Judges are underpaid -- relatively speaking

Sanford W. Friedman -- in his Dec. 18 letter, "Judges are underpaid? Oh, give us a break" -- finds it hard to sympathize with Circuit Court judges who are "underpaid" at $87,000 a year.

Yes, Hawaii's state judges earn an annual salary that is more than what many people earn. But comparing a judge's salary to Friedman's teaching salary or to those earned by professionals other than that of a lawyer is akin to comparing apples to oranges.

Experienced and qualified judges earning $87,000 a year are underpaid when compared to what lawyers, with equivalent experience and qualifications, earn in the private sector, and what judges earn in other states.

If Friedman were earning a salary significantly less than other teachers, I'm certain he would be looking for a better-paying teaching job, too -- especially if he hadn't received a raise in nearly nine years.

James A. Kawachika
President, Hawaii State Bar Association

A guy named Ben is in a financial bind

OK, let's say you're a financial planner and you have this client, a nice guy named Ben. He's got himself in a real bind financially. His income is declining but he wants to continue living pretty high on the hog. Besides, he has all these aunties, uncles and cousins who never had real jobs, and he feels obligated to support them, nice fellow that he is.

He comes to your office with a plan: He wants to go to the bank and borrow several thousand dollars. With this money, he plans to buy a new car, new clothes, maybe take a trip or two to Vegas, take along some of his relatives and generally live like he's got it made.

Ben's not dumb. He knows borrowing money is not the same as earning it. But he thinks that his increased spending will fool people into believing that he's more prosperous than he really is for a while. By then, things will turn around or he'll be able to get a better job or he'll win some money in Vegas or Ed McMahon will knock on his door or something.

Does this sound like a realistic financial plan to you?

Jack M. Schmidt Jr.
Kailua

Hawaiians must unite against domination

Hawaiians, the aboriginal people, are underrepresented in the judicial, legislative and executive branches. With the present make-up of state government, they are doomed to being dominated in their own homeland.

Our Hawaiian nation was stolen, America's culture is a failure, we are left out of the political power structure, our Hawaiian institutions (Bishop Estate/Kamehameha Schools, ceded lands, entitlements, etc.) are under siege, and our prisons are disproportionately filled with those of Hawaiian ancestry. All this boils down to a tragedy of grave concern.

Hawaiians, stand tall! Fight this onslaught by our enemies, who conspire to steal what assets remain bequeathed to us by our noble ancestors.

Paul D. Lemke
Kapaa, Kauai

It's Starr not Clinton who should be imprisoned

Janice Judd (Letters, Dec. 31) is worried about all "the poor souls in prison for the crime of perjury." Actually, the crime of perjury refers to material (important) matters. There would not be room in our prisons for everyone who has tried to conceal a foolish sexual encounter.

Ken Starr, however, was out to get President Clinton any way he could -- not unlike the persecutor in "Les Miserables," who pursued his prey his entire life for stealing a loaf of bread.

The House Judiciary Committee was only able to come up with two people who had spent time in jail for lying about sex -- both women, oddly enough. That is not the equivalent of hounding and spying on a president in order to entrap him and drive him from office.

It is Starr who has bent and broken the laws in his partisan witch-hunt, and he is currently under investigation.

Nancy Bey Little
Mililani

Livingston and Fonda? No similarities exist!

I find it interesting that John Flanagan chose to devote half of his Dec. 19 Letter to Readers attacking the "gravel-voiced, ultra-conservative lady." I suppose his point was that non-ultra-conservatives (i.e. Clinton supporters) don't sound like they smoke two packs of cigarettes per day.

Having established what apparently distinguishes the two types of people in America, he dropped his real point: Rep. Bob Livingston gives "aid and comfort" to the enemy as did Jane Fonda in 1972.

Can any rational thinker, regardless of political beliefs and loyalties, find the parallel between Livingston and Fonda? Did Livingston compare Clinton with Hussein and find Hussein a patriot and Clinton a war-monger? Were Hussein to capture and torture American POWs, would Livingston visit Baghdad to embrace Hussein and make a show of how he is taking care of our soldiers? I think not.

Eric Kalei Holck
Kaneohe
(Via the Internet)

Book publishers appreciate saga of Makaha book drive

Diane Chang's Jan. 1 column, "A book drive proving community cares," was well appreciated by all of us who care about reading, literacy and books in Hawaii. We thank her for writing about the Makaha Elementary School book drive, and for the mention of the contributions of the Hawaii Book Publishers Association.

It is our goal to play a more important role in the future by assisting schools, libraries and other educators in the quest for a more literate Hawaii. We invite your readers to check out our web site at http://www.HawaiiBooks.org/.

Benjamin "Buddy" E. Bess
President, Hawaii Book Publishers
Association
Publisher, The Bess Press
(Via the Internet)

Cease fire! Fire away!

Slap 100 percent tax on fireworks sales

I'm of two minds regarding fireworks. Perhaps we should shoot a few dozen aerials into the state Capitol to get the Legislature to recognize just how annoying and dangerous these things are. Maybe this will finally get the attention of lawmakers.

On the other hand, maybe the state should slap a tax on fireworks sales, say, 100 percent. It wouldn't be much of a burden to all those people who already like burning money, and the state would benefit financially.

James Ko
(Via the Internet)

People of Hawaii clearly want fireworks

Before people start complaining about fireworks, they should look at their neighbors and retail stores. According to TV news broadcasts, over 140 freight containers of legal fireworks were brought into Honolulu. There is no count of how many illegal containers were brought in.

The people of Honolulu have spoken -- with their wallets. They have demonstrated a want and need for fireworks. They are willing to spend millions of dollars to prove it.

To those who oppose fireworks, understand this: As long as there is a demand (like for drugs, alcohol and smokes), they will be brought in and will be readily available. These people should also understand that Madam Pele puts out over 2,500 tons of sulphur dioxide daily. What we do is nothing compared to what Kilauea does in a couple of days.

For those of you who have a problem breathing as I do, get a good quality paper mask to filter out the smoke and a portion of the smell.

If you have an air conditioner, get an extra foam filter that fits behind your regular filter to take out more smoke/dust particles.

For noise, get a good set of throw-away ear plugs, usually under a dollar.

If you have a concern about aerials, water down your home and yard. A wet roof and grass are more than likely to put out sparks and embers that may start a fire.

Vernon Okamura

Ambulance technicians are unsung heroes

Your Jan. 1 "New Year's toll" article made me very upset. Only the Honolulu Fire Department was recognized for answering "56 medical calls" on New Year's Eve. Yet, that night, the only sirens that I can recall seeing and hearing were those of city ambulances.

Emergency medical personnel who save lives and help those in need everyday don't get the recognition they deserve. The publicity goes mainly to HFD and the Honolulu Police Department, when in actuality EMS (emergency medical service) is usually there also. But they are so quick to do their job and are off to the hospital, that they don't stick around to speak to the media.

Yet they should not be forgotten. They go through a two- to four-year program of training and receive degrees to be able to do the kind of work that they do. Hopefully, the people in our community realize how important these people are.

Jenifer Kam
(Via the Internet)

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