TRIBUTE

BRYAN BAPTISTE TERRIFIC MANAGER, MOTIVATOR

I first met Bryan Baptiste when he was the dormitory resident adviser at Johnson Hall at UH-Manoa. I was a resident assistant and had the opportunity to work on his team.

He was our leader in the dorm, which at that time was run-down and needed a lot of work — and still does. Yes, UH had deferred maintenance even 30 years ago.

Bryan worked with "the system" to just get the paint, and rallied the hall leaders and student residents to paint the inside of the dorm — hallways, bathrooms and lobby areas. He was always a champion to make life better for others.

I was also fortunate to work with Bryan at Tropical Rent A Car Systems, where he was Kaua'i manager. Bryan was a terrific manager of people, and was able to motivate and lead the hourly workers as well as oversee all operations and business strategy with top management and owners. He was an astute businessman with great people skills. He always had a sense of humor.

Our fellow alums at UH will miss the mayor, as will the management team and staff "alumni" of the former Tropical Rent A Car Systems. Our love and aloha to Annette and his family.

FUNDRAISING

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JUST SELLING STUFF?

Where have the good old days gone, when groups used to go door-to-door to sell cookies or wash cars to raise funds?

Nowadays, it is common to see groups of people standing at the intersection using fishnets to collect money for various reasons.

Isn't this illegal solicitation? Evidently not, since I have seen Honolulu police drive by without questioning the group's motive.

No doubt fundraising is hard work and takes a lot of time, but the lesson learned will not be forgotten.

In the good old days, fishnets were used for catching things in the streams, not used to solicit money from streams of cars.

CONSUMER RIGHTS

RALPH NADER HAS BEEN A VISIONARY FOR OUR ERA

On a return trip from Maui last week I found myself at the interisland baggage carousel, waiting for my luggage.

Looking over my shoulder, I recognized someone from my deep past. He was standing alone behind me, smartly dressed in a dark suit and also waiting patiently.

I turned around and introduced myself, and said that I had met him in 1972 as a young college student at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He had just given a speech to about 300 students about being consumer-minded and being consumer advocates.

I was 19 then, and the word "consumerism" hadn't sunk in yet in the American conscience.

"That was 36 years ago," said the genteel man in the suit. "How could you remember that moment after all these years?"

I said that each of us was impressed and, more importantly, empowered that day after hearing his speech.

In retrospect, he was a visionary of our times and all of our lives have been made better because of him and his consumer-rights efforts.

We shook hands and I said a heartfelt, "Thank you, Mr. Nader."

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

MCCAIN HAS OPTIMISM, REALISM, EXPERIENCE

There is one election issue Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama agree upon.

Both want to end the extreme partisanship between president and Congress and between Democrats and Republicans. They are unable to find common ground, make compromises. Civility and mutual respect among members of Congress are no longer the norm.

Sen. McCain has always been open to work with Democrats. For example, in 1975 and 1976 he worked with Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold to form a coalition of members of both parties to pass the public financing of presidential campaigns law.

Unlike Sen. Obama, he has the experience. He is an optimist about this country. He is realistic about how to achieve positive change in Washington. He has balanced idealism and realism, which is a different balancing act.

MCCAIN'S HEROISM, COURAGE STAND OUT

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a Barack Obama supporter, said John McCain's military service does not automatically qualify him to be commander in chief and noted he hasn't held executive responsibility.

That is pure nonsense. While others tout their executive political or business experience, it's the executive on the field of battle who impresses me most.

No other candidate has exhibited the personal courage and heroism under fire that has John McCain.

Further, McCain's compelling personal story, including the more than five years he spent as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison, makes him uniquely situated to understand the horrors of war and what is necessary to defeat a ruthless enemy.

I am proud to be an American and to have John McCain as my next president of the United States.

RECRUITING

MILITARY SERVICE MEANS DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY

Kim Coco Iwamoto (Letters, July 3) says that "our students deserve accurate and comparative information about military service before they sign a contract that could result in them killing another person or being killed."

Excuse me, but the armed forces are not a country club. The oath these students take and the millions of other veterans took included the words "I...do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...." I think that this is pretty clear that one is expected to kill another person or be killed.

There is presently no draft. President John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Potential inductees may have some incentive for joining, but make no mistake, the defense of the United States takes precedence.