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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 8, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Healthcare bill deserves to be enacted

The headline articles and the editorials of the two local dailies spell doom and gloom for the advocates of long-term-care legislation.

I was witness to the conference committee deliberations and the floor debates in both the Senate and the House on April 27. One GOP representative was moved to tears while explaining her own vote to defeat this measure. Despite all the rancor and hyperbole, the Senate and the House both passed this measure with a respectable majority vote.

In the Senate, if one or two Democratic senators switch their vote, the tally will reach over two-thirds majority. In the House, where more than 40 percent voted against it, joined by a sizable number of freshmen Democrats, it should not be difficult to whittle down the opposition from that to below 33.3 percent.

This measure deserves to be enacted. Only 6 percent of our residents have their own private long-term-care policy. Not all eligibles are seniors. Many disabled who are not able to perform the activities of daily living unless assisted will also benefit from this long-term care. Meanwhile, the caregivers in the family are exhausting their equity and resources.

Those who obtain long-term care through Medicaid and Medicare leave survivors without an inheritance once the government recoups its expenses from when the patient was under its care.

The measure is not perfect ... but if you want perfection, you'd be walking on water. The last of the Kennedy brothers, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., once said, "The enemy of a good bill is a perfect bill."

If the Legislators and the governor refuse to compromise with a bill that can be amended and refined as the years go by, the largest groups that will feel the brunt of this reaction are the AARP, Hawai'i Kokua Council and other advocacy groups for the seniors who also speak for the disabled and the keiki who may require long-term care as well.

The best action that the governor can take is not to take any action. Perhaps she will consider letting this bill become law without her signature?

Thank you for your attention on this matter, and your continued viewpoints in support of an adequate long-term-care system. I hope your readers can help on this matter and not let the hard work of the people who visit the Square Building in Town for five months out of a year go to a total waste.

This is not a matter of the battle of the wills between staff and senior volunteers and this administration. It is about the group of people amongst whom we will find ourselves in the not far future, God willing, the people who will be cared for.

Arvid Tadao Youngquist
Founder, The Mestizo Association


Stop trivial whining

Regarding rumble strips: I can't believe that our public is whining over something so trivial! Shame on you! I have a Mazda truck and a Toyota Corolla and I could barely feel the strips when I traveled over them at two speeds ... the actual speed limit and again at 5 mph over the limit. My advice? Grow up, people.

Our government would not have to "spank you" if you just followed the law. In the past few years, two people have been killed on the Pali Highway because of speeders, and something needs to be done to discipline those who wish to break the law. Unfortunately, the Honolulu Police Department is spread too thin to baby-sit you. Think about what you are complaining about before opening your mouth.

Chico Ruiz


'Prison boat' may be ideal to house inmates

We are all familiar with the prison question: where to put it and what to do with criminals with regard to rehabilitation. My idea addresses both issues.

Since no one wants the prison in their "backyard," why not build, buy or lease a "prison boat" that can be docked at different locations or just sit offshore, far enough to transport guards but too far to swim. An ideal boat could be something like an aircraft carrier that is fully equipped with long-term living systems and might easily be modified for prison use. The flight deck could be used as the exercise yard or possibly for hydroponic gardening. A new activity for the Hawai'i naval shipyard could be reconditioning old ships to serve as prison boats. Maybe we could build them and lease space to other states.

Many have concerns about whether we need more prison space or better ways to help career criminals return to society as contributing members. I believe the prison-boat concept can also address these points.

With a prison boat, large-scale deep-ocean farming can be a money-making occupation for criminals who need to work to repay victims. Deep-ocean farming can involve production of various types of fish, clams, oysters or edible seaweed. Income for these operations can help prisoners find new occupations that rise from the sea.

After hydrogen fuels replace fossil fuels for our energy needs, the next most valuable resource on Earth will be fresh water. Off the coast of the Big Island, plumes of fresh water have been detected flowing into the sea out of lava tubes. If one of these tubes could be fitted to a pipe, this source of fresh water could be tapped. A prison boat offshore could filter and process this water for bottling or shipment in huge bladders barged to distant shores or maybe even ours. The revegetation effort on Kaho'olawe would be greatly accelerated with a steady source of fresh water. The Big Island is a natural freshwater-trapping factory; we need to find a way to effectively utilize this resource.

I hope that these thoughts can contribute to Hawai'i's efforts to address our prison dilemma and growing need for fresh water.

Joe DeFrank


Know difference between 'subconscious,' 'memory'

In his attempt to defend Joe Moore against script similarities in his "Dirty Laundry" play, Bob Hogue (Letters, May 5) inadvertently implicates Moore even more deeply by claiming that "the scenes exist in his subconscious."

Hogue states that Moore can "often recite exact dialogue from old movies as if he had just witnessed the film." If Hogue would check his dictionary, he would find a difference between the concept of "subconscious" ("mental process of which the individual is not aware") and plain old "memory."

Just because I happen to have Hamlet's soliloquy committed to memory doesn't free me to use it in my next play.

John Wythe White
Hale'iwa


Consider family damage before granting parole

As David Waite and I were present at the Hawai'i Paroling Authority hearing and had to listen to the disjointed and often erroneous ramblings of "Killer Kotis," I am ready to refute his major contention — that if he is granted probation, he will be an asset to the community.

It is obvious that I not only lost my stepdaughter, but also the rest of my family (See "Prosecutor says keep killer in jail forever," April 26). As my surviving children will not return to Hawai'i Nei, their collective assets to the community will forever be lost:

  • My daughter earned a master's degree from the University of Hawai'i and is employed in another state.
  • My son-in-law has a master's degree and is a professional engineer.
  • My son was completing his undergraduate degree when the savage murder occurred. He has finally recovered and is completing his education — service to the sick and needy. He is employed as a telemetry specialist in a community hospital and is completing his nursing degree at a community university.
  • Lynn Kotis' son is now an adult with an 8-month-old daughter. He is a high-school dropout without a decent job.
  • Lynn's mother suffered two strokes since the cold and calculated murder of her daughter. Her mental as well as her physical abilities are permanently impaired.

Let these reflections be considered when the decision is made.

Robert W. Ching


Interim director says his qualifications quite clear

In response to an April 24 letter by Andrew Watson: To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, "Before committing pen to paper, it is wise to research your subject. Elementary, my Dear Watson."

First, I met the governor, lieutenant governor and staff for the first time Jan. 11, and took on the position of interim director Jan. 14. That's hardly time to become "best friends," as claimed by Watson.

Second, I bring with me more than 30 years of experience, 24 of which were at the highest levels of upper management of law enforcement and corrections areas within the federal government. Unqualified? I think not.

Third, the Department of Public Safety could benefit at this time from an outside audit of its policies and procedures. Self-auditing has its place, but can be clouded by the auditor's familiarity and closeness to the problem.

Fourth, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), U.S. Department of Justice, was established to provide states with technical assistance in all aspects of corrections. Such consultation is provided at no cost to the state.

Fifth, all Watson had to do was call me before putting pen to paper and attempt to besmirch the character of others, to include the governor and her administration, along with misrepresenting facts. I have no problem in handling questions dealing with the concerns of Hawai'i's citizens.

James L. Propotnick
Interim director, State Department of Public Safety


Mayor, CEOs should be accountable for losses

What do Hawaiian Airlines and the City and County of Honolulu have in common? For one, they are both run by free-wheeling spenders who have lost millions of dollars. There are a lot of complaints about the loss of money, yet nothing has been done to the offenders.

Hawaiian Airlines has filed for bankruptcy (second time) but our city cannot; however, our mayor should be made to answer or resign, as should the CEO of Hawaiian.

What we need is another air carrier, or return to the interisland steamship companies of old. This type of transportation would be less expensive than flying. It worked for years, why not again?

Curtis R. Rodrigues
Kane'ohe


$20,000 donation shows 'great character'

I would like to commend Keith Amemiya for his offer to donate $20,000 to help with high-school sports. It shows great character in this high-school sports official.

I support his decision to have classification in high-school sports and I respect him for his offered donation from his 'ohana to the high schools. Mahalo, Mr. Amemiya.

Chubby Bruhn
Kane'ohe


Rainbow is sacred sign in Hawaiian folklore

Why do so many people profess to understand what a Hawaiian is in one breath and in another show complete ignorance?

Jaymie Fuller's opinion (Letters, May 5) on the University of Hawai'i logo does just that. To set the record straight, a rainbow is a sacred sign to a Hawaiian that a chief and a great warrior has been born. Rainbows also designate that a great chief is present in the area where the rainbow is seen.

Manoa Valley is noted for its rainbows because of the presence of a sacred rain and many great chiefs. To say that a rainbow is wimpy is to show a lack of knowledge and a complete disregard for Hawaiian culture and folklore.

Al Tringali


Volunteer dad is what you call a true hero

Much too often the word "hero" is used for people who aren't really "heroic." Webster's dictionary defines a hero as someone who is admired for achievements and noble qualities, an object of extreme admiration and devotion. A person doing what he or she was hired for isn't a hero, except maybe to his or her loved ones.

And then you have Scott Konnath, the volunteer who single-handedly, and on his own time, did major renovations on a termite-ridden quonset at Hickam Elementary ("Father hammers away for free," May 5).

Using his construction skills, he did everything from woodworking to hard physical labor. The result is a fine arts/multipurpose building for a school his children will not be able to use, since the family is being transferred back to the Mainland.

As your story makes clear, this one man made a difference from which hundreds of children will now benefit. Now there's a hero.

Pat Kamalani Hurley


You forgot to add Fasi as mayoral candidate

Regarding Jerry Burris' column "The politics of the city budget fight" on May 4:

  1. As usual, your comments are worth reading.
  2. However, in your column, you left out one vital fact: You made no reference to the fact that I am a candidate for re-election to the Office of Mayor of Honolulu.

Please alert Mufi Hannemann, Ann Kobayashi and Duke Bainum, as well as your readers, that the best qualified candidate — former Mayor Frank F. Fasi — is back!

Frank F. Fasi