Posted on: Friday, April 16, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Watching the news this week, I was struck by the media's continued use of the word "man" to describe 20-year-old Micah White — a boy who is a friend of my 19-year-old son.

While in high school, Micah, along with other friends of my son's, enjoyed hiking our beautiful island, going to the beach and just "hanging out," like many of our youth. If Micah was a lost hiker or surfer, he would be portrayed as a young man or a missing youth who may have exhibited poor judgment; why can't we show this boy that same compassion? He was and is a good boy, from a good family — a boy who got lost along the way.

Why? Ice.

News reports Monday said no friends or family were in the courtroom during Micah's hearing — implying no one cares about or supports him. Wrong — many of his friends do, but are in college on the Mainland, following the news as closely as they can. His young friends on the island didn't know they could be at the hearing, let alone how. We can't even find out how to get a letter to Micah or his family to show we care.

My heart goes out to the whole White family. What happened to them could happen to any of us.

Democrat intransigence shows why we're stuck

This refusal by the Democrats in the House and Senate to allow the people to even consider the question of local school boards is a glaring example of why our education system is one of the worst in the whole country.

A majority of the electorate has indicated a strong desire to see this type of reform bill on the ballot. However, the Democratic majority, in a disgusting display of partisan politics, made sure it would not be there.

For at least 40 years, every single candidate for the Democratic Party has claimed to be "education friendly" and promised reforms to a seriously flawed Department of Education. However, once elected, they are not allowed to make an honest effort to reform anything. They learn immediately that the priority of the Democratic Party has nothing to do with education. Shamefully, that priority is reserved for the expansion and protection of a corrupt bureaucracy and the unions that support it.

At present, blame for the lack of effective educational reform must be placed on you, the electorate. You finally had the guts to elect a governor who is honestly dedicated to reform, but then gave her a Legislature of hypocrites equally dedicated to the status quo.

If you, the people, truly want education reform and honest government, prove it in November. Change the Legislature, which has lied through its teeth to you for 40 years. Your children just might thank you for it.

Truth can be found from other sources

I grew up believing the news media were reliable for the most part, and international news sources usually confirmed this. But now "reality," as described by the international press, is vastly different and often opposed to the constantly shifting "reality" told to us by Fox, CNN and the White House.

I believe that Americans are as wise and as intelligent as any other country's people. If we can get to the truth, we will all pretty much come to the same decisions, or at least not be violently opposed to each other. The very violence of the division is proof that lies are being told and believed.

Look around, question what you are being told; the Internet is available to nearly everyone. And remember your public library. Probably every country in the world has an English language newspaper online; just search Google with "anycountry news english" (substituting the name of any country you can think of for "anycountry").

Get informed and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. Just for fun, see "reality" through the eyes of those outside the U.S.A. Even if you don't agree with the "other side," at least you will understand, and understanding always takes the wind of anger out of the sails of conflict.

All of our countries must exist together on this one planet, and all of us Americans must exist together in this one country. When the truth is known, we all can see that what is ultimately best for me is also good for you and what is ultimately best for the U.S.A. is also good for all the other countries.

Constitution is silent on 'inalienable rights'

Tom Huff ("Our inalienable rights were 'by our Creator,' " April 5) is right to put his faith in the U.S. Constitution. Too bad he hasn't read it.

I challenge Mr. Huff to find where that great document contains any of the phrases he attributes to it. He won't, because it was the Declaration of Independence that contained the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Undoubtedly, the Declaration is an inspired (and inspiring) document, but it does not set the basis for our laws. Only the Constitution does that.

The case of the missing purse and true aloha

This past Saturday, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful evening out with friends, having dinner and viewing "Step into Liquid" at Sunset on the Beach.

As we were about to get on H-1, I realized my purse was missing from the car. I also realized that it most likely had fallen out while we were stopped at a traffic light on Kapahulu Avenue. We quickly made our way back to the site, where we found a few crushed items in the street, but no sign of my purse, wallet or other belongings.

We searched the surrounding area and inquired at a few restaurants and shops, but with no luck.

One of my friends then suggested that we check my home answering machine to see if perhaps someone had found my purse and called to leave a message about it.

To my great relief, there was a lovely message from John and Jessica saying they had found the purse in the street and to please call them to retrieve it. I did so and found out they were dining at a restaurant nearby.

I was able to retrieve my belongings within minutes, feeling very fortunate and grateful to these two terrific individuals who through their kindness and quick action averted what would have been an unhappy end to a lovely evening — and an irritating and potentially messy situation.

John and Jessica, wherever you are, mahalo for your kindness and aloha spirit.

You exemplify what makes Hawai'i a special place in which to live.

School cleanup project was pleasant surprise

I recently had a chance to work with some faculty members and students from McKinley High School. The project was headed by Laverne Moore, the special-education department chair, and was assisted by Ike Odashi. They also got assistance from some students: Joe Sabir, Ropati Saleimoa-Kekahu, Keawe Kalama, Isaac Johnson-Uaisele, Robert Odell and Sato Sigrah.

The work was done on Good Friday, and even though it was a holiday for the public schools, they showed me great leadership skills and cooperation working together to beautify the school.

I have heard horror stories about the special-education programs, but I was very impressed with the McKinley High School students and faculty. I wish that other people in the community could have a chance to volunteer their efforts with the schools and get to know some wonderful individuals. It made my day very enjoyable and gratifying.

'95 planning statement was committed to ag

According to the city's "Vision Statement" publicly recorded in 1995, paragraph 2.2.1: "The Vision for East Honolulu's Future, these are the Urban Community Boundary, the Agriculture and the Preservation Boundary. It is intended these boundaries will remain fixed through the 2020 planning horizon."

With this vision statement, the city committed to its citizens a good and sound planning statement that we in East O'ahu can use to guide our future.

Councilman Charles Djou said "the community could use a break from the sound of hammers and drills." The community also needs time to assimilate the 800-plus new homes that have sprung up in the last two years. Most are not even occupied, and it will take some time to get these families settled into our community.

Stanford Carr is on a development roll and wants to push forward with another 200 homes, this time using the city-promised agricultural valley lands. Carr should stop for a moment and think about the 800 new families that he brought into Hawai'i Kai. Carr should be concerned about letting them settle in and making sure his promises and representations to them are met. Here is where our city councilman can help the most.

For the city to break the promise it made to the community in the vision statement and change the agriculture boundaries in Kamilonui Valley to urban is simply wrong and it is very poor community planning. It is obvious the Hawai'i Kai community does not like developer Carr's massing of homes on the Peninsula, but most folks understand that the property he developed was already site-planned before him and zoned in that manner by Kaiser. Not so in Kamilonui Valley. The committed plan there is agriculture until the year 2020.

If some of the farmers wish to sell out to a developer, any developer, that is OK. But the developer should know that until 2020, they have bought a farm and farming is what the developer needs to do. By 2020, all of the home building in the period 2000-2005 will have settled in and the community may be ready for a new 200 families, maybe.

Get the 'bugs' out of our schools

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. For the umpteenth time this school year, I've stayed up most of the night taking care of my vomiting third-grade child. The likely cause: little "bugs" picked up at Waimea Elementary School, which, like other public schools in Hawai'i, does not provide soap in the children's bathrooms.

Sure, each student's list of personal school supplies at the beginning of each year includes bacteria-killing lotions or hand wipes. But what good is that palliative when unwashed little hands touch every doorknob, railing and wall between bathroom, class and lunch?

It is a statistically proven fact that disease vectors follow lines of direct transmission — and dirty hands to mouth is one of the most direct.

In a nation with supposedly the highest standard of living on the planet, you'd think our state officials would bestir themselves from their padded office chairs in Honolulu and do something about these epidemics among children sweeping regularly through our public schools.

There is one surefire way to stop the incessant whine of "we don't have the money to buy soap" from state officials responsible for public health and education. Perhaps if we the people applied the same standards of disease control upon our public officials that we demand in the farming and ranch industries — having the animals responsible taken out at dawn and shot — we'd see a lot less illness among the most defenseless members of our society.

How ironic. Our children continue to suffer under the necrotic wings of chicken-head public servants who cluck more about their own "health benefit packages" than the health and very lives of the children they're supposed to be caring for and educating.

To "clean house" has many meanings. Maybe it is time we tried some other applications of the phrase. Soap works wonders. So too does termination of fat-cat public officials who view their positions as lifelong sinecures.

And for those state officials responsible for health and education who do not know the definitions of these words, go to the dictionary or get out of office. Hiding behind a self-appropriated aegis of invincibility is both grossly irresponsible and a disgusting charade. Our children deserve far better. Cull the herd.