Don't want religion? Then work on holidays
In his
letter of Oct. 23, Michael Lauck wrote, "When will believers in Jesus realize that not everyone in the United States is a Christian? Please, get your religion out of my government."
I assume then that Lauck will be working on Christmas Day (if it falls on a work day) and Good Friday (if he works for the City and County of Honolulu or the state)? I'm sure that on those two holidays, Lauck wants religion in his government!
Renea Charles
Laie
Homecoming events were disappointing
Why does the University of Hawaii even bother to have
homecoming football games? For the last two years, UH has done virtually nothing to make it a special event for alumni. The highlight of the half-time show -- and I am not making this up -- was a silly mock football game between corporate mascots.
No recognition of past or present student athletes. No mention of outstanding faculty or academic achievements by the university. Nothing about the proud tradition of Rainbow teams, or memorable games when Aloha Stadium had real sell-outs of 50,000 fans who weren't embarrassed to wear green or cheer, "Let's go Bows!"
Now we have a different kind of sell-out. The corporate sponsors get to showcase their mascots as "entertainment," and UH tradition has been dumped in favor of a macho "Warrior" marketing mentality by Coach June Jones. To a certain degree, it has worked -- when they are winning, that is. But the moment they start losing, fair-weather "Warrior" fans opt to stay home where they can suck up cheaper beer and watch the games on pay-per-view.
Perhaps for next year's homecoming game, the UH should dispense with the half-time show and take on the corporate mascots instead of another weak team like New Mexico State. Truth be told, the guys in the fake food costumes played better defense than the winless Aggies.
Go 'Bows!
Rich and Isabel Figel
Longtime season ticket holders
Kailua
Testing is difficult for immigrant children
When recent reading test scores were announced last week with a downward spiral from last year (
Star-Bulletin, Oct. 20), most verbal and written comments were negative. Does the general public realize how difficult it is for children to improve when English is not spoken at home in most immigrant families? Further, in many of these families both parents work at minimum wage and children are cared for by grandparents. Has the Department of Education ever surveyed the number of children from foreign-speaking households? We must continue to improve reading scores but be more patient for improvement!
Roy M. Chee
Honolulu
A smile can make your day less gripey
Everyone today has a gripe -- housing, wages, price of gasoline, utility payments, recycling and increase/decrease in taxes. One must keep in mind when making any gripe that we all must live with what transpires and individually, we all have the power to make things better, for ourselves and others. One thing, one day, but most of all, one smile at a time.
Laughter, a smile, it can change the way a person's outlook becomes. Try to laugh a little, lighten up and life becomes better.
Gayle Nakama
Honolulu
Why didn't Bush put Miers in Texas court?
If Harriet Miers, President Bush's choice to fill a spot in our nation's highest court, is so good, why didn't he name her to a Texas court when he was governor of that state? She could have gained valuable experience and prepared herself for this eventual appointment. After all, it was back then that she said Bush was "brilliant" and the "best governor ever."
It still appears that Bush is delivering a slap in the face to every experienced conservative judge now sitting in thousands of courts all over the land. Or maybe he didn't do the thorough, extensive and exhaustive search that he said he did. That would mean he lied to us again.
In either case, the president should rethink this one, withdraw her name and appoint an experienced judge to be the next Supreme Court justice.
Keith Haugen
Honolulu