President peddles dangerous tax cure

After an absence of nearly a century, the medicine show is coming back to town. Emerging out of the crude oil country, old Doc Bush is selling his magic elixir, "Tax Cut Cure-All."

Says the doc, "One swig of this snake oil tonic will take away all pain, especially the one caused by high oil and gas prices. Don't pay no nevermind to those city fellas who complain this remedy will create an endless loop of higher oil and gas prices necessitating more tax cuts until oil, gas and pocketbooks run dry while you-know-who and his friends swim in the resulting pool of profits.

"So come to the show. Remember you don't have to check your guns in with the sheriff anymore. And if barbed wire and peace treaties aren't doing the job of keeping sheep, settlers and foreigners off your spread anymore, give this here, new-fangled missile defense umbrella of mine a try."

Richard Y. Will

Principals shouldn't be union members

It's time to privatize Hawaii's educational system. Only in Hawaii can school principals hire, fire, discipline and yet be protected by a union!

If Hawaii's school principals were governed by the Federal Labor Relations Act, they would not be unionized. What a great job -- legalized "godfathers" can still exists and be protected by their "mob" -- only in Hawaii!

Joan Victoria
Aiea

[Quotables] "I will never, ever speak to the postman again." Charles Hall, Resident of Lehua Nani, a Pearl City apartment building, whose dispute with a postal carrier has left the 49-unit building without mail service for nearly two weeks. A postal service spokesman says Hall threatened the carrier, but Hall says he only tried to inform the postal worker that tenants had complaints about poor service. "Without this job I wouldn't be able to stay at home with them if they had chicken pox...I'm here begging for my job." Jennifer Barnes, Employee of Club Rock-Za, testifying to the city Planning Commission about the effect of Mayor Harris' development plans that will rid the Keeaumoku-Kapiolani area of adult entertainment establishments.

Is Hawaii safe from mad cow disease?

Mad cow disease spread throughout Europe by feeding cattle offal from butchered livestock. There is no known cure for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopthy), and it's symptoms may not appear in humans for several years after eating contaminated meat. Cooking won't rid the meat of BSE.

The state would incur major expenses attempting to control the spread of this disease. Hotels, food chains and restaurants would take big hits. Cattle growers would have to destroy their animals, including milk cows. Tourists would stay away in droves.

Officials seem to rely on three things: 1. No case of BSE has been reported yet; 2. If BSE does spread here it will come from the mainland and we will have prior warning; 3. There are warning labels and a voluntary program not to feed cattle offal.

But accidents happen. Why not have an outright ban on this kind of feed in Hawaii?

If this disease spreads to Hawaii how will the cattle be disposed of? How well prepared are we to shift to alternative foods?

Public reassurance will come from knowing as much as possible about those plans.

Ed Cesar
Kahaluu

Slow boat to mainland isn't available

After repeated attempts to obtain surface transportation to the West Coast, I found to my surprise that there are only two ways for a live person to get to the mainland, swim or fly. However if you're unlucky enough to be in a casket, you can go by ship.

I have been told that this is a direct result of the Jones Act, which apparently was a enacted by Congress to protect U.S. shipping. What protection, may I ask, does this provide to those citizens of the United States who do not wish to fly, or who have such a strong fear of flying that they must be heavily sedated to get off island?

If the above act is causing this problem, then it is very apparent that something must be done to allow a citizen to book any foreign or U.S. surface transportation if it is available.

I cannot believe (well, maybe I can) that Congress would support legislation which inhibits a citizen's travel. With the increasing problems associated with air transportation, I firmly believe that alternative means of transportation should be encouraged.

C.C. Reed

Saving Manoa views makes good sense

I recently signed a petition in favor of saving Waahila Ridge. Most people probably don't know this, but it is considered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as being one of 11 Most Endangered Places in the United States. It won this distinction in 1997, alongside other notable places such as Montezuma Castle in New Mexico and Old Kaskakia Village in Illinois.

So, my question is, why should the Hawaii Electric Co. put up electricity lines on this unique landmark?

We have a limited amount of land on this island, and it is imperative that we take care of it.

Oahu is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth. It even makes good economic sense to take care of the land. If we don't, the tourists will stop coming, the economy will get worse and our aina will be reduced to a wasteland in the middle of the Pacific.

Devin Bull

Space tourism pollutes the atmosphere

Our first tourist in space is the last straw in environmental degradation. If space tourism takes off in the 21st century, it will add a burden to the atmosphere and to the planet far greater than the jet fuel that tourists burned in the 20th century or the coal burned for the tourists by the steam trains of the 19th century.

A few days before space tourist Dennis Tito returned to Earth, Newsday published an article stating that the atmosphere is losing its ability to keep itself clean. Space tourism will just make it worse, putting oxides of carbon, nitrogen, aluminum and chlorine even higher up in the atmosphere.

Space tourism is the last straw in conspicuous consumption.

Steve Tearney

Governor handled teachers' strike well

I thought Governor Cayetano handled the Hawaii State Teachers Association strike negotiations very well.

It would have been so easy for him to take the easy way out, and just write the teachers a big $300 million check and not ask for any advancements in education in return.

But he showed vision, courage and selflessness. He was willing to take the heat personally now -- so that we could all be in a better place tomorrow. Now that's real leadership.

Todd T. Yukutake

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