Posted on: Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Letters to the Editor

DOE takes the money, but not the responsibility

I take gravest possible exception to Farrington High School Principal Catherine Payne's assertion that an earlier published opinion — namely, that a single state district can afford to take students for granted — "is offensive to the thousands of educators in Hawai'i who have given their lives to helping children in our public schools" (Letters, Jan. 6).

As a public school teacher, I have seen firsthand what an abomination the deliberate chaos maintained by the state-level DOE is and the ruinous harm this outrageous humbug is doing to innocent schoolchildren.

I believe only those who would put their own personal career upward mobility ahead of the well-being of the children they claim to teach would attempt to defend the utterly indefensible DOE.

The DOE constantly seeks to escape all accountability for where it spends the obscene amount of 1.9 billion hard-earned tax dollars in a single fiscal year, what it purchases and with what measurable result. The DOE takes the money and takes as well a "let them eat cake" mentality in determining how little of that money is allowed to trickle down to the classrooms after being siphoned off by the career team players positioned in the upper reaches of the food chain. The DOE is a bureaucratic snake pit seeking to avoid accountability by pointing the finger of blame in every direction to deflect criticism from itself.

In the DOE, careers count. Kids don't.

It is my fondest hope the voters of this state will get an opportunity to decide if the DOE is to be dismantled and replaced. The sooner, the better.

Bush's proposal for illegal aliens is sound

President Bush shows political courage in his response to the problem of illegal immigration.

Most politicians are too gutless to deal with this situation because illegal immigrants are not citizens and cannot vote. Continued failure to act would cause illegal immigrants to form a permanent underclass of underpaid workers with no representation and no rights.

There is no practicable way to render our long borders with Mexico and Canada impenetrable. The only other solution would involve the morally outrageous and physically impossible step of expelling 12 million or so difficult-to-identify human beings from our country.

Immigration creates opportunity and economic growth. Bush's proposal would allow former "illegals" to work for regular pay rates in positions that better reflect their skills, because as legal workers they could more freely choose employment. It would free them to buy homes, apply for credit, invest, or form businesses without fear of deportation. This would enhance economic growth, creating more jobs for all Americans.

This is good for security. Identifying, registering and legalizing the 12 million "illegals" eliminates a large pool of unknown people in which a few terrorists could hide. I recognize they have violated the law. Bush's proposal makes an implicit decision about this law, which reflects one of the great strengths of our Constitution: its flexibility. There are no laws for which the consequences are absolute.

Drug paraphernalia raids a waste of time

Regarding the Ed Kubo and DEA/HPD war on drug paraphernalia: Bravo for arresting taxpaying business owners for selling bongs. I'm sure this will have a profound effect on drug use across the state.

Meanwhile, on any given day from 8 a.m. (during my walk down Smith Street to work) to 7 p.m. (during my walk past Hotel Street on my way home), I can count on being offered ice, crack, dope, you name it, while our undercover sleuths are staking out and raiding the local grocery store in McCully.

Brilliant work, detectives.

Home sales record nothing to brag about

So home sales have hit a new high. Are we supposed to clap for joy? The price of homes, new and used, has also hit a new high. The amount of debt a family is going into to own a home in Hawai'i is also at a new high.

I'm mortgage-free on my home and doing quite well on my retirement here on the Mainland, while the stress of homeowners debt is "killing" the average person who wants to live in Hawai'i. I would think that the new highs in Hawai'i's real estate are not something to be proud of but depict a sad commentary on greed in that industry.

Irony over mad cow

Regarding mad cow disease: I find it interesting that those who oppose eating of animal protein feel vindicated that they don't and protest against those who do. Here's some irony: If early man had not consumed animal protein, we would not have the intelligence to point out questionable animal husbandry techniques and alternative protein sources.

Plenty of questions about light-rail system

Some residents of O'ahu would like to know what spending $2.6 billion on a light-rail transit system would do for them.

Assume that the rail system is now built and operating. What security does a passenger have on an automated train? How many cars have been taken off the road? Are any sections elevated, cutting my view plane? Is the service all local or is there some express? Does the fare box take care of the operating and maintenance expenses? How much time have my friends saved driving to work? Was the construction disturbing?

What are the answers, Messieurs Task Force?

Successes highlight need for light rail

In response to the light-rail conversation, I must chime in with the success stories I have seen.

During the past three years, I have traveled to three places in particular with wildly successful light-rail systems: Singapore, Hong Kong and San Diego. The common qualities of all three are that they are cheap, reliable, safe and fast (when compared to rush-hour traffic).

Singapore, in particular, has a great system where the purchase of a single card gives access to both the rail system and the bus system.

With the housing explosion in the Kunia/'Ewa area, I don't see any other way to ease the traffic situation, which is already bad and will only worsen.

Reactions of KPOI, Cataluna were merited

If the government had ordered KPOI to drop "Loveline," Neil Wright (Letters, Jan. 2) might have had a point. But it didn't.

KPOI was within its rights to dump a show that is so offensive to its local listeners. It makes both moral and commercial sense.

And Lee Cataluna was certainly within her rights to expose the ignorant bigotry of Adam Carolla and Drew Pinsky and concur with KPOI's decision.

Actually, she didn't have to say much. The slanderous palaver of these two made the case for her.

Road map is needed for Hawaiian independence

One of your readers expressed to me interest in the concept of independence for Hawai'i but questioned whether it was achievable.

Since the end of World War II, there have been many new countries formed from the breakup of the European empires to the breakup of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia. There are also areas like Bermuda and Greenland, which, though nominally part of Great Britain and Denmark, respectively, are for all practical purposes independent.

The reasons for the formulation of these new countries were almost always geographic, ethnic, cultural, economic and/or religious.

I suggest a road map. Hawaiian residents interested in independence meet and develop a proposed separation treaty. They negotiate a separation treaty with the help of former American officials, people like former President Jimmy Carter or former Sen. George Mitchell.

While such a separation treaty would be unofficial, it would allow residents of Hawai'i to be informed of the nature of an independent Hawai'i. (This is similar to the method used to negotiate the recent unofficial Geneva Treaty between Israel and Palestine.)

After a period of education and discussion, a vote by all residents of Hawai'i of either Hawaiian blood or whose ancestors were in Hawai'i at the time of the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani would be held on the concept of an independent Hawai'i.

If that group of voters voted in favor of independence, then, after a further period of education and discussion, a second vote for the concept would be taken of all people resident in Hawai'i (including the first group) for at least 20 years. If this second voting group approved of independence, then an election of commissioners to negotiate a formal separation treaty with the United States would be held and the negotiation of an official separation treaty with the United States would commence. Obviously, concurrently, a constitution for the nation of Hawai'i would have to be drawn up, but we have a starting point with the present state Constitution.

A word of warning: I strongly believe that any action that results in Native Hawaiians becoming another American Indian tribe is a sellout and will be forever regretted by Native Hawaiians. That result is not our destiny.

Why our roads are so terrible

Everyone knows that the major cost of roadwork is labor.

Labor costs are the same, regardless of whether poor or good materials are used. There are no savings from using low-grade materials, only higher costs to the state and its residents — costs to repair the roads more often, for more frequent automobile repairs, and to pay for accidents that result in death, human suffering and increased insurance prices.

When Hawai'i had more money to repair its roads and build new ones, low-grade materials were deliberately used. Once this policy was entrenched, poor roads became the norm. Now, that's all road workers know what to do.

Anyone can see this when potholes are repaired or streets are resurfaced. The gravel, which is mixed with asphalt as the re-surfacer proceeds, is too large. This provides ample space between the gravel pieces for our frequent rains to quickly wash away the asphalt binder.

When applied, the asphalt and gravel are not well compacted, either. The rollers are small toys, too tiny for an average-size man to sit on them. And hand-filled potholes are only given a pat or two with the back of a shovel or banged a few times with a thumper.

Want more proof that the wrong materials are being used? Think how fast and how deep sewer covers sink below the road's surface every time you bump over one. In Hong Kong, I didn't even notice when I drove over a manhole cover. That's the way it should be.

If the roads were built to last in the first place, repairs wouldn't be needed so often. There is a lot of work for well-trained road builders to construct many good roads and streets that would relieve traffic congestion. The money to build a light-rail system, which we don't really need, could better be used to construct more good roads.

I'm all for the state contracting with a firm in Hong Kong or Malaysia to demonstrate and teach our workers here how to build and maintain roads like theirs. If new or different equipment is needed, include it in the contract. Don't waste time looking around and bidding on similar equipment from the Mainland or elsewhere.

Make it a showcase project. The terms of the contract should be that if the company can do this well, we'll hire it to supervise the work until Hawai'i's managers learn what to do and how to do it.