Total ban on fireworks is long overdue

A complete ban on fireworks should have been placed many years ago. The noise, litter and especially the toxic smoke, are terrible. This toxic smoke makes many healthy people sick and already sick people even more ill.

Ironically, new laws passed recently essentially ban "noise" on buses (new cell phone ring-tone laws) and another law bans toxic smoke in public places (new anti-smoking laws).

However, twice yearly thousands of irresponsible and selfish individuals are allowed to light explosives that fill the air with toxic smoke, burn down homes, wake sleeping babies, scare animals, sicken humans, pollute the ocean and streams.

Sometimes irony can be funny. However in this case, it seems more like pure stupidity. Wake up and smell the toxic smoke, lawmakers.

Ford's steady values are needed today

As our nation says goodbye to President Gerald Ford (Star-Bulletin, Dec. 27), I hope our remembrance of his presidency is a sign of good in 2007. Our national leaders today should emulate the values of Ford and his generation. Politics was once marked by decency, civility, comity and bipartisanship. Our nation needs to turn to the Midwestern values of President Ford -- a quiet patriotism, fiscal responsibility, a more modest federal government, and a respect for individuality and privacy.

I hope President George W. Bush and members of Congress of both parties will be inspired to follow Ford's example and come together in 2007.

Watada, like Ford, defies corruption

The passing of Gerald Ford brings back memories of the Nixon administration (Star-Bulletin, Dec. 27). The gentle Ford assured us that at the end of the long nightmare Americans could relax with the knowledge that we are a nation of laws, not a nation of men. That responsible public servant rescued us from the autocracy of Nixon's remark that an illegal act is "not illegal when the president does it."

At a time when the highest law enforcement agency in the nation was corrupted, our system still worked.

There is growing evidence of unlawful behavior in the current administration. And we should not fail to recognize and support those who have come forward to oppose this reborn imperial presidency.

Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada is an exemplary opponent. By adhering to international law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice he is now being maligned for obeying these laws.

Watada bravely volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, but refused to fight in the illegal Iraq war.

The Watada case is not about bravery, or religion, or military duty -- it is a legal matter: his refusal to commit a crime that further abets the criminal acts of his superiors. There was a time in America when that would have been laudable.

City lets tennis court fall into disrepair

The Pearlridge Community Park courts in Aiea have hundreds of feet of hazardous cracks. Resurfacing would take care of the problem. Time is of the essence; it would be sad if someone got permanently injured. Please don't let the answer be to remove the nets as was done at the Koko Head courts last year.

These tennis courts, built years ago, were not meant to be left in disrepair. Why can't the present administration keep in shape the courts that our past city leaders provided for us?

Hawaii's tennis world should be another stepping stone toward our youths' dreams. Tennis courts also provide the opportunity for elderly players to enjoy more camaraderie and smiles during their twilight years.

The sight of tennis courts creates a spark in thousands of younger and older eyes. Let's keep those sparks alive and provide the resources to maintain and safely spread tennis excitement all over each island throughout each new year.

Follow the coqui and leave rest of us behind

If Don Beckett (Gathering Place, Star-Bulletin, Dec. 12) loves coqui frogs so much, he can move to Puerto Rico and live with them in their native habitat.

Scorn for homeless is outrageous and sad

I am writing in response to the Dec. 28 letter by the Canadian couple who complained about the homeless in Waikiki. They wrote that "someone is going to have to decide if Waikiki is to be a destination for the homeless or a destination for tourists" and complained that "somebody is stringing up their hammock for a nice snooze each night right beside the police station." I was both outraged and saddened by these comments.

First, outrage: Who are these tourists to lay claim to Waikiki? How dare they imply that their pleasure takes precedence over the well-being of local folks? Don't they realize that there's no such thing as "a nice snooze" when you live on the streets?

Then, sadness: Maybe there is a better safety net of social services in Canada, and they don't realize how hard it is for many people to survive in Hawaii? Perhaps they don't know that homelessness is a symptom of a warped economic system that puts profits above people?

Yes, homelessness is an ugly reality in Waikiki. Yes, it is sometimes unsightly for tourists. (Apparently Hawaii is a part of the real world after all.) Yet we all need to remember that behind the label of "homeless" are people; human beings deserving of respect, care and love. Only by working together to lift up all the people of Hawaii will we come close to living up to the image of paradise that many tourists have.

I invite this couple, and all visitors to our islands to be a part of the solution. Working together, we can end homelessness!

Monitor recylers who accept stolen copper

Recyclers who buy stolen copper are just as guilty as the copper thieves. In a recent news story, one of the recyclers stated that without the copper they probably would go out of business. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Recyclers make a lot of money with copper; they sell it for big money, and they know the price.

If they were monitored more closely and had to answer to the authorities and report all copper brought to their place of business, maybe it would stop this crazy thievery that is costing the taxpayers big money and compromising our safety.

The recyclers are like pawn shops that are accepting stolen property. Isn't it against the law to receive stolen goods?

When mercury falls, do we blame Ice Age?

Every time the weather is warmer than usual, people are quick to exclaim that this is proof of "global warming." But when there are record cold temperatures, they do not say it's proof of global cooling.

Southern California recently had record low temperatures. No outcry about that from the global-warming crowd. Well, the next time we see record low temperatures on the mainland, I will proclaim that a new Ice Age is coming. And it truly is coming -- we just don't know when. The Earth alternates between periods of warming and cooling. That is what it does. Get used to it, and get over it.