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Bush's 'lead' doesn't bear scrutiny

"Bush claims victory," Friday's headline read. Let's see: Gore has more popular votes, excluding Florida. Gore is ahead in the electoral vote. The Florida vote is within less than one-tenth of 1 percent, and Bush's statistically meaningless lead is only due to a voting fluke and the benevolence of Ralph Nader.

Isn't there something arrogant about this attitude? I fear our country may be in for a rough four years.

John M. Flanigan

Don't let confused voters choose president

I looked at the presidential ballot form presented to the voters of Palm Beach County, Fla. and found it to be a completely simple and easily understandable layout. Find your choice's name and party and follow the arrow to punch your vote.

So, there was nothing wrong with the ballot. Now, after results are known, these 19,000 nincompoops may be allowed to vote again? In other words, Americans are telling the world we will let these 19,000, who appear to have understanding and comprehension problems, select our next president.

Wasn't the Clinton impeachment situation and resulting fiasco enough for one year?

Let's get reasonable and stop this idiocy.

Robert W. Levy

Quotables "You can only burst on the scene once and Hawaii was the perfect place to do it." Tom Selleck STAR OF "MAGNUM, P.I.," WHICH HAD AN EIGHT-YEAR RUN ON TV Honored with a special award from the Hawaii International Film Festival "It's going to be divisive. They are going to bring people in from outside and pay them a substantial sum to work side by side with people who are underpaid." Joan Husted DEPUTY LEADER OF THE HAWAII STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION On the Department of Education's controversial plan to recruit special-education teachers from the mainland to work in Hawaii schools

Are kids who like Gabbard bigoted, too?

I just learned that Hawaii's children, in "Kids Voting," chose Carol Gabbard to be on the school board. I suppose these children either did not believe the signs that Gabbard's opponents were holding on the street declaring that she hates our children, or else they too are, as her opponents put it, "evil, homophobic, hateful, controversial, right-wing bigots."

Kathy Martin

Liberal media are troubled by Gabbard

Carol Gabbard's main opponent in the general election for the Board of Education, Garret Toguchi, as well as many reporters, called Gabbard too controversial to be on the school board. The people of Hawaii obviously thought otherwise.

The reason, of course, is simple to understand. Gabbard is considered controversial by ultra-liberal reporters whose views on issues such as homosexual marriage were in opposition to Mike Gabbard's, Carol's husband and the leader of the fight to save traditional marriage.

But since 70 percent of Hawaii's voters agreed with the Gabbards on the issue of homosexual marriage and since more than 100,000 people voted for Carol, maybe our ultra-liberal reporters should realize that they are the ones who hold to controversial views regarding homosexuality.

If reporters really knew what they were talking about, they would be calling the politicians who were not with the majority of Hawaii's people controversial. Of course, I won't hold my breath waiting for the media to see the light or be objective.

Mike Hinchey

Office of Elections, voter guides can improve

I have previously exchanged emails and phone calls with people at the Office of Elections, as well as consulting their Web site. Other than information on the hours that polls are open, neither the people nor the Web site provided anything useful for voters.

I am astounded that the office doesn't provide basic information such as your individual polling place and the qualifications and platforms of candidates. In fact, the responses I received to my suggestions implied that the elections people don't want to make any changes.

This makes the Star-Bulletin's election guides doubly important. For next year, I hope you will consider:

Publishing the full text of constitutional amendments. Asking me to vote on changing the constitution without supplying the existing text and the proposed changes is incredible. Especially on the university autonomy question, there were so many conflicting statements. I'd like to read the text for myself instead of depending on someone else's interpretation.
Printing the platforms of aspiring public servants. The answers of candidates to questions asked by the Star-Bulletin were a beginning. However, they often didn't provide me with a sense of what the candidate thought was important about the job and specifically what he or she hoped to accomplish if elected.
Expanding the qualifications sections. I read just about everything the Star-Bulletin has published about the candidates over the last few months, especially those who ran for the Board of Education and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. So many of the articles provided minimal facts but several feel-good quotations.

Instead, I'd like to know, for example, if a candidate lists a neighborhood board or other political office as a qualification, and specifically what that person accomplished? Was he or she a leader in accomplishing goals or someone who impeded progress of the group?

I was frustrated in preparing myself to vote and would like to make the system better.

Beverly Lynn-Wilson
Aiea

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Editor's note: The Star-Bulletin's Nov. 2 election guide printed the full text of the state constitutional amendments and included a complete listing of polling places. The Star-Bulletin also asked the OHA candidates to give their qualifications to hold office and printed their answers in the election guide.

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Lights spoil beauty of moonlit coastline

Please print this plea from a former island boy who lived in Honolulu and Kailua for 10 years: Keep the coastline dark.

This is my first trip to the Big Island since 1976. It's wonderful to walk on the Puako Beach, near Mauna Kea Resort, and see brown turtles on a beach without street lights. In Florida, my current home, there's too much light pollution so we can't see the stars or sit in total darkness on our beaches.

In short, Hawaii is doing the right thing in South Kohala. Please don't ever put street lights on the beach road near Wailea Bay and Hapuna State Park.

Steve Conger
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

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