LET TRAINED CITIZENS CARRY CONCEALED ARMS

Recent violent attacks upon the good residents and guests of these islands have people wondering what to do. Why not allow trained, qualified citizens to carry concealed firearms for defense?

Criminals carry weapons with impunity, commit armed robberies, string up, beat, rape and stab helpless and defenseless people in their homes or in public areas, sometimes in front of a dozen witnesses who are powerless to intervene.

These criminals may think twice if they know an armed citizen, business owner, or off-duty officer can abruptly end their reign of terror.

HPD's current blanket policy of zero issue of CCW permits is discriminatory, unfair, deeply political and is not based on a logical or legal rationale.

Further, their interpretation of the "may issue" clause of HRS Chapter 134-9 as "shall not issue" is a mockery of the letter and intent of the Second Amendment. In HRS 134-9a, a qualified citizen may be issued a CCW permit "when [the] applicant shows reason to fear injury to the applicant's person or property."

BUSH ADMINISTRATION

TRUTH COMMISSION A HISTORICAL NECESSITY

Recently a member of Congress called for a "truth commission" that would look into the excesses of the administration of George W. Bush, including the false pretexts for the war in Iraq, extra-legal domestic surveillance, authorization for rendition and torture, and removal of federal prosecutors for political reasons.

With the current administration's commitment to transparency, this may not be necessary in the future, but the Bush administration's secrecy, circumvention of oversight, and overreaching presidential authority make this a historical, if not legal, necessity.

Among my family and friends, the common lament is the sense that no one in top levels of government and industry is held accountable for illegal or unscrupulous actions.

We are a nation of laws whose ideals and founding principles are and have been the inspiration of many throughout the world. I am not supporting a "witch hunt" that would distract us from the crucial problems we face today. But many Americans feel that the Bush administration broke rules, customs, laws, and the spirit, if not the letter, of the Constitution.

Form the "Truth Commission" and charge it with uncovering the truth and setting the record straight. Our country can ill afford to repeat this disgraceful part of our history.

GENETIC ENGINEERING

CONSTANT BARRAGE ON GMOS IS UNFOUNDED

In defense of HB 1226, which is needed to protect the integrity between science and law:

There is a constant barrage on the use of genetic engineering in plant breeding, and for no scientific reason, other than certain groups and people don't like it. Yes, they have Europe convinced of this hoax, and look at the cost of their food products.

These groups and individuals continually fail to justify their position with any peer-reviewed scientific studies, and this includes Jeffrey Smith and all his writings. Fear of the unknown is their constant prognosis, yet GMOs have a thousand times more government safety oversight than any organic or conventional-bred crop seed.

Seed companies that obtain patents have spent millions of dollars obtaining safety approvals from FDA, EPA and USDA for these crops. Selling these government-approved genetically engineered seeds is the way the company recovers its investment. A little-known fact, often excluded by the anti-GMOs, is that no one is forced to buy these biotech seeds. Not mentioned is the fact that there are more than 280 million acres of biotech crops being grown each year in the world, and no epidemics or illnesses have been reported as being caused by these crops.

If organic crops need protection from GMO crop pollen, shouldn't GMO crops be protected from organic crop pollen contamination too?

Genetic engineering has contributed to a more cost-effective way to achieve lower pesticide use and more eco-friendly farming methods, but you will never get the organic industry to accept or even recognize this.

CITY BUDGET

CITY SHOULD FAST-TRACK INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL

President Obama and Congress support investing in infrastructure and have fast-tracked the economic stimulus bill to create jobs. Gov. Lingle and the Legislature support investing in infrastructure and have fast-tracked improvements like school repairs, roadwork and harbor work to create jobs.

Now Mayor Hannemann has proposed his budget, which includes a healthy dose of infrastructure for waste-to-energy, roads and rail transit, also to create jobs. The ball is in the City Council's court now. Let us hope they have learned from the examples set by federal and state leaders and will fast-track our island's infrastructure improvements. We need these improvements and the jobs they will generate now more than ever.

RANDOM VIOLENCE

MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS MUST BE IMPROVED

I, like many others, am very deeply disturbed by the recent death of Asa Yamashita, at the hands of a mentally ill assailant. She was not only a victim to a senseless random act but a victim to the failures within our state system.

There is a fundamental problem with the mental health issues in Hawai'i.

When a person is mentally ill, the illness does not go away; it persists, yet there is poor supervision with care in many cases in our communities. The revolving-door phenomenon reflects the fact that these people are not competent to remain mentally stable, yet we as a society continue to allow this happen.

The support system as well as the safety systems in place have failed also. Families of mentally ill people know firsthand how hard it is to get their loved one treatment, and/or lack of support in the community. Law enforcement is powerless to do anything about psychotic people until they commit a crime, and mental health workers are so overloaded with cases they cannot manage a person's care adequately.

If nothing is done to address the core issues in our mental health, safety and support systems, these individuals are like ticking time bombs as we've seen multiple times. Our government needs to make a coordinated effort to address the root problems within these systems or continue to be a potential victim to random yet preventable violence.