Letters to the Editor

Bishop Museum is not maintained properly

During the rainy holidays, my family visited one of our favorite places, Bishop Museum.

In the main hall with its wonderful collection, the display cases showed their age, inside and out. Many of the information cards were brown and curled on the edges; dust outlined empty spaces. A tabletop case had drops of water. The roof leaked, and not just in one spot. Plastic tarps and buckets sat directly on glass displays. Some were left unprotected, with small puddles on the glass. In another hall, rain fell directly on the collection and tourists.

Heavy rains are no excuse for the lack of maintenance of the historical building and its valuable collection.

Kawamoto needs to be booted out of office

The arrogance of Cal Kawamoto is unbelievable.

Except for a small minority, the people of Honolulu expressed their displeasure on traffic cameras a couple of years ago and they were withdrawn. Kawamoto now has the audacity to propose bringing them back.

This is a man who is a perfect example of what there is to dislike about big government. He is basically telling us it does not matter what we want, he will cram what he wants down our throats because he wants us to have it. This is a man who needs to be booted out of office, and the sooner the better.

It has not been conclusively proven these cameras reduce serious injury. Results in San Diego in fact showed the number of accidents increased because motorists were jamming on their brakes. It was also shown the revenue taken from the people went up. Basically, another form of taxation, it seems.

Also, there are products out there that would assist motorists in minimizing the chances of their vehicles' license plates being photographed.

And it would be to the citizens' benefit to demand trials, since they would have to be positively identified before they could be convicted, and if the camera could not get a clear photo, the judge would be forced to dismiss the case.

Kawamoto must be shown he is in office as a representative of the people. He is not there as a "Father knows best" figure. He is in office to do our bidding, not what he pleases.

Inequities of excise tax must be cleared up first

There have been articles recently about the possible revival of a light-rail proposal for Honolulu.

As the record of testimony will bear, the opposition to the rail system, particularly by the small-business community, was not so much based on an increase in the tax as it was on a condemnation of the inequities that are inherently contained in the general excise tax system. Any increase to the tax only raises the inequities.

There is a certain amount of cost that is absorbed by businesses and cannot be passed on. There are other business people who cannot pass it on at all, such as commission sales representatives, travel agents and taxi drivers. In the latter case, the rate they can charge is set by the City Council. These people cannot add on an additional 4 percent or 4.5 percent to a sale in order to get their money back. The additional 0.5 percent comes directly out of pocket, never to be seen again.

Before we get caught up in the rush to have light rail, we need to look at the financing mechanism. If it is going to involve the excise tax, then the inequities of the excise tax system must be straightened up before any increase is considered. Short of that, some alternative method of financing needs to be found.

Again, the opposition was not against light rail; the opposition was against increasing the unfair, inequitable tax.

Where there's hope, there's time on hands

In prison, hope builds a little at a time, like when, after waiting, the moon begins to shine. Hope increases in fullness as we await the mail. Hope resides even in a quietly whispered tale. Hope builds once a month while we await the commissary.

Hope is less in the receiving than in the waiting. Time is the culprit — it just keeps baiting. You hope, you wish and you desire, anticipation sets your mind afire. When promise isn't fulfilled, nerves start grating.

Then hope begins another round. Thoughts of temporary surcease abound. Suddenly, each and all become a winner. Once a year, we are served orange sherbet and sour cream for dinner. Subtle hope, once unreeled, is thus rewound.

Where's the impartiality of Justice Ginsberg?

A Jan. 24 editorial questioned the impartiality of Justice Antonin Scalia regarding an upcoming case before the Supreme Court ("Scalia should not take up Cheney case").

I am curious. Can the editors point me to the archive of their piece asking Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg to recuse herself from any case brought to the court by the ACLU?

As the organization's former legal director, she must have concrete personal relationships with many members. Oh, that's right. She's not a conservative. Never mind.