UH coaches keep their players in top form

I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to University of Hawaii coaches Dave Shoji (Rainbow Wahine volleyball) and June Jones (Warrior football) for providing us with pride, excitement and happiness during their winning streak so far this season. With three capable quarterbacks, the Warriors will be hard to beat. And with improved Wahine passing efforts, they'll keep us excited with pride and fulfillment.

It is amusing to see Warrior ball carriers with long hair chased by manly-looking opponents. It's like a girl running for her life to keep from being attacked. I'd like to see our football players with haircuts. And I'd like to see our Wahine fresh and with vigor, so that uncalled-for errors will be avoided. In short, no late dates before a game.

GOP candidates follow scary footsteps

Letter writer Joseph Fleischer (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 30) accurately points out the salient fact that G.W. Bush and the United States have no right to dictate who may possess nuclear weapons.

It's not like the Bible declared the United States as the world's superpower, complete with a nuclear arsenal, and our presidents are just following Scripture.

But look at the Republican field running as Bush's successor! Every candidate promotes a strong military, fiscally at $500 billion before the Iraq war supplements kick in. All, yes all, want to "win" in Iraq, and agree the surge is working, and if are elected, the United States will remain there for another 10 years.

Speaking of scripture, Armageddon will be a certainty if John McCain is elected. Singing war songs, he cannot wait to bomb Iran, lighting the fuse to World War III.

Tyranny of Superferry is unendurable, too

The Superferry protests are part of the great American tradition of civil disobedience. Back in 1773 John Adams, a leader of the American Revolution, organized colonialists to protest "taxation without representation" at the Boston Tea Party where citizens dressed as Indians boarded British ships to dump 342 chests of tea into the water.

In 1849 Henry David Thoreau wrote in "Civil Disobedience" that all men recognize "the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable."

Isle progress can include Hawaiian-ness

Rather than resist progress, let's move forward with gratitude for positive changes. These positive changes are: low interisland airfares thanks to Mesa (despite Hawaiian Airlines' attempts to force Mesa out of town); the already approved and long-overdue light-rail system on Oahu; and an interisland transportation alternative, thanks to Hawaii Superferry (despite challenges by misguided alarmists).

It is time for Gov. Linda Lingle and all of our leaders to take charge with the support of the quiet majority of Hawaii's people, to move ourselves forward in gratitude for these positive changes of affordability, ease of movement and accessibility. In the words of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole from "The Man and His Music" CD, "We cannot stop progress, but only integrate our Hawaiian-ness into the progress and find our little piece of happiness." Imua Hawaii!

Hanabusa a stickler for following law

I was offended by Kalani Melvin's ad hominem attacks on Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (Letters, Sept. 30). I have known Hanabusa for several years, and I worked on her last campaign.

You can take that bias for what it is, but I found Hanabusa to be honest, diligent and a fighter for what she believes in. The programs she initiated that help her district are too numerous to mention.

Hanabusa doesn't approve of anyone riding roughshod over processes and laws that are in place. Homelessness is not an emergency in this state and shouldn't be handled that way. An emergency is a right-now, one-time event -- not an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed for the short and long term. The landfill issues are far more complex than Melvin evidently knows.

People in her district show up to the polls to vote for someone they know fights for them. That is Hanabusa.

VonAppen isn't stuck on the sidelines

I wanted to recognize "Sidelines" columnist Kalani Simpson for his excellent piece "VonAppen finding success," in Sunday's edition of the Star-Bulletin. The feature about Cody vonAppen, Kalaheo High School football player and son of former University of Hawaii football head coach Fred vonAppen, was a somber reminder that football is only a game.

But strangely, after reading Kalani's piece, you couldn't help the feeling that football is more than a game. It's about people, too.

I highly recommend Simpson's piece as a "must read." Mahalo, Kalani!