Letters
to the Editor

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Tuesday, June 23, 1998

Voting GOP into power won't solve problems

We are continually reminded by the media what a bunch of stupid clods we voters are. The most recent conspicuous example is your public opinion poll which shows the majority of eligible voters in Hawaii think they will change our economic climate by the simple expedient of voting Republican candidates into power come November.

If that happens, it will be the first time that "voting the rascals and sweethearts out" in this country achieved such felicitous results.

Reginald Jones

'Public' money isn't better than private funds

The Hawaii CLEAN coalition wants to reform our political system by having taxpayers publicly fund all political campaigns. The coalition's chosen name clearly implies that public money is "cleaner" than private money.

I disagree with that characterization. In fact, I find it offensive.

I prefer the word "boondoggle" to better describe this longwinded and misguided 25-year effort to "reform" campaign finances and to limit political speech.

Quentin M. McKenna
Waimanalo

Most gun owners are responsible people

I am the NRA. I am proud to be a part of the American heritage and gun culture of some 65 million responsible gun owners.

We use a firearm 2.5 million times each year for protective uses, more than four times the reported number of violent crimes committed by criminals with firearms.

I am armed with the most effective tool for self-defense. Yes, it is dangerous but only to criminals. More tools, less crime.

Guns save lives. Hawaii's firearm owners don't worry about their ethnic Chinese women and daughters, some as young as 10 years old, being gang raped and killed by sadistic Indonesian riot thugs and blamed for the stagnant economy, just because they are ethnic Chinese.

Guns are the tools for survival. Hawaii's rabid anti-gunners and biased news media just don't get it.

Brian D.W. Chun

Gay marriage will lead to decline of community

If ever there was a time for commitment to traditional family values, it is now. In Hawaii, family values are being threatened by divisive forces that would tear away at heterosexual marriage and God's mandate to "multiply and replenish the Earth."

Enemies of traditional marriage would have you believe their lifestyle does no harm to established families. This could not be farther from the truth. Erosion of familial love and normal family relationships damage whole communities, thus affecting even established families.

Don't let the voices of pseudo-civil rightists sway better judgment or move us away from the tried and true traditions of father, mother and children. The family is the bedrock of society. When families fail, communities and nations perish.

Tom Daniels

Same-sex marriage:
Past articles

Boaters should back improved Maalaea plan

The plan to improve Maalaea Harbor (Maui) has been in the works since 1968. The entrance to the harbor needs to be modified to correct navigational safety hazards, plus the growth of population and boats on Maui requires that small boat harbor capacities be increased.

Why has this vital maritime project been stuck at "square one'' for 30 years? Funding limitations have delayed it in the past, but the main reason now is opposition from environmental groups and surfers.

Environmentalists say the project would destroy 4.8 acres of coral and alter seven acres of marine habitat. Surfers object because one of five surf spots adjacent to the harbor would be eliminated.

The lastest environmental impact statement supplement adequately addresses the concerns of the environmental and surf groups. The redesign of the harbor entrance meets navigational safety standards and at the same time positions the breakwater so as to have minimum effect on the coral and ocean habitats and preserves four of the five surf spots.

A compromise such as this is difficult at best, but it has been accomplished and is presented as preferred Alternative No. 1 in the new EIS. Small boaters should support this improvement at a public hearing tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Kihei Elementary School.

Bill Mossman
Hawaii Boaters Political Action
Association

Why must Manoa get special treatment?

I've been reading the many letters relative to the undergrounding of the Heco line at Waahila Ridge in Manoa. I even saw the community meeting held with the governor.

I'm told that it will only cost me an additional $4 a month to underground the line. I would be more than happy to pay the extra $4 a month -- providing that the folks in Manoa would pay to put the Heco line along Fort Weaver Road underground. The view was similar to that along the Kuhio Highway on Kauai until the line went up.

Alternatively, the residents of Manoa may ask the appropriate authorities to declare themselves a special improvement district and pay for the undergrounding themselves.

Roger C. Evans
Ewa Beach
(Via the Internet)

Sometimes the best man wins, sometimes not...

Congratulations to the state Board of Education for doing the right thing and selecting the best candidate for the job, Paul LeMahieu.

It's too bad the UH Board of Regents didn't have the guts or moxy to do the same, when they selected Hugh Yoshida as athletic director. As you can see, we are paying for it now.

K. Sato
Kaneohe
(Via the Internet)

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