Letters to the Editor

We ought to be outraged at Makua activist groups

Members of Hawai'i's American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars ought to be mad as hell at a small, self-appointed unconscionable group (Malama Makua) that could, as reported by William Cole in The Advertiser Sept. 16, deny our soldiers the training we know firsthand they are going to need before being deployed to Afghanistan.

No one elected them to represent us over the concerns of plants and snails on the Makua Military Reservation. And because of them, millions of our tax dollars are being needlessly spent in identifying plants, snails, piles of rocks having a cultural connection, fencing, sand bagging, etc.

Hawaiians ought to be outraged at a small group (Hui Malama O Makua) that speaks, as if representing us, on what is Hawaiian. For them to say the Makua Military Reservation is kapu (sacred) is a lie. Made kapu by what religion or god? Our ancestors forsook Polynesian gods over 180 years ago. Besides, isn't life sacred? Aren't our soldiers' lives sacred?

As for the so-called endangered plants and snails, the Makua Military Reservation is not the only place they can be found. The snails will find their way back and the plants along with the weeds will be back as before with the next rainfall.

Newspaper presenting a biased view of Bush

I feel compelled to write in and protest your constant assault on our president and his administration. Through your editorials and commentaries of selected writers, you are presenting only a narrow and very biased view of President Bush and the war on terror, and this is a great disservice to the community that you supposedly serve.

You feature writers such as Robert Sheer from The Los Angeles Times, whose disdain for the Bush administration borders on psychotic. Why not give an equal voice to some of the fine conservative writers such as George Will, Charles Krauthammer or Mona Charen? Those of us who appreciate a more reasoned opinion have to seek these writers out online or in other, more balanced papers.

The attempt to portray President Bush as an inept, duplicitous leader is a common theme in so much of the mainstream media, and your paper is no exception. At this precarious point in our nation's history, it would behoove us to focus on our real enemies, as they are out there and they mean us real harm.

As someone who didn't even vote for the man, I am eternally grateful that Bush is the man in the White House and that we have competent people in the administration such as Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft. Say what you will about them, but we have not suffered another terrorist strike since the devastation of 9-11, and I, for one, am grateful.

Unlike his predecessor, President Bush is a man of character, with a true clarity of purpose. That purpose is to protect this country from more terrorist destruction, and that endeavor has involved some very difficult decisions. Though it is right and American to question some of these decisions, we would do well as a people not to politicize this war on terror even though so many in the media have chosen to do so.

Kamehameha Schools diversity widespread

Andrew Thomas' comment in his Sept. 17 letter " ... Kamehameha students, schooled as they are in an anti-haole environment ... " shows just how ignorant he is about Kamehameha Schools. Plenty hapa-haole students, hapa/pure-haole teachers and staff. Hard to be anti-haole in such a diverse environment.

I guess Mr. Thomas would be surprised to know that once the school could have been seen as anti-Hawaiian — as students were not allowed to speak the Hawaiian language, dance the hula or even eat Hawaiian ethnic foods. Mr. Thomas should do his homework before making such uninformed remarks.

The Ugly American syndrome exists here

I came to Hawai'i in 1969 from Southern California and have lived here more than three-quarters of my life. Having always lived, gone to school and worked with people from all over the world, I was naive in thinking that racism and bigotry were things of the past when, in 1979, I went to live in North Carolina for two years.

I was shocked at the segregation and social separation that still existed there. I thought Dr. King had fixed all that. My first rude awakening was when someone I had befriended insulted my Native American husband, saying "You're a long way from home, aren't you, boy?" when he had offered his handshake.

I was never happier than the day I returned home to Hawai'i and her beautiful people, all living together in (relative) harmony.

Based on my continuous contact with international visitors to our Islands, I do feel qualified to say that of all the people I have come in contact with, if there is any one group that I would likely be prejudiced against, it is my own. I have met the Ugly American, and he or she is alive and well. One Ugly American recently said to me, "I don't know how you put up with all of these stupid Orientals!" — assuming that because I looked like her, I would share her racist ignorance.

I have two photographs taken in 2001 of my nieces and nephews that I love to share. One is at the Statue of Liberty and the other shows the World Trade Center in the background. There are two Hispanic/Native American, two Japanese and two African American children — all cousins. Ladies and gentlemen, this is America. We're all in this together.

Capital punishment decision must stand

At our October Amnesty International local group meeting, talk of human rights concerns shifted from international cases to an issue close to home: the death penalty and the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that overturned more than 100 death sentences in Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

We in Hawai'i have been largely spared coming face to face with the injustices of the death penalty thanks to the state Legislature's abolition of capital punishment in 1957.

In a recent PBS documentary on the life of labor lawyer Harriet Bouslog, Ah Quon McElrath noted that through the efforts of people such as Bouslog, Hawai'i became one of the few states that developed a civilized stance in relation to the value of human life.

While Hawai'i, in abolishing the death penalty, has developed a more enlightened, civilized attitude toward life, most states, and the federal government, have not. Under the current federal sentencing laws that allow the death penalty, it will likely be only a matter of time before the first potential death penalty sentence in Hawai'i.

Amnesty International members locally and worldwide hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will affirm the Ninth Circuit's decision in the interest of fairness and justice. However, no matter what the ultimate decision is regarding this ruling, we believe that capital punishment constitutes a gross human rights violation.

There is no proof of its deterrent value, while there is ample evidence to support its arbitrariness, rampant bias and the very real potential of executing innocents.

City needs to repair Westloch park bridge

The city built Westloch Estates in 1989 under then-Mayor Frank Fasi. It includes the wonderful Ho'ae'ae Peninsula Shoreline Park, which I was invited to dedicate on July 12, 1992.

A simple wooden bridge connects the residents of Westloch Estates and the Ho'ae'ae Peninsula Shoreline Park with the Westloch Fairways subdivision. A nature wildlife reserve provides the backdrop to this bridge that allows joggers, walkers and bicyclists to travel between the two Westloch subdivisions.

About three months ago, the bridge was closed and remains that way, in need of repair. Those who travel through the park from either direction are now forced to retrace their route because of the closed bridge. Will the city please repair this bridge, which provides access through this wonderful park?

Leonard Leong should resign from panel

The indictment of Honolulu Police Commission member Leonard Leong for allegedly making contributions to Mayor Harris' campaign under a false name should result in more than just a footnote in the papers.

As a Police Commission member, he is responsible for the commission's formation of policy affecting all of HPD's responsibilities and therefore has a direct impact on the safety of our community. With the ice epidemic finally gaining the public's interest, this is no time for the work of the commission to be hindered by the allegation.

A person of integrity would immediately remove himself from all commission activities and decision-making until the illegal contribution allegation is resolved.

If Mr. Leong does not step down, Mayor Harris can demonstrate his integrity by immediately removing Mr. Leong from the commission to avoid the appearance that he is more interested in helping his campaign supporters than he is in having the Police Department operate in an ethical and professional manner.

Doing nothing is not an option when public safety is at stake.

Kudos for rejection of two high-rise projects

Eric Crispin of the Department of Planning and Permitting should be commended for his stance and rejection of two high-rise projects that would mar the visual entryway to the Chinatown Special District.

Height limitations are a large part of the formula that assures our special districts are visually available to us. Mr. Crispin offers these developers a way to approach the history of a community by suggesting that they "lay it out" and modify the 21- and 23-story buildings without losing density.

The developers contend that the heights they are proposing for their new buildings are legal but current zoning for building heights may have been imposed before the special district was designated. Previously there may have been no compelling need to review them. Now we have reason to look at the impacts of these heights and protect the view plane of the Chinatown Special District.

Before we start whining about the "anti-business" climate in Hawai'i, let's, for a change, look at the long-term financial benefits of sensitive planning, not just short-term profit margins. We are fortunate to have a city planner who understands the value of smart development for not only the culture and aesthetics of a city, but a sustainable long-term economy as well.

'Split decisions' in court needed

After reading his essays and commentaries for many years, sometimes disagreeing vehemently, but rarely left unaffected — and never disinterested — I now see Robert M. Rees has found his niche.

In "Hawaiian history can't be reduced to race," Rees employs his compassionate but independent mindset to clarify issues of Hawaiian ethnic preference with a validity that could light a path to a legal solution. Rees' insight comes from refusing to accept the demonization of either party; unlike the mainstream media and all the "expert" commentators, he respects those parts of both arguments that embrace fair treatment and equal protection, while casting out emotions about which side is being more deprived than the other.

But Rees' words also point to a major failing in the American judicial system: When one side is victorious in court, the other is oftentimes left totally defeated. The Rice and Kamehameha Schools cases are critical examples of how society would be better served by "split decisions" that reward the justice present on both sides of conflicting arguments.

In the current legal struggle, courts must target the broad middle ground that recognizes both the historical crimes against Hawaiians and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the law cannot extend rights based on "race," or its proxy (wisely cited by Rees), ancestry.

How, then, can justice for Hawaiians be achieved without race-based preferences? Why, Hawaiian nationalists of the independence movement have been shouting it for years: a return to the Hawaiian Kingdom definition of citizenship based on international standards of nationality rather than the occupier-imposed and outmoded racial measurement.

Jerry Burris' recent questioning of how long Akaka bill backers will futilely hold out before seeking a fresh solution was followed by letter writer Derek Kauanoe's excellent presentation of the historical rationale for extending rights and benefits of the Hawaiian nation to descendants of all former Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, without regard to race or ethnicity.

This honorable position may be the only way to preserve the legality of Native Hawaiian social programs.