McVeigh undermined his own objective

The thing that confounds me is that Timothy McVeigh's actions were a protest against the FBI's aggressive handling of the Branch Davidians at Waco, but his very act supports, even demands, that the FBI must be even more aggressive in its dealings with the lunatic fringe.

Howard King

McVeigh case shows need for death penalty

The Timothy McVeigh case brings out the following:

1. There is a need for the death penalty in our society, especially for convicted terrorists.

2. The appeals process for death-penalty cases should be accelerated. The years they take are too long. It is costly to keep an inmate in prison.

3. Appeals to higher courts in "open and shut" death-penalty cases should be quickly denied. McVeigh's attorneys wanted to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

4. The FBI made a serious blunder by not turning over all the documents to the defense immediately. An investigation and correction is needed so it won't happen in the future.

5. There was an overexposure of the McVeigh case by TV, the press and magazines at the exclusion of important news. Lawyers and editors used poor judgment.

The above are some shortcomings in the McVeigh case. Hopefully, our American society will learn from them.

How Tim Chang

[Quotables] "I fervently hope the attorney general will put a stop to it." Richard "Dickie" Wong, Former Bishop Estate chairman, reacting to the dismissal of criminal charges against him in Circuit Court. It was the third time a judge has thrown out the case. The perjury charges stemmed from testimony Wong gave to a grand jury about a Bishop Estate condominium project. "They don't know what Flag Day is, so I mean to wake them up." John Rogers, Vietnam veteran, who planned to wave the American flag in well-trafficked spots across Honolulu on Flag Day yesterday. Rogers waves the flag every morning at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Kalakaua Avenue.

State needs GOP to save citizen rights

Since 1957, no governor's veto has ever been overridden by a Democrat-controlled state Legislature. Finally, in the 2001 special session, the Senate Republicans requested an override of the governor's veto of a bill that had received unanimous support from the House and Senate during the regular session.

The bill would have allowed military personnel to use the motorcycle safety instruction they receive on base to satisfy state requirements for the motorcycle-use section of their driver's licenses. The military is more stringent in its safety demands, requiring orange safety vests and helmets be worn by all motorcycle riders on base.

In a partisan vote, every Democratic senator voted against override.

This points out the absolute necessity of a two-party system. If legislators unanimously pass a bill, why do they then not have the courage and integrity to tell the governor he is wrong in vetoing the bill?

Currently, there are no checks and balances in our state government. As citizens, we must make a concerted effort to provide a majority of Republicans in the House to provide for our constitutional rights as citizens to representative government. To do less would be to deprive our children of their future.

Garry P. Smith

Honolulans are safest urban dwellers

Normally I would not respond to a letter arguing that more guns on the streets in Hawaii would lead to fewer injuries and deaths (Dr. B. Kaimiloa Chrisman, June 11). However, this time I felt it necessary to do so.

Honolulu is the safest major city in the country in terms of violent crime. Although our city is the 11th largest in the United States, it has the lowest violent crime rate among the 20 most populated U.S. cities. The next safest city among this top 20, San Jose, reports more than twice as many violent crimes per capita. Baltimore has the highest violent crime rate, which is almost 10 times higher than Honolulu. The importance of strong firearms' laws is clearly evident.

The same letter also contained other inaccuracies. For the record, the Honolulu Police Department has not issued a permit to carry a concealed weapon to Governor Cayetano or any of my sisters (none of whom are now alive).

The right to bear arms is an issue that evokes strong feelings among proponents and opponents. Adding fuel to the fire with inaccurate information is irresponsible.

Lee D. Donohue
Honolulu Chief of Police

Use toll fee for cars to enter express lanes

Nationwide, the rush-hour traffic lanes devoted to high occupancy vehicles is about 30 percent of capacity. Here we base our policy on the "carrot or the stick" approach. If you have two or more riders you get the carrot, the opportunity to use the express lane. If you try to use the express lane alone you get the stick -- a ticket. The whole idea turns negative very quickly. No one is motivated in the positive direction incrementally to use the alternative or to increase occupancy.

So why not let anyone who wants to use the express lane use it for a toll fee? Vary the fee according to usage until an ideal capacity is attained and make concessions for vehicles with passengers.

Stagger the fees downward based on the number of passengers. Or to keep on par with express-lane users now, give a credit to the driver for each passenger count over two to be used the next time the driver is alone. The point is, accommodation always works better than penalty in changing behavior and applying market principles maximizes asset usage.

Toll fees are being considered in Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco and other cities. Operations using toll fees exist in Orange County, San Diego and Houston, and they work well.

Guy C. Monahan
Board of Directors
Grassroots Institute of Hawaii

FDA ruling will create more work for lawyers

The Food and Drug Administration warning on undercooked eggs (Star-Bulletin, June 12) is just another full-employment rule for lawyers. Any restaurant that serves undercooked eggs that results in illness will get sued.

Jerry Okamura

Advertisers don't know what they're missing

I have been a subscriber to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for the 13 years that I have lived in Hawaii. This is an unusual letter in that not many people ask for advertising in their media. However, I do miss many of the ads not currently being seen in the supplements of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, particularly the Sunday edition.

I will continue as a reader of this newspaper with or without these ads. I am sure that I am missing out on some information on sales offered by those companies; however, that is their loss, not mine.

I congratulate those who have signed up to be recognized with their sales.

Robert Zimmer

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