Hooser’s attack on Lingle missed target

Senator Gary Hooser's op-ed piece last Sunday stated that Gov. Linda Lingle is "out of touch" with the people of Hawaii. Hooser should re-examine his looking glass.

Once he is able to gain an accurate, not politically motivated, perspective on which leaders are connected to their people, he would find that Lingle is not only one of the nation's most popular governors, but she is also leading our state to a successful future. In her historic re-election campaign, she won all 51 house districts - a feat never previously accomplished by a gubernatorial candidate of either party in the state. If that landslide wasn't enough fodder for the senator's analysis of an "in touch" governor, her leadership on critical issues of economic transformation and energy independence should assure him.

Lingle is one of the most "in touch" political leaders our state has ever seen, which stands in stark contrast to our oblivious, ludicrous state Legislature, with the poorest approval ratings in the history of our state, of which Hooser is a member and leader. Now that's fitting!

Hawaii’s allure is being diminished

Business and government leaders are making decisions that are detrimental to the future success of Hawaii.

Hilton Hawaiian Village management is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build new additions to its resort, and at the same time have closed entertainment venues and laid off top-notch entertainers. Sheraton Hotels management is spending millions to renovate rooms and also have laid off entertainers to the detriment of visitors and local people alike.

Thank God (literally) for the beautiful Pacific Ocean that graces these islands, but even that beauty will be compromised by a proposed rail system that will mar the beauty of the countryside. It seems the quality of our lifestyle and the aesthetic spirit of our aina is being diminished at an alarming rate.

McCain could doom seniors, the disabled

I am afraid that if John McCain is elected president it will be the worst kind of hell for all low-income and middle-class Americans, but especially the seniors. McCain has demonstrated that he cares not about our growing senior community.

I am a 63-year-old disabled stroke survivor. Through this illness I was forced out of work. Lost adequate income, home, new automobile, etc. I was placed on SSI ($300+) a month and Medicaid. After a year on SSI I was placed on Social Security because of my disability. I cannot survive without Social Security benefits. I worked hard all my adult life to support my children and paid generously into Social Security.

Barack Obama will ensure that Social Security is protected from those who would privatize it and cut benefits to make a profit. Obama is committed to making repairs to Social Security that will strengthen it for today's retirees.

GOP doesn’t deserve another term

With all respect to those in the U.S. armed forces who have served with gallantry, since when did being captured by the enemy and held in prison without escaping become a desirable attribute for a line officer, much less a president?

Democrat John Kerry received a Silver Star for valor in the Vietnam War, and the Republicans questioned his character while playing down how Republican George Bush ducked out of serving in the war by being in the Air Guard.

Let's get real.

» Like Vietnam and its offshore oil reserves, our country is in Iraq for the petroleum.

» A Republican administration had seven years to find Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and instead decided to pick on Iraq and make up the fictional tale of weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion.

» A Republican administration ignored the advice of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki to put in more troops so that there would be an overwhelming force to control Iraq, while implementing civilian reforms.

» This Republican administration let our sons and daughters ride in personnel carriers with insufficient armor plating.

» A Republican administration moved this country from a surplus to the the biggest trade deficit in our history.

John McCain, who has been a Republican U.S. senator through all of these bungling years, has the wrong kind of experience and political affiliation.

U.S. should keep its own oil in reserve

Drill, baby, drill!!

Not only are the Republicans going to leave our grandchildren with one or two trillion dollars of extra debt, they are also going to use up whatever oil and gas we have.

Not too many years ago the thinking was that since the world's supply of oil was finite, it was better for us to use up the other guy's oil first. As time goes by, the oil we still have in the ground gets more valuable and more essential. The longer we save it, the better off we are. I don't think $4 gasoline invalidates that argument.