'Clear Skies' initiative must be defeated

I am very concerned about mercury levels in our fish. The state Department of Health has warned people not to eat swordfish, marlin and shark, and to limit quantities of tuna and other fish, due to high mercury levels.

Yet despite these serious public health threats, the Bush administration is pushing a bill that would allow power plants to emit seven times more mercury than our Clean Air Act allows.

I urge Sens. Inouye and Akaka to stand up for strong enforcement of our Clean Air Act, and to stop the Bush administration's so-called "Clear Skies" initiative. No more mercury in my fish.

Trust should return lands to Hawaiians

Once upon a time a man named Samuel Damon came to Hawai'i. Somehow, by befriending Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, he inherited the ahapua'a of Moanalua.

It was not the entire ahapua'a, so shortly thereafter, he set out to "purchase" the lands that were not included in the princess' will from the natives who had lived on this land for generations. Most of these lands bought from the natives were recently sold for approximately $400-plus million.

For almost a century, this man and his descendants collected monies from the leases and sales of these Moanalua lands, an almost obscene amount. According to the trust of this man, this land dynasty will now be liquidated and divided among his 20 or so descendants. The only land not sold is the Moanalua Gardens and the conservation lands of Moanalua Valley. These lands are sacred to the Hawaiian people who originated from this valley.

A happily-ever-after ending to this story would be that the Damon descendants let the Hawaiians have their sacred lands back so they will never be developed. I'm sure the princess would have agreed with this decision, in light of the immense financial gains of the Damon Trust. It is the right thing to do for the Damon descendants and for the Hawaiian people.

Taro experiments should be abandoned

Although we commend the University of Hawai'i for agreeing to a moratorium on genetic engineering of Hawaiian taro varieties, that policy should be extended throughout the state of Hawai'i to include all other taro, whether they are of Samoan, Palauan, Chinese, Japanese or other origins.

By continuing to genetically engineer taro, UH researchers are experimenting with our livelihood as taro farmers, with the people who eat taro, and with our environment.

Like all farmers, we face disease and pest problems. But genetically engineering a Super Taro is not the answer or the cure-all. It will only open the doors for new diseases or more virulent strains to occur when you work against nature.

If researchers truly want to help the taro industry, how about asking the taro farmers for input before creating something that we and the world may not or should not embrace? What's next? Round-Up Ready Taro?

Click It campaign is not just about safety

Why do nearly all the Honolulu Police Department checkpoints occur in neighborhoods where the speed limit is less than 35 miles per hour? Most deaths and serious injuries from not wearing seat belts happen on our freeways, so why were there no checkpoints near the entrances and exits there?

The HPD maintains the sole reason for the Click It or Ticket campaign is safety. This is not totally true. Certainly the main focus is safety, but this campaign is also about the hope of receiving millions of dollars from the federal government and training rookie recruits, among other agendas.

There is a crisis of confidence emerging because police personnel are breaking a promise made to the people they serve. They are not putting into action the meaning of the motto emblazoned on their patrol vehicles: integrity, respect, fairness.

Race basis sets apart Hawaiian recognition

Please note that Dante Carpenter, in his June 22 letter ("Cartoon criticism added more error"), repeats the same misunderstanding prevalent throughout the media and with those who do not understand the recognition of various Indian and Eskimo tribes by the United States government.

Carpenter believes, or at least pretends to believe, that these tribes are recognized on the basis of their race, which is absolutely untrue and would be unconstitutional. These tribes have been recognized as continuing government entities due to their historical relationship with the United States. Race does not play a part in this matter.

What all of us have to realize is that Hawai'i's representatives in Congress are attempting to establish a nation based on race. It is ugly, it is wrong and it violates their oath of office to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Bottom trawling ban is appreciated

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleased that the Pacific and North Pacific Regional Fishery Management Councils have opted this year to ban bottom trawling in large tracts of the Pacific Ocean off of the U.S. Mainland.

Their decision is consistent with that made by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council in the 1980s, when it banned both bottom trawls and bottom-set net gear to harvest bottomfish and seamount groundfish as well as tangle gear to dredge for deepwater precious corals.

The Western Pacific Council manages federal fisheries throughout the 1.5 million-square-mile exclusive economic zone surrounding Hawai'i, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and other U.S. Pacific islands. During the decade prior to the establishment of the Western Pacific Council in 1976, Japanese, Soviet and other foreign fishing fleets used trawls and tangle net dredges in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

ET, phone home — there's something strange going on

There are extraterrestrials on Earth who are mischievously targeting the United States. They are employing a psychoactive drug that affects judgment. I know the alien creatures are messing with our minds because there are two active phenomena in the United States that make no earthly sense:

• Michael Jackson continues to experience a level of public support and the adoration of a great many fans.

• President Bush continues to enjoy the support and approval of millions.

Regarding Michael Jackson: Only a psychoactive drug, inhibiting judgment, could transform his perversion into perfectibility. The alien drug creates a powerful devotion-potion drawn from the recognition of Jackson's considerable store of talent. The potion then brings on idol worship, which, in turn, acts to blind Jackson's fans to his perversion.

The Bush phenomenon has a similar etiology. The mind-altering drug has made Bush's deceptions about Iraq appear to be acceptable and excusable executive prerogatives. In contrast to Michael Jackson, however, President Bush presents the aliens with a much more daunting task. Michael Jackson fouled the lives of a few; Bush is devastating the lives of thousands.

When we search for meaning for the loss of lives of our troops, we are drawn to patriotism. There is a force that would like to confuse our understanding of patriotism. By definition, patriotism is the love of one's country, not allegiance to its political leader (who might be the cause of our losses). Capitalizing on this confusion, Bush has hijacked our patriotism and offered himself as the personification of our nation.

I attribute all this lack of judgment to extraterrestrial intervention because it is too painful for me to believe that so many of my fellow citizens lack common sense.

Let's make peace in B&B dispute

People need to be free to reasonably use their property as they see fit.

B&Bs are helpful to our communities to enrich our cultural views, as people from all over the world come to visit us, merging and interfacing with us on our beaches, in the coffee houses, restaurants, recreational classes and retail businesses. B&B visitors bring much-needed income to our local businesses.

Foreign visitors have told us that when our citizens come to visit their countries, there are vast and rich resources available by the host countries in their neighborhoods in which visitors can interface with local communities, people, culture and environments unavailable at hotels and resorts. One can get a feel for the country and its people unavailable at commercial locations, not to mention it is more affordable to stay with a local. These people have told us that they love it when we visit them in their neighborhoods where we can eat their food, laugh with them, learn their language and teach them ours.

Some people on both sides of the B&B issue have a lot of unnecessary venom on the subject and don't understand each other's point of view, or each opposing individual would not be so rabid on the subject. No one wants loud, disturbing or obnoxious people in his or her midst. This is something all of us can understand and want to prevent. Each side would benefit from a peacemaking process.

B&Bs should be regulated to prevent problems in the neighborhoods, particularly noise and traffic. These problems are unacceptable no matter who is visiting, relatives or guests. B&Bs are a way to educate visitors about our local culture, our environment, our people, our ecology, our generally peaceful way of life among diverse people (all of us are minorities), unavailable at hotels and resorts.

We have much to teach the world, where all people are striving to get along with their neighbors. Let us see this controversy as an opportunity to find a consensus that addresses many of the concerns on both sides of the B&B issue and not as a way to bash each other.

We need to immediately develop a process for resolving real and potential conflicts among neighbors and friends over this issue — develop a peacemaking process that reflects the costs of this continuing controversy, including protracted litigation and legislative deadlock. We should be using our skills as communities working together peacefully, being a good example to the world, and not continuing to practice making war with each other.

We citizens of the state of Hawai'i need legislative and council courage to help bring about a dispute resolution process in which all have an opportunity to express themselves in a meaningful way without hurling unkindness and lack of understanding at each other, reminding us of tactics of war. If we don't make peace, who will?

The state of Hawai'i is rich in lay and professional peacemakers. Tap into this rich human resource.