Red-light runners should be prosecuted

Now that someone famous came close to being a fatality due to a red-light runner, maybe the city will forgo politics and get the red-light cameras installed ("Warriors volleyball star Tony Ching hurt," Star-Bulletin, May 24).

Red-light runners have no regard for laws or for the safety or lives of other people; they are vicious criminals and should be treated as such.

How many more accidents and fatalities need to occur before the police and city prosecutor demand harsh punish- ment for these people? Running a red light and hitting someone should be equal to manslaughter; it is an intentional act on the driver's part.

James Roller

Sometimes it's safer not to wear seat belts

I am not convinced that wearing seat belts reduces injuries and saves lives, and the "Click It or Ticket" public service announcement on TV, which claims the purpose of the campaign is to "remind" us to buckle up, is disingenuous.

Statistics are cited to show that "X" number of lives were saved because people were wearing seat belts. Where are the figures that show how many lives were lost because people weren't able to get out of their seat belts in time?

A friend who works as an emergency room nurse regularly sees injuries caused by seat belts. While it can be argued their injuries might have been worse if they hadn't been buckled up, it isn't hard to imagine many scenarios in which the opposite might be true. Sometimes lives are saved because people are thrown out of cars. Sometimes people bleed to death or die in fires or explosions because neither they nor rescuers can find the "click-it" button. Sometimes people save their lives by ducking down under the dashboard -- if they don't lose time fumbling around trying to unbuckle themselves first.

The ridiculously high $77 fine for a safety-belt violation is so blatantly a "revenue enhancer" that it would be laughable were it not such cruel and unusual punishment.

Bill Brundage

Activist celebrities risk alienating audience

Those who are shocked at the public backlash against celebrities who spoke out against the president and the war in Iraq need of a review of basic constitutional law. The First Amendment protects citizens from actions of the government. No laws may be passed, or actions taken by public officials that restrict Americans from speaking out against the government.

However, nothing in the Constitution requires anyone to do business with people with whom they philosophically disagree, or to patronize entertainers they don't like.

Actors and entertainers are, in effect, salesmen working on commission. When actors appear in advertisements, they are selling the products and services of the companies they represent. When they perform, they are selling theater seats, television ad air time or videos, DVDs or CDs. The first rule in sales is, Don't offend the customer. Salesmen, as well as actors and entertainers who fail to grasp this fact of life, may soon find themselves unemployed.

Anyone may express their opinion without fear of legal or government action. But there may well be social or financial consequences. And the U. S. Constitution does not apply in those instances.

Gary F. Anderson
Waimanalo

OHA wastes money on D.C. lobbyist

I am shocked and disappointed that eight out of eight Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees have voted to pay a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm $450,000 to push Congress and the Bush administration to pass the federal native Hawaiian recognition bill, also known as the Akaka bill. There are Hawaiians who are homeless, who cannot afford a down payment on a home and who are waiting for homes promised to them via the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, yet OHA is spending $450,000 to lobby Congress?

I wonder if these OHA trustees asked Hawaiians what they wanted. It is not up to OHA to decide our destiny. It is up to all Hawaiians.

I urge other Hawaiians to send e-mail to OHA at info@oha.org or snail mail to Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 711 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 500, Honolulu, HI 96813, and tell them what you think of spending so much money to decide your destiny as well as your children's and grandchildren's destiny. Speak up, Hawaiians. Don't be shame!

Lana Ululani Robbins
Kamehameha Schools 1985
New Port Richey, Fla.

Pedal, don't pump, and gas prices will fall

Memo for those letter writers who complain of "price gouging" by local gasoline suppliers:

You, the consumers, are the powerful ones, not the fuel sellers. All you need do is buy a bicycle and use it for your transportation needs. Or, if your needs are more extensive, buy a moped or move closer to work. Meantime, someone will start importing gasoline.

We all have choices; all it takes is thinking and acting. The result, assuming the "price gouging" is going on, is that the gougers go broke. They cannot force you to buy gas.

What's the message? If it is really important, act. Sometimes talk is just an excuse not to exercise your power of choice.

Richard O. Rowland
President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii