Silent majority must make itself heard

Thanks to the ACLU, the Boy Scouts of America has lost a longstanding partner. The Pentagon has ordered that no on-duty personnel, no military money nor military facilities are to be used in support of the Boy Scouts. Military personnel must be off duty to volunteer for any Scout-related activities. This puts the World Jamboree in jeopardy.

This is all because the Boy Scouts of America has always stood for morality, decency and faith. It has always taught the core values that this country was founded upon. We, the silent majority, must now make our voices heard.

I have always said that it is a sad commentary when the supposed rights of a few are forced, by law, to become the standards of the majority. It is now the majority that is being discriminated against. I am saddened because America is not what it used to be. We are losing our civil rights and our core values because of the ACLU. The ACLU does not represent the vast majority of Americans. It surely doesn't represent me. I choose not to be silent any longer.

Neighbor trimming kiawe tree appreciated

Regarding the Nov. 18 Bureaucracy Buster column by Robbie Dingeman: Bill Balfour of the Department of Parks and Recreation and a couple of our neighbors who are not affected by the overgrown kiawe and haole koa seem to feel that the pruning of these gigantic weeds was a malicious act. After the first attempt at pruning these trees, Mr. Balfour said the trees had been "severely hacked and destroyed" and brought his crew in from the city and sawed them all the way to ground level.

Guess what? The trees are already coming back, so I guess they weren't all that destroyed after all.

Mr. Balfour goes on to state, "It is unfortunate that the selfish act of one individual has destroyed that which was once an attribute of the ambience of this serene park." Please! For one thing, if a citizen is willing to spend over $2,000 of his own money to take care of a problem that the Parks Department cannot/will not handle, how is this a "selfish act"? We neighbors who had lost part or most of our view and now have it back hardly consider this a selfish undertaking.

Also, is the thorny, messy kiawe tree really an attribute to any park, along with the haole koa?

My neighbor (the hacker and destroyer) has volunteered to take over the park using his own funds and time to beautify the area but was denied this by Mr. Balfour. Is this cutting off your nose to spite your face or what? I think we need some new blood in the Parks Department, and I hope the new mayor will consider candidates who have an open mind and are willing to look at some fresh ideas.

Many of the lessors aren't Hawaiian

I believe some clarification is needed for Robin Makapagal's statement in a Nov. 17 letter that "Lessees are outnumbered by the tens of thousands of children and families served by the Kamehameha Schools and the Lili'uokalani Trust every year."

It is a myth that all leasehold property benefits the Hawaiian people. A large number are owned by individuals or families who aren't Hawaiian. They simply put the money in their pockets. They help no one but themselves.

Sorting out trash for recycling cumbersome

Now that the recycle program is on indefinite hold, perhaps the crafters of this program can step back and rethink it. As I understand it, we will be able to place our recyclables in the new blue trash bins for pickup by the city. To make this program work successfully, it needs to be as user-friendly as possible.

If we are going to recycle certain categories of trash, then we should be recycling all trash from those categories. For instance, it should be all paper, not just parts of the newspaper, and all metal, not just aluminum, and all glass, etc. Having to sort out and pick only certain items for recycling makes it cumbersome for the public and less likely that people will participate in the program.

North Shore mall site would be inappropriate

Another big development is in the works for the North Shore, this time a big mall across from the marine preserve at Sharks Cove.

Why not consider the possibility that the North Shore is already "big" enough? Do we really need more growth? More development?

For more growth, we must give up the very qualities that make the North Shore special. For more development, we would transform what we prize into a few jobs and fatter bank accounts for the powerful minority of land speculators, bankers and shopping mall hustlers who stand to profit most.

Don't we already have all the shopping and restaurants we need in Hale'iwa? If not, build more in Hale'iwa! Can anyone deny that most of the dollars spent at a Sharks Cove mall will be dollars lost from Hale'iwa?

Hawai'i used to have a lot more really nice places. Must we continue to ruin them? "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." — E. Abbey.

Criticism of school days off inaccurate

In response to Patrick Adams' Nov. 17 letter regarding public school students having too many days off in November: Yes, there are a number of non-school days in this particular month. However:

• Teacher's institute was and always has been one day. Each island chooses the day during the designated week for institute day.
• Not all schools have a waiver day after Veterans' Day.
• Universities and private schools also have the day off after Thanksgiving.
• Many teachers would rather be in the classroom teaching students on waiver days.
• Not all schools finish early on Wednesdays.

I believe Mr. Adams should be more informed before thinking he has "found the answer to our entire education problem in Hawai'i."

No Leeward landfill

A Leeward landfill will max out Leeward Coast traffic.

The parade of rubbish trucks that now goes into Waimanalo Gulch can't be mixed in with the existing daily snarls from Honokai Hale to Helelua Street (afternoon) and Hakimo Road to Haleakala Street (morning), plus the perpetual sewer repair, without immobilizing the whole area.

This leaves expanding Waimanalo Gulch or going into the ravine next to it as the only viable alternatives for that part of the island.

Poke festival was a smashing success

A big mahalo goes out to the Turtle Bay Resort, Sam Choy and his staff, Rick Schneider and his staff at Events International, and Gallo of Sonoma Wines for bringing new excitement to the North Shore with the Turtle Bay Resort/Sam Choy Poke Festival.

Proceeds from this event, which included a golf tournament and poke contest, will go to local schools and charities through the Ko'olauloa Educational Alliance Corp.

The poke contest in particular was a sold-out event. This is a testament to the local community.

The Turtle Bay Resort/Sam Choy Poke Festival holds bright promise for the future as a means of stimulating the local economy, bringing pride to the Ko'olauloa/North Shore communities, and bringing needed funding to local charities.

Poison jeopardizes Ala Wai park users

I look out off the lanai at Ala Wai Community Park and I see park people spraying poison around the basketball court, volleyball court, jungle gym and sidewalks while the kids are there. They say it's to make the job of keeping the park easy to trim.

Meanwhile, the kids, dogs and and the rest of us are walking through it, playing in it, falling down in it, etc.

I understand the reasoning for the poison, but I think that if parents were aware of what the kids and animals are getting into, this procedure would be halted.

It's the fans who need to have a head check

Times have changed, and players and coaches have come and gone. The finances needed to support a successful program today are huge. Criticism has long been a part of the sports world and is magnified by today's technology and communication capabilities. The landscape may have changed, but the one thing that hasn't changed is the passion and commitment a real "fanatic" has for his or her team. The so-called "fans" of Hawai'i today do not display the passion or commitment needed to have a successful program.

I remember the games and fans at Honolulu Stadium. They cheered for their team through thick and thin — through the full moons, the Manoa mist and the mud. The "termite palace" was a hub of pride as Hawai'i challenged the world in the sports arena. The waft of roasted peanuts as you entered carried the aroma of success and an opportunity to represent our state. The wading through the confetti and newspapers as you left, win or lose, left you still prideful of the team's effort. The fans supported "our" team with undeniable loyalty, unlike today's fair-weather critics.

The fans today are really not fans at all. They are losers who want to be winners. They talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They are armed with a "what have you done for me lately attitude" and are visionaries of 20/20 hindsight. Support through attendance is pathetic, and yet they feel they deserve wins and a yearly bowl game that they won't attend.

Embarrassingly, many who attend games would boo a young student athlete who is trying his best but falls short of their perfect, self-serving expectations. They moan and groan of the coaches, the players, the logos, the uniforms and the songs, but they personally remain constant and perfect when they look in the mirror. They complain of the loss of tradition, and so they feel they no longer can support their team.

Win, win — just win and I will be a fan! I will be loyal if you win. I will be prideful of your efforts if you win. Please win — or else!

Fans — what fans? Change is in order, and the "fan" should take a closer look in the mirror.