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March in Washington will unite Hawaiians

Harold "Freddy" Rice's victory in the U.S. Supreme Court should serve as a wake-up call to all kanaka maoli. We are the original people of our land. We do not need the U.S. Supreme Court telling us what our rights are.

With the door now wide open for assaults on our most basic rights, we must unify. I call upon all kanaka maoli and our supporters to come to Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11-12 to participate in the Aloha March 2000. We must show the United States that it cannot dictate our future.

We are sick and tired of being told to forget our culture and to assimilate. What I want for my people is the basic right of self-determination. Let us all march in unity in Washington, and deliver our message to America and the world. For more information, call 822-7643 or visit http://www.alohamarch2000.org.

Butch Kekahu
Kealia, Kauai

Rice is inconsiderate guest in the islands

Harold "Freddy" Rice's assertion that his rights were denied by the Hawaiians-only OHA voting requirement is a fascinating rewrite of history. Here is a man who has clearly benefited from the movement in Hawaii away from indigenous sovereignty, towards a place controlled by those who were welcomed to these lands.

Rice's demographic identity alone would bring him enormous privilege throughout North America, yet he seeks further privilege within this land as well. The nerve!

The U.S. Constitution that Rice claims protection under is a document that is not indigenous to Hawaii. It is part of the continued colonization of these islands by those like him and his lawyer. Unfortunately, it is also a document in which, indeed, Rice has rights but native Hawaiians as a group do not.

The ultimate irony is that, as people like Rice and the deciding majority of the U.S. Supreme Court attempt to dismantle the Hawaiian identity by dismissing our genealogy and ancestry as mere "race," Rice continues steadily in the pathway of his ancestors, living as an inconsiderate guest in this sacred land.

Ikaika Hussey
Kaneohe

Congressional reps didn't help Hawaiians

In the majority decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the existence of "arrangements" and agreements between the Hawaiian government and the United States going back to 1826. Aren't these agreements sufficient to have the federal government recognize the sovereignty of the Hawaiian people?

Would this recognition give us the same rights as the other 300 to 400 "quasi-sovereign" aboriginal nations to make our own laws, determine our own membership, establish our own institutions?

The dissenting opinion states that recognition of these rights is implicit, that Hawaiians should have the same rights as other aboriginal people in the United States.

If so, why didn't our congressional delegation assist in the recognition of our aboriginal rights by Congress?

The answer is in the control of the land. The state wants to continue to control the land. They deny Hawaiians the right to sue over trust land issues. They refuse to fund development of Hawaiian Home Lands. They refuse to pay the Office of Hawaiian Affairs the amount agreed upon in the settlement of the wrongful use of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Harold "Freddy" Rice did Hawaiians a favor. We now have a clearer picture of how we are viewed by the United States.

They eschew the state's arguments and beg the question of why there is no congressional recognition of Hawaiians as an aboriginal people.

Charles M. Kaaiai
Kailua

Ruling will benefit all the people of Hawaii

The decision in Rice vs. Cayetano is a victory for common sense and the aloha spirit. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the right to vote cannot be denied or abridged on account of race. That amendment was passed after the Civil War, to ensure that former slaves could vote.

OHA has $380 million in its treasure chest, taken from all the people of Hawaii, to provide benefits exclusively to a minority identified by race. OHA has additional revenues of $30 million annually for many years to come from a previous lawsuit, and is currently suing the state for unspecified hundreds of millions more.

In effect, all of Hawaii's people are slaves, forced to produce revenues for one racial group, the hereditary elite of modern alii. So it is quite proper that the Rice decision is based on the 15th Amendment, giving voting rights to emancipated slaves.

The Rice decision directly concerned only the right to vote in OHA elections, because that was the only issue raised by Harold "Freddy" Rice. But careful reading of the decision reveals that racial entitlement programs and OHA itself are likely to be found unconstitutional as soon as they are challenged.

All the twisted arguments presented to the high court concerning Indian tribes, special trust relationships and Hawaiian history were carefully reviewed and rejected by the justices, 7-2. Will we now hang onto them as they drop into the dustbin of history?

Ken Conklin
Kaneohe

Non-Hawaiians want OHA to do well, too

What makes us Hawaiians? Is it our blood or our hearts?

The Hawaiian blood in my family stopped at my mom and restarted in my niece. In 1980, when I turned 18, I wanted to vote in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections, but I couldn't.

I know there are Hawaiians who are mad right now about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but I want to make sure my niece will have people in OHA who will do right by her and others.

While the OHA trustees should have Hawaiian blood, there are many non-Hawaiians who would want to vote so that their children, nieces, nephews and others can get the help that is rightfully theirs. If I ever get back to the islands, I will definitely vote myself.

Yvonne Vierra Criado
Rota, Spain

Quotables "Why should you vote in the Hawaiian affair when it doesn't concern you? It's maybe one of the privileges that Hawaiians have. They should keep it like that." Robert Mossman RETIRED FIREFIGHTER FROM WAIANAE Objecting to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that has invalidated the Hawaiians-only election for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees "We have kids come in here with safety pins in their tongue, bleeding all over." Thomas Gambino BODY PIERCER AT THE DARK SIDE ON WAIMANU STREET Who supports a Senate bill that would require written consent from a parent or legal guardian before individuals under 18 can get body piercing

Senator was right to investigate fluoridation

The Star-Bulletin's Feb. 19 editorial simply repeats what the promoters of fluoridation have said again and again. I would expect that you'd do a little more investigating before writing on a subject you apparently know very little about.

Senate Health and Human Services Chairwoman Suzanne Chun Oakland took the appropriate action by deferring any action pending further investigation. She needs specific, credible and peer-reviewed evidence that support the proponents' claims.

There is an abundance of scientific information about fluoride and fluoridation on the Internet. I suggest you start with http://www.nofluoride.com.

Robert Briggs
Kailua

Food contains too many impurities already

If Hawaii's children have such bad dental hygiene, perhaps their parents ought to better enforce and/or supervise their brushing habits.

We have enough chemicals and what-not added to our foods already. Let's think about reducing our consumption of artificial substances and not purposely ruin the purity of the world's best water with fluoridation.

James Ko

Fluoridate soft drinks and candy instead

As a kid growing up in Hawaii, I rarely drank tap water. There were other things worth drinking, like soft drinks and fruit juices. Kids today probably drink as little water as I did.

If we are really serious about getting fluoride to our children, we should be fluoridating the candies and soft drinks that they consume. Then there would be hardly any waste, and most of the fluoride would be getting to where we really want it to go.

Terence Okuda

City is more advanced technologically than state

I wish Richard Borreca had contacted me before writing his Feb. 16 column, "Getting lost in the digital age." Governing magazine, which Borreca noted gave the state an "F" last year, gave the city a "B+" this month. Yes, we deserve it. If that's poor, I'll take it.

Our Web site has forms that can be electronically submitted to the city. No mailing, no printing. The state doesn't have that.

We will have e-commerce online by early summer. We will have workflow (or the paperless office) in place throughout the city very soon. The computers are in place and everyone is getting ready. I don't think the state has looked at this yet.

Under Mayor Harris' direction, we will fundamentally change the way our government does business with citizens and how we communicate with ourselves. Yep, we deserve that B+ but watch us get an A next year.

Courtney Harrington
Deputy Director
Department of Information Technology
City & County of Honolulu

Enlightenment hit at drug-free rally

I want to thank the Hawaii Medical Services Association and the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii for planning the Feb. 1 "Express Yourself Drug Free Rally" on the grounds of the state Capitol. About 1,000 seventh- and eighth-graders took part in the fun and interesting event.

Legislators took time off from work and let us walk around their offices. I think instead of criticizing them all the time, we need to give them credit for caring about others. They are trying to help kids through their teen years, especially when it comes to avoiding drugs.

Candace Murayama
Grade eight,
Mid-Pacific Institute

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While attending the HMSA/Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii rally at the Capitol, I noticed a hypocritical moment. There were people smoking outside the legislators' offices, while the drug-free rally was going on!

There should be an enclosed area for smoking that is not accessible to minors, while not violating the rights of adults who prefer to smoke.

Kaito Stanley
Grade eight,
Mid-Pacific Institute

State is blessed with great inter-island carriers

In light of recent airline mishaps, how fortunate we are in Hawaii to have two outstanding local airlines. Both have provided us with safe inter-island transportation for years, and now both are flying from Hawaii to the mainland and South Pacific.

It's a particularly amazing feat for Hawaiian Air to have maintained a perfect safety record after 70 years of service. A big mahalo to all its past and present employees for that sterling accomplishment.

Sam Dunn

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