DLNR

CEREMONY FUNDS COULD GO TO A BETTER USE

It is unfortunate that the state coffers have major shortfalls in these trying economic times.

With the Department of Land and Natural Resources losing hundreds of thousand of dollars each year from fallow piers, it is amazing it can still find the funds to stage an expensive shovel ceremony for the beginning of the new piers project at Ala Wai Harbor. It tore up a 3-by-10-foot section of asphalt pavement, filled it with dirt and installed fencing around it for several days while awaiting the ceremony. All so officials could have their picture taken digging dirt from the parking lot. The day of the ceremony, nearly the full complement of O'ahu's boating staff was present hours before the ceremony and for a time after.

The amount of salaries paid to the DLNR staff could have been better spent replacing one of the condemned piers so rent could be collected.

Let's use a little common sense and quit wasting money on useless ceremonies and spend it repairing income-producing infrastructure. They should disclose the full cost of this and reallocate the funds for maintenance.

TRAUMA OF WAR

MENTAL HEALTH PANEL SEEKING PARTICIPANTS

Suicide rates among our military are at an all-time high, and increasing. One-third of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health problems, and child abuse and domestic violence are escalating. Pervasive stigma about mental illness throughout the military prevents soldiers from getting the help they need.

We were recently reminded of this ongoing tragedy in learning of the financial compensation paid to the family of Robert Roth, an Air Force veteran who jumped to his death from Tripler Army Medical Center after his pleas to be admitted for psychiatric care, including telling hospital personnel that he planned to kill himself, were ignored (Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 6).

The tragic suicide of Mr. Roth points to the urgent need for us as a community of military providers, community providers and members of the public to work together to be sure our soldiers and their families are getting help.

Mental Health America of Hawai'i is forming a community Task Force on the Trauma of War to examine what's happening to our soldiers and their families, identify those who are falling through the cracks and determine what the community can do to assist them.

If you are interested in participating, particularly if you are connected to the military or are a family member, please contact us at 521-1846.

ECONOMY

BIG OIL SHOULD INVEST IN AUTO MANUFACTURERS

There is no need for Congress to bail out the car companies. Now is the time for Big Oil to invest in car companies.

Exxon and the other oil companies should not wait for the next Congress to impose a windfall profits tax when they can invest capital today to save American jobs and ensure continued growth and profit for themselves.

Petroleum will run out someday, and future vehicles will use natural gas, flex fuels or hydrogen. Oil companies, with investments in the auto industry, can create the synergy needed to engineer the vehicles and provide the fuel stations of tomorrow.

GOVERNMENTS MUST SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS

With the owner of world-famous Ala Moana Center facing bankruptcy, I strongly feel we are in a state of depression rather than the recession the popular media presents.

It is time to stop this economic landslide, and I strongly feel it begins and ends with the support of local small businesses.

The federal, state and county governments should give tax breaks and loans to local small businesses to bolster the economy, for they are the backbone of any economy.

All in all, it's good to support local small businesses because the profits stay in Hawai'i and make us a richer economy.

I am not a rocket scientist, but it seems like the more education you have, the more ignorant you get. Enough said.

NEWLY ELECTED

PULL TOGETHER TO ENACT CHANGE HERE, IN NATION

I'd like to give a heartfelt mahalo to all those who chose to run for elected office.

It is never easy to submit oneself to constant scrutiny or unfair criticisms, but to do so in the name of public service is admirable.

Congratulations to those who made it through, and good luck to those who ran their campaigns honorably.

Now that the election is behind us, it is time for our officeholders-elect to put their mettle to the test as we head into new dilemmas, such as the global and national economic crisis and Hawai'i's role in it, Kahana Valley, invasive species, energy security and public education, just to name a few.

Let us pull together to enable the right kind of change for our state and our nation.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION

LET'S NOT DENY SUCCESS IN U.S. WAR ON TERROR

Vanessa Chong's Nov. 11 Island Voices column on the Bush administration's legacy is just more PC stuff from the ACLU, which would blame President Bush for all the injustices created by the federal government over the centuries, while denying his accomplishments in the war on terror.

As an accompanying news article on the front page explained, President-elect Obama's vow to "close Guantanamo" will not be so easy as he and his supporters would like us to think.

The ACLU consists of attorneys who should understand this, and could explain to the public the great difficulties involved in this gambit of Mr. Obama's.

Instead, they choose to promote his fantasy of affording American constitutional rights to foreign terrorists who themselves have not adhered to international law.

I would suggest that Chong pay a visit to the veterans cemetery and ponder the price that has been paid — by American soldiers — of having already allowed some of these terrorists to return to the battlefield.

If she would cite some evidence of how innocent Americans have been harmed by security measures aimed at terrorists and thugs, perhaps we could better understand her complaint.