Tadd has earned every bit of his success

Kudos to Tadd Fujikawa for his performance at the 2007 Sony Open. Here is a young man who has earned everything he was been given in golf -- i.e., qualifying for the U.S. and Sony Open tournaments. It appears he has learned from the mistakes of Michelle Wie.

As the wise old saying goes, "Nothing good in life comes free." Tadd's work ethic and determination to earn everything he receives will serve him well in the future.

House renegades shine light on system

If the Star-Bulletin were to recognize "Influential People of the Month," then that honor would certainly go to the three courageous Democratic state representatives who, on the opening day of the Legislature, raised their voices against electing the same Democratic speaker of the House year after year.

Political systems were formulated fundamentally to create order and to protect the people within them from anarchy and chaos. But these three representatives believed that when politicians represent themselves and not their constituents, and are more concerned with their own self-preservation, then it is folly to trust such a system.

The renegade behavior of the three representatives can be an inspiration for many officials -- and the general populace -- to break their silence, and to let their voices be heard on all levels of government. That action can precipitate a change in consciousness whereby we can have government representation that is truly for the people.

Clinton should love unborn children, too

On Monday I opened your newspaper to see a picture of Sen. Hillary Clinton holding a little child's hand and smiling, showing complete support of that child. It was a very nice image. I wondered as I saw this if she plans to hold the hands of the millions of aborted babies across America as they are taken from their mother's wombs as she supports a woman's choice.

If only the picture could be appreciated for what it is and be true that she does value the presence of a child ... all children. These are not the rantings of an activist; rather, just someone who values every child's life and dearly loves every child from the moment its tiny heart beats and who desperately wishes everyone felt the same.

Should Clinton be elected president, I would like to see that picture on the walls of every doctor's office, clinic and hospital that performs the extinction of these children that she holds the hands of with a smile. These same children who seem to be supporting her campaign image.

Bush should clarify U.S. mission in Iraq

Now that President Bush has made his decision to increase U.S. troops in Iraq, we must ask, what is his objective?

If it is to train the Iraqis to pacify the insurgents and have the government run the country in one or two years, we are not going to accomplish our objective mainly because we do not have enough English-speaking Iraqis or Arabic-speaking U.S. soldiers or diplomats to interpret our objectives.

Of 1,000 personnel with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, only 33 have fluency in Arabic. Only 1 percent of the FBI agents have limited proficiency in Arabic. I believe that it will take seven to 10 years to accomplish our military objective in Iraq.

Famous quote didn't come from Kennedy

Recently, on "The Late Show," David Letterman has had a feature titled, "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches" in which he spoofs some of President Bush's less-than-eloquent public utterances. In the introduction, he cites President Kennedy's, "Ask not what your country can do for you ..." quotation.

Every time I hear this I feel constrained to advise the public that, contrary to what his fans might believe, Kennedy was not the originator of this sentiment.

In a Memorial Day speech, May 30, 1884, in Keene, New Hampshire, Oliver Wendell Holmes, justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, said, "It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return."