Nasty cartoon doesn't belong in the paper
Carl Moore's consistently offensive cartoon strip, "State of the Union," was even more revolting on Sept. 13, when he attacked Jimmy Carter, calling him "holier than thou" and "wimpy."
I am inspired by President Carter's efforts to house the poor. He is a role model for us and does not deserve to be vilified. Ridiculing someone for their good works is wrong, and does not belong in the comic section of the paper. To then depict Illinois Sen. Barack Obama insulting Carter is just egregious.
Please stop running this hateful and offensive cartoon.You also should publish apologies to those targeted by this hateful cartoon since you began running it.
Wayne David Levy
Honolulu
Gov, Superferry CEO used Bush-like tactics
I protested the Iraq war at King and Punchbowl Streets on Aug. 28 and support the Superferry protesters at Nawiliwili Harbor. Maybe they didn't show up on the street corner to help us wave peace signs at cars that passed by, but they were in Lihue protesting and being enthusiastically supported by a thousand more on shore.
Most were outraged at the subterfuge employed by Gov. Linda Lingle and Superferry CEO John Garibaldi, not necessarily at the idea of an interisland ferry. Given a bona fide environmental impact statement with an assurance that whales and ocean won't be harmed by the high-speed ferries and that the precious soul of every island will be valued more than money, many of the Kauai protesters would be on board.
Lingle and Garibaldi circumvented the law to push forward a profit-making enterprise for "the good of the people of Hawaii." The Bush administration flouted laws and lied to push forward an invasion for the "good of the American people."
Essentially, they lied to get what they wanted, which probably had little to do with "the good of the people." There was money to be made, careers to bolster and power to wield.
So, those folks on Kauai blockading the Superferry? Good for them. They might be protesting a smaller dishonesty closer to home, but lies are lies, and when one finds the courage to stand up to one, the courage and the crowds burgeon to protest the bloodier lies.
Rebeca Brabenec
Honolulu
Newcomers want isles all to themselves
Look at the pictures of the protesters on Kauai, not much brown skin there. This is not about the ferry or protecting our sister islands from anything; this is about those who have chosen to move to Hawaii and want to close the door behind them ... period. True islanders live abroad or in cars and boxes in our parks because they cannot afford to live on their own soil because those with deep pockets come in, buy up their portion of paradise and then want it closed behind them.
The irony here is that people can move their cars between islands with Young Brothers, not as swiftly as the ferry can but still all that the Superferry has done is add expediency to the formula.
One more thing, "true islander" should mean someone born to island roots and this can be haole, Filipino, Portuguese, Hawaiian, Samoan or whatever, but someone brought up with the spirit of our islands as their roots. The spirit of aloha is special, and while we share it as often as possible, it cannot just be put on like an aloha shirt because you moved onto island shores.
Jimmy Gomes
Manoa Valley and Las Vegas, Nev.
Maybe Hawaii should become a kingdom
I wonder what the people on Kauai would think of seceding from Hawaii and becoming the kingdom of Kauai or Republic of Kauai, depending on a vote of the residents. A vote could determine whether they would be independent or be a territory of the United states. Their government officials would no longer have to travel back and forth to Oahu.
They could determine who would be allowed to visit their island if they became independent.
James M. Walling
Honolulu
Buses can't compete with train capacity
John Brizdle proposes an interesting solution in his Sept. 8 letter to the editor. He claims that "a line of regular buses carrying 50 people each at 60 mph can carry 60,000 passengers per hour in one lane."
If we assume the buses sustain 60 mph, then each bus would take about 26 minutes to complete a round trip of Waipahu to Downtown (about 13 miles). So we can re-use a bus every 26 minutes. Generously speaking, four buses will make a round trip every hour. Four buses times 50 people per bus per hour equals 200 people per hour. Sixty thousand people per hour divided by 200 people per bus per hour is 300 buses per hour. Three hundred buses times about 40 feet per bus is 12,000 feet (or about 2 miles).
So, we would need to have a line of 300 buses -- stretching two miles long -- running constantly at 60 mph for an hour to deliver 60,000 people from Waipahu to downtown.
Sounds like a train to me.
Lance Arias
Oak Brook, Ill.