Posted on: Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Libraries would not be affected by breakup

Sylvia Mitchell expresses an unwarranted concern about what would happen to the public libraries under the plan to reorganize the public schools by creating independent school districts (Letters, Feb. 9). She correctly observes that centralization has not hurt the libraries — unlike the effect it has had on schools.

However, she incorrectly assumes that each school district would be responsible for those libraries that are located within the district. Instead, the libraries would continue to be organized under a statewide system. There would continue to be a state librarian responsible for all libraries who would be appointed by the Education Standards and Accountability Commission, just as the state librarian is now appointed by the Board of Education.

In addition, the library system would be placed in the same department as the public schools, just as it is now, although that department would be a newly created one. The reorganization of the public schools would have very little effect, organizationally speaking, on the public libraries.

Forget about the tests and start teaching

It's too bad 8-year-old Liahona Maun of Waipahu Elementary School probably won't be going to Harvard ("Standardized tests put pressure on state classrooms," Feb. 15). While her more privileged contemporaries at Punahou are getting a real education, she's filling in "bubbles" on a standardized test sheet so that her school — already underfunded and overburdened — won't get its funding cut.

As President Bush and Gov. Lingle peddle their educational nostrums, I feel sorry for students like Liahona. We know what will help her, and it's not standardized testing or bureaucratic reform. (Most European nations have one big school district for all their kids, and aren't they the people we're trying to compete with?) It's smaller schools, smaller classes, better-trained teachers, and much more instruction in languages, the arts, music, humanities and science.

We already have models for excellence in the best private and public schools. The problem is we won't pay for them for public-school students like Liahona. Testing students is simply designed to manage decline and pave the way for school privatization.

What's the primary determinant of school performance? Social class. And why do Hawai'i's public schools "underperform"? Because Hawai'i has one of the largest private-school systems in the nation. One way to raise state test scores would be to abolish private schools.

So let's forget about the tests and start teaching. And who knows, if the affluent couldn't duck out of the system, they might help Liahona and help us build a Punahou for all our kids. It's the only way she'll ever get to Harvard.

No Child has no mercy for Hawai'i's students

I believe that the No Child Left Behind policy is a travesty.

This racist policy fails to take into account that Hawai'i schools have a high percentage of students from homes where English is not the first language. Yet testing does not take this into account.

We also have a large percentage of schools situated in areas where standard English is not the primary language of the population. "Pidgin English" is often looked down upon by some, but it is a fact of life here in Hawai'i.

Statistically, schools that have the most difficulty complying with No Child Left Behind are schools with high percentages of children of color. Hmmm ...

Iraq War should be top campaign issue

Linda Lingle apparently believes voters are so stupid, gullible and easily swayed by rhetoric that they'll buy her absurd notion that the American debacle in Iraq should not be allowed to "degrade into political fighting in an election year."

The Bush administration's multiple missteps and acts of malfeasance with regard to Iraq should properly be the top campaign issue. Fall in line behind the commander-in-chief? Yeah, with a reinforced-toe boot aimed squarely at his butt on Nov. 2.

Lingle trip was just another PR junket

We are told that Gov. Linda Lingle was in Iraq with other governors to report back to the White House on the situation there. Does anyone believe that Lingle, after a few days of briefings by U.S. military officials, really understands what is going on (or why the Iraqis are so angry at America)?

In reality, the Lingle trip is just another public relations junket paid for by the taxpayers.

Which raises the question: Why isn't Lingle doing the job she was elected to do — taking care of matters that need attention in Hawai'i, like the concrete strike or the steady erosion of public education?

Republicans spinning web of lies on Iraq

The president told us Saddam Hussein was buying large amounts of enriched uranium from Africa, harboring al-Qaida terrorists and potentially could have launched nuclear missiles in less than one hour. To date, there has been no evidence for any of these claims.

More recently, Gov. Lingle's staff decided to lie about her whereabouts when she was on a Bush administration-designed junket to Iraq. Soon, she'll be telling everyone how the war there is central to our security at home.

After all the lies, how can we believe Republicans on the matter of Iraq?

Partial-birth abortion records tell the story

In the Feb. 15 editorial "Abortion record search is pointless and wrong," the paper once again takes a position in favor of keeping partial-birth abortion (PBA) legal without informing the public as to what the procedure is. So we have to go to the Internet or congressional testimony to get the facts on PBA. The late, and pro-choice, Sen. Patrick Moynihan, who voted to ban PBA, said, "This is too close to infanticide."

Ron Fitzsimmons (National Coalition of Abortion Providers) said, "In the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus" (New York Times, Feb. 26, 1997). He estimated that each year 3,000 to 5,000 partial-birth abortions were performed.

A ban on PBA has become law after eight years of battle in Congress. Now the abortionists have begun another fight in the courts, where they have a chance, but they don't have a chance of winning in the court of public opinion. The issue in this new court case is whether or not PBA is ever medically necessary, and medical records, without patient names, are at the center of the truth.

Big Island dot-com recruits impressive

Regarding Lee Cataluna's Feb. 8 column, "Hilo grads impress dot-com recruiters": Wow, that is extremely impressive. Amazon, EBay, Microsoft, Real Networks, AMD, TIBCO, Intel, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Xerox, Google Search, Dreamworks and Pixar are listed as the top most-desired software companies for employment.

It is extremely rare nowadays that a recent graduate gets a position at any of these companies. Given the current market conditions, most positions at these companies require a minimum of five to 10 years experience, even for so-called "entry-level positions."

I am very impressed that UH-Hilo has such an excellent program and is now receiving recognition.

I only hope that Neal, Crystal and Leilehua remember to come back to Hilo after five to 10 years of field experience and consider founding a software development company of their own in Hilo. The Big Island needs another major industry, and since digital information costs virtually zero to export, software engineering would be the perfect industry because distance doesn't matter. It should be a priority of the Hawai'i state government to get involved with the information systems industry.

A Fire Department safety officer checks the car that plowed under the Safety Systems truck last Friday. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Community is outraged by freeway deaths

Power of life, death lies in driver's hands

In light of the recent tragedy that took four lives, I must ask: Why race? Street racers put their lives and the lives of innocent commuters and pedestrians in danger. An innocent man did not deserve to die while doing what he normally did every day. However, a couple of drivers altered the course of his life, and theirs, unintentional as it may have been.

For every death that occurs by racing, families and friends are left behind to mourn and struggle with questions that will be left unanswered. And if a racing accident does produce any survivors, those victims are left with physical and emotional scars that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I pray that what happened on the early morning of Feb. 13 will open more eyes and hearts. The city and state can create laws and punishments to crack down on street racing. But ultimately, it really lies in the hands of the driver. What he decides to do, or not do, at that one moment, could make all the difference.

Car shops, race park have duty to educate

Why in the world do we have to endure these kinds of tragedies on our highways where people are killed and others end up in the hospital?

As I was leaving for work on Friday, I heard on the news of a tragic accident that occurred while I was still in bed, only to find out that the H-1 was re-opened at 9:30 a.m., and it still would have taken me one hour to get from Waikele to Sand Island.

From what I gather from the news, it was caused from racing on the H-1. These kinds of incidents should not have occurred, given the right direction. And the direction should fall upon the establishments that sell and install these high-performance parts. Educate them, teach them, give them the knowledge to be a responsible driver.

There is a place where you can race, and it's Hawaii Raceway Park. I had a 1969 Camaro, 396cu full-blown and street legal, but I was not racing on the highways. I went to Hawaii Raceway Park in Campbell. There is a time and place to "show off," but the highways are not the place to do it.

The performance shops and Hawaii Raceway Park should join up and teach these "racers" what racing really is: monitored, structured and controlled by rules that govern racing, in a controlled environment. Do some advertising, encourage them to try out their hot new car on the track, not on the streets.

Take this challenge when you want to race

In wake of the accident that claimed the lives of four people last week, I offer this challenge to all who think about racing illegally on our highways:

Go to your local arcade and play any racing video game that requires you to sit down and operate it like a real car. Now, drive as fast as you possibly can, and do not hit one single oncoming object or car while remaining safely on the course at all times. At no time are you allowed to lose control of your vehicle.

Sound tough? It is, and that's only a game.

Real cars react very differently to their gaming counterparts. Cars are big, heavy, destructive weapons in the hands of the irresponsible. They don't bounce harmlessly off barriers and keep going. They don't hit other cars without wrecking themselves, and they cause a lot more damage at much slower speeds than they do in video games. And, unlike the cars on your PS2, they will maim or kill their occupants and anyone else caught in their paths if you make one single mistake.

Stop and think about that car you hit head-on during the game. In real life, you would be ejected about 50 feet from your car at that speed, and more than likely you would be dead.

Take the challenge and think about that the next time you feel the "need for speed." If you can't do it in a video game, please don't even think about attempting it in real life.

Serious punishment needed for speeders

This whole speeding/racing issue has gotten ridiculous. How many more people have to die before something is done?

People caught excessively speeding, racing or not, need serious punishment. It should be made a felony, but since we're not likely to see that kind of innovation, try something else.

I like the idea of suspending their license for the first offense, and confiscating their cars after the second offense. It needs to get the attention of these speeders.

The traffic van cams were great; there was a noticeable difference in the general speed. Then, of course, everyone whined that somehow enforcing the law was a violation of privacy, and the vans were taken away. Not only that, but the speed limit was raised by 5 mph. If that's not an example of embarrassingly weak government, then I don't know what is.

But that's OK, legislators; you can make up for the number of deaths you've allowed since then by taking a stand now, a real stand. The worst that's going to happen is everyone will gripe and you can once again back down and give in to the powers of stupidity.

Target and punish excessive speeders

I am writing to offer a potential solution to the racing problem on O'ahu. First, a crackdown on excessive speeding is necessary. Use the speed cameras from Australia and set them up to pick up racers, drivers 20 to 25 mph in excess of the limit. Then impound their cars and fine them in relation to how fast they were going.

Someone who is 50 mph-plus needs a large fine and period of suspension from driving, with possible cancellation of a driver's license.

It would be a mistake to give the general population of drivers tickets for being 10 mph over the limit, especially where many posted limits are too conservative.

Target the problem drivers.

We need police to get tough, not tougher laws

A single patrol car on the H-1 freeway last Friday morning would have saved four lives. There wouldn't have been any arrests, and everyone's Friday morning commute would have been the same as Thursday's.

People are screaming for new, tough laws. Take away their cars! Take away their licenses! Don't let the legislators have an easy way out!

It costs legislators nothing to pass another get-tough law so they can turn around and tell us, "Look what I did. I got tough on those speeders!"

The police have already said they can't catch them and they can't keep their cars. So what's the point of new, tough laws? The police aren't there. Why aren't they there? Because they are sinfully understaffed.

Racing and graffiti on our highways and streets are huge blinking neon signposts to the criminals that our community doesn't have the guts it takes to protect ourselves. These are the signposts. If you can speed, you can steal a tourist's purse. If you can race, you can burglarize a home. If you can do graffiti, you can do drugs.

We need more police who get tough on speeders and criminals, not legislators who get tough on the law.