Letters
to the Editor

Write a Letter to the Editor

Saturday, April 24, 1999

Let Bronster finish KS/BE investigation

It is a sad reflection when political influence can apparently manifest itself and disrupt the Senate's confirmation of Attorney General Margery Bronster.

She deserves our vote of confidence for having the fortitude and knowledge to conduct the investigation into the highly controversial workings of the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustees.

If there are legal wrongdoings on the part of the trustees, let Bronster clean this up and then move to any legitimate concerns that the senators have against her confirmation.

Richard Y. Shiroma
Kaneohe

Ige should not vote on Bronster confirmation

Sen. Marshall Ige wants to vote on the nomination of the same attorney general who may indict him on criminal charges. Is he kidding? Aren't there any rules against this?

Hawaii State Senate Rule 71 (2) says, "The president may excuse a member who has monetary interest in the question, or whose right to a seat in the Senate will be affected by the question, or whose official conduct is involved in the question."

Clearly, Ige has both monetary and official conduct interests in the question of Margery Bronster's nomination as attorney general.

He has a monetary interest, because he faces possible fines and other financial consequences after the Campaign Spending Commission found illegal repayment of his campaign debts by the Bishop Estate through false invoices, and referred his case to the attorney general's office for investigation and possible prosecution.

He has an official conduct interest because the possible charges he faces concern the official filings of his campaign reports.

Ige has already said that he will vote against Bronster. Why? Because she has vigorously pursued other cases related to the Bishop Estate, and a less aggressive attorney general might drop, delay or minimize Ige's case.

Larry Meacham
Executive Director
Common Cause Hawaii

Peters might have saved the kingdom

Your article last week about Henry Peters was interesting and in many ways reflected my knowledge of the man: tough, demanding, smart and magnanimous.

He reminds me of Kamehameha V, who also faced the same type of criticisms from detractors.

I have always felt that had he been around 100 years ago and had he reached the same political echelons, Hawaiians would still have their aina today!

Hualani Moore
Via the Internet

Bishop Estate deserves fresh start

If he is guilty, Bishop Estate trustee Richard Wong deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. It's been a long wait for all.

All of the trustees must be held to fair public scrutiny. The estate should be managed by individuals of good moral character.

The Bishop Estate needs a fresh start. This time, let's do it right.

Virgil Gabriel
Mililani
Via the Internet

---

Bishop Estate archive

Bad leadership helped speed UH decline

In my 25 years as an educator for the University of Hawaii, I have never seen the situation as bleak as it is today.

The budget cuts, though drastic, are but a part of this precipitous and continuing decline. I place more blame on the absence of highly qualified, decisive leadership in the corridors of Hawaii state government -- especially in the governor's office and in administrative offices at Manoa, where hard decisions to stop the bleeding seemingly take back seat to politics as usual and centralization of authority at any cost.

We are still a great university, but the unchecked freefall taking place with apparently no plan to remedy its quickening pace, will surely extract its toll much sooner than most can realize.

We hear the litany of sad statistics: Highly recognized faculty are leaving in large numbers, going where their skills are appreciated, and the most important resources for our state's future -- our youth -- leave as well for places that take much better care and pride in their post-secondary institutions. It's shameful, and a guarantee of continued economic stagnation.

Vinnie Linares
Via the Internet

Quotables "As she lay in my arms, I told her if I could save just one child, her death would not be in vain. What else would a dying 3-month-old want, except for others not to be hurt the same way?" Tara Wilmot Shaken-Baby Syndrome activist Describing how the death of her niece, Anissa, murdered by her sister's boyfriend in Montana, motivated the Hawaii resident to become involved in the issue "It's going to be chaos. To do it twice a year is one thing, but every weekend is another story." Linda Matusow Downtown Neighborhood Board member On merchants' idea to have block parties in Chinatown every Saturday night

Hawaii homeless aren't as lucky as Albanians

Wow! Hawaii raised almost $150,000 for those well-dressed refugees leaving Kosovo. Now how about kicking in for the hungry, ragged, homeless people in Hawaii and on the mainland? They are not nor will they be provided for like the Albanians are.

Bosa Wiel

We must learn from past military mistakes

Belgrade. NATO allies. Ground troops. Milosevic. These are the words that are highly likely to make an appearance in a history book 25 years from now. Like Hitler in Germany, or the atom bomb on Hiroshima, these words will take their place alongside dozens of other wars, dates, people and places in time.

Sadly, the children of tomorrow will probably treat these words in the same manner as children today view the Korean War or Vietnam. Indifference, detachment and the memorization of yet another section of dates all eclipse the real reason why the teaching of history exists.

Why does the teaching of history exist? So we learn from the past. In teaching history, people hope to pass on the lessons that generation upon generation of ancestors have learned.

By ingraining it in the minds of the children, there is hope that they will have a future that is void of the mistakes that their parents and grandparents made.

Alison Tomisato
Grade 8, Iolani School
Via the Internet

Building prisons isn't answer to crime

Your April 16 headline, "Governor threatens to free inmates," was appalling. But his persistence in going forth with the building of a prison is in direct contrast to what is taking place nationally.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority is maxing out sentences in order to pack the prisons. But at the same time, the authority's members are crying out that Hawaii needs more prison space.

But why should we seek expansion of a system that is steeped in greed, deception and suffering? Instead, we must look at all aspects of the prison issue, like various treatment and service providers, before introducing more of this type of irreversible, inhumane level of economy into our society.

The governor's idea, though based on the wrong premise, is right on track. Freeing the inmates would be a good beginning to stop this insidious industry.

Hank Roberts
Pahoa, Hawaii

Not all young people are capable of murder

Due to the recent vicious actions of two teens in Littleton, Colo., the world seems to be classifying all teens as hazards. Although there has been an increase in teen violence, not all of us are the monsters we are being made out to be.

In the public's eyes, the media are causing the rise in brutality among youth. That is only a cover-up. Yes, the media do show violent acts, but human beings have free will. TV, movies and the radio don't "brainwash" society.

Inadequate excuses for the violence, such as being teased and being outcasts, should not be considered reasons to perform such a heinous crime. Everyone goes through verbal assault, yet the majority of the population isn't breaking the law.

As a highly civilized nation, why are we allowing this to go on? Where were the parents of the teens when they were getting information off the Internet on how to make pipe bombs? Where were these parents when their kids needed to talk about the ordeal of being outcasts?

When the parents lose control, that is when the violence begins.

Christina Maile Low
Age 13

Teens are mixed up just like the adults

Kids shooting kids. Why?

At the national level, we have a president who everyone knows is a liar. We bomb countries that we disagree with.

At our state level, we fund mindless shows like "Baywatch" while cutting the kupuna program from our schools. We have one of the worst educational and governmental ratings in the country, and we can't even do right by the native people of this land.

And from this we expect our kids to think right?

Steve Tayama
Waimanalo
Via the Internet

Spiritual void led to shootings

Of the shootings in Colorado, President Clinton says, "All of us are struggling to understand." The violence isn't hard to understand when a nation, born of Christian ideals, regresses into paganism and barbarism.

Taking the Bible and prayer out of schools left a spiritual emptiness in children that violence has filled.

Instead of lowering taxes to help the American family, the president wants some $4-8 billion for military action abroad. This is money siphoned away from own children, who go to bed hungry every night.

The president should use his bully pulpit to criticize his ardent Hollywood supporters who make the violent "entertainment" that plants evil in the hearts of the young.

Janice Judd

Liberal attitudes led to coarsening of society

Fifteen people dead at Littleton High School. More than 30 years of the flower children's post-modern liberal values. Over 40 years of the labor-welfare state in Hawaii. While liberalism has edged toward critical mass, under Bill Clinton it has exploded into a mushroom cloud.

We no longer need fathers; single women and lesbian couples are allowed to raise children. It takes a village to raise a child, therefore Hawaii's A+ program is praised. Our public school people are hog-tied by the NEA, AFT and HSTA.

Why didn't we have school massacres and church burnings during the Reagan/Bush years? Because we had leaders who valued the family.

In Hawaii, conservative, God-fearing people must take the state back! Work out your schedules so you are with your children and/or know what they are doing. If possible, home-school your children. Take your family to church.

Clinton does not have the moral authority to lead us. Neither do many of the public figures in this state. Are we waiting for the next high school massacre - this time in Hawaii?

Jay Bauckham

Kosovo, Colorado have much in common

What do the NATO bombings in Yugoslavia and shootings/bombings at Littleton High School in Colorado have in common? Both are based on the premise that violence is the way to solve problems.

The number one crop in the U.S. is not wheat or corn, it's weapons. More and more violence is the harvest at home and abroad, from Littleton to Belgrade. Death has become our national purpose.

If we expect our children to be different, we need to be different. Our national policies need to be different.

Jim Albertini
President
Center for Non-Violent
Education and Action
Kurtistown, Hawaii

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
Legislature Bills

---

Write a
Letter to the Editor

Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.