Trask should resolve her feelings of hatred

I am saddened and appalled at Mililani Trask's low blow to Daniel Inouye. To ridicule the loss of a man's body part tells me she knows nothing of sacrifice.

At a time of year when we honor those men who so bravely gave their youth, health and even their lives so that we can have opportunity and prosperity, her comments demonstrate a lack of compassion.

And, yes, as much as Trask doesn't want to admit it, she is a willing consumer of Americanism. She is paid with the U.S. dollar, spends the U.S. dollar, and she or members of her family have probably at one time or another accepted unemployment or welfare from the state government.

Yet she continues to berate, belittle and now has stooped so low as to poke fun at a man who has given so much. I pray that she can let go of her hatred or whatever it is that drives her to make such mean and hurtful statements.

James Roller
Via the Internet

Activist oversteps bounds of decency

Mililani Trask has finally crossed the line. Her remark is in such poor taste that she should be vilified for her crassness.

If someone had made a similar derogatory comment about Hawaiians, I'm sure she would be up in arms. Yet she doesn't even feel obliged to apologize for losing her cool.

This kind of behavior indicates an egomania and insensitivity beyond belief, yet she wants others to be sensitive to the issues that she propounds. What chuztpah!

Clayton Ching M.D.
Pasadena, Calif.
Via the Internet

UH soccer team deserves cheers, too

While the resurgence of University of Hawaii football under new coach June Jones has captured the public's attention this fall, there exists on the UH lower campus another team that more perfectly fits the glass slipper of the Cinderella story. That so few are aware of the accomplishments of Rainbow Wahine soccer only adds to the story of the poorest stepsister of UH athletics.

Not only did opposing coaches pick UH soccer to finish last in the preseason poll but, just prior to the season's start, fans learned the Wahine had been relegated from its five-year home pitch to an uneven field of hard-pan above the football team's practice field. There, players and spectators are subjected to Manoa's wind-blown showers, the setting sun and swarms of biting red ants.

The Rainbows' achievement in earning the program's first WAC playoff trip is testament to their ability to overcome adversity. One more piece of praise must go to Star-Bulletin sports writer Al Chase, who provides readers with more team insight than we could ever expect. Without him, our state would be bereft of any serious coverage of the world's biggest spectator sport.

Raul Weigel
Pearl City
Via the Internet

Quotables "My whole thing is really to get native Hawaiian women... to realize we didn't just have hula." Natalie Mahina Jensen 30-YEAR-OLD PHOTOGRAPHER On how she doesn't want Hawaiian women to be "clueless" about their culture "They're not going to move us from here because there's no place for us to move." Donna Tinoga HOMELESS PERSON Whose family has lived under tarps for six years at Keaau Beach Park in Waianae, and who doubts they can relocate despite a Nov. 30 deadline to clear out

Honolulu papers don't really compete

Thinking that the Advertiser and Star-Bulletin are providing us with two separate newspapers is absurd. If there were really two papers, there would be competition for advertisers, which would create competition for readers.

That is not the case in Honolulu, as advertisers are encouraged to advertise in both newspapers.

The Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin do not compete. We should cheer the closing of one, since that will provide an opportunity for a true rival.

Jay Redondo
Via the Internet

Hawaii will be poorer without Star-Bulletin

I'm disappointed about the Star-Bulletin's threatened demise. In an era when information is so important -- no matter any perceived biases -- it's a shame to leave the state of Hawaii with one less voice.

Imagine if the Star-Bulletin had not published the "Broken Trust" essay. Could the people have depended on the Advertiser to do it? Obviously not, since we learned that the Advertiser was offered the essay first.

Is the free tabloid, Honolulu Weekly, up to the challenge? Does it have the kind of prestige and reputation needed to make something like "Broken Trust" stand out from the usual chatter?

I think we all know the answer to that. It would just seem like more of the outspoken tripe it likes to publish.

I wish the employees of the Star-Bulletin well. They've become part of the sad economic story of Hawaii.

James Ko
Via the Internet

Bulletin closing archive

Abuse of fireworks must be stopped

The abuse of fireworks begins in my neighborhood soon after the Thanksgiving weekend. My animals are terrified and my sleep disturbed. The worst part is that no one in elected leadership cares.

I do not want a terrible incident to wake up the citizens of this state. I want the law enforced and then strengthened.

I want Mayor Jeremy Harris to provide hotline phone numbers so that we can call in the many abuses of the statute and report incidents. Then I want the city's staff to provide follow-up and cite those who do not care for their fellow citizens.

Beverly Van Horne
Via the Internet

Hawaii Revised Statutes on Fireworks

Violent acts are really cries of desperation

Once again (as in the Columbine shootings and now the Xerox massacre), professional analysts and talking heads speak of gun control, workplace reorganizations, human resource programs and the like -- pointing the finger externally rather than within.

Yet these acts of violence are the acts of people whose lives are full of futility and meaninglessness. They are acts of suicide. This dysfunction seems to relate to their own lack of self-love, empowerment and being loved, resulting in the total desperation of ending their emotional pain.

No longer can the politician, corporate bureaucrat, entrepreneur or blue-collar worker disregard responsibility and personal vulnerability, consequent of rampant self-interest and greed, to the detriment of the greater good. One way or the other, we are indeed passengers in the same boat.

Dave Miho
Via the Internet

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes

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