Posted on: Friday, June 4, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Pickup trucks should also have seatbelts

It's time again for "Click It or Ticket." This is a very good program that probably saves lives in many accidents. But why are people allowed to ride in the back of pickup trucks with no restraints?

I asked a government official about this and was told it comes up every year and never passes because of the lobbyists. Well, that shows how phony our lawmakers are who pretend to keep everyone safe but don't care for the lives of the pickup riders. How many more deaths do we need to get a ban on carrying riders in pickups? Why doesn't your newspaper put some pressure on this issue? Maybe an interview with our lawmakers would really shake them up.

A police officer told me he feels embarrassed when he's writing a ticket for a seatbelt violation and a pickup passes him with riders in the back and he can't do anything.

Gov. Lingle should have done homework

In the May 25 article "Lingle backs Bush on Iraq, Israel policies," Gov. Lingle made the statement that "Israel is the only country in the Middle East where an Arab can be elected to anything, let alone an Arab woman." The governor should really do some research before she makes such an ignorant statement.

If she had done her research, she would have found that Arabs and, yes, Arab women have been elected to parliaments in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria and even Palestine (possibly in other nations as well).

Although not Arab states, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan have also elected women, even electing a woman prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, in Pakistan.

DOT is just asking for disaster over tunnel

Remember the Titanic? The captain and crew ignored all iceberg warnings and persisted on sailing the ship full speed ahead, straight into disaster.

In a similar fashion, Rodney Haraga and the bureaucrats at the state Department of Transportation are ignoring all warnings and blundering forward on a path certain to lead to chaos. Believe it or not, they still plan to close down one of the Wilson Tunnels in late August, just as the schools and UH reopen. Windward commuters will face disastrous traffic jams.

No one doubts that the tunnels need repair, but anyone with an ounce of common sense realizes that such work should be done in early- to mid-summer, well before school traffic resumes. An editorial in this newspaper and numerous letters to the editor have pointed out the staggeringly bad timing of the Department of Transportation's plan.

The DOT's response? Stonewalling. The unresponsive bureaucrats hunker down, fail to respond publicly to Windward concerns and press forward with their reckless plan. Windward politicians better get them to change course, and soon, before it's too late and the Windward side suffers a traffic disaster of titanic proportions.

Kuhio roadwork is hazard in emergencies

The mayor's beautification project on Kuhio Avenue has become a nightmare for emergency vehicles.

I sat in gridlock one day while EMTs struggled to get to eight people in need. And while vehicles tried to get out of the way, there was nowhere to go.

Mayor Harris should have known that digging up all of Kuhio Avenue at one time would create unreasonable response times for EMTs. So for those who were injured and waiting for an ambulance, what seemed like an eternity probably was an eternity.

Sinking-headstone problem may widen

The state and federal governments make mistakes over and over. The deal with landowners at the site of the Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery in Kane'ohe probably was done without technical assessment. It was consummated to relieve the burials at the Punchbowl cemetery.

There is ample acreage at the Waiawa plains just past Pearl City north of the H-2 Freeway where a state correctional facility sits. This site would have been perfect as an annex to Punchbowl without the state being involved; it is U.S. government land.

I seem to remember this same sinking-headstone problem existed at the Kaua'i Veterans Cemetery at Hanapepe. No doubt we will encounter the same problem at Kona State Veterans Cemetery with its many underground lava tubes. At Hilo, with its heavy rainfalls, we will someday witness veterans' graves being uprooted by erosion, with caskets doing a sleigh ride into people's property.

Just my observation — from a concerned veteran who will be buried in a veterans cemetery.

'Liberal' positions are not dirty words

Congratulations on running Richard Falk's op-ed in the May 30 Focus section calling on Sen. Kerry to speak out more passionately about the prisoner abuses, to suggest clearer plans of action both before and after elections, and — in essence — to start showing the leadership needed to return our country to its democratic principles.

Of all the thoughtful and courageous commentaries I have heard or read, this was one of the best.

It is time for we Democrats to stop hiding, apologizing for and watering down "liberal" positions as if they were dirty words. It is shameful to allow the Republicans to be the only ones to show the courage of their convictions. Are we so afraid of losing that we are willing to sell our souls?

As a letter writer (to the New York Times) suggested, if Al Gore had spoken four years ago with the passion he delivered this month, he would have been in the White House and we would not have been in Iraq.

Finally, it worries me that my own legislators tell me "this is not the right time" for John Kerry to speak out. If not now, when?

Don't waste any more money on the Natatorium

The Natatorium is seriously deteriorating, according to news reports. Please, city leaders, powers-that-be, do not spend any more precious money on the facility other than to tear it down and clear it away. Let the natural beach renew itself. Rename the beautiful fountain at the diamondhead end of Kalakaua as the war memorial.

If you must spend money in the Kapi'olani Park area, spend it on really cleaning the Ala Wai Canal. Build the much-needed connection to the ocean at the eastern end. A covered culvert/conduit through or under the park and out to sea has been reported as the best solution for the Ala Wai's problems.

I am certain that with today's engineering technology, it would be less costly than trying to breathe continued life into the Natatorium.

Fix the potholes or else

At the risk of being labeled a "one-issue citizen," I would like to issue a warning to all incumbent politicians.

If Makakilo Drive does not get resurfaced before Election Day, I will not vote for any incumbent politician, regardless of party.

I am tired of dodging potholes every day of my life.

Harris has forgotten why we invaded Iraq

I have a few questions for Mayor Jeremy Harris.

During his speech at the Mayor's Memorial Day celebration at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Harris stated that the motives for our present involvement in Iraq are unclear.

With all due respect, has he forgotten the unprovoked attack by Islamic terrorists on the United States of America on Sept. 11, the loss of nearly 3,000 innocent lives and the consequent and continual threat on our freedom and our very way of life?

Has he forgotten the estimated 300,000 to 1 million Iraqis murdered by Saddam Hussein by gassing, torture, execution and being buried alive? Was he aware that Saddam's government had men assigned as rapists on the payroll? Certainly Saddam would qualify as his own weapon of mass destruction.

Is Harris not aware that the majority of Iraqi citizens are glad we are there and they appreciate the over 13,000 reconstruction projects that we have completed? Over 4.5 million people in Iraq now have clean drinking water for the first time, 100 percent of the hospitals are now operational (compared to only 35 percent prior to the war), the country now receives twice the electrical power as it did before the war, and the list goes on and on.

Uday and Qusay Hussein are dead and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to the zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force their cooperation, torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games and murdering their critics, "friends" and in-laws!

It is for freedom that we are there. For our own, as well as the freedom of the Iraqi people. The men and women of our military who have paid the ultimate sacrifice have done so, not with unclear motives, as Harris indicated, but they have done so in order to preserve our freedom!

If Harris is unclear about the cost of freedom, I do not think the place to express his doubts is at a ceremony dedicated to honoring those who are wearing or who have worn our nation's uniforms in defense of your freedom.

New law on homeless is terrible

Hawai'i has a new law (Act 50) to discourage the homeless from living on public property. Under Act 50, people living on public property can be arrested and fined $1,000 and/or given 30 days in jail.

The obvious penalty for violation of Act 50 will be 30 days in jail because not many, if any, homeless will have the money to pay the $1,000 fine. Act 50 was introduced by Senate President Robert Bunda and signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Where is the aloha spirit and compassion for Hawai'i's working poor who struggle every day for survival and are unable to pay Hawai'i's high housing costs?

Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, healthcare and education. Difficult choices must be made when wages are not high enough to cover all of these necessities. Often it is housing, which costs the most, that must be dropped.

Act 50 does not pass the common-sense test. Will the children of the homeless families also be locked up? If not, who will care for the children while their parents are incarcerated? The state? How much will it cost and how will the state care for the children while their parents are incarcerated? How much will it cost for the continued cycle of police arresting the homeless, incarcerating the homeless and releasing the homeless only to be arrested again?

After release from jail, the homeless will be arrested again because if they didn't have a home before going to jail, they will not have a home when released from jail. Are they expected to find a home while incarcerated? Does Hawai'i have the space for incarcerating Hawai'i's large homeless population? Will additional jail space be needed to incarcerate the homeless?

Couldn't the taxpayers' money Gov. Lingle and Sen. Bunda are willing to spend arresting and incarcerating the homeless be used to help provide affordable housing for the homeless? Have Gov. Lingle and Sen. Bunda funded studies or visited the homeless to determine why people are homeless? Low-paying jobs, lack of affordable housing and limited housing assistance programs have contributed to the large homeless population in Hawai'i.

Incarceration of the homeless will not solve Hawai'i's homeless problem. Better-paying jobs and affordable housing are needed to reduce and eliminate the homeless problem.