Posted on: Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Iraq war a mistake from the beginning

The Bush administration should be held accountable for the lies that were told to Congress and to the world about its reasons for attacking Iraq. This administration has stated clearly that it does not want to be part of the International Criminal Court, nor does it want to follow the rules of the Geneva Conventions.

We forgo diplomacy and the work of the United Nations and instead go on attack with Christian ideological shields into a crusade against the Muslim world. It's all played exactly as it was planned, a self-fulfilling prophecy. We did not secure the Iraqi borders or the munitions stores. Insurgents who were not there before are now in Iraq in full force, giving us an enemy where none existed before. We are destroying more so that we can rebuild. The contracts for the reconstruction are firmly in place, allowing Bush's "haves and the have mores" to gain even more.

Our allies are not allies because they support this "noble" war. They've been promised a part of the spoils.

Fatal-accident driver punished every day

Regarding Nicholas Tudisco's fatal accident: About three years ago I watched an interview of the victim's co-worker say that she was "elated" that Nicholas will be held accountable. There is nothing elating about any of this.

The family members of the victim are not the only ones suffering. I'm sure the Tudisco family is going through hell, and it's probably nothing compared to the hell that Nicholas is putting himself through. He is punished every day as he is forced to deal with a mistake that happened years ago, and it's something that he's going to carry with him for the rest of his life.

It was a horrible accident, but it was an accident. He used poor judgment, and now he has to pay the consequences.

State 'piece of paper' is what it's all about

Two letters have recently appeared in your paper to which I must take exception. The first is from Robert Lawless (Nov. 22).

Marriage is indeed about the state-issued "piece of paper." That is precisely what the battle has been all about.

The so-called same-sex marriage battle has not been about the social, cultural, religious, connubial or historic aspects of marriage, although opponents have been successful at painting those arguments.

The same-sex marriage battle is about the legal, civil and economic relationship that two people wish to form, an area that does require state intervention to assure equal rights (as opposed to equal rites).

As to Leslie Kim's Nov. 21 letter, I would ask her if she voted earlier this month. Her civil right to do so was fought for over decades that culminated in a constitutional amendment and was certainly not based on race, but rather another immutable human characteristic: sex.

Every major sociological and psychological study conducted over the last 30 years indicates that sexual orientation, too, is immutable, and therefore all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered individuals should be outlawed.

Civil rights movement more than just race

In a Nov. 21 letter, Leslie Kim poses the question, "Are gays and lesbians another race?" all the while asking us to keep in mind the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s. The flippant tone in her letter underlines her lack of knowledge of the history of the civil rights movement in this country.

In 1963, when women began to organize around the issue of their civil rights, Congress passed the Federal Equal Pay Act.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination not only for reasons of color and race, but religion and national origin as well.

In 1972, the U.S. Senate passed an Equal Rights Amendment intended to prohibit all discrimination based on sex.

Since the 1970s, gay-rights organizations have worked to prevent discrimination in housing and employment.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act barred discrimination against disabled persons in employment and provided for improved access to public facilities.

Contrary to Ms. Kim's opinion, all of the above are considered a part of the civil rights movement in America. Though the beginnings of that movement were founded in a desire to end discrimination against African Americans, it has come to encompass far more than race. If your reader would like to remain in the '50s and '60s, she is free to do so; however, the rest of the world would like to get on with our lives, liberties and pursuits of happiness.

Illegal muffler law must be enforced

James Myers and L. Tom are to be commended for their recent letters regarding the use of illegal muffler systems that increase noise pollution throughout the Aloha State. Some of the illegal mufflers are loud enough to set off car alarms as they pass. The use of these illegal noisemakers is so widespread, I thought they were legal, as I believe most people do — until I read Mr. Tom's letter.

Illogically, there is no enforcement of this law. If the use of modified mufflers is illegal, then like all illegal vehicle modifications, it should by law be denied safety check approval and under the current unenforced law subject to a fine.

This is an example of how law-abiding and law-avoiding citizens alike lose respect for the law when it is not enforced. Because of lack of respect of the law, further unchecked violations of the law increase, which result in even lower regard for the law: New York City significantly lowered its serious-crime rate by enforcing laws for petty crime.

While the self-centered, look-at-me mentality of boomboxes can only be cited by complaint and observation, the curse of loud mufflers disrupting the peace of the 'aina can be easily stopped for good at safety inspection stations — if and when officials decide to enforce this reasonable law.

Marine was just following the rules

Regarding the Marine shooting of an insurgent in Fallujah: When are you going to report the news that is actually happening?

After viewing the tape and hearing the audio, I have come to the conclusion that the Marine in question did everything correctly. The rules of engagement: Any wounded fighter posing a threat is considered hostile. Tell that to the Marine who died the day before trying to attend a booby-trapped insurgent.

Everyone I have talked with is livid about the one-sided reporting and the fact that we are asking the troops to put their lives on the line every second and some reporters and military brass (not putting their lives on the line) stay safely at home and have the audacity to Monday-morning-quarterback that Marine.

Go take his place and let him decide if you followed the rules. Thank God for soldiers like him!

Problem with schools isn't lack of funding

Jerome G. Manis cites many incorrect statistics to reach a flawed conclusion that the real problem with Hawai'i's public schools is lack of funding (Island Voices, Nov. 21).

Expenditures for each public student are $10,422, not including the DOE's request for a $12 million emergency appropriation for autism during the next legislative session, $32 million additional funding for the 2005 school year and $40 million in 2006.

Manis states that Hawai'i ranks 50th in state revenues allocated to public schools; however, Hawai'i actually ranks first, providing 89.8 percent of education funding.

The argument that Hawai'i has the second-highest proportion of teachers in relation to other school personnel, but the sixth largest classes in the country, is contradictory. The statewide 16-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio is not evident at the individual classroom level because the DOE has many state, district and other personnel considered "teachers."

Manis defends the centralized structure of the DOE as being the most "fair" system, while ranking dead last in student performance. Spending top dollar to be last is not fair to anyone. Obviously, money does not equate to better learning.

The inefficiency of a centralized bureaucracy has resulted in an extremely expensive school system that delivers only about half of all education dollars to individual schools.

The "billion dollars for you, billion dollars for us" practice of the DOE leaves teachers and principals of Hawai'i sacrificing to pay for ever-increasing paper pushers' high-paying, air-conditioned jobs.

Coverage of Warriors should be supportive

June Jones' comments regarding media coverage of UH football are right on. Coverage of the Warriors should be positive and supportive. After all, the young men representing UH and Hawai'i are amateurs. They are sons of people we may know. Would we be as critical of Peewee footballers when they lose?

Regardless of their win-loss record, who are we to question their efforts? I've never witnessed the team giving up.

As for coach Jones and his staff, I much prefer the wide-open brand of football they serve up than the "three yards and a cloud of dust, play not to lose" philosophy of some schools. Watching UH play is fun.

I'm thankful that Jones chose to coach the Warriors. I'm glad he has re-branded the team's identity and merchandise. He has started a new tradition of high expectations with no disrespect to our football history. He has been a positive influence, and I hope he will remain for many years.

Democrat bashing ignores facts

James A. Martens might want to do a little "fact checking" himself before he disparages The Advertiser's editorial board, Jesse Jackson, Garry Wills and the Democratic Party, all in the same letter ("Democrat editorial dŽjˆ vu all over again," Nov. 20). Among his dubious assertions, Martens claims Democrats are to blame for big government and "entitlement programs" that he says are "spiraling out of control."

If he did some research, he'd find that under President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, government has actually gotten bigger in more ways than one. According to the Brookings Institution, the federal payroll has ballooned since Bush took office. At the same time, the government has indirectly expanded its workforce by contracting out thousands of jobs in Iraq to corporations like Halliburton.

The Bush regime has also employed Big Brother tactics to stifle dissent and punish anyone who disagrees with its "pro-growth" agenda, which favors big business, of course. And they have managed (or mismanaged) to turn a record budget surplus into the biggest budget deficit in history. You have to hand it to Bush, though — he does think big!

Martens says Democrats want to "turn back the clock by 10, 20, even 70 years." Does he remember what this country was like back then? We — meaning liberal Democrats, progressive-minded independents and even moderate Republicans — were fighting for equal rights for women, minorities and gays. We were creating programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We were forcing government to take steps to protect our environment. Are these the entitlement programs and "failed ideas" he speaks of?

Moreover, this is the most regressive government we've ever had. The Bush administration has rolled back environmental regulations while handing out tax breaks to corporations that pollute our air and water. Bush's tax cuts have made the rich even richer, while the average person finds his dollar shrinking in value every day. We have spent more on bombing Iraq and rebuilding what we destroyed than what we spend on our own children's education. At last count, the cost of the war in Iraq to taxpayers is over $200 billion — and climbing.

We are literally going backward as a nation. Under the thumb of the Religious Right movement, conservative Republicans on the Mainland are even trying to turn back the clock in our children's classrooms by supplanting fact-based science lessons with biblical scripture. It's as if the Scopes monkey trial never happened in this brave new Bush world.

At least Martens inadvertently gets one thing right: A lot of people in this country would be happier if we could go back in time — to four years ago, before Bush became president.