If schools are so bad, why don't you leave?

In his June 20 "Rip Van Winkle" letter, Richard O. Rowland, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, states, "When the Army assigned me to Hawaii in 1971, I was denied my request to go elsewhere. My request was centered on my children going into the dysfunctional Hawaii school system. Now, 34 years later, I recently talked to a colonel at Schofield who had an identical experience. It was a 'Rip Van Winkle' event."

My problem with Rowland's complaint is that he is still here 35 years later, hasn't left yet and is still complaining about it.

Governor ignores ugly side of issues

Are those rose-colored glasses Gov. Lingle wore on her trip to Asia? I noticed the governor didn't mention any concerns about the environment, either for China where growing fuel consumption has created some of the most polluted cities in the world, or for Hawaii, where a large influx of low-spending Chinese tourists seems a direct contradiction to the stated goal of attracting fewer but higher-spending visitors.

In Korea, the governor seemed thrilled to attend Military Ohana Appreciation Day, but there was no mention about the Downing Street Memo that tells of our president leading the country into war under less-than-honorable premises. It seems Lingle, like President Bush, is happily ignorant of the real costs of their pro-military and business agenda.

Schools should teach, not sell stuff to kids

There are so few places where young people can go without facing the onslaught of advertising, and now two members of the state Board of Education propose turning schools and libraries into commercial zones (Star-Bulletin, June 23) for a possible quick buck! What are they thinking to thus destroy the last vestiges of a learning environment? Students face distractions enough without supposed education advocates adding to the calamity.

Let's hope the Committee on Support Services is wise enough to repudiate this very bad ad idea. The National Parent Teacher Association has taken a stand against advertising on campus, and so should we. The walls of most schools are already filled with encouraging thoughts for the day and incentives. Commercial advertisements have no place in school or library: education is the mission here, not sales promotion.

Eating shellfish, too, is an abomination

Melvin Partido's June 10 letter incorrectly says that the Bible does not allow tolerance of homosexuality. While many think so, the Bible does not even discuss homosexuality. There is no word for homosexuality in the original Hebrew or Greek languages of the Bible. It only appeared in the Bible in 1946 in the Revised Standard Version. More important, Jesus never discussed or condemned homosexuality, although he condemned divorce many times.

The chapter in Leviticus (18:22) often misused to condemn homosexuality refers to ancient pagan idol rituals, and equally condemns tattoos, eating shellfish, pork and rare meat, cross-breeding livestock, and wearing clothes made from a blend of textiles as "abominations." Why doesn't Partido encourage intolerance of these acts?

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