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Police should pursue more serious criminals

It's amazing that the Honolulu Police Department has the manpower to put unmarked cop cars on the road and have on-duty vehicles nearby to ticket speeders (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 17).

How about putting these undercover officers where they belong, such as in residential neighborhoods where drug trafficking occurs and in various other high-crime areas on Oahu?

Same procedure, but instead of catching speeders, they'll be getting drug dealers and illegal firearms off the street.

HPD may be winning the fight, but it's definitely losing the battle. Which is more important?

Candy Ponimoi

Stronger laws needed to curb attack dogs

The Hawaiian Humane Society (HHS) is very concerned about recent incidents of dogs attacking people, and attacking or killing other animals (Aug. 7, "Loose dogs kill, maul Waimanalo livestock").

Current laws on Oahu only allow for a fine of $20 for situations like this. So last year HHS and concerned community members invested significant resources developing an ordinance with City Council members that would have addressed acts involving dangerous dogs.

It took months to craft an ordinance that would have ensured a fair process for both humans and animals.

Understandably, it was disappointing when, just prior to the final hearing, we were informed that the dangerous dog ordinance could not be passed because of a conflict with state law.

HHS will be aggressively pursuing legislative action next year to provide protection to animals and people, and to better address incidents like the ones that have recently occurred. We welcome help in getting this needed law passed.

Pamela Burns
President, Hawaiian Humane Society

Rich must pay fair share of Social Security

Here's an easy solution to the Social Security mess. Since poor working people pay more than 7 percent of their wages for Social Security tax, and rich people like Dick Cheney and Bill Gates pay less than 1 percent, make them pay their fair share. Problem solved.

Jeffrey Shockey
Mililani

There's no such thing as Hawaiian race

It would appear that the Star-Bulletin once again has allowed incriminating evidence against its editorial position to sneak onto its front page. Hallelujah!

Your Aug. 22 New York Times piece, "Research shows only one race," should be required reading, particularly by advocates for the congressional bill to recognize Hawaiians as a separate racial entity entitled to benefits based upon inherited biological traits.

What else can explain the definition of Hawaiians by their status in 1778 rather than in 1893, when our internationally recognized and multi-ethnic nation was interrupted and occupied (but never "overthrown") by U.S. military forces?

And now -- and hardly for the first time -- genetic scientists are declaring that "racial" classes are a social rather than biological reality. This means, of course, that there is no such thing as a Hawaiian race.

Racial division has been used by conquering empires for millenia to separate victims from their supporters. The bill in Congress is intended to permanently separate Hawaiian nationals by unfounded racial traits. Stop this before it destroys our rich nation and our national diversity.

Keolanaulo Kamaunu

Quotables "Only me here from Hawaii. I'm the minority of minorities. I tell people I'm Tongan. They say, 'What is Tongan? Do you speak Tonganese?'" Mario Fatafehi FORMER FARRINGTON FOOTBALL STANDOUT NOW FINDING GLORY AS A KANSAS STATE WILDCAT On getting used to university life in Manhattan, Kan. "I find being one of the three (quarterback finalists) a real accomplishment. I didn't think I would get this far, this fast." Timmy Chang ST. LOUIS GRADUATE AND FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII WARRIORS Awed at being in consideration for the starting quarterback spot

Homosexual opposition is old-fashioned bigotry

It never ceases to amaze me how much hatred there is in the world. I am flat-out ashamed to live in a day and age when people like John Rogers and Jeff Goodman feel comfortable enough to espouse their hate-filled and bigoted views in public (Letters, Aug. 18).

Rogers claims that Dan Foley "has put our children and families at risk by working to promote the homosexual agenda in our state." At risk for what? Is Rogers suggesting that being gay is contagious?

Does he think that gays and lesbians secretly hope to convert the heterosexual population. Even if that were true -- which, of course, it isn't -- what's Rogers afraid of? The only agenda that gays, lesbians and their heterosexual supporters have is to win equality. Nothing more, nothing less.

Goodman, on the other hand, writes: "As far as 70 percent of voters being opposed to same-sex marriage, Foley (thinks) we are essentially ignorant, and need to be educated to accept his pro-homosexual values." Well, that's exactly right.

Homophobes do need to be educated, just as millions of bigoted Americans needed to be educated about the evils of racism in 1954. That's when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, which held that "separate but equal" school systems violated the Constitution.

It's difficult to imagine now, but that decision was incredibly unpopular at the time. Call me crazy, but I'd like to think we've learned something since then.

Jonathan R. Peterson

More must be done to help homeless

Shelters are meant to provide the most basic and meager needs for survival, and this they do. But we need others to get involved in order to bring families, homeless individuals and couples back into the mainstream.

This means services for the homeless such as health care, training and housing. Come on, people! Cashing in on their oppression doesn't help.

Some might say, "The homeless put themselves there on the streets and they want to live like that." But I've talked to them and haven't found one in 200 to whom that applies.

We can't have it both ways, so what's it to be? Folks living on streets and under freeways and bridges are a blight on our island and a shame on us as voters, so maybe big business could help more, as could the state and city governments, plus the military.

Tony Coloretti

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