Lastly, teachers should be recognized for their successes, but they should also be held accountable for their failures.

'NANNY STATE'

SLOWLY, OUR PERSONAL FREEDOM BEING ERODED

Your June 15 edition should have carried the heading: "The Honolulu Advertiser — Nanny State Edition."

You had Jerry Burris commenting on a recent article showing that the percentage of commuters taking public transit is dropping — and concluding that we should go ahead and build a rail system anyway, using a "combination of persuasion and coercion" to try to force people to ride government-run transportation.

You had a Page One headline shouting "TheBus ridership is back" — accompanied by a graph showing ridership dropping from almost 80 million in 1994 to about 70 million now, despite the growth in population since then.

You had Ted Chernin in the Letters section warning about the danger of not wearing seat belts — as if libertarians like myself who always wear seat belts have no reason to be upset that tax dollars meant for police protection against real crimes are being squandered on bullying people for making an admittedly foolish choice that harms no one but themselves.

Stuff like this is not benign. It leads, step by step, to less and less freedom. In Britain, for example, they now have thousands of cameras in public places, with government employees watching you and barking commands through a bullhorn if they find you doing something they disapprove of, such as littering.

TRANSIT IS RIGHT THING FOR THIS COMMUNITY

Jerry Burris' column of June 15 truly summarizes the issues and long-term approach needed to make transit a preferable option in this city.

His analogy to smoking is apt. So many of our needed societal changes occur through a combination of legislation, pragmatic measurable benefits and community persuasion.

Without a doubt, people who have lived in transit cities are sold on the systems.

But perceptions don't change overnight, especially on this provincial island.

Long-term and at every level, transit is the right thing to do for Honolulu as a community.

It may not specifically benefit every "me," but transit achieves the betterment of the "we."

Eventually, perceptions do change. Can you even image lighting up a cigarette on an airplane today?

AIRLINE FARES

RISING PRICES IS REALITY, LOSING MONEY IS NOT

Brandon Kahele's recent letter "Local Airlines charged high prices for years" made me think about the the cost of living in Hawai'i.

I, too, remember when a round-trip to the Neighbor Islands cost less than $60. During that same time when you drove into a station to fill up with gas (which then was around $1.07 a gallon), a young man came running out to fill the tank for you and even checked your oil, tires and wiped your windows. When you went food shopping, you walked out of the store with three brown bags full of groceries, which cost about $20, and a young man pushed your wagon to your car and even put it in the trunk for you. A postage stamp was 22 cents, and a loaf of bread was $1.28.

Airline ticket prices today commensurate with the cost. Like everything else in Hawai'i, prices have gone up in the past 20 years. It's the reality of it all. What really concerns me is why go! Airlines would offer us a flight to a Neighbor Island 100 miles away for a buck when they know the fuel itself per gallon is far more than a buck. When did the goal of any business become about losing money?

OIL COMPANIES

WHY HAVEN'T GASOLINE PRICES FALLEN IN ISLES?

I recently read an Associated Press article on the Internet, "Oil prices up on Nigerian strike threat.

One sentence stated that retail gas prices continue to fall, despite analyst predictions last week that gas prices would fall no further.

Gas prices have fallen on the Mainland each week for the past four weeks. What's the deal here?

Gas hasn't fallen even 1/10 of a cent over the past four weeks. I bet that if Mainland prices go up, our local stations won't wait a minute to jack up the prices.

Do people here realize that every commodity sold on this island is tied to the price of fuel?

When fuel prices rise, other prices rise.

Come on oil companies, be good neighbors and lower the prices while you can.

JAYWALKING

NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS NOT CITED FOR VIOLATION

On Thursday, June 14, at approximately 2 p.m., two women were jaywalking mid-block on Maunakea Street between Beretania and Kukui streets.

They were stopped by two police officers. After ascertaining the women did not speak English, the officers let them go.

Lesson to be learned: If you are stopped for jaywalking and pretend not to speak English, you, too, may get off scot free.

LT. GOVERNOR

AIONA HAS QUALITIES THAT MANY LEADERS LACK

I found the comments in Lee Cataluna's June 10 column, "Aiona has to prove he can lead," very disturbing.

As lieutenant governor, Aiona is second in command under Gov. Linda Lingle and must respect the chain of command of politics.

He cannot overstep his position, although the governor has given him a very free reign in pursuing those special concerns he is famous for as a judge.

As a judge, he distinguished himself as a leader, a family man and a man devoutly committed to his faith.

Cataluna apparently doesn't consider leadership in the judicial branch as a qualification in the executive branch of government.

As for Aiona being a family man and a person of deep faith, these are qualities sorely lacking in many of our leaders.

Aiona stands out like Gunga Din, "you're a better man than me."