Felix ignores statistics that rebut smoking dangers

Why publish John Henry Felix's View Point (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 21) when he obviously does not read the Star-Bulletin?

Had he read "The EPA's secondhand smoke charade" (Sept. 30), Felix would know his "irrefutable" facts have no merit, and perhaps understand why the rest of the world continues to smoke -- and to avoid vacationing where smoking is not permitted.

Felix is fond of statistics, yet he ignores "The Book of Risks" statistics that a person is 10 times more likely to die of lung cancer by having a bird in the room than by having a smoker in the room; yet not one peep has been heard from Felix _-- or Steve Holmes -- about prohibiting birds from the workplace.

Like Holmes (who flagrantly assaults people for not sharing his prejudices), Felix believes the role of government is to impose the will of the strong on the people. It is time the entire Council and the Legislature went back to school to learn civilization exists and flourishes only where people of different ideologies agree how they can best live in harmony.

Rico Leffanta
A nonsmoker

Child support agency is hurting children

I was amazed to see the Nov. 9 letter to the editor regarding the Child Support Enforcement Agency's (CSEA) inability to manage its responsibilities.

As a victim of the CSEA for six years, I was sorry that there were others in the same boat. Since the Keiki System went into operation, I have yet to receive a payment on time.

In a desperate desire to talk to a human voice, I was on hold for over 45 minutes with CSEA to inquire on the missing payments. I was curtly informed that the CSEA "can't solve everyone's problems." I took the employee's name and called the attorney general's office to complain. I was told to wait for a call from a CSEA investigator.

One week later, the investigator told me that he could only note my complaint and keep it on file, as investigators are "no longer allowed to do field work." When asked why, he said, "I really don't know."

It is really children who are suffering here. Many parents rely on that money to put food on the table. Child support is a court-ordered responsibilty and, if the families can be held in contempt for noncompliance, the CSEA should be also.

Kristin Paulo
(Via the Internet)

GOP lost because it deserved to lose

In the portmortem of the election, the Republicans have been missing the mark badly. They keep trying to examine Governor Cayetano's candidacy, attempting to find some reason why he didn't deserve to win. Instead, they should turn their attention to a dissection of their own party.

The Republicans failed to hold onto an early and impressive 27-point lead in the polls by Linda Lingle. They will discover that it was because their campaign avoided answering simple questions that asked for more substance or details about their plans for the future. And they'll find that they were strong in articulating problems, but weak in offering solutions.

Once the postmortem is through, Republicans should move on and support the will of the majority.

Kay Inglis

Legislative incumbents have been warned...

This election was the most exciting in the last two or three decades. Given what appeared to be one of the great tsunamic political upheavals for Hawaii's Democrats, there was not even a minor ripple of change at the state Capitol.

I hope the Democrats will seize the opportunity and make quantum strides for our state. Otherwise, the next election may indeed produce very different results.

Lindbergh Marzo
(Via the Internet)

Governor snubbed business community

Upon being re-elected, Governor Cayetano admonished local businesses to "be part of the solution and not the problem." Fair enough. So when the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii announced Cayetano would address its membership convention, and make a major speech on his economic development policy, it was encouraging.

Members were urged to attend as a show of unity. Mayors and key legislators attended to show their support.

What a surprise to have not Cayetano but his wife, Vicky, as the speaker. No explanation was given as to why the governor was unable to attend, much less was an apology made.

The public understands the rigors and pressures the governor may be under, but a simple gesture of courtesy would reflect how seriously Cayetano feels about helping the business sector. If unable to attend, why wasn't Lt. Governor Hirono there to represent him? The people of this state did re-elect her as second-in-command.

Hawaii's businesses showed up at the convention to be part of the solution. However, Governor Cayetano was missing. So what is the problem?

S.R. Nakama

Cayetano campaign wasn't 'divisive'

In his Nov. 11 column, political columnist Richard Borreca charged the Friends of Ben Cayetano with running a "divisive" campaign. That statement is a disservice to the thousands of volunteers who worked to re-elect Ben Cayetano and Mazie Hirono -- and to Ben and Mazie themselves.

Borrecca's only evidence is a flier from our Youth for Ben group that celebrated local food and customs. It's the kind of e-mail message Hawaii college students on the mainland send one another when they miss the things that make Hawaii special. There wasn't a negative word in it; it's difficult to see how Borrecca could even interpret it as a political message.

If you want divisive tactics, how about:

A news release from GOP Sen. Sam Slom, sent in the final days of the campaign, that sneered about how Ben and Vicky Cayetano would "lower property values" if they moved into his exclusive neighborhood.

A cartoon linked to both the Republican Party and Linda Lingle websites that depicted Hawaii kids as lazy, foul-mouthed losers.

The people made their choice on Nov. 3, and because the Star-Bulletin does not agree with their choice should not tempt your writers to distort the facts.

Rick Humphreys
Campaign Co-Chairman
Friends of Ben Cayetano
(Via the Internet)

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