Jury decision was right in Perfect Title case

The guilty verdict against Keanu Sai of Perfect Title is important for Hawaii. He had full opportunity to "educate" the jury that the overthrow and annexation of were illegal, and that land titles in Hawaii are therefore invalid.

An interracial jury of 12, randomly selected, was certified impartial. Sai, articulate and persuasive, tried his best. But not a single juror thought his theories reasonable. Nobody was even willing to let him escape on "technicalities."

They decided unanimously that his sovereignty theories are wrong, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Now that the people have given their common-sense judgment, the case should be appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, so scholars and judges can rule on his claims. Let's have a clean decision on fundamental principles.

Sai is no ordinary thief. He does not hide in the shadows. He files documents openly, broadcasting his views publicly. He is an honorable Hawaiian nationalist patriot, exploring serious issues. And he is wrong.

Ken Conklin
Kaneohe
Via the Internet

Title company will be proved right one day

With reference to the claim of Perfect Title Co.'s critics that illegal ratification of the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii after the illegal overthrow by Sanford Dole and others is absurd:

I wait with bated breath until the U.S. Supreme Court has to rule on this issue. As anyone knows who is knowledgeable about U.S. history, any treaty with the United States must be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, which the annexation treaty of Hawaii was not.

Even President McKinley refused to support the annexation of Hawaii because of its constitutional illegality.

When, not if, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling is obtained by Perfect Title Co. and Messrs. Sai and Lewis, it will be extremely interesting to see the resurrection of the original "illegal Kingdom of Hawaii"!

William Afong Kaipo Kuamoo
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Via the Internet

Quotables "All I could say was that I was sorry it took 58 years to return it to her, but I was so happy we finally made it to this day." Elfrieda Tsukayama DAUGHTER OF A WINDWARD FARMER WHO PULLED A DEAD JAPANESE PILOT FROM HIS PLANE ON DEC. 7, 1941 After returning the pilot's leather helmet to a relative from Japan almost six decades later "They're liars if they say they're not scalping tickets." Manuel Sanchez CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER FOR TICKET PLUS INC., THE CITY'S AUTHORIZED TICKET VENDOR On how operations like Arizona-based PrimeTime Tickets are reselling tickets to Hawaii concerts for as much as four times their face value

Sierra Club is enemy of toxic spills

In his Dec. 2 letter, David Rosenbrock questions the Sierra Club for publicizing the problems created by large, gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles instead of picketing C. Brewer for spilling tons of sulfuric acid into the environment.

Canceling our long-planned press conference would not have brought more attention to Brewer's negligence. Instead, we provided key information to reporters for their news stories. Rest assured, the Sierra Club has long been working on the problems created by toxic spills.

In 1990 and '91, when Brewer and other polluters lobbied to gut the law regulating toxic spills, the Sierra Club prevented them from shredding our law to pieces. Since then, we have introduced legislation to require that big industry reduce the amount of toxic substances it uses, as well as legislation that would deny hazardous waste permits to companies with a history of violating environmental laws.

The Sierra Club also unsuccessfully lobbied against a state Health Department proposal to weaken hazardous waste prevention standards.

David Kimo Frankel
Chairman, Sierra Club-Hawaii Chapter
Volcano, Hawaii
Via the Internet

SUV road hogs are wasteful and dangerous

Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Sierra Club, made the right choice in picketing Ford over its ponderous new four-ton SUV rather than picketing Brewer Environmental Industries over its sulfuric acid spill.

While Brewer President Steve Knox's okole is painfully aware of the shoe size of every regulator, activist and reporter in the state over of his company's hapless mishandling of sulfuric acid, not enough is being made of the SUV menace on our roadways.

Regardless of whether SUVs meet light-truck or car emission requirements, the fact is that these bloated vehicles guzzle massive quantities of gasoline, thereby wasting a nonrenewable resource and releasing more than their fair share of pollutants into the environment.

They take up way too much space on the roads, and when misused, are a menace to anyone else in their way. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that when you are hit by a behemoth, it causes more damage than when you are hit by another small car.

Finally, SUVs' menacing actions toward small autos are especially magnified when owners jack up the suspension to towering levels, thus compromising both bumper safety and vehicle handling.

I agree with Mikulina that the SUV craze of "bigger is better" is way out of control, that people are probably buying them for the wrong reasons, and are too often taking chances with other's lives. I thank Mikulina and the Sierra Club for helping start a dialogue on this issue.

Khal Spencer
Hawaii Kai
Via the Internet

Students learn from Dec. 7 reminiscences

Thank you for covering the Dec. 7 anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in a personal way ("Tales of 2 Citizens," Insight section, Dec. 4).

I want my sixth-graders to understand the human element in history and how to learn from the elders in their families. Your article served as the focal point of our discussions on the anniversary this week.

Wanda Davis
Social Studies teacher
Caton Middle School, Eunice, N.M.
Via the Internet

Shapiro doesn't get true vegetarianism

It would take quite a feat to find a worse or more inaccurate piece of journalism than that written by David Shapiro on Nov. 27 (Volcanic Ash, "Confessions of a liberal vegetarian"). The article is nothing but a reflection of ignorance and a great indicator of Shapiro's inept understanding of vegetarianism.

It is obvious that Shapiro is neither (nor ever has been) a vegetarian or a vegan, as he states. With such journalism smaltz, it's no wonder the owners of the Star-Bulletin wish to close down your paper.

Dennis R. Stebbins
Via the Internet

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes

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