Souped-up cars belong on a race track

It's saddening and frustrating to see that another innocent life was taken due to street racing. Maybe legislators should look into restricting these "modified" vehicles to race tracks. After all, you don't see any Indy 500 cars cruising down the freeways.

These overpowered vehicles should not be allowed on the public roadways; every one is a potential killing machine. And in the hands of an inexperienced driver or "speed demon," that potential increases exponentially.

Already Hawaii drivers have to deal with people who have road rage. Let's keep the racers where they belong -- on the racetrack. That's the reason they're modifying their vehicles. The rest of us are just trying to get from point A to point B safely and soundly in our normal performance vehicles.

Brent Catekista

Police should go after triple-digit speeders

I have had it and I am sure a large part of the population has, too. These thugs racing on freeways, usually at night or early morning but not always, deserve only to die from the practice. I pray they don't kill any more innocent people. These thugs have no right whatsoever to live on endangering the lives of innocent people.

And I am sick and tired of hearing from their relatives that they are such good boys. No one who engages in that activity has any concern for anyone else and we should not be disturbed that they kill themselves in this manner. I pray for anyone else so unfortunate as to get involved with them.

In July, I was headed from Kaneohe to the airport to pick up my daughter at around noon. I was on H-3, about a half mile on the Honolulu side of the tunnel. I was driving at about 60 mph in the right-hand lane and traffic was relatively light. Suddenly, four of these thugs passed me at what I could easily tell was more than 100 mph. One of them passed me on the right, which meant he was driving in the emergency lane. The other three passed in the left lane.

Frankly, this has to stop now. Mayor Harris and Governor Cayetano should not waste their time with their radar traps on people driving 5 or 10 miles over the speed limit. This isn't where the problem lies; it is those thugs driving triple-digit speeds, mostly on the freeways. Get them any way you can. Maybe you can sign up the Army to help with their Apache helicopters equipped with missiles. Those thugs racing don't deserve anything better.

James V. Pollock
Kaneohe

[Quotables] "Public radio is not all about dead white Europeans and, as a nearly dead white European, I can't get that (message) out enough." Michael Titterton, President and general manager of Hawaii Public Radio, celebrating the station's one-year anniversary of sponsoring "Blues Night," a weekly evening of blues music featuring several Honolulu blues bands. "Losing her is like losing three people. She was like my angel." Kina Mackay, 18-year-old colleague of Elizabeth Kekoa, 58, a teacher at Holy Trinity School and Church in Kuliouou who was killed in a traffic accident Sunday. The van in which Kekoa was a passenger was hit by a car whose driver is suspected of drag racing along H-1 Freeway.

People should take onus for dental health

Putting fluoride in our water takes away our rights. Whether we as human beings choose to be lazy and not brush our teeth appropriately should be up to each individual person.

We have been told to brush our teeth two or three times and floss daily since we started school. What percentage of our population actually does that? If they did then the state wouldn't be ranked last in the nation for dental health.

Instead of trying to force-feed people the toxin, we should be spending the money in educating society about the importance of taking two minutes minutes two or three times a day and brush, brush, brush. There are, of course, others ways to keep the teeth clean, such as watching what your diet consists of. We shouldn't take the easy way out.

If the state starts to force this upon society, what is going to stop it from doing other things that we may not know about? This will open yet another door that shouldn't be opened.

Margaret Ford
Hawaii Kai

Misbehavior flourishes among public servants

Regarding the story on two Honolulu police officers indicted for using funds intended to feed prisoners at the main police cellblock and diverting the money to benefit police officers instead (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 24): Does this incident reflect on the police department? Of course it does, and why shouldn't it? Are we to believe that only two officers knew and only two benefited?

And why is Deputy City Prosecutor Randal Lee praising the department before the trial?

The roster of misbehavior by public servants includes: Sex assaults among police officers, beatings of prisoners, questionable shootings, drunken driving, state government being sued by the blind and mentally ill and losing, Bishop Estate trustees being fired but not convicted of anything, City Council persons admitting to crimes or misuse of funds, ongoing injustices to Hawaiians. On and on it goes and the people are supposed to excuse it.

Steve Tayama
Waimanalo

Why hold redistricting hearing in Waikiki?

While the Reapportionment Commission "braces for critics at public hearings," as the Star-Bulletin reported Aug. 26, I wonder if the sites chosen for the Oahu hearings were selected to reduce public attendance. Otherwise, why would two of the four hearings be scheduled in Waikiki, one and a half miles apart from each other?

Lynne Matusow

U.S. needs to pressure Israel for peace

I am deeply disturbed by the continual violence and killing between the Israeli and the Palestinian people. Our nation has a long history of supporting Israel, and we have important reasons for doing so.

However, the current round of killings is not what we should encourage or support. It is our duty to inform President Bush and Senators Akaka and Inouye that enough is enough. We know there is a better way towards justice and fairness for all people.

I encourage emails to the president and to our senators asking them to step into the role of peacemaker in solving this international horror situation and to re-examine the $3 billion that we supply Israel in foreign aid each year.

Palestinians are being victimized and killed by the Israeli government. We must ask for this to stop. When Israel became a state in 1948 it was with the understanding that Palestinians would be allowed to live in the area undisturbed.

People of all faiths, including many in the Jewish community. are greatly troubled by this lack of justice and fairness. All people must stand for peace. Let us take a stand.

Rev. Vaughn F. Beckman
Senior Pastor
First Christian Church

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