PEACE DAY HAWAI'I

EXPRESSIONS OF PEACE NEED MORE ATTENTION

Congratulations to the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i and everyone who planned and supported the celebration of Peace Day Hawai'i on Sept. 21 at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

It was an inspiring and hopeful event, and I encourage our community to look for its appearance on 'Olelo. Beautiful messages of peace were presented in music by the Hongwanji Mission School Choir (grades K-4), by an even younger children's choir — "A Class Act" — and by a video of children singing John Lennon's "Imagine." In addition, the Pacific Buddhist Academy taiko drums presented an exciting number entitled "Peace."

There were several thoughtful messages by keynoter Ms. Gloria Tumbaga, representatives of the United Nations Student Alliance and Glen Paige, who was honored with the Peace Day Hawai'i Award. The event concluded with a moving candlelight vigil commemorating our hope for peace in our community and around the world.

Two observations: We should expend at least as much time and money on a Department of Peace as we do on a Department of Defense. And, we should examine why expressions of peace don't receive more attention from the faith community, from the media, from politicians and from all people of compassion.

FINANCIAL CRISIS

BAILOUT 'NO' VOTE WAS NOT VOTE TO DO NOTHING

I write in response to your Sept. 30 editorial: "Failure of bailout bill was a failure of leadership."

You said, "As for the naysayers, none offered a reasonable substitute for the $700 billion package, beyond vague complaints that mortgage holders and taxpayers are not adequately protected."

Not so. In the week that we had to consider the Paulson plan, we had extensive and intensive meetings where other plans and proposals were offered and discussed. I endorsed two proposals that would have helped pay for the bailout.

We were, however, only given the option to vote on one plan.

A "no" vote on the Paulson plan was not a vote to do nothing. The administration should have taken regulatory actions — some of which they are finally now taking — to deal with the crisis.

There is widespread acknowledgment that the Paulson plan will not address the underlying mortgage foreclosure problem, and so other plans will inevitably need to be considered.

I am supporting Rep. Peter DeFazio's proposal that calls on the government to use its extensive regulatory toolbox to address the credit squeeze at minimal cost to taxpayers.

I am also supporting bills authorizing other programs, effectively used in the past, to directly help homeowners facing foreclosure.

LACK OF TRUST IN PRESIDENT IS SHOCKING

How could 133 congressmen ignore a simple request of the president of the United States (who also happens to be the leader of their party)?

Even when President Bush insisted that support for the bailout (rescue) of our troubled financial institutions was essential to prevent a massive destruction of our economy, to preserve democracy as we know it, to help out leading corporation executives in their hour of need — two-thirds of his party deserted him!

The lack of trust those congressmen had in the president's track record for honesty and integrity is truly shocking.

BAILOUT NEEDED TO SALVAGE CREDIT MARKETS

The nation's credit markets will literally dry up unless a bailout bill is forthcoming.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the adolescent here. After working very nicely in a bipartisan way, Nancy decides to use the pulpit as a political tool to spew forth lies and blame again, because she knows that the Democrats are to blame for this crisis and she wants to throw the voters off the truth.

I really don't blame the lawmakers, but as far as our Hawai'i representatives are concerned, their "no" votes suggest they have no idea of what this bailout bill is really all about.

Maybe Pelosi scared them. If there isn't money circulating from banks to consumers and businesses we will see more business failures and big-time unemployment. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson did not invent this crisis. Let's make this bad dream go away once and for all.

DO THE RIGHT THING: VOTE FOR BAILOUT PLAN

On Monday, the House of Representatives pushed our nation to the brink of economic disaster, and Hawai'i's two representatives were among those helping to push.

The media say the "no" vote was largely motivated by constituents vociferously opposed to "bailing out" Wall Street "fat cats."

It's too bad the rescue plan has been dubbed a bailout. It would be much more accurate to call it a plan to "save the little guy." It is not designed to help a small class of rich folks. It is designed to rescue the life savings and jobs of millions of ordinary Americans. The "no" vote will cause far more little guys to suffer than fat cats.

When this plan is reintroduced, Hawai'i's congressional delegation should do the right thing and vote "aye."

Aye, to keep the country from sliding into a deep recession — perhaps a depression.

Aye, to keep businesses alive so they can keep people working and out of the unemployment lines.

Aye, to halt the evaporation of people's savings, their retirement money, their college funds, their credit worthiness, the value in their homes.

Let's hope they do the right thing next time. Vote "aye."

STRONG REGULATION CAN PROTECT TAXPAYERS

For once, I sort of agree with Victor Davis Hanson ("Americans are not innocent victims of Wall Street's greed," Sept. 25), but I think he misses the simple underlying truth. People are inherently efficient and productive, always looking for opportunities to accomplish a task faster and easier. We are a country of innovators and entrepreneurs.

Is this what Victor Davis Hanson calls "greed"? Maybe it is, but don't we all want to leverage the best result for the least effort or investment?

How about if you could buy a nice house with no money down and no verification of income while prices are going up? You could live in your dream house and maybe make some money with little effort and not much risk (no down payment). There's nothing wrong with this morally since you are not hurting anyone directly (in fact, you're probably making the seller and Realtor very happy). So what's the problem?

The problem is that this is a high-risk scheme, but the lack of regulations has allowed you to transfer the real risk to someone else (who then quickly packages it up and passes it down the line — eventually to the taxpayer).

Strong regulation would keep the risk with the buyer — where it belongs. Such regulation would not prevent the buyer from making the same decision (as long the buyer could cover the risk), but it would prevent the buyer from passing the risk — all $700 billion of it — to you and me.

OUR REPRESENTATIVES DIDN'T PROTECT WORKERS

By voting "no" on the bailout package, our two representatives, Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono, have miserably failed to protect our economy and our workers.

ABERCROMBIE, HIRONO LET DOWN CONSTITUENTS

Some define leadership as getting others to do what they wouldn't do otherwise; others define it as doing the right thing, even when it's not the easy path.

On Monday of this week, both Hawai'i's Democratic representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives failed to show any sort of leadership, and instead voted against critical legislation negotiated by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner.

As a result of their failure of will, the Dow dropped 777 points on Monday. The NASDAQ fell 200 points.

Most workers in Hawai'i have 401(k) retirement plans. The votes of Reps. Abercrombie and Hirono on Monday showed a collective lack of guts — and cost those of us in Hawai'i with 401(k)s millions of dollars in a single day.

Even more serious, this failure is bound to deepen a worldwide fiscal crisis that will be greatly amplified in a state that depends on tourism. Reps. Abercrombie and Hirono let us down badly.