Posted on: Friday, May 28, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Lingle's trip to Israel was beneficial to Hawai'i

Hats off to our governor, who has taken time from her busy schedule locally to spread aloha in other parts of the world. Her recent trip to the Middle East can only be a "win" for the people of Hawai'i.

Gov. Lingle and her delegation met with high-technology experts, as well as medical, commerce, legislative, business and agriculture counterparts, while in Israel. The exchange of information and ideas can only be beneficial to both sides. Israel has developed barren lands into agricultural masterpieces.

The governor's trip also elevates Hawai'i's global presence with regard to economics and tourism. It serves to support democracy in the Middle East, an area that has a paucity of Western democracy as we know it.

Many thanks, Gov. Lingle, for representing our state abroad and bringing fresh ideas that can only improve Hawai'i's overall stature.

Governor's defense of Bush policies wrong

Gov. Linda Lingle recently announced that "If we're not going to fight terrorism there (Middle East), we're going to have to fight it here at home."

Hasn't anyone told her yet that the terrorists her mentor, Mr. Bush, claims to be fighting are mostly Saudi Arabians, and that the link he tried to establish between Iraq and terrorism has been dismissed as hogwash by anybody who has paid attention?

Gov. Lingle's president has led Americans into a very dangerous place on the world stage with his illegal, immoral, pre-emptive war against a small, oil-rich country. And he has carried out the extermination of thousands of poor Iraqis and hundreds of U.S. soldiers at the cost of hundreds of billions of our dollars.

The Bush/Cheney policies of putting America above and out of the reach of the United Nations, the World Court and world opinion, and exempt from the Geneva Convention guidelines have further inflamed the entire human community of our little planet and made everyone who flies the red, white and blue the target of Muslims everywhere.

Terrorism cannot be beaten by acts of terrorism. The playground bully always ends up the loser.

Military pays dearly for the use of land

Lee Cataluna whines about the evil military empire with a phony them-versus-us stereotype (May 25). The military is us. They are our fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, neighbors and co-workers. The soldiers and sailors who serve are the people of Hawai'i.

Ms. Cataluna complains that the Navy gets free use of land. The Navy in Hawai'i has already paid a high price for permission to train. Free? Tell that to the families of the thousands of sailors buried beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor; tell the family at Schofield Barracks whose soldier will not be coming home just what the price is.

On the other hand, Ms. Cataluna, don't bother; the majority of Hawai'i's people already know the price of freedom.

City isn't doing enough to make matters worse

The city's traffic plan for Waikiki does not seem to be working, despite the construction.

While traffic on Kalakaua and Kuhio is definitely congested, there are still brief portions of the day when traffic on Ala Wai Boulevard moves along smoothly.

My suggestion would be to remove the restrictions to parking in the far left lane of Ala Wai Boulevard as has been done for the far right lane. That should bring about just the kind of traffic jam the city fathers seem to be trying to achieve. Not to mention the added benefit of filling the air with exhaust from all those idling engines. Who wants to breathe air filled with the aroma of plumeria and sea breezes anyway?

Donate canned goods to the homeless shelter

Hi, my name is Vikki Kamp. I am 14 years old and in the eighth grade. I am a member of the Na Alaka'i team at Washington Middle School. I have the right to help out the homeless people.

Everyone has basic needs. I am disappointed because there are starving homeless. Even though there are homeless shelters, they still starve when they are on the streets.

Did you know that there are about 3,500 individuals who are homeless? I would just hate to see the homeless people sleep on the bus stops and sleep in the park. Also they would dig through the rubbish cans and eat other people's leftovers. How would you feel if that were you? Not so great, right?

If you would like to help us out, you can just donate canned goods to the homeless shelter.

Thank you for your time.

Parking fee increase will hurt students

Last spring semester was my first attendance at Hawai'i Pacific University. I park in the municipal parking near the campus.

A 50 percent increase in parking fares is ridiculous, especially for the students who have to commute to school and don't make much money to begin with. This increase will just put a larger hole in our already-torn pockets from tuition and books.

There should be some kind of exemption for students who attend school in town if the proposal is passed.

Gas price gouging? Look to electric vehicle

Can you believe the prices of fuel at the pumps — $3.15 per gallon on Lana'i, $2.85 per gallon on Moloka'i and $2.65 per gallon on Maui? How can we fight it?

For sure, the gas cap legislation isn't the answer. The only real and meaningful solution is an electric vehicle with solar or hydrogen capabilities.

Do yourself a favor. Check it out. Help yourself and America become completely independent of oil.

Ideological differences make for healthy politics

Regarding Jerry Burris' May 23 column on the workings of the Hawai'i Supreme Court: Ideological differences between two people do not make one "functional" and the other "dysfunctional," no matter how foolishly erroneous one right-mindedly considers the other to be for holding a view contrary to one's own.

This is typical derisive labeling people resort to in current-day political discourse.

Ideological differences between members of a collective decision-making body leading to non-unanimous decisional outcomes also do not make that body "dysfunctional." There are those who would even consider such honest and thoughtful differences to actually be "healthy."

State and federal supreme courts do in fact make law while engaged in the interpretation of law. Judicial decision-making is not and cannot be a mechanistic process, particularly when a court deals with novel issues or chooses between competing rules because there is no firmly established legal rule. These are often the type of cases a supreme court addresses.

Whatever law made by the legislative, executive or judicial branch of government (and all three branches do in fact make law) favors some values over others. Challenges to the law, based on disagreement over the favored values, which call for changing the lawmakers (legislators, governors or judges) or repealing or amending the disputed law, is simply American-style government and politics properly at work.

We should practice what we preach on democracy

We are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to promote democracy. But do we practice at home what we promote abroad? The recent arrival of our registered voter polling place information prompts me to ask that question.

I called the Office of Elections and discovered that there are an estimated 848,397 individuals who are eligible to vote in Hawai'i. Of this number, 596,434, or about 70 percent, are registered to vote. I then went to the Office of Elections Web site (http://www.hawaii .gov/election/facts/fsvs505c.pdf). I discovered that in 1959, 93.6 percent of Hawai'i's registered voters voted. The percentage of registered voters who actually vote has steadily declined since then. In 2002, the last year for which statistics are listed, only 57 percent of the registered voters actually voted.

If that pattern continues, approximately 340,000 individuals (57 percent of the 596,434 registered voters) would be expected to cast a ballot in 2004. That means that only 40 percent of those eligible to vote (848,397) will actually do so. It also means that 20 percent of those eligible to vote would constitute a majority (50 percent of those voting). That is not how a democracy should work!

The Interfaith Alliance Hawai'i (TIAH) is actively supporting the informed voter campaign of The Interfaith Alliance, its national affiliate. Details of the campaign, entitled "One Nation, Many Faiths. VOTE 2004," and the ways in which you can help can be found at www.interfaithalliance.org/elections or by contacting Jo-Anna Nakata, executive director of TIAH at 258-2958 (O'ahu).

Please join with TIAH and its interfaith membership in doing all in your power to strive for a 90 percent or higher voter registration and vote in 2004. No matter what your political views, the need to practice the democracy we seek to promote abroad is essential to the democracy in which we are blessed to live. Help us eliminate voter apathy. Make sure that all your friends are registered to vote in 2004 and do vote. Every vote counts.

Police should put focus on saving pedestrians

The Honolulu Police Department consists of a professional force and generally does a terrific job enforcing criminal violations. But its recent emphasis on zero tolerance for seatbelt violations places priorities in the wrong order.

While reading page B2 of the May 21 Honolulu Advertiser, I saw the article about the new seatbelt violations enforcement program. Then, as I glanced to page B3, I saw an article about another innocent pedestrian who was struck and killed while legally crossing the street within a marked crosswalk.

I know and agree that wearing seatbelts can save your own life and most motorists actually wear them. In fact, Honolulu Police Maj. Doug Miller was quoted in the seatbelt article as saying "We're concerned that a fraction (emphasis added) of the motoring public is not wearing seatbelts." Why is the HPD so determined to go after a fraction of motorists violating a seatbelt law when the majority, perhaps 95 percent, of that same motoring public absolutely refuses to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks or at intersections and are being completely ignored by the police?

It's a prevailing attitude among drivers that if they don't stop for pedestrians, nobody is going to do anything about it. That attitude places the life of innocent parties in jeopardy.

A crosswalk is an area in which pedestrians should certainly have a realistic expectation that they are safe. They have the right-of-way at crosswalks and, if they have a walk light, at intersections. Not a single car should be permitted to cut them off. The police know it and motorists in 49 other states know it. For whatever reason, Hawai'i motorists just don't get it.

A few years ago, the police contacted TV stations for a little PR as they positioned themselves at a crosswalk in town, baited motorists to ignore them, and then pulled them over to issue a warning. Let's be honest. Motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians don't need a warm and fuzzy, feel-good warning. They need to be ticketed.

In addressing the new seatbelt enforcement, Rodney Haraga of the Department of Transportation said, "We're not about making money. We're about safety." Are you listening, HPD? It's about safety. Seatbelts are important. But seatbelt enforcement pales in comparison to the importance of enforcing laws requiring motorists to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

The law is already on the books. Isn't it about time you started enforcing it?