Abercrombie's reaction to scandal is admirable
Is Meyno Rego implying that Neil Abercrombie is subverting our Constitution ("Abercrombie defends indefensible president," Letters, Oct. 16)?Get real! The scandal, rooted in "Voyeur General" Ken Starr's lurid obsession with President Clinton's sex life, doesn't come close to meeting the threshold for impeachment required by our Constitution. Starr and his far-right allies on Capitol Hill have created a full-blown constitutional crisis out of a tawdry bedroom farce.
Rego's vote for Gene Ward, a candidate whose mean-spirited campaign recycles the shopworn cliches and venomous TV ads of his failed predecessor Orson Swindle, is most certainly a vote to unleash another rabid dog to join that bloodthirsty pack.
Abercrombie has my vote, because his honesty in dealing with this issue is far more reflective of the democratic priciples embodied in our Constitution than the GOP's six-year vendetta against Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Donald Koelper
Patsy Mink was right to protest inquiry
In his Oct. 16 letter, Robert L. David harshly criticized U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink's very correct instructions on constitutional law and fair and impartial procedure.Mink was trying to persuade the mighty House of Representatives not to permit that great institution to be used as a torture chamber by a man, Kenneth Starr, who appears to be a tyrant. The congresswoman was not successful, but history will honor her devotion to duty.
She closed her speech with these most appropriate words: "It's the rule of law that guides my decision today. We must heed our constitutional duty. What we do will long endure." All of Hawaii should feel proud of Mink.
Joseph A. Ryan
Gay couples deserve civil right to marry
David Douglas made a very serious error in his Sept. 9 letter arguing that the civil right of marriage should be denied to homosexuals, because he blames them for passing the HIV virus to hemophiliacs.This only occurred in the early 1980s because AIDS was then a new, unnamed condition. Since blood specialists did not know HIV existed, they did not screen blood given to hemophiliacs for this deadly virus as they do now.
HIV spread most rapidly among gay men because they were living the most promiscuous lifestyle at the time. As knowledge of this disease became known, most people changed their habits and adopted safe-sex practices.
A successful marriage is the best protection against AIDS and, every day, I thank God for my wonderful marriage that would have been illegal in many states not too long ago, because of racial intolerance.
Instead of encouraging more sexual intolerance, we should invigorate our aloha spirit by protecting our Constitution, that now contains the wisdom of allowing all adults (except close relatives) the civil right of marriage.
Wally Bachman
Rodrigues, justices are out of control
According to your Oct. 9 front-page story, Gary Rodrigues, boss man of the UPW, had a protracted adulterous affair with a married woman. As a result, her marriage ended in divorce. Meanwhile, he had not yet dumped his live-in girlfriend of 10 years.Meanwhile, he was paying both women big bucks with union money. Rodrigues is the same person Governor Cayetano appointed to the state Judicial Selection Commission. So this is the person who selects our judges.
Meanwhile, our state Supreme Court makes the brilliant decision to redefine the meaning of marriage from what it has meant for all of recorded history. And, just to stack the deck, it has been decided that a blank vote means a "no" vote against defining the meaning of traditional marriage.
Now the League of Women Voters wants us to respect the court. Get real. The justices need to be overruled and Rodrigues should resign from his post on the commission.
John Wright
Hilo, Hawaii
Bob Nakata would be a fine state senator
My respect and admiration for Bob Nakata, District 23 senatorial candidate, began some years ago when I heard him testify at the Legislature on various economic and social issues.I did not know then that he was born and raised on a Windward taro farm, was a former university physics teacher and a Methodist minister, had worked with hard-core youth in New York City's Stuyvesant area, and had made many contributions to his Windward community.
I was simply impressed with his intellect and his strong sense of fairness and justice. The courteous and humble manner in which he expressed his arguments also impressed me.
I recognized in him a person of vision and compassion, who understands the interplay of educational, cultural, economical and environmental factors that affect the health of a community. I hope voters in the 23rd District cast their votes for him.
Ursula Retherford
Kailua
OHA is wasting money on Con Con brochures
Auwe to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for sending out flashy brochures against holding a Con Con. Is this how OHA is supposed to spend the people's hard-earned money?If Hawaii wants to have a great hui -- where all our people come together to plan our common future -- then let the will of the people be heard.
Shame on OHA! It shows that it is more interested in itself than the people's business.
Paul "Herbie" Mossman
Kailua
Pendleton is member of GOP and proud of it
A story in your Oct. 10 issue mistakenly identified me as being a Democrat, when I am a Republican member of the House. While I believe this election is not about Democrats or Republicans, and is about Hawaii's future, I am proud to be a member of the Republican caucus.Our caucus voted unanimously to cut taxes and spoke out on the need for more efficient government. We uniformly opposed and helped defeat the proposed general excise tax increase and opposed all other tax increases.
Our plan called for returning the savings to local families by way of a significant personal income tax cut. This would have served as an important economic stimulus.
Rep. David A. Pendleton
R-Kailua/Kaneohe
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