Letters to the Editor

Quarantining patients is unneeded, unethical

Thomas Hall's comment about quarantining AIDS patients (Letters, June 23) was appalling. He said, "Many thousands have since died because the gay leadership felt that saving lives was a less important matter than the perceived resulting discrimination factor." Is he for real?

AIDS transmits by blood transfusions, mother to offspring, homosexual and heterosexual intercourse, sharing of needles and situations where blood or certain bodily fluids are exchanged. Of those affected, 60 percent are gay males.

There's no need to quarantine AIDS patients because it's not contagious like the common cold. Quarantining would somewhat control the spread, but at what price? The freedoms of which we take advantage are privileges for all Americans.

If we quarantine AIDS patients, why stop there? Why not quarantine all people with any sickness — cancers, colds, alcoholism and mental disorders, etc.? This way, Hall can have his utopia.

The gay community isn't letting people die, ignorance is. Have protected sex, keep away from drugs and be aware.

State making good on its delinquency notices

The state Tax Department sincerely regrets what happened to Bill Hamilton (June 20 commentary) and others who mistakenly received tax delinquency notices from the state. The trouble was not related to e-filing, which actually results in fewer problems.

Unfortunately, income tax billing notices were prematurely generated and mailed on April 28. The Tax Department immediately took steps to prevent this from happening again and advised taxpayers to ignore the notice.

On April 29, we added an explanation to the recorded message that callers first hear when they reach our information line. This message was available to callers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On April 30, we faxed a news release to the media, posted the release at the top of the department's Internet homepage, and notified tax preparers via e-mail through their organization representatives.

Amounts overpaid due to these unusual circumstances can be recovered. Reversals of bounced check fees and interest charges are being addressed on a case-by-case basis, and will not require an amended tax return.

For more information, please call our customer service representatives during business hours at 587-4242 (toll-free at 1-800-222-3229) or e-mail a brief explanation of what happened along with a daytime contact phone number to Taxpayer.Services@hawaii.gov.

Where's the outrage at museum's looting?

The art of ancient cultures has fascinated society for centuries, and this art has been a source of pride to the descendants of these cultures.

People were outraged with the looting of the unguarded Iraqi museum last year. It is a tragedy that here in Hawai'i, the looting of the Bishop Museum has not sparked similar outrage among Hawaiians. Some of their most precious artifacts may be lost to future generations because of the selfish actions of a few.

I wonder if future generations of Hawaiians will regret this inaction.

Wait before assessing blame for the firing

Based on my own experience and knowledge of the strong character of each regent, I am confident that their unanimous decision to terminate Evan Dobelle was derived independently and based on a thoroughly objective process.

To surmise that the regents' decision is somehow related to what Evan Dobelle did nearly two years ago for Mazie Hirono is far-fetched at best. I'm glad to see that many Democrats, including top senators and representatives, are also convinced that the termination was not politically motivated.

There is absolutely no direct or indirect influence being exercised by the governor's office over a board member after he or she has been appointed. I speak from personal experience because after being appointed to the Board of Education by Gov. Lingle, I was never asked to take certain positions on education issues. Each regent probably based his or her independent decision solely on the facts and advice by legal counsel.

It is not easy to fire someone. It takes immense courage and conviction on the part of the regents to initiate such an action. I know these regents did what they truly believed was best for the University of Hawai'i. Rather than rushing to judgment or placing uninformed and premature blame on them, we should wait until they have had a full opportunity to disclose their entire reasons for firing Dobelle.

Solve the problem by solving the problem

Regarding the June 21 letter by E. Helenihi: He or she calls attention to the absence of logic in the government's decision to widen the H-1 Freeway since that decision was evidently based on the fantasy that such widening would increase the capacity of the freeway so it would no longer become congested.

The real cause of any congestion is the fact that most people today consider it to be a necessity that they own and operate their own motor vehicle if they can possibly afford one. Because of this fact and the fact that the population always grows, the only way government can keep the day from arriving when the roads become so overloaded with motor vehicles that they become unusable is to make it no longer necessary for most persons to own and operate their own motor vehicles.

Public schools need to be made more safe

To me, home should be the safest place on Earth, and for two-thirds of the year, Castle High School is my home. So I'd like to see it a bit safer as well.

Walking around school, I see rusty, broken rain gutters, electrical cords sticking out of the walls, and lights in our classrooms that seem to be hanging by a single skinny electrical cord and almost about to fall. I don't like going to school and having to fear for my safety because just going to school is hard enough already.

I've walked around private schools such as Punahou and St. Louis, and it's obvious that those schools are better maintained. But why is that? Sure, their students pay money for a better education; does that mean we need to pay for a safer school? School safety to me is an issue that the government should pay more attention to.

I speak on behalf of many concerned students attending public schools who hope to go to school confident that we will be safe.

Anti-Semitism isn't part of the dialogue

I quite agree with Judith D. Pumphrey ("Anti-Semitism shown in Lingle trip dialogue," Letters, June 21); there is a serious lack of education, and unfortunately, she is one of the uneducated.

We all know that John Kennedy's ancestors came from Ireland, and the same applies to Ben Cayetano's coming from the Philippines. I am also quite sure that not one of Linda Lingle's ancestors ever set foot in the Middle East.

Before she left for Israel, she was asked to meet some of the Palestinian leaders while she was there. She said she met a cross-section of the Israelis, whose views are one-sided.

She has made several misstatements since she came backÊfrom her trip, particularly in her press conference, which I have watched twice on the Internet. Anti-Semitism does not come into the dialogue going on in The Advertiser — equal rights and freedom for all does.

Teenage drivers are being wrongly profiled

What is with everyone blaming car accidents on teenage drivers? This is absurd.

Most accidents are due to drunk drivers usually 21 and older, middle-aged people losing their concentration or older people falling asleep at the wheel.

Take, for example, the accident involving the "racers" who killed not only themselves but an innocent city worker. The news led the public to believe they were both teens, when in fact they were in their '20s.

The upcoming "graduated license" with the "no driving after 11 p.m." and "one passenger at a time" rules are ridiculous. What if the reason for getting your license is to help out your family and drop siblings off to their destination?