Letters to the Editor

School critics should visit and volunteer

I am tired of reading the invective, vilification and pontification of and about those who have devoted their lives to educating and caring for the children of Hawai'i.

Much of the commentary, in articles, letters and opinion, seems to come from individuals whose sole claim to educational expertise derives from having once gone to school. Judging from many of the recent letters, most of these folks haven't visited a public school since graduation.

Thus, they don't see the truly exciting things that are happening in the classroom, nor the immense dedication of the teachers, administrators, aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, specialists, et al., who spend their lives caring for your children.

Visit and volunteer at your neighborhood school. Be a part of the future.

Dean phenomenon is grass-roots democracy

David Broder, amazingly, all but said in his Jan. 3 commentary that democracy breaks down where presidential nominees are chosen not by political players in smoke-filled rooms but by competing groups of informed citizens across the nation who care enough to get involved.

A cabal of fat-cats anointing George W. Bush before he himself even decided to run is not democracy in action but big money. The phenomenon ignited by Howard Dean is grass-roots democracy incarnate.

Broder may dismiss it, but the groundswell for Dean more recently may be nearly as much a reaction against the so-called "centrist" national Democratic establishment machinations as their diffident, ineffectual opposition to the Bush administration's serial affronts to America and the world.

Seemingly, they invest their principal energies not toward defeating Bush in 2004 but against the Democrat in the latest Time/CNN poll running 12 points ahead of the closest rival, and now strongest against Bush and just five points behind.

More and more voters, refusing to defer to the pundits, see that Dean can indeed beat Bush and return government to working for equal opportunity, shared prosperity, fiscal responsibility, real compassion, environmental protection and true national security. Some don't yet get it.

City should not be given taxing authority

Your Sunday editorial advocates giving counties the power to tax their residents. I could agree with this idea except I don't think the current O'ahu county administration and City Council are qualified to exercise this authority.

The most recent fiasco wherein the city had to raise vehicle weight taxes to fund our police officers' pay raise validates this statement. Both the administration and the City Council knew these raises were coming but did nothing about it.

When the City Council considered funding the raises by selling one of the city-owned properties, the administration responded by saying those funds were already earmarked for something else. The city wasn't obligated to spend the money as it had previously planned but could have instead diverted these funds to the police officers.

In the closing days of 2003, the city awarded millions of dollars in beautification contracts. This is money that could also have been used to fund the police officers' pay raise. The administration's position was that since the council had already approved the projects, the administration was going to spend the money, even if it was needed elsewhere in the budget. The mayor, showing total disregard for any fiscal responsibility, spent the money and painted the City Council into a corner at the same time.

The City Council, having no other choice, raised the weight tax, but some of the reasons given to change their vote bordered on the inane.

This is just the most recent incident of the city mismanaging public funds. We cannot give taxing power to a group of people who conduct the public's business as it does.

How can you 'reunite' Taiwan with China?

I am disappointed at the use of one term in a recent editorial on the Taiwan situation: "reunification." This shows a misunderstanding of the history of Taiwan that has been promoted by the former ruling Chinese Nationalist Party.

The Manchu rulers of China surrendered Taiwan forever in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Prior to this, no Han Chinese dynasty had ever ruled Taiwan. In accordance with international law, a treaty is required for territory to be transferred from one state to another. Following World War II, the San Francisco Peace Treaty specifically mentions a Japanese renunciation of sovereignty, but absolutely no mention is made of its reversion to China.

The Taiwanese people deserved a plebiscite in 1952. However, the Chinese Nationalist occupiers supported by the United States never allowed it. Regardless, it is clear that Taiwan was never legally "returned" to China. How can you "reunite" something that was never united in the first place?

Alcohol on planes is biggest security irony

It's ironic that airport security searches for all illegal substances and items prior to boarding an aircraft. However, once you get on the plane, alcohol, the deadliest substance of all, is made available to everyone of consumption age.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics on Alcohol and Crime, more than one-third of all criminal offenders had been using alcohol at the time of their convicted offense.

If Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Marion C. Blakey, were truly serious about making the airports and skies safer for the public, they would outlaw alcohol in airports and on airplanes. They should be putting public safety before the airlines' profitable alcohol niche.

It appears that more in-flight criminal offenses occur after an individual has been served alcohol. We are all aware that altitude and alcohol don't mix. The statistics clearly indicate this, so why is this practice still in place? The last place I want to see a rude and obnoxious drunk is on an airplane.

I know locally, if you serve alcohol to someone and as a result the person becomes involved in a criminal offense, you can be held liable. Yet, I fail to see how this same principle does not apply to airlines.

There's no excuse for Supreme Court's backup

On Nov. 23, The Advertiser started a series of articles on the Hawai'i Supreme Court, citing in part a case that had been stuck in the appeals process for over five years.

On Jan. 3, The Advertiser reported that the Supreme Court had overturned the results of the original trial, ordering a new one. It appears as though the publicity had something to do with movement in that case.

Not including weekends and holidays, that took 27 days. So why did Charles Rapoza have to wait five years for this decision? There is no excuse for that delay. Mr. Rapoza deserved to have a decision in a reasonable amount of time, just as the litigants in the 220-plus cases presently before the Supreme Court for over two years.

As I stated in my letter to the editor on Nov. 30, other states have dealt with this problem by withholding paychecks from judges who do not resolve their cases in a reasonable amount of time — anywhere from 90 days to one year, depending on the state.

The Legislature is ready to convene, and it is imperative that it address this issue. Not only for the people in the 220 cases who have sat for two, three, four or more years, but for the people who may have to wait in the future.

U.S. dashed Hawai'i's Olympic dreams in 1893

Just imagine you're at the first modern-day Olympic Games in Greece, 1896. Everyone's standing. Then, the kingdom's anthem starts playing as our nation's flag rises. One of our Olympians has won gold. Queen Lili'uokalani and Princess Ka'iulani are in attendance, caught up in the moment. What national pride! Proud to be Hawaiian among the world.

This moment and many other Olympic moments could have been ours. Three years earlier in 1893, America illegally put out our Olympic flame. The illegal overthrow of our nation, illegal imprisonment of our queen, illegal occupation and annexation are just a few reasons why. Only through independence (freedom) can we achieve our Olympic moments, relight the flames of our ancestors and make Hawai'i pono.

Job not getting done

I guess the recent heavy rains will give whoever's responsible for the potholes a convenient excuse for why they're not doing their job. Moanalua Freeway west of Moanalua Garden, King Street, Dillingham, Nimitz — there's no way to avoid bad roads driving into town to pick up my kid from school. Driving in Honolulu reminds me of some Third World countries I've visited.

A knight in SUV armor

On Jan. 2, I was on a city bus heading north at the Kamehameha and Likelike highways intersection. There were about a dozen cars before us slowly creeping along in the heavy downpour. A woman waiting at the lights was soaked to the core, just drenched with no cover to hide from the rain.

The black SUV in front of us slowed to a stop. Two arms stretched out the window with an umbrella, opened it and handed it to the lady, then the car continued on.

That act deserves my best wishes for 2004. How warm the donor must feel, how blessed we are for such caring folks.

Congress must fully fund No Child Left Behind law

When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law in 2002, parents, educators and education advocates were hopeful that the legislation would provide children and their families with greater access to a high-quality public education. However, many of our representatives in Congress have failed to provide adequate funding to ensure that all children have access to a strong and effective public education.

With Congress returning to session now, our senators must end this cycle of abandoning our nations' children and schools, and oppose the omnibus appropriations bill.

When the Senate returns, the first item on their agenda is the fiscal year 2004 omnibus appropriations bill. The bill provides inadequate funding for K-12 education programs and includes $13 million for a private school voucher program in the District of Columbia, which would create the first federally funded voucher program in the United States.

D.C. voters have said they do not want vouchers. A survey conducted by the National School Boards Association and Zogby International in November 2002 found that three-quarters of District voters oppose private school vouchers in the District.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on unproven and unaccountable voucher programs, Congress should fund programs that are designed to help all children receive a high-quality public education.

Although great promises came with No Child, more money must be given to its programs to truly ensure that no child is left behind. Federal money should be spent on decreasing class size, improving school facilities, advancing technology, providing a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, offering nutritious meals, and other programs that would strengthen public education options.

Money should not be spent on voucher programs that benefit only a few children while taking funding away from the public school system, which serves all children.