ARMED FORCES

HOLIDAY IS NOT ENOUGH TO REPAY OUR VETERANS

I am writing in regard to the Nov. 12 editorial, "Taking care of our veterans must be a higher priority."

Veterans Day is a very important day for everyone to take a step back and honor those who have served in the U.S armed forces.

If it wasn't for them we would be lost today. We need to honor the military more frequently.

One national holiday isn't enough to repay those who have fought and still are fighting for every U.S citizen's freedoms.

I agree that taking care of our veterans, no matter the age, should be a higher priority.

To hear that 25 percent of homeless people are veterans saddens me. Something has obviously gone wrong in their lives.

Sen. Daniel Akaka is on the right path in fighting for benefits for those who don't fight anymore.

AKAKA BILL

LETTER OMITTED CONTEXT OF 2001 HISAC REPORT

In his zeal to reiterate opposition to the Akaka bill, Tom Macdonald (Letter, Nov. 8) mischaracterizes the Hawai'i State Advisory Committee's 2001 report. Recommendation No. 4 (out of nine) states, "International solutions should be explored as alternatives to the recognition of a Native Hawaiian governing entity." The report calls upon our government to "engage in a dialogue with Hawaiian leaders to examine the issues surrounding as wide a variety of options for reconciliation as possible."

Macdonald's incomplete quotes omit the 2001 report's recognition, also acknowledged by the Supreme Court in Texas v. White (1868), that withdrawal from the Union would be authorized if the other states give their consent to such a drastic endeavor — clearly a "remote" possibility.

The 2001 HISAC report simply suggests that "the United States should give due consideration" to Native Hawaiian claims for justice under international law. By comparison, Macdonald has revealed the eagerness of yet another member of the new HISAC majority to silence minority voices.

Macdonald's repeated characterization of HISAC's 2001 report as "extreme" reveals an attitude toward international law that is eerily reminiscent of the Bush administration's violations of the Geneva Conventions (concerning the treatment of noncombatants and prisoners of war). In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), even the ultra-conservative U.S. Supreme Court recognized that international law is deeply embedded in our legal system.

Even more glaring is Macdonald's omission of the fundamental context provided by our country's broken promises to its indigenous people — not to mention African-Americans. The 1980 and 1991 HISAC reports exposed Native Hawaiian justice claims and the compelling need for reconciliation. However, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights utterly failed to address these substantive issues in its 2006 report.

MILITARY

WEAPONS DUMP TOO CLOSE TO OUR SHORES

I did not know that there was a chemical weapons dump site so close to Hawai'i's shores ("Hawai'i chemical weapons dump site to be surveyed," Nov. 14).

Five miles south of the entrance of Pearl Harbor seems far, but then again why couldn't the military dump it even farther. The ocean doesn't sit still, all of the chemicals need to go somewhere, it is definitely possible that it could be coming even nearer to Hawai'i's shores.

The Pacific Ocean is so huge and unpredictable, and yet the military still dumps harmful chemicals in our backyard. Why not another 20 or 30 miles away from here? It's good to know that the University of Hawai'i is going to conduct some research to see how harmful these chemicals can be to us. It is a scary thought to be swimming in deadly chemicals.

As a Hawaiian, it makes me sad to see the military abusing our state. Everyone remembers the bomb testing on Kaho'olawe, and what that did to the environment there.

It seems that the military likes to take advantage of us because the Islands are so far from everywhere else.

CBS PROGRAMMING

HD VIEWERS SHOULD COMPLAIN TO OCEANIC

Several months ago, I purchased a new high-definition television. I was excited to activate HD programming through Oceanic Time Warner and greatly looked forward to watching the television I enjoy in the amazing clarity available with this technology.

Imagine my disappointment when Oceanic informed me that CBS is unavailable in HD.

Month after month, when I inquire, they tell me that contract negotiations are holding up this service.

Those of us who use Oceanic pay $6.95 a month for HD service, yet they cannot provide one of the major networks available to almost anyone in the country!

I encourage you to call Oceanic often to complain, and hopefully after enough urging they will get the message.

It's unfortunate we have no alternative to Oceanic here. I'm sure the prevalence of competition elsewhere is why none of the Mainland carriers are going through contract negotiations to bring major network service in HD to their subscribers.

EMERGENCY SYSTEM

WIRELESS FEE MUST BE RETURNED TO RESIDENTS

Our wonderful lawmakers approved the tax to help build the 911 emergency system when they had no idea of how much it was going to cost.

It's sad that we have to pay lawmakers to make idiotic decisions such as this.

Thanks to The Advertiser for exposing this. No wonder we're taxed to the max for living in Hawai'i.

Please return what's rightfully ours. I find it hard to justify your raises when decisions such as these are made.

SUPERFERRY

MINORITY VIEWPOINT GIVING MAJORITY A GIFT

This is one of many letters on the issues raised by Superferry. I'm not going to make it about Superferry itself, but the prevailing theme and characterization of a "pesky vocal minority" and a "do what's best for the majority" mindset.

A classic American movie of the 1950s, "12 Angry Men," brilliantly displays the importance of a minority viewpoint. Lone juror No. 8, Henry Fonda, does not go along with 11 other jurors, who have rushed to judge a defendant.

The majority 11 want to go home, go to the ball game, etc. In actually looking deeper and taking the time, the opinions are slowly opened and turned in the presence of the open-minded, steadfast juror, and we find an innocent defendant acquitted even though the majority had once favored conviction.

The mostly peaceful, yet determined Superferry protesters are giving the "anxious and angry" a true gift in asking them to look deeper — to not be fooled by slick PR and advertising — into the new and speedy form of interisland transportation.

There is significant value in the minority viewpoint, if we can only be open to seeing it.

Laws and courts are meant to protect minority views for the greater good of all. Slowing down Superferry to take that true look under its hood is warranted.

Please thank the minority view for that.

BOE

STUDENT LOCKER ISSUES CAN'T BE TREATED LIGHTLY

Readers can usually count on Lee Cataluna's dead-on, common-sense views about Island issues. But her Nov. 16 column against statewide hearings on school locker searches missed the mark.

Statewide hearings are required by law, and the Board of Education is following the law.

The board is proposing changes to Hawai'i Administrative Rules, which have the force and effect of law. It is crucial to gather public testimony when writing or changing law.

Despite the focus on locker searches, this actually affects dozens of changes to "Chapter 19," which defines how our schools handle "student misconduct, discipline, school searches and seizures, reporting offenses, police interviews and arrests, and restitution for vandalism and negligence."

Cataluna chides the board to "make a decision — and move on to more pressing issues" like student achievement. The board, however, knows that discipline and school safety directly affect student achievement.

These rules will ensure that each student has access to quality education without fear of harassment or physical injury at schools that are free of drugs, weapons, alcohol, and other harmful substances or contraband.

On the same day on the Letters and Commentary page, three students on The Advertiser's Teen Editorial Board agreed that the BOE is moving in the right direction.

Cataluna's "just make the decision and get on with it" approach also ignores the importance of student privacy concerns.

We all agree on the safety aspect of locker searches. However, measures that affect student privacy interests demand and deserve our careful deliberation, and should not be decided lightly.