Death of soldier was partly due to budget cuts
I was saddened and sickened by the tragic death of Chief Warrant Officer John Latchum Jr. This mayhem was predictable and preventable.Two security positions were unfilled because of a job freeze and telephones were removed from all 42 rented cabins for economic reasons. A recent transfer of security officers from other sites, without filling the vacancies at the Waianae Recreational Center, was rigorously objected to but no one listened.
After the fact, the Army decided to detail uniform military police to plug security holes. Why did the Army not do this in the first place, when security was obviously totally unacceptable?
The Clinton administration has reduced the U.S. military to the point of not being able to carry the big stick anymore. Perhaps what we have seen at the Waianae Recreation Center is a grain of sand on the beach.
Where does the line of financial cost of security cross the value of human life?
Rich Ernst
Aiea
Accused UH professor was exonerated
There were a few disturbing things in your June 5 article covering the 9th Circuit Court's dismissal of Professor Ramdas Lamb's lawsuit against the University of Hawaii.You don't mention that Professor Lamb was exonerated of the allegations, both by the UH and by a federal jury. The jury, half women, deliberated only a few hours and unanimously hit Michelle Gretzinger with a massive fine for making what they considered malicious and false charges.
Thus, the jury solved in a few hours what UH agonized over for about a year, during a bizarre "investigation" that a nationally respected labor arbitrator excoriated for its procedural flaws and Three Stooges mentality.
It therefore surprises me that Attorney General Margery Bronster could say that UH "properly" investigated the charges. I suspect she is saving face (and taxpayer money).
It is also nice to see your newspaper's final acknowledgement that it was Lamb's "classroom speech" that got him in such deep trouble. Most of us knew all along that this was a case of political correctness run amok.
Khal Spencer
(Via the Internet)
Nude sunbathers don't belong on beaches
After an incident at the beach involving myself and a few nude and topless sunbathers, I feel it is again time to remind everyone that there are no designated nude or "clothing-optional" beaches in the state.I suggest to sun worshippers who wish to get an overall tan that there are backyards, lanais, roof-tops and other private places available.
Our beaches are family playgrounds. School is out now, and our children and families will be at the beach all week long.
To those who claim that it is somehow their right to ruin a nice family outing at the beach: These laws have been tested on all islands in all courts for many, many years.
I am not a prude, but Hawaii's families always come first. Nudity offends our elders and confuses our children. Please be respectful of these two most important rooms in our ohana hale.
Mike Maddux
Kapaau, Hawaii
WAC should sue defecting schools
The recent debacle that sent UH's proud athletic program into a tailspin can be reversed by some decisive action by UH President Kenneth Mortimer, now!Step One: Ken, get the remaining presidents together immediately. Fly them out at UH's expense and trot them over to your attorney's office. Agree on legal expenses and file a lawsuit, asking not only for the $11-12 million lost in TV and bowl game revenues, but treble damages for the impact on the remaining WAC. In court, the bargaining chip would be the defectors remaining in the league, according to their contractual agreement, until the year 2001.
Step Two: Convene a long-range planning committee made up of yourself, the director of the HVCB, the athletic director and primary athletic coaches, as well as top media, TV and local bowl executives (Aloha and Hula) to strategize two plans at a corporate retreat. Plan A would be to go it alone from here; Plan B would require scouring organized conferences across the country for the best match-ups of teams to fill our schedules.
Step Three: After winning the lawsuit, and the WAC remains intact, continue on course but have Plan B ready for implementation after the year 2001, when the unpredictable defectors could again bolt.
Good luck, Ken. Here's the phone.
Bob Vieira
Kailua
African Americans are overreacting to yearbooks
When I was growing up in Hawaii, we always poked fun at each other's ethnic backgrounds. It was taken as a joke, and everyone understood this. It was all part of growing up in a culturally rich enviroment. But now we are being taught a lesson. If anyone is going to make fun of any race, they will be made to pay in a lawsuit.I don't feel like the kids here need to go to sensitivity training on ethnic matters. But some African Americans now living here need to lighten up. Don't they understand that we are "people of color," too?
If we can live with it and joke about it, why can't they?
The people of Hawaii are not responsible for the trials and tribulations that African Americans have suffered on the mainland. Suing the state doesn't help their case at all; it only makes people more angry.
They should knock that chip off their shoulders already, we got the point. Don't make us out to be racists.
Hawaii is one of the only places I know where race isn't the issue.
Chris Rafael
Waipahu
(Via the Internet)
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