Bronster vote -- a shocker

Anti-Bronster senators should be ousted

What a sad day for all Hawaiians and the state of Hawaii. The Bishop Estate trustees, through their political pals, just got rid of our attorney general. Shameful.

Maybe the voters will get rid of the senators who removed our best chance for a better Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate.

Bryan Enos
Via the Internet

It was courageous to deny reappointment

It took great courage to buck the system by denying Attorney General Bronster's reconfirmation. Each senator had his or her own good reason.

A new attorney general is the first step to bring fairness and justice to a system that targets some of us for prosecution, and lets others get away with racial hatred and sexual prejudice.

Sam Monet

Voters must remember audacity of senators

In the 22 years I have lived and worked in Hawaii, I never thought I would see politics sink to such a low. Margery Bronster represents all that is good in the world: integrity, intelligence, diligence and commitment. It's unfortunate that our legislators lack these characteristics.

Who will suffer? The people of Hawaii and specifically the children of Kamehameha Schools, whom the Bishop Estate was designed to help. I only hope the voters will remember the legislators who opposed Bronster and vote them out of office.

Elissa Josephsohn

Quotables "We didn't make it." Margery Bronster State attorney general The words she mouthed as she listened to the roll call vote in the Senate that denied her reappointment "We're not apologizing for the success of the institution. I expect a pat on the back on that, not a kick in the ass." Henry Peters Bishop Estate trustee On 1998 commissions for the five trustees, up from their $844,600 in 1997 and reportedly close to $1 million each

Hawaii's people crave a better government

I and thousands of other voters agree with the Star-Bulletin's April 29 editorial that the failure to confirm Margery Bronster as attorney general is a big mistake.

People ask for honesty, integrity and accountability in government. Instead, what we are given again is more of the same old thing.

Marilyn Walsh
Via the Internet

Senators don't care about Ige's conflict

It is appalling, although not surprising, that Sen. Marshall Ige refused to recuse himself from voting on the reappointment of Margery Bronster as attorney general.

Ige is personally under investigation by Bronster for possible violations relating to a kickback transaction involving the wrongful use of Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate funds to pay his campaign debts.

It is surprising as well as appalling, however, that most of the other senators basically shrugged their shoulders and allowed him to do so, without even calling him out on it.

Terry Revere

Her contributions won't be forgotten

Margery Bronster is a courageous, intelligent person who has affected this state as no attorney general before her. She will be remembered for her many accomplishments and tremendous personal sacrifices. Because of her, in the future:

Trustees at the powerful Bishop Estate will no longer remain unchecked and will be held accountable for their responsibility to Hawaii's children.
Large oil companies will not be able to overcharge consumers at the pump.
Hawaii's remarkable $1.3 billion tobacco settlement will improve the health of countless island residents.

No, we will never forget Margery Bronster. She ushered in a wave of change and leaves behind a community determined to carry it forward.

Vicky Cayetano
Hawaii's First lady

State should curb gory video games

Hawaii should consider putting restrictions on these murder simulators we call video games. You can find them in any mall or arcade.

The first-person shooter game "Doom" is the same one the military uses to teach warfare skills to professional soldiers. Yet we let small children sit in front of these simulators for hours and hours.

These are gut-wrenching, blood-splattering games that our children are playing. Then, after they have been desensitized and have honed their killing skills, we give them easy access to automatic weapons and handguns. Is it any surprise what our society is producing? Parents, pay attention!

Brad White

God is more powerful than metal detectors

Why all the violence in the schools? Very simple. America has removed Almighty God from the schools and replaced Him with metal detectors. Even the detectors cannot protect everyone in the schools.

Melvin Partido
Pearl City

Facility belongs on Oahu, not Molokai

I am relieved that SB 1496 has been held back in committee so there will be no medical waste facility on Molokai. The potential threats to Molokai's environment would be significant.

A more reasonable location is on Oahu (as mentioned in the original bill), where a lot of the medical waste is produced. Also, there would be less money needed to transport the waste to Molokai.

Sicily L. Helekahi

NATO erred badly in its air strikes

How could NATO strike without providing any protection to the Albanians in Kosovo? Yes, Albanians were persecuted before the air attacks, but nothing of the magnitude that is now going on.

This massacre should not be a surprise to NATO. The air strike was an open invitation for Milosevic to do exactly what he wanted -- killing and driving out Albanians at full speed. The Albanians have become sheep in open fields, surrounded by hungry wolves.

Yes, not only Milosevic is guilty in this huge massacre. Force is never a long-term solution to any man-made conflicts. Did we do all we could have in the name of reconciliation?

Jerry C.L. Chang

Getting involved in Kosovo was major mistake

We should not have given the green light to NATO to get involved in the civil war in the Balkans. History has shown that this is a no-win situation, with so many ethnic and border disputes going on for hundreds of years.

There must be a clear U.S. policy which dictates specifically when our country's vital national interests are at stake. We should then abide by that policy and use all means, including ground forces, to protect such vital interests. Otherwise, no American lives should be sacrificed.

Toshio Chinen
Pearl City

Hawaii homeless are lucky compared to refugees

I am disgusted by the insensitivity in Bosa Wiel's April 24 letter. Wiel's claim that the Kosovo refugees are "provided for" and "taken care of" is absurd. They have been, and are continuing to be persecuted in a place they used to call home. They are starving, homeless and separated from their loved ones.

Which news report has Wiel been watching? All I see of the Kosovo refugees is a misery and grief incomparable to Hawaii's homeless population. I acknowledge that we must take care of our own homeless, but they are far from being in the same predicament as the Kosovars.

I doubt if any of the homeless in America has been through what the Kosovars have been through in the past few months. The clothes that qualify them as "well-dressed," according to Wiel, are the only remnants of their worldly possessions.

Lena Hasan
Mililani

What's going on in Kosovo is murder

Please drop the insipid words "ethnic cleansing and call it what it is: ethnic slaughtering or murder. Lead the way and do the language, which is getting badly trivialized, a big favor.

Frank H. Black
Via the Internet

'Experts' would be appalled by air raids

Sun Tzu said: "Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him."

Paul F. Nitze said: "The notion of strategy implies an organized authority capable of sustained action along lines of policy."

The Lord God said: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

Richard N. Griffin
Kaneohe Via the Internet

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