Heed the battle call of the Warriors

Warriors! Hoooo! We fight! Haaa!

Run faster, hit harder, be prepared, dance and make history! We Believe! Warriors! Hoooo! We fight! Haaa!

Thank you to Heisman finalist quarterback Colt Brennan, University of Hawaii coach June Jones and the Hawaii Warriors for all the autographed books, visors and WAC Championship shirts this past Christmas 2007 as gifts for us all. Great gifts for our kids. All we ask in the New Year 2008 is to heed the battle call of ancient warriors, "WARRIORS, WE FIGHT!" Let's have a great New Year's Sugar Bowl game warriors. Manuia and aloha kakou.

Go, Rainbows, and bring it all home

Go Bows!

That's right, I still like to call the University of Hawaii Warriors, the Rainbow Warriors! A big thanks to coach June Jones and quarterback Colt Brennan for showing loyalty and much love to Hawaii fans.

I was not complaining last year when the '07 schedule was announced -- I was booking my airfare and room reservation for the Nevada-Las Vegas games. The game tickets were a cheap $25 and priceless for all of us -- 20,000 fans in green.

I also took my son to the New Mexico State game. One quick questions for the UH crew: Why can't we have some fireworks after UH scores at the Aloha Stadium, as they do the UNLV games? Especially with the new rule about no confetti being allowed.

Good luck at the Sugar Bowl -- I hope Colt has his best game ever. I could not afford the cost to be there in New Orleans but I'll be watching the TV.

Go Bows!

Economists can't fix Hawaii's unlivability

As a recent emigrant, I would like to comment on "Island exodus stunts state's growth" (Star-Bulletin, Dec. 27).

While the high cost of rent was a contributing factor in my departure, that was far from the deciding factor. That honor goes to this state's lackluster quality of life. I don't mind paying $1,000 a month for a two-bedroom walk-up. It's Hawaii, after all. Nor do I mind paying $3 for a gallon of gas or $5 for a gallon of milk.

What I do mind is being late for work every day, since the H-1 is always jammed, or TheBus is rarely on time -- and no one does anything to fix it, other than proposing a multibillion-dollar train.

I mind paying $6 for a pound of poi.

I mind eroding beaches and the routine dumping of raw sewage into the ocean.

I mind it when every day, it gets more and more crowded.

I mind the constant idiocy on the part of the city when it comes to fixing a few potholes on Kapiolani Boulevard.

I mind it when the state's premier public university neglects its educational goals to the point of near-monthly infrastructure disasters.

I mind, after all these things, when I come home at the end of the day to my $1,000 apartment only to realize that I don't live in Hawaii. I live in an urban core in the middle of the Pacific -- and the benefits of living in a big city just aren't available, aside from homicides, traffic, drug addicts and authoritarian police officers.

So when economists posit that "steep home prices and inflation caused the exodus," that's only half the story. The other half is that Hawaii has lost its charm, and nothing the economists can do will fix that.

Competition is good for airline customers

Being a frequent interisland traveler, I have seen a great improvement in the airline services since Go! Airlines has entered the Hawaii travel industry.

Before, I had to wait 20 to 30 minutes whenever I tried to get a reservation on Hawaiian Airlines by telephone. Now, it is almost immediate.

The operator was very discourteous when I called Hawaiian recently. I explained that I was elderly so could she speak louder and more slowly. Whereupon she yelled in the telephone, spoke a little slower but soon reverted to speaking faster. Hawaiian has a reputation of being discourteous to people. The recent cancellation problem is one example of this also.

I admit Hawaiian has good "on time" and airport services. However, the competition has done a lot for us.

Double impeachment would be a win-win

Two heads are better than one; two hands are better than one; so, two impeachments should be better than one, no?

Should the double action of "two heads" with one impeachment be feasible, then our troops should be coming home much sooner than later, should they not?

Then, fewer casualties, less depletion of our resources, more efforts can be expended to better our national needs, which have been neglected or bypassed because of such squandering of resources spent in Iraq. Impeach-impeach.

Give basketball coach time to do his job

Mark Terry's suggestion to fire University of Hawaii basketball coach Bob Nash (Letters, Dec. 29) is ridiculous. First off, hiring Nash was not "rushed." He was hired too late. When Nash was named the new basketball coach, the recruiting season was already over. As a result, UH lost some potential recruits.

Second thing is you simply don't fire a first-year coach after 11-12 games. What kind of message will you be sending to potential candidates? I can guarantee not many coaches will be interested in the job.

The fair thing to do is give Nash about five years so he can bring in is own recruits and set up his system. After several recruiting classes under Coach Nash, I'm confident the basketball program will be a lot better.

Cartoonist's vacation leaves unfunny void

I'm looking forward to Jan. 2 because Star-Bulletin cartoonist Corky Trinidad will be back from vacation. I admire Corky's work so much that I look at his editorial cartoon every day. He is a part of my working day.

And when he's on vacation, it's like a day without coffee. It's just not the same. Welcome back, Corky!

Editor's note: Corky's editorial cartoons will resume Wednesday.