Hasn't Wie learned anything from losing?

Here we go again! If the saying is "after three strikes you're out," then this might be the last time that Michelle Wie plays in the John Deere Golf Classic.

I think that she is a very talented golfer; one who has accomplished a lot in her tenure with the game. But why doesn't she, and her supporting cast of characters, understand and heed the advice and recommendations of most other successful professional men and women golfers to pursue a career that starts with "learn how to win first; the rest will follow"?

Granted, she has reaped the financial benefits of her budding career, but her presence and participation in PGA events are of benefit to only a few ... mainly, the sponsors. This novelty is wearing thin (her seventh try at this?) and could only hurt her mental approach to her career.

She should focus on something she can be more successful in -- the LPGA -- THEN move on to bigger and better things.

Both parties in lawsuit paid for 'justice'

It is interesting that many letters to the editor plus a recent Corky editorial cartoon fault the plaintiff in the Kamehameha Schools case because of the acceptance of some undisclosed payment to resolve the claim.

Is it not just as "unprincipled" and noteworthy in our society to pay money to secure a judicial ruling as it is to accept money to settle a dispute?

It seems correct and indisputable that Kamehameha Schools paid to keep the 8-7 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling as law instead of taking a chance that the Supreme Court would hear the case.

Is this not the purchase of a preferred "justice"?

Let's be fair to both sides on this case; those who purchase justice and those who accept money to disappear.

My conclusion is, regardless of the merits of either side, that both parties are cut from the same unprincipled cloth and both seem to have a firm belief in the power of money.

The real loser here is the "rule of law" and that loss is priceless.

Why put seatbelts ahead of shootings?

From the crack of dawn to late at night, cops are looking for unclicked seatbelts and jaywalkers. This is a good thing but the police priority should be looking for shooters, as Oahu revisits the days of the wild, wild west.

Two deaths and a wounded teenager in a week in the news, details after this break. During the break you see a "Click-it or Ticket" or "No jaywalking" public service announcement, then you get the gruesome details of a gunman shooting into the air and into the crowd.

Should another gunman fire into the air near your house, one of the bullets could come down through the roof of your house and into you or your children. What good is it if you cross the street without jaywalking and survive an auto crash buckled up uninjured, only to be shot by lawbreakers? So let's put Click-it or Ticket on hold and nail and jail these gunman, before they get someone else! And please don't use this as an excuse to outlaw guns.

Give schools bigger share of tax money

According to your story, "Hawaii ranks 19th in per-pupil spending" (Star-Bulletin, May 25). That is especially serious since the state has the highest cost of living in the nation. That is why we cannot retain teachers and have to hire so many uncertified ones.

Fortunately, Hawaii has the only state income-tax-financed school system. All others are funded by local property taxes, impoverishing school districts in poor areas. Still, this low ranking demands a better share of state revenues for public schools.

Language criticism was only about English

Mark Lau's May 22 letter to the editor accuses me of expressing a "condescending opinion of the harm pidgin will have on your life." In fact, my book ("Me and Him Are Killing English!" Star-Bulletin, May 20) has nothing whatsoever to do with pidgin. Pidgin isn't mentioned once in the book, so Lau's assumptions about what I've written are erroneous.

My book is about the runaway misuse of standard English throughout the nation. Its premise is simply this: Business leaders demonstrably do not abuse the language; therefore, young people who aspire to business leadership need to watch how they express themselves.

When someone says, "Me and him will be in the conference room," he or she is not using standard business English, and that can't be good for his or her career. It's as straightforward and uncomplicated as that.