Rice uses Constitution to attack Hawaiians

It's easy for Harold Rice to convince patriotic people that he is fighting for everyone's rights by filing a lawsuit against the state. People admire someone who wants to protect the 14th and 15th amendments.

This would all be noble, good and admirable -- but only if whatever is being voted upon involves the person. Otherwise, why would anyone want to vote on issues that do not involve him or her?

For example, the Boy Scouts do not vote on the policies of the Girl Scouts. White people don't vote in Indian elections. A U.S. citizen wouldn't vote on Russian affairs.

Basically, Rice does not respect and recognize Hawaiian people as indigenous to these islands. He attacks their credibility under the pretense of saving the Constitution.

Ken Chang
Kaneohe

It's risky to close school of public health

We laugh at the preposterous quote at the turn of the century attributed to a patent office official, who wanted to close down the office since "everything had already been invented." The same scenario played out in medicine in the 1950s, when some were confident that antibiotics could whup anything that came along.

Are we now at that stage regarding the need for ongoing public health training in Hawaii and the Pacific? Are all the things that could threaten us pretty well accounted for? If we say yes, we are living in a fool's paradise.

We can't be the "Health State" and prevent illness, infectious diseases, injury, low birthweight and/or malnourished babies without a University of Hawaii School of Public Health. How will we keep turning out students who can prepare for tomorrow's challenges while learning from those taking care of today's?

Are we ready to close the door on training the next generation in preventive health? Isn't that a little like closing the patent office?

Shirley Black Gerum

UH School of Public Health Library
Ka Leo O Hawaii

Cayetano is all talk and no action

In her Aug. 16 letter, Lt. Governor Hirono chastised columnist Richard Borreca for pointing out that, even though the governor often speaks about controlling state spending, nothing has changed. Hirono says that Cayetano "has repeatedly urged spending restraint and supported tax reform." She calls that leadership.

Talk is cheap, which I believe was Borreca's point. The governor also talked about a budget surplus during his campaign, which immediately turned into a deficit after his re-election. Now Ben's blaming it on Hawaii residents for wanting some tax relief. That's leadership?

Cayetano can be outspoken, gutsy and belligerent. But real leadership means having some viable ideas and the ability to bring together a coalition to support and enact those ideas. The governor fails on both these criteria.

Robert Chanin
Kailua

Voter fraud problem is not being addressed

The Voting Integrity Project is currently investigating voter registration and absentee ballot fraud. The state Office of the Elections, controlled by the Democrats, does not enforce any rules to prevent non-citizens from voting and ignores a two-year-old federal law that allows deportation of non-citizens who cast votes.

There is no confidence in the state's voting system because it allows registration, the acquisition of an absentee ballot and its submission without the voter ever appearing in person or showing identification.

The no-bid contract with Election Systems and Services of Omaha, Neb., assures this easy-to-abuse system and a Democratic win every time.

Since Dwayne Yoshina, the state's chief elections officer, doesn't see any reason to improve our system, how will voter fraud be exposed? Hawaii must have honest elections.

Joe Watanabe

Honolulu is keeping workers employed

In his Aug. 14 View Point column, City Councilman John Henry Felix says Honolulu could learn something by looking at how other municipalities have planned their budgets.

According to figures he cited, Honolulu has a substantially larger work force and a higher worker-to-citizen ratio than either San Jose or Portland while operating on a smaller annual budget.

This means that Honolulu is offering more services per capita than either one of those mainland cities. We're keeping more workers off the unemployment roles at a time when the private sector is having difficulty supplying middle-income jobs, and we are doing it with less money.

Maybe San Jose and Portland could learn a few things about budgeting from Honolulu, not the other way around.

Fred Mariconda

Hawaii reps abstained from vote on lie

In his July 31 letter, Harry J. Friel suggested that U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Patsy Mink were "tearing at the fabric of the nation" by abstaining from a vote condemning an article in the American Psychological Association's journal.

This excitement stems from a preposterous lie told by a radio "shock jock," Laura Schlessinger. A paper published by the APA said, in effect, that sexual molestation might well be less damaging to children than had previously been thought

This was represented to the public as a suggestion that such rape might be "beneficial" and might have a "positive effect" on the victims. This was never said!

Consequently, the majority of the members of the House of Representatives were stampeded into endorsing an "apple pie and motherhood" resolution that was meaningless.

Abercrombie and Mink, although they did not vote against this charade, at least did abstain from voting. In so doing, they struck a small blow for freedom.

Ward Stewart
Via the Internet

Quotables "April 23, 1995, is what I consider my rebirth date. I gave up a lot. I had friends, a marriage, a spouse and a family that loved and accepted me. But I was not bill, not the person they thought I was. I cannot put into words the torment of that." LiAnne Taft A PRE-OPERATIVE TRANSSEXUAL WOMAN Who has lodged a sex discrimination complaint against the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association "She looked so peaceful. I wanted to hold her and say, 'Franny, why didn't you listen to Daddy?'" Ruth Ako MOTHER OF ACCIDENT VICTIM About her 18-year-old daughter, Nanakuli graduate Francis "Franny" Ako, who died in an early-morning car crash on Farrington Highway

Is theme park supposed to drum up business?

I agree with Andy Anderson's idea of creating a theme park on the island, since it would promote tourism. But he could have chosen a better area than the Kewalo Basin area. Could it be that his only interest in improving the neighborhood is because it is the location of his restaurant, John Dominis, whose food quality has been lacking for years?

If getting more customers into his restaurant is his prime motivation for this project, maybe Anderson should consider improving the food quality first, instead of putting big dollars into such a questionable risk.

Tom Evans
Bangkok, Thailand
Via the Internet

Health-care coverage should be same for all

I have a suggestion for the ongoing health-care debate in Washington, D.C. Our congressional delegates, whose salaries we pay, have a health-care package for which we also pay. They seem to be well-served by their current coverage.

Why not take it as the bottom line for discussion? Therefore, if there is any item that Congress decides that we, their employers, don't need or shouldn't have in our health-care packages, that same item should be taken out of their coverage, too.

Rike Weiss
Via the Internet

Only rich kids would swim at restored Natatorium

The mayor should put his efforts and our resources into helping the masses of Hawaii, not a privileged few. A restored Natatorium pool would benefit only the "trust-fund babies" of Diamond Head, not the kids from Waipahu, Kalihi, Makaha, Nanakuli, Waimanalo and Kahuku.

Sandy Roberts
Via the Internet

Many scientists believe in creationism

I was both amused and offended by your Aug. 16 editorial, "Theory of evolution is still under attack." As far I'm concerned, evolution SHOULD be attacked because it is hard to accept as reasonable.

Right now, we are being force fed the evolutionary theory as the only way that life came to pass. Textbooks, encyclopedia and documentaries promote this belief, without giving adequate attention to the creationist point of view.

Despite this saturation of evolutionary dogma, however, many scientists still resist that notion. In the February 1988 issue of Industrial Chemist, professional scientists polled on their views of origins showed that 20.6 percent, or more than one-fifth, completely reject the theory of evolution.

In addition, 48.3 percent of the surveyed scientists believe that people could not evolve from lower life forms without some supernatural intervention.

Another way to determine which theory is more believable is by witnessing a debate between an evolutionist and a creationist. The latter will always win.

Willis Maeda
Via the Internet

'Blair Witch Project' is a terrible movie

Now that the amateurs who made the "Blair Witch Project" have had a chance to route their take to the bank, one would hope for an honest, candid critique of this film. Instead there are articles describing how popular and scary it is, capped by the one on Aug. 16 mentioning all the vomiting induced by the camera's constant jerky movement.

There has been little to warn the unsuspecting movie-goer about the artistic nothingness of this movie:

Scary? Scariness presupposes a suspension of disbelief, which this viewer found impossible to come by.

Character development? Nothing that even broaches the concept.

Spontaneous conversations in place of a dull script? Only if yelling the f-word over and over passes for the presentation of ideas.

Don't people who are about to plunk down good cash to see "Blair Witch" deserve a true description of how it stacks up to other movies?

John C. Roberts
Via the Internet

Bill and Hillary are in love with power

As usual, Charles Memminger cut right to the core of the matter in his Aug. 9 assessment of the driving force within Bill and Hillary Clinton: the need for power.

Memminger put aside his wacky, sardonic humor to make a simple statement that makes no attempt at an in-depth psychoanalysis. Nor can it be disputed.

George Lapnow
Cliffside Park, N.J.
Via the Internet

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