Rodrigues appointment
should be the last straw

I commend the Star-Bulletin for its July 18 editorial pointing out the travesty of putting Gary Rodrigues on the Judicial Selection Commission.

This is a six-year appointment, which appoints and reappoints judges to 10-year terms. Therefore, whatever follows this violation of the public trust has a long tail, and should be examined closely.

This is not the first time that politicians and power brokers have tried to compromise the neutrality of judges. Rarely, however, has it been done in such an "in your face" manner.

This episode is a mirror that reflects the mindset of our leaders. It is an arrogance borne from a belief that no meaningful accountability exists in Hawaii. It is time to prove them wrong. It is time to say "enough!"

As a result of those ways, Hawaii's people, Hawaii's reputation, Hawaii's economy and now our bedrock ideals are suffering.

Samuel R. Blair

Politics was main reason
for dropping atomic bombs

Miki Hatakeyama, a Hiroshima survivor, says she wants to use her "experience to prevent another atomic bomb from falling...not for politics or religion, just for humanity" (July 28, "Hiroshima survivor talks of deadly bombing"). She described the destruction brought about by "U.S. planes killing 140,000 people on impact."

Unfortunately, the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan 50 years ago were dropped on a zealous, religious dictatorship that would not peaceably negotiate terms of surrender. The "horrific experiences" that Hatakeyama survived were a result of her birth country's "politics and religion."

I feel sorry for her and for the thousands of others who experienced the consequences of their government's ill-conceived decisions and actions. It's a shame that we simply can't just ignore the causes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: politics and religion.

Kim Pitts
(Via the Internet)

Don't force employers
to pay health benefits

Diane Chang's self congratulation about knowing all the ins and outs of the reciprocal beneficiaries act ("Why employers are mad at the Legislature," July 28) falls short. She wrote that lobbyists, including the big businesses that are now suing to stop the act, "didn't anticipate that, as the session came to a close, the Legislature would deliver a surprise compromise."

That's because Rep. Terrance Tom and House leadership said then and continue to say now that any extra costs incurred by the private sector in providing health benefits to reciprocal beneficiaries be paid by the reciprocal beneficiaries themselves.

If there was any surprise in the final draft of the bill, it was the lack of clarity of the language used -- not in the public statements interpreting that language by House leadership. Because of differing interpretations, the attorney general has been asked to see who really has to pay for the benefits.

As one of the 10 members in the House who voted against the reciprocal beneficiaries bill, I believe the best way to fix this is not to provide benefits exclusively to gay couples (as any lobbyist knows was always the intent of the Senate). Private-sector reciprocal beneficiaries health benefits must not be mandated to employers.

Rep. Gene Ward
16th District

Gabbard doesn't care
about homosexuals

It is disingenuous for Mike Gabbard (Letters, July 28) to pretend that his anti-gay organization, the Alliance for Traditional Marriage, is concerned about preventing AIDS or protecting the welfare of gay men and lesbians.

Given the fact that the most common way for a woman to contract HIV is through heterosexual sex, and the fact that HIV transmission via lesbian sex is so rare that the Centers for Disease Control don't even bother to report it as a separate statistical category, I wonder if we should expect to hear Gabbard urge, in the name of AIDS prevention, that all women immediately become lesbians?

Heather Downs
Mountain View, Calif.
(Via the Internet)

Cayetano ignored views
on whale sanctuary idea

As the whale huggers settle in to enjoy their accomplishment, as a fisherman I am left with a lingering fear.

When Governor Cayetano accepted the whale sanctuary, federally funded lobbyist Alan Tom attempted to assuage the fears of fishermen by saying, "Any fishing regulations would have to be approved by the governor (and not Silver Springs, Md.)." Yet the governor would not grant the fishermen an audience to listen to our concerns.

What makes Tom believe that Cayetano would listen to us if some researcher wanted to set up a project to film whale fornication that required fishermen to stay out of the area?

Oh, and the fine you will have to pay if you err and drive through the designated whale research closure. I fear the worst.

William James King

(Via the Internet)

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Same-sex archive

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