HEALTHCARE

SCHIP VETO MEANS CHILDREN WILL SUFFER

The recent veto by President Bush of legislation to provide healthcare to millions of children is appalling. This means that more than 9,000 children in Hawai'i who are eligible for coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program will now suffer as a result.

And when our children suffer, we all suffer.

As if to add insult to injury, the president vetoed health insurance for children in the same week that he proclaimed an official "Child Health Day," which the administration described in a press release as a time to "reaffirm our commitment to helping children develop good nutrition habits and active lifestyles, so that they can grow into healthy and productive adults."

Our children need a lot more than rhetoric to grow into healthy and productive adults. A bipartisan majority in Congress recognizes that in America no child should go without healthcare.

If President Bush really wants to show commitment to children's health, he should give them annual check-ups, vaccinations and regular contact with a pediatrician who knows and cares about them — he shouldn't just give them a press release and sound bites.

ACLU

DRUG TESTING PROTECTS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

You've got to be kidding me. While the ACLU is protecting Hawai'i's public school educators, who is protecting our children?

I am an employee who deals with public transportation. Drug testing is required pre-employment, randomly, for probable cause and after an accident.

Why is this required of us? For the safety of public transportation.

The ACLU says that drug testing violates Hawai'i educators' constitutional right to privacy. What happened to my privacy?

I have no problem visiting the bathroom with a plastic cup, simply because I have nothing to hide.

As a mother with a child in the public school system, I would feel much better if all teachers were tested, too.

CLUTTER

SAVE SOME TREES, CUT DOWN ON DIRECTORIES

Auwe! I found three sets of the new Hawaiian Telcom phone books in our driveway. Twelve books in all. More than 10,300 pages. No more room in our house.

Auwe! The Yellow Pages have more than 1,700 pages. It's too heavy to pick up.

Auwe! All 800 pages of the Leeward White Pages are redundant with the O'ahu White Pages.

Auwe! All 1,150 pages of the Mobile Companion are redundant with the Yellow Pages.

Auwe! Eight of the 12 books delivered to us went straight to the recycle bin.

Hawaiian Telcom should realize that most people do not need or want one whole set of books for each phone.

In fact, most offices have one set of books for several phones. Hawaiian Telcom could save lots of money and even more trees by having customers order books beforehand instead of simply throwing them into our driveway.

Isn't there a law against littering?

KAHUKU

COACH TORRES A GOOD ROLE MODEL FOR YOUTH

I was deeply saddened when I read the article concerning the Kahuku football team.

As a mother of children who once played high school sports, I learned to trust and respect the coaches.

Today more than ever, youth need role models who will be there for them.

They need role models who will teach them how to be humble, how to have self control and how to show respect.

Once children decide to play a sport, they must show dedication, commitment and loyalty to the team and the coaches.

If athletes or their parents cannot accept this code of conduct, they should not be on the team.

Imagine if the coach had to listen and conform to all the comments out there from the community — it would be chaos. coach Reggie Torres is a fine example of humility. Let's support this role model and let him do what he loves to do — teach youth how to play a "fair" game of football. Go Kahuku, and thank you, coach Reggie!

COACH TORRES TEACHING TEAM VALUABLE LESSON

My respect goes out to coach Reggie Torres, who is doing what he knows best — coaching our young athletes in being humble, respectful, disciplined and winning with dignity.

The history of all great high school football teams dating back to the early 1950s had coaches instilling these same qualities in their young athletes.

'Iolani's coach Father Kenneth Bray, Waianae's Coach Larry Ginoza, Waipahu's coach Masa Yonamine, Saint Louis' coach Cal Lee, to name a few, all taught their players to perform and win or lose with humbleness, respectfulness, in a disciplined manner. The players who were involved with boycotting practice will someday realize how important a lesson they are being taught by coach Torres.

For the good of the program and the young athletes in Kahuku, some community members should not use the young athletes to vent their personal feelings against coach Torres.

The program, the athletes and the personal pride of the school are much too big a sacrifice to pay. E laulima kakou (Let's unite together).

SUPPORT COACH TORRES AS WELL AS HIS DECISIONS

It seems as if we are seeing a true "Coach Carter" film come to life on the North Shore of O'ahu.

Kahuku High School head coach Reggie Torres is being placed in the hot seat for teaching his kids to keep their emotions in check.

As fans, we cheer for our kids who do well on the field. We come to support the team, have fun and build community spirit and pride.

Let's support the coach and his decisions. It's his team.

In life, these kids on the team will face obstacles that they don't want to face. What are we teaching them here?

I say just play ball, and like the movie "Coach Carter," Reggie Torres is the captain of the ship named Kahuku.

GABBARD

APPLAUDS DEMOCRATS' WELCOME FOR POLITICIAN

It's awesome that Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Congressman Neil Abercrombie, and Senate and House leaders have publicly welcomed Sen. Mike Gabbard into the Democratic Party.

This not only shows that they understand what it means to be a Democrat, it also expresses their very real aloha on a personal level.

For the small-minded few who are whining about Gabbard joining our party, I say get a life or go find a political party that better suits your narrow-thinking small-mindedness.

DEMOCRATS' BIG TENT BIG ENOUGH FOR ALL

I find it amusing that some Democrats are so upset with Sen. Mike Gabbard joining the party.

I'm in favor of gay marriage, and I support Gabbard's switch to the "people's party."

The way I look at it, our big tent is big enough for everybody, even if we don't agree on all the issues.

Gabbard has been such a strong environmentalist, and absolutely incredible on Hawaiian and labor issues. And he's been equally strong on trying to improve our educational system. I remember during the teacher strike in 2001, he and his wife, Carol, who was on the Board of Education, toured all the islands and walked the picket lines to show support for teachers.

If my fellow Democrats can't stand the thought of sharing "our" party with Mike Gabbard, maybe they should consider starting their own party. Or another option would be to get on board the Titanic, also known as the Hawai'i Republican Party.

THEBOAT

FREE FERRY RIDE PROVED TO HAVE SOME HURDLES

On Sept. 28, our family decided to take advantage of the free ferry ride offered by Mayor Mufi Hannemann on TheBoat.

We discovered there was no parking for our car at the pier, and were forced to park en route and take TheBus going to TheBoat. This cost $2 each with a free boat ride (which is always included anyway).

Bus schedules and Web site information were confusing. TheBus transit supervisor told us and others the wrong stop to wait at, so we almost missed the bus to the boat. No signs were posted at any stops to help travelers.

The boat ride was very bumpy and long, although we did have high praise for the boat crew and the boat itself.

Since this was Mayor Hannemann's self-proclaimed pet project, he should have done a better job at providing truly free service by also including TheBus and making sure bus personnel were better informed. Signs should have been posted for TheBoat at appropriate stops. Also, he should have secured pier parking.

SCHOOLS

DOGS, LOCKER SEARCHES DON'T SEND RIGHT MESSAGE

Young people should have rights, just like all the old people trying to take them away.

More importantly, locker searches and drug dogs won't address the problem of kids doing drugs. It will only give a false sense of security when nothing is found because the kids will stop keeping it in their lockers, or stop coming to school altogether.

Serious drug use affects a person's behavior, and almost always leaves an impression for anyone to see, including teachers and counselors if they are paying attention.

The kids who have problems need help from a supportive community. The answers to these issues lie far from the current path and more in the realm of education and early support for troubled children.

Many teenage drug users have troubled pasts, including abuse and poverty.

These conditions lead to vicious cycles, which are preventable if the community steps in early enough to help.

These children need role models from an early age to show them the value of education and clean, drug-free living.

Somehow I don't think the drug dogs are going to send that kind of message.