Posted on: Sunday, October 17, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Motorists, cyclists must be more aware

The death of cyclist Ernest Sakai is a sad one and a wake-up call to anyone who regularly rides a bicycle on O'ahu. Mr. Sakai's death is tragic enough and compounded by the fact that he was riding on arguably the safest bike path-road combination on the island. Mr. Sakai suffered from a total lack of respect.

Cyclists will always ride a fine line between motorist and pedestrian. Cyclists cannot ride on sidewalks due to pedestrians, so they ride in the streets, where they must go toe to toe with 3,000-pound-plus vehicles usually traveling twice or three times the cyclist's speed.

Bicycle shops and cycling clubs do what they can to promote safety, and the police can't be everywhere. The roads of O'ahu are in sad shape and make it difficult for all. The answer lies with the operators of the motor vehicles or the cyclist themselves.

I urge motorists to gain a stronger awareness of cycling. Slow down, look twice and let voice mail pick up the cell call. Cyclists, stay in your lane, use bike paths and pass compliments to considerate drivers.

Together with patience we can travel safer on O'ahu's roads.

Abercrombie, Case are men of principle

Becky Fischer (Letters, Oct. 13) definitely does not speak for me when she says that "Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case are not good for the people of Hawai'i, and America."

She claims "they do not vote the will of the people of Hawai'i because they both voted against the federal marriage amendment bill." She seems to also be upset because they are "too liberal." She then attests that Mike Gabbard and Dalton Tanonaka "are men of principle and God-fearing candidates."

I know that both Abercrombie and Case are excellent representatives of our fair state. They study the issues, talk to their constituents and vote in a way that best represents the interests of the vast majority of our citizens. To write with such vituperation on the basis of one vote shows a decidedly narrow-minded conservatism.

By the way, what does being "too liberal" mean? Does it mean that our congressional representatives must always vote conservatively to be acceptable? I think that both Abercrombie and Case would find the tenor of Ms. Fischer's note to be objectionable because it implies that both representatives are not "men of principle and God-fearing men."

I, for one, believe that both gentlemen are doing an excellent job of representing the citizens of Hawai'i. They have both shown, by their actions on and off Capitol Hill, that they are men of principle. Case has my vote. I hope that every thinking voter will also vote for Reps. Case and Abercrombie.

Questions remain on Akaka bill effects

This letter concerns the outstanding article of Oct. 10 by Bruce Fein on the Akaka Hawaiian sovereignty bill.

I have lived on O'ahu for over 26 years. I am a citizen and registered voter and participate in community affairs, including voting in all elections.

As I have a very difficult time understanding the bill, I recently wrote to Sen. Akaka and asked three basic questions:

• How would Hawaiian citizens benefit more from this bill than they now do as American citizens?

• How would the other groups of American citizens in Hawai'i (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) benefit from this bill?

• How would all the citizens of the United States and our country, as a whole, benefit from the passage of this bill?

• have a copy of the Akaka bill but can't find the answers to these questions.

Although this letter was sent over two months ago, Sen. Akaka has not yet responded to my request for information. Perhaps his answers would confirm what Mr. Fein is saying.

Inadequate funding making prison worse

I am an inmate at O'ahu Community Correctional Center and feel it's necessary to bring to the attention of the general public the underfunding of this facility.

Due to insufficient funding for OCCC by the state government, our island's prison system is not operating in the way it was designed to be run. Therefore, not only do the inmates suffer, but the staff does as well.

Fewer guards are given work because there's not enough money to pay them, which in turn causes the inmates to be locked in their cells for much of the day due to shortage of staff. This causes more tension among the inmates, which could lead to violence. These excessive lockdowns border on cruel and unusual punishment.

Another result of OCCC's insufficient budget: The amount of food being served to inmates has noticeably shrunk.

Staff shortage in the mailroom has led to delays in inmate mail, which includes correspondence with defense attorneys. I suspect that violations of my civil rights are taking place. But who am I to say? I'm just an inmate.

President's refusal to join court shameful

President Bush's refusal to let the United States join the International Criminal Court is a shameful national disgrace. The only "explanation" I've heard for this policy is Bush's naked assertion that he is not going to permit U.S. citizens to be held accountable before any international tribunal.

But why not? As supporters of the Patriot Act are fond of saying, if no crime has been committed, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. What message can this possibly send to the rest of the world but that the United States considers itself above and beyond the law?

Carlyle Group's plans aren't in our interests

The Carlyle Group is a conglomerate of very rich families (George Bush Sr. included). The families operate as an investment company. The Carlyle Group buys companies for one reason: to make money — not to create jobs or give you good service.

Do not trust any person (or any company) that says it will invest millions of dollars but not raise your rates for 10 years.

Do you really want a group of Mainland rich folks owning your telephone lines and telephone equipment?

Use your head, please.

Something's gotta be done about election

Enough already. I can't take it any more! Let's get this election over with. Is it just me or are others sick and tired of politics? It's like watching the same lame television rerun over and over and over again.

I know what Kerry and Bush are going to say before they say it because they say the same thing over and over and over again. Sounds like my mother when I was a kid.

I can't read anything about Mufi or Duke that isn't about the sewer system or traffic.

Here is my suggestion. Four weeks. Everyone gets four weeks to campaign. Any voter who can't figure out whom to vote for after listening to four weeks of the same babble over and over again shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Please help me, I can't take this any longer.

Gov. Lingle should be home settling issues

Where is Gov. Lingle? It seems that she is more interested in her personal national political ambitions than she is about the problems that face our state.

While she is off playing politics on the Mainland, decisions related to education and adolescent drug treatment go unattended and unfunded because she is not releasing money that was appropriated by the Legislature, in spite of positive revenue projections.

Come on, Governor ... you gotta be present for those who elected you.

A change of heart?

Hamilton McCubbin forgot to quote himself when he wrote his commentary of Oct. 10. At a meeting of a private school's alumni in early 2002, he stated, "(We) will never reach down into special ed." At the time he was CEO of the aforementioned private school. If he has had a change of heart, good for him.