H-1 bottleneck needs additional monitoring
What is happening on H-1 headed east from Shafter to Punahou? The idea is to control cars going east and entering H-1 prior to Middle Street (the bottleneck), and to facilitate the distribution of cars off of H-1 to downtown and points east of town by reducing or controlling cars entering H-1 prior to Punahou Street to minimize highway parking lots.Since that is not a simple matter, I propose the following:
The traffic from Shafter and Mapunapuna should not be permitted to enter H-1 prior to Middle Street during the hours of 6:30-8 a.m. on weekdays. There was an on-ramp entry about a quarter of mile east that was available from King Street. Can we reopen the on-ramp and control the entry of cars on a per hour basis?
These ideas should be implemented before UH starts its 1998 fall semester.
Chester M. Obara
Pearl City
A liar isn't fit to hold presidency
Bill Clinton's performance last Monday was dismal. In particular, I was angered at the end of his address to the nation, when he commented on how long the Lewinsky matter had gone on and how much it had cost taxpayers.It took him seven months to come clean. Had he done so at the outset, both time and money could have been saved.
What this man doesn't grasp is that his credibility is shot. There is a flaw in his character which apparently causes him to lie whenever he feels it suits his objective. He denied for months and then finally admitted sexual relations with Gennifer Flowers. The same for smoking marijuana when he was a college student in England.
What about Whitewater, Paula Jones, draft dodging and something really important to the country, like Democratic fund-raising and the selling of favors? Who can trust whatever he says on whatever subject?
This is a major character flaw. The United States cannot allow such a person to hold the office of president.
James V. Pollock
Kaneohe
(Via the Internet)
Elitists don't want Heco poles on Waahila
In her July 31 column, Diane Chang admits to favoring her heart over her intellect in siding with the preservationists of Waahila Ridge. Her choice is typical of the NIMBY, elitist attitude of East Oahu residents.The situation here is not "heart." Use of one's "intellect" is closer to the solution. Justice is the answer.
How can Hawaiian Electric justify the burial of power lines on Waahila, while Leeward Oahu residents have hundreds of power poles spoiling their view of the Koolaus?
Ted Farm
Ewa Beach
Quest for sovereignty begins in the classroom
Even a preschooler knows it's better to achieve success by doing it yourself. It's called self-determination, a character trait that people must have to build a strong nation.Quality early education, hard work and self sacrifice will achieve the goal of nationhood for Hawaiians. Yes, it will take years of struggle, but the real price of nationhood is earned by its people -- not given by a government or organization.
Ted West
Teacher
Opponents of gay marriage are simply control freaks
I am appalled at the blatantly one-sided cover story on the fight against fair and equal rights for all of Hawaii's citizens. Why must these control freaks be portrayed as some sort of mild-mannered good-deed-doers?These people are using ignorance, fear and mythology to perpetuate discrimination against law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. They use clever sound bites to fool people into believing they're doing something positive for Hawaii. Even the name of the organization, "Save Traditional Marriage," is nothing more than a sound bite.
They're not saving traditional marriage. It doesn't need saving, at least not from non-traditional couples.
A "no" vote in November will do as much to save traditional marriage as a "yes" vote will. But a "no" vote will also save our Constitution and Hawaii's Bill of Rights, which are under attack.
Ken Scott
(Via the Internet)
Gay marriage will lead to various aberrations
Week after week, we've been reading letters and articles debating the same-sex marriage issue.Traditional family loyalists have been called bigots, right-wing Christian fundamentalists, homophobes and now even squanderers because of their financial donations in efforts to protect their children.
Can't anybody get it through their thick heads that what this issue is really about is marriage becoming legally redefined to whatever one's particular "sexual preference" happens to be?
In the future, if you want to marry your dog, your daughter or two women and one man, you may.
I know there will be responses to this saying, "Oh, that's just not so," and "He's crazy." Poppycock. No society on earth can long withstand pulling the plug on heterosexual marriage.
Let this tiny minority perform their social experiments somewhere else, not in Hawaii. The obvious fact that our Supreme Court justices cannot think through the implications of their decisions is testament to some personal agenda, ignorance or naivete.
We are a people of tolerance but sometimes a society's greatest strength can be its greatest weakness.
Mark R. Spengler
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
How terrible if Lingle makes things happen!
Maybe you folks in the newspaper business can help the voters this year. How about asking candidates to be specific?Gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle's TV ads say she'll make things happen. That doesn't give us a lot to go on, unless you're talking about the things she "made happen" on Maui: Hundreds of violations of environmental laws. Raw sewage poured straight into the ocean. Or how about the silt that that made Maalaea Harbor a mud pond last year?
She'll make things happen, all right. With the help of the media, maybe we can find out just what kinds of things she means.
Judy R. Parish
Down economy is the time for people to pull together
I continue to hear the laments of our economic crisis echoing throughout the state. As I hear these cries, I think of my grandfather's life.The oldest of eight children, my grandfather had to choice but to leave school after the eighth grade and to work on a plantation. At age eighteen, he enlisted in the Army and became a member of the 442nd. It was a time that Americans were considered second-class citizens.
Upon his return from the war, he went back to the plantation and acquired a second job to earn extra money. Throughout all of this, he cared for his own family as well as his younger siblings.
To some, this might seem harsh and tragic. But if you asked my grandfather, he would say that he lived a good life, because he made the most of what life had to offer.
Today, we face different obstacles. There is economic hardship. However, hardship instills courage and brings people together.
We must ask ourselves how we can become more accountable, how can we better ourselves and how can we help each other. If we fail to address these questions, we are destined to be caught in a vicious cycle of turmoil and upheaval.
Colin Hayashida
Attorney general's ruling on free speech is weak
In your Aug. 13 story, "Opinion on campaign spending is welcome," the attorney general's ruling nullifying a state law limiting political contributions on the proposed state constitutional amendment perpetuates the conservative fallacy that money equals free speech.As the basis for this decision, a 1981 Supreme Court decision is cited that struck down donation limits on a Berkeley, Calif., ballot issue. This ruling denied "any...public interest in curtailing debate and discussion" on non-candidate issues.
The court's reasoning was, to say the least, questionable. Political contributions don't promote debate and discussion. Debate and discussion require dialogue, with opportunities for rebuttal.
The media commercials purchased by political contributions are monologues: One-way disseminations of propaganda, providing no opportunity for rebuttal. Political commercials promote the same amount of "debate and discussion" as product commercials -- none whatsoever.
C.W. Griffin
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