Letters to the Editor

Headline misstated the intent of letter

On Feb. 22, The Advertiser printed a letter that I wrote, appearing under the headline: "Independence dream is just a pipe dream." I did not write any such thing.

My exact statement was "Hallucinogenic pipe dreams about international aid bringing back independence for Hawaiians are so absurd and unreal that I want to laugh out loud, but am too saddened by the delusionary world that some kanakas are living in."

The clarity and intent of the statement are obvious.

Blame activist judges for the marriage furor

You say in your Feb. 26 editorial that we shouldn't "mar" the U.S. Constitution with an amendment to ban same-sex marriage, calling this proposed action a "re-election ploy." You say that we the people should not "tamper" with our Constitution.

So why is it somehow OK for activist judges to tamper with the state or national constitutions by requiring us to accept such "marriages," regardless of how marriage has always been understood in Western civilization?

Seems to me that you think it's just fine for judges to come up with whatever ridiculous interpretations of our laws that they see fit, while we voters should have nothing to say about it.

Yes, there would be no need for constitutional amendments addressing same-sex marriage and other such subjects if courts would only adhere to the rule of law, rather than making up new laws to fit in with their personal predilections. When they get out of control, as they have been doing, it becomes our duty as voters to set things right.

We did that a few years ago, even in liberal Hawai'i. I hope we'll have the courage to do it again on a national basis, regardless of how the media and others distort the issue.

Marriage, as a sacred covenant between man and woman, must be preserved and not diminished by equating it with other arrangements that further erode the moral fabric of America.

Battle on ice not akin to soap opera

Are we really to compare fighting "ice" to a soap opera ("Keep tuning in to the ice soap opera," March 3)? To those of us who see Hawai'i's battle to control ice as deadly serious, as in "ice kills!", your editorial is in another world.

We must do far better at stopping ice from ruining Hawai'i's families. We know it's hard for those who start on ice to stop, easy for them to become violent and criminal. Therefore, we should all agree to:

• Stop ice from reaching our children and youth.

• Support effective school prevention and afterschool programs.

• Back law enforcement that blocks ice from reaching young people.

• Give local police the tools the feds use to fight ice dealers — wiretapping, "walk and talk" and "knock and talk."

• Help those on ice to stop their criminal behavior with Drug Court's "carrot and stick" approach — either you turn yourself right-side-out or you face "hard time."

These goals aren't "soap opera." They're backed by 65 percent of us ("People's Pulse," Winter 2004), and they are the governor's and lieutenant governor's strategy for crushing ice now.

Get decision-making down to the local level

The Feb. 25 editorial "School reform: Let's start with the basics" ends with "Is that too much too ask?" Apparently, the sobering reality is that it is too much to ask.

This is precisely why our governor is spearheading the effort to get the money and decision-making down to the local school level, the teachers and principals. The people of Hawai'i know our public education system is failing our students, and by letting the people decide, we empower teachers and principals to promptly address priorities in their respective schools.

Students deserve clean, safe and modern classrooms.

To accomplish this, we must bypass an obsolete and overbearing central bureaucracy that takes its share of the $1.7 billion allocated to the DOE before it even gets to the schools. Under this proposal, if textbooks are the priority, then that school has the money in hand and the ability to purchase what's necessary for that child without delay.

It should not be too much to ask. Let the people decide. Anything less is a slap in the face of our children, who deserve better.

Signs of the times

I am glad to see that Chinatown will have street signs posted in English and Chinese. Maybe what is needed to reduce vehicular traffic for the rest of O'ahu is to have all of the signs posted in English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French, Samoan, Tongan, etc. This way there will be no misunderstanding as to what is requested at that point of the roadway.