," Wasmannia auropunctata, that is only known to be on the island of Hawai'i.
The former has been in Hawai'i since 1931 and is most probably the ant that Robinson encounters at Mililani Golf Course. The latter has only been in East Hawai'i since 1999, and containment efforts are in progress.
The fire ant to which Mr. Robinson is probably referring is the dreaded "red imported fire ant" (RIFA) that has greatly impacted human life in the southern U.S. Because this species has now spread to Southern California, there is great concern that it may find its way to Hawai'i via commerce.
Anyone who has experienced stings from the two fire ants already here can attest to the ferocity of these ants. The reality is that the RIFA is a great deal more ferocious than the fire ants already found here.
The Hawai'i Ant Group, a consortium of various interested parties, is preparing a plan to keep RIFA out of Hawai'i. Visit the Web site at http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/ants/ to learn more about this very serious threat to Hawai'i and its people.
Patrick Conant
Volcano, Hawai'i
Don't close the door to world of possibilities
Kelli Miura's Jan. 12 letter is a very nice thank-you to family, friends and teachers for facilitating the band trip to the Rose Parade. This 15-year-old is bursting with pride and enthusiasm as any kid would who got to showplace her state's aloha as she did.
Recognizing how much behind-the-scenes work and effort it took to get the All-State Band to the Mainland and thanking those people shows great maturity. What really got my attention, though, was the closing paragraph: "I'm only 15, and I probably just did the biggest thing I'll ever do in my entire life."
Many times I read a letter to your paper that makes me want to respond, but I stop because I realize all I'm doing is arguing with the writer and don't really have a good suggestion that would sway him.
I do have one for this writer: Kelli — you are only 15, so this may seem like the biggest thing that could ever happen to you, but it isn't. You have a world of possibilities. I know the family, friends and teachers who helped you get to Pasadena will help you with whatever goals you set for yourself. Set high goals and let them help you soar.
Frank Tantsits
Welcome to the new world order
C. Keith Haugen really missed the mark in his Jan. 5 commentary. What a waste of print! Mr. Haugen, don't you know? No one cares.
You asked questions to provoke Americans to consider why the rest of the world hates us. No one cares — as long as I can pay my credit card bills.
You wondered how we would feel if another foreign power tried to change our regime. No one cares — as long as I can drive my SUV.
You asked how we would feel if another country dropped bombs on us. (We've dropped tons on Iraq in 2002.) No one cares — as long as I don't have to wait in line for gas.
So what if Saddam is trying to develop biological, chemical and nuclear weapons? After all, we helped Iraq with its weapons program during the 1980 to 1988 Iraq-Iran war, when Iraq was a quasi-ally of the U.S.
So what if we have no credible evidence that Iraq had anything to do with the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon? So what if U.S. policy regarding violations of U.N. resolutions is absolutely hypocritical? (Israel is in violation of more than two dozen U.N. resolutions — are we attacking them next?)
Mr. Haugen, you ask us to think before we start a war with Iraq. But the last war never ended. We have been bombing the country for 12 years.
Meanwhile, Saddam has moved critical military and communication targets atop hospitals and schools. In the next phase of the war, estimates of casualties range from 50,000 up to 250,000. But it is OK: Those are Iraqi casualties. It doesn't count unless Americans die.
You can't appeal to our sense of right and wrong when the only thing that matters any more to the U.S. are mortgage rates and an unfettered supply of oil. Saddam's regime has been signing oil export contracts with the Chinese, French and Russians (accounting for more than $5.5 billion of the $18 billion in Iraqi oil export contracts in the U.N.-administered oil-for-food program in 1997-2001). That oil rightfully belongs to us Americans.
Moreover, the U.S. has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf security. And as a paper entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces and Resources for a New Century," prepared for Dick Cheney, says, "While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."
This paper which was prepared by a neo-conservative think tank, Project for a New American Century (Sept. 2000), supports the views advanced in an earlier paper written by Paul Wolfowitz and Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, that argued that the United States must "discourage advanced industrial nations from challenging our leadership or even aspiring to a larger regional or global role." After Iraq, it targets China for "regime change."
C. Keith Haugen, welcome to the new world order.
David Keuning
