Granting government more power is perilous

I want to applaud Scot Matayoshi, author of the Sept. 27 Rant & Rave column for his clear thinking.

Years ago, Rose Wilder Lane commented, "The weakest government that ever existed won independence from the British Empire in 1776-82, and established this republic by 1815, by wars against the strongest government of the time. ... On the other hand, the stronger the government of the Roman Empire became, the weaker became the Empire."

Though they may call themselves Americans, those who are ready to give government greater power, who are willing to sacrifice freedom in the hope of better security, don't share the true American spirit that brought this nation into being.

J. Hesson

Dumb, ineffective rules frustrate UH fans

Fans understand the need for extra security precautions at Aloha Stadium for University of Hawaii football games. However, some of the new rules clearly flunk the "common sense test."

For example, the stadium will not allow you to bring in plastic water bottles, yet it lets vendors sell beer to drunken fans during the second half of the game! What's more dangerous -- a drunk driving a car out of the stadium parking lot or someone with a water bottle?

Another example is the boneheaded decision to ban all purses, yet allow fanny packs, which are essentially purses worn around the waist.

Dumb move No. 3: banning all umbrellas. What sense does that make? They are already making it as hard as possible to bring in rain gear since you can't pack them in bags or purses! Moreover, if someone wants to conceal a weapon it's actually easier to hide it in a jacket or poncho draped over your arm.

And lastly, if they want fans to cooperate, the stadium personnel should do their part. They said anyone entering a particular parking lot gate would also leave via that gate. Yet when cars began leaving towards the end of the first game, parking lot personnel forced many people to drive across the stadium lot to a different exit. Why? Because they were not told to open that particular gate until the game was "officially" over. Common sense says if you see cars are leaving, it's time to open the gate.

These are tough times for all of us. But instituting irrational policies only makes matters worse for everyone and risks alienating thousands of longtime supporters and fans.

Rich Figel
Kailua

[Quotables] "I haven't seen this kind of epidemic slowly percolating along. I think we have a pretty good chance with this." Dr. Lorrin Pang State Department of Health administrator on Maui, about the possibility of avoiding a "blowup" of dengue fever infections in areas of the state other than Hana, where the infection was first detected. "It's really quite wonderful. It changes your life. Having the prize gives you the opportunity to talk about things you think are important." A. Michael Spence Stanford University economist and part-time Maui resident, on the news that he had won the Nobel Prize for economics.

Permit foreign ships to serve Hawaii

Many cruise lines have canceled their Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian Ocean cruises in the wake of the recent terrorist attack. One has even gone bankrupt. To soak up excess capacity, these companies are frantically trying to re-deploy their fleets to locations that can provide attractive, yet secure, cruising.

Hawaii could be such a location. To develop this concept, it would be necessary to suspend or repeal federal laws that bar foreign vessels from serving interisland ports.

The urgency of the current situation should be self-evident to those who have stood in the way of changing the law in the past, including Hawaii's congressional delegation. I have seen nothing but silly ideas proposed to prop up the state's economy, so let's go on with something that will really make a difference.

Jack M. Schmidt Jr.

Attack on Afghanistan politically motivated?

Let us hope the attack on Afghanistan is not a politically motivated attempt to appear "presidential" and not the next step in our futile, but ever escalating, "dead or alive" rhetoric.

High-altitude bombing and area missile attacks have less chance of eliminating Osama Bin Laden than hitting his turbaned head with a donut.

The non-stop media coverage of the New York disaster, our attacks and the inevitable coverage of killed and wounded civilians is providing a constant terrorist recruiting program.

It is not the time for pyrotechnics, it is time for the stealthful elimination of this international malignancy.

James and May Lee Patterson

Don't pay those extra shipping costs

Regarding Burl Burlingame's Oct. 4 Scratchpad item on unfair postal rates to Hawaii:

This has been a long-standing gripe with me. I am constantly told by a certain magazine and other mainland companies that it costs more to ship to Hawaii, hence the extra charges.

This is unadulterated greed and thievery. One 1-800 phone call to the USPS confirms that shipping to Hawaii and Alaska costs no more than if you were to ship something within the same state on the mainland.

When I mentioned this to clerks and managerial folks at Sportsman's Guide via phone and email, they tried to blow some smoke up my skirts about extra packaging and handling. More shibai. You pack it; you mail it -- just like you'd do for the same parcel going from one address to another within the same state. Same price.

Readers may want to consider boycotting those companies that charge more to ship to Hawaii, and contact postal authorities when lied to about shipping charges.

Kevin Gagan
Mililani

European rail systems elicit envy in Honolulu

I've been traveling in Europe for the past few weeks and riding mostly electric light-rail public transportation in Amsterdam, Prague and Bratislava. It is an excellent way to move about these cities and it is used by both locals and tourists.

Honolulu could have had a similar system in place already if a certain City Council member, who now appears to be selling electric cars, would have voted yes instead of no back in the 1990s.

Gerald Kalisik

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