Aizawa is reason Hawaii should elect head of DOE
Extending Herman Aizawa's contract is like prolonging our dying educational system on its death bed. Our political system again triumphs over the poor taxpayers.A "satisfactory" rating is for grade school students, car repairs, etc., not for the head of our public school system. To have our children reach their ultimate potential, we need our superintendent to be "super."
Although he is thoughtful and caring of our children, babysitters are thoughtful and caring, too. Aizawa lacks imagination and creativity. Judging from this literacy program, test scores are less than "satisfactory."
Our educational system needs an overhaul or our children will be forever behind the mainland standard.
To correct our system, we need to elect the head of the Department of Education. We need a schools superintendent working for the people of Hawaii, not pleasing the politicians.
N. Garrett Chan
Shooting Christians ought to be called a hate crime
The scenario: An unstable youth steals a gun, enters a public building and opens fire on a group of (blank), killing and wounding several.Now, insert your favorite group in the blank: lesbians, veterans, African Americans, white separatists -- and the full weight of the U.S. Justice Department would immediately fall upon the gunman.
He would be charged under the hate crimes statutes and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Now, read the same sentence this way: "An unstable youth steals a gun, enters a public building and opens fire on a group of praying Christian teen-agers, killing and wounding several."
Michael Carneal, the alleged shooter, will face the hate crimes statutes, too. Or will he? I'm not holding my breath.
Gary Langley
Associate Pastor
Windward Worship Center
(Via the Internet)
Is Lindsey underqualified to serve as a trustee?
Doug Carlson, hired to speak for Bishop Estate Trustee Lokelani Lindsey and in comments apparently attributed to her, defends the appointment of Rockne Freitas as vice president of Kamehameha Schools in charge of educational planning because he holds a doctorate degree in educational administration, curriculum and instruction, whereas Dr. Michael Chun's degree is in environmental engineering.Let us assume for the moment that advanced degrees are significantly important for fulfilling job require- ments. As I understand it, Lindsey holds a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's degree in Pacific Islands studies.
Is she therefore qualified to supervise any number of professionals with doctorate degrees in education?
As a former doctoral candidate myself, I can attest that the degree signifies perseverance perhaps more than ability, and is therefore no guarantee of real world success.
But by resorting to this argument, Lindsey casts doubt on her own qualifications.
Anson Holloey
Kapaa, Kauai
(Via the Internet)
Smoking marijuana shouldn't be illegal
Your Dec. 2 story describing the undercover bust of a medical marijuana seller indicates to me the tragic waste and misplaced priorities of our criminal justice system.Like most drugs, legal or not, pot use may be detrimental if taken to great excess. It also has social and medical benefits. How many people smoke pot and then beat someone's grandmother to death?
Marijuana's critics stretch truth beyond breaking in order to convince us of pot's dangers. Beer drinkers risk the "gateway" of becoming alcoholics. Cigarette smokers almost universally become addicted to nicotine. People who eat to excess develop serious health problems, too.
In stark contrast to the well-documented health problems associated with booze, nicotine or high cholesterol, people in my age group (40's-50's) who smoked pot while it was decriminalized or largely ignored attest to its innocuousness; we are skilled, healthy, productive citizens.
Given our numbers and the time which has passed, one would expect some sort of medical syndrome to have been discovered if pot was as dangerous as the penalties imply.
Our politicians and criminal justice system continue to waste resources, ruin lives, trample on constitutional rights, fill jails and stifle a potentially taxable product.
We continue our war on marijuana, illegal not for the harm it could do but because it is on the wrong side of the political fence.
Khal Spencer
(Via the Internet)
Carey did great job in Notre Dame game
I was reading with much interest the articles about the Rainbow vs. Notre Dame game. In Bill Kwon's Dec. 1 column, he left out a big "what if" -- if Josh Skinner had not thrown an interception resulting in a touchdown on the first play, the Fighting Irish would not have been within a field goal of winning.Also, Coach VonAppen was placing blame in the wrong area. He was riding quarterback Tim Carey for some minor mistakes. Carey came off the bench and did an outstanding job of leading the team.
C'mon, Coach, give Carey a break. He almost accomplished the impossible for you.
Roger Yoder
(Via the Internet)
Graduates can't afford to return to their home
As a Hawaii resident who is away at school, it truly concerns me how bad the economy has become in recent years. It makes one wonder how Hawaii expects to keep its college-age residents, because it is a very difficult climate for graduating students searching for jobs.I am a prime example: I have decided not to return to Hawaii after graduation because business on the mainland is prospering and there are more opportunities for graduating college students here.
It is a sad commentary that what most people consider as paradise is in reality a very difficult place to make a living.
Jennifer Y. Chen
Springfield, Mass.
(Via the Internet)
Bishop Estate Archive
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