A time of fear, but also a time to stand proud

As my son prepares to deploy again, the memories of sleepless nights, nightmares, etc., occupy my thoughts. Once again, the pain, stress and uncertainties of being a military mom of a deployed soldier will fill my days and nights.

There is no time to waste, only times to cherish and stand proud. My faith in God keeps me strong. My advice to other moms is now mine, too: Don't listen to rumors, Priority 1; rumors are worse than the enemy! Freedom is not cheap, nor without tears.

Thank you, rescuers, for finding the victims

This is an open letter to all those who were involved with the rescue of our son, Tom Huemmer, and his girlfriend, Tammy Zytkowski, in the fatal helicopter crash of Sept. 24.

Both our families want to thank the brave men of the Kaua'i Fire Department rescue squad and also the members of the Pacific Air Rescue team who finally found our son. In addition, thanks to all the other helicopter companies and their pilots who assisted.

Although we have not seen the terrain in Kaua'i, we realize that the rescuers faced a very dangerous situation, and we are most thankful for their dedication. We know they realized how important their mission was to us, and their performance is to be commended.

We are still hurting, but at least we were able to have a funeral Mass with Tom and Tammy together, and they have been laid to rest at Holy Cross cemetery in Cleveland. We believe they are "United in Heaven."

Once again, our deep appreciation to all those involved in the rescue.

Support predictable

Regarding the Kerry endorsement: How could anyone have expected otherwise? Ho-hum. Now if the endorsement had been for Bush/Cheney, I would have had my own 9/11 with my wife dialing for an ambulance and me passed out on the floor. Some things are just as predictable as death and taxes.

Greatest was on stage; where was audience?

On Friday, Oct. 15, I was one of the lucky few to experience possibly the world's greatest pianist of our time, Lang Lang. At least for that evening he was, in the eyes and ears of all in attendance, the world's greatest. Assuredly, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The tragedy was that the hall was only half full — appalling.

Hello, Honolulu! Is there anyone out there? Support your arts!

Let's have a forum about Hawai'i's history

First, hats off to George Avlonitis for speaking up for historical accuracy ("Revisionist history rampant," Letters, Oct. 19). It can be scary these days to cite the facts about Hawai'i's history when you are likely to run afoul of political and money interests who don't like those facts.

Why not engender a spirited public forum to get our history straight? Invite all sides to spout off and provide facts to support their pronouncements? It would be healthy, and it sure would sell papers!

Brian Schatz does indeed live in Makiki

We know that you've probably received a lot of mail about the elections lately, but we feel it's necessary to set the record straight on some untrue statements being made about Rep. Brian Schatz.

Brian has been our neighbor for years in Makiki. As you can imagine, it shocked us to learn that Brian's opponents are attempting to deceive the community about where Brian, his wife, Linda, and son Tyler live. It's really sad when political campaigns resort to such untruthful and distracting tactics.

Brian and his family live in the apartment down the hall from us. We see them daily and sometimes even hear their 7-month-old son fussing. Brian and Linda are our neighbors in Makiki.

And as the representative for Makiki and Tantalus, Brian has done a tremendous job advocating for our community's needs. Perhaps this is why his opponents have stooped so low as to make an issue out of a house he owns in St. Louis Heights where his elderly in-laws reside. Linda's parents, George and Ping, also help take care of Tyler while Brian and Linda are at work during the day.

There is no question in our minds: Brian Schatz not only lives in Makiki, he is the right choice to represent our community.

It's time to act, not wait for new studies

The Oct. 18 letter from Tamah-Lani Noh, the state's drug control strategy liaison, again begs the question about why it is taking so long to release the funds to fight ice.

No one questions the need for due diligence, but where is the Lingle administration's sense of urgency? We are in an epidemic, a crisis situation. We can't afford to wait for drawn-out studies.

That's the concern here. Badly needed funding is being dribbled out by the administration. The lieutenant governor has taken nearly two years to complete a sorely needed plan to fight ice. Meanwhile, the epidemic rages. We need to cut through the bureaucracy and get the job done.

People are suffering and dying from ice. There are responsible ways of moving faster. The Legislature did it. Why can't the administration?

Cavasso's anti-gay stand is contrary to equal justice

Cam Cavasso's Oct. 17 commentary shows him to be a one-issue candidate, out of touch with reality and perversely obsessed with the intimate relationships of people he doesn't even know. He promotes a culture of fear and ignorance as a response to a nonexistent threat and selectively cites the Bible and the teachings of his faith as if there is only one way to be a Christian.

Same-sex couples pose no threat to the institution of marriage. How could they? These couples want and need a strong institution to provide protection and structure for their families. What's more, in places like Massachusetts, Canada and the Netherlands where gay couples may now legally wed, this civil right remains available, as always, to heterosexual couples.

One of the myths Cavasso spreads is the idea that gay marriage would have a negative impact on Hawai'i's tourism industry. Quite to the contrary, gay marriage, gay honeymoons and gay travelers have proven to be big income generators for destinations worldwide, from Aspen to the Aloha State and from Munich to Montreal. There is no marketplace data that shows a decline in visitor spending or arrivals because a destination is gay-friendly or allows gay marriage.

While some Christians have firm beliefs that homosexuality is a sin, there are many others who recognize the main theme of the Bible is love — for God, family and neighbor. Everyone has sins, but it isn't for you or me to judge them.

In America, one of our founding principles is equal justice under the law. As we come to better understand this principle, our nation has expanded civil rights for women, people of color and gays and lesbians. While the Bible may be one of the best-selling books in history, it also has been widely used to defend slavery and same-race marriage as well as bans on eating pork and shellfish.

Regardless of what the Bible says, in America our laws are based on the Constitution, which states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Federal Marriage Amendment is about as un-American as you can get.

Don't privatize Social Security

Social Security is a subject of debate and contention between the presidential candidates and among some congressional candidates in Hawai'i, as well. Recently, Neil Abercrombie and Dalton Tanonaka expressed their views on a local news station. Although AARP believes the current Social Security system needs to be strengthened, we disagree with Mr. Tanonaka's recommendation of privatization.

Mr. Tanonaka and others recommend taking some of the money people pay into the Social Security system and diverting it into newly created private accounts. Because less money would be flowing into Social Security, the guaranteed and inflation-adjusted lifetime benefits would have to be cut. Maybe the investments in the account would make up the difference, and maybe they wouldn't.

Market returns can be attractive, yet they come at a risk. Private accounts can lose money just as fast as they can make it. And, unlike Social Security, you run the risk of outliving your savings and you lose the protection against inflation. Further, private accounts are expensive. Most of us would have to pay twice to create this new system — first to keep our commitments to current retirees and again to pay into these private accounts.

Therefore, AARP opposes private accounts that are financed out of the Social Security payroll contribution. Private retirement accounts in addition to Social Security, in contrast, are an essential part of personal retirement security.

Many people do not realize just how valuable Social Security is to them. An individual would have to save an additional $250,000 while working to replace the benefits Social Security provides over an average retirement lifespan. Independent investments, pensions, IRAs and 401(k)s are all important parts of retirement savings, but so is Social Security. In fact, the average two-earner couple can expect $20,000 per year in Social Security benefits.

Without any changes, Social Security will be able to pay 100 percent of benefits well into the 2040s and over 70 percent of promised benefits after that. Only paying 70 percent of promised benefits, however, is not acceptable. Social Security needs modest changes, but the guarantee it provides is one worth strengthening, not replacing.