National Guard does little at airports

The National Guard presence at the airports is mostly show and little substance.

Is the National Guard looking over the shoulders of those operating the X-ray machines? No. Are they searching passengers carry-on luggage? No. They are simply standing at the end of the security process doing little but standing.

This has been my experience during the last month flying through Honolulu, Maui, Los Angeles and Chicago.

I believe that most passengers want a real and substantial increase in security, not just a show.

David Williams

Bush won the election; get over it already

The editorial in the Nov. 13 issue, "Voters were deprived in Florida election," does nothing to address the "double-punching" that was done on many ballots in the 2000 presidential election. It also does not address the "dimple" issue, so commonly discussed immediately after the election.

As a former resident of Florida, I know the ballot system there does work. The ballots are for the most part easy to read and use. It does not take anyone, including a brain scientist, any time at all to punch the pin all the way through the hole.

Double-punched cards and those with "dimples" should have been thrown out. Enough excuses for Al Gore, a candidate who simply did not win.

Ben Clinger

Trask hit right note on U.S. foreign policy

Hooray for Haunani-Kay Trask, who has the mana to tell it like it is. Trask's straight-up political analysis of the Sept. 11 events is right-on.

Although the media in Hawaii have tried to discredit Trask by misrepresenting her perspectives, the truth of America's violent history cannot be concealed. Instead of relentlessly manufacturing public consent for a war that will kill innocent women and children and cost billions of dollars, the media should begin to report on the true nature of America's destructive foreign policies.

Shane Pale

[Quotables] "I am so, so sorry for the pain that has been caused." Alice Guild Executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace, in a letter apologizing to Hawaiians who were offended by the decision to raise the U.S. flag over Iolani Palace in memory of those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack "A tax raise is not in my vocabulary." Robert Bunda President of the Senate, on how the state will cope with a $158 million projected loss in general fund revenues.

Landfill should be at remote site

The Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill is a misnomer. It is not located in Waimanalo, neither is it sanitary anymore. It is situated in Kahe Valley on the Leeward Coast amid the ever-growing communities of Nanakuli, Kahe Point Homes, Ko Olina, Honokai Hale, Makakilo and the new city of Kapolei.

It is the dump site for all of Oahu and is overflowing with rotting garbage, ashes from the H-Power plant and the horrid solid waste sludge from sewage treatment plants. For the past 12 years the offensive stench (gases, fumes, dust) emitted from the byproducts of the existing landfill has caused respiratory illnesses, human misery and property damage.

Because the landfill is nearly filled to capacity, the city is proposing to expand the landfill by 60 acres and continue its operation for another 17-plus years. This is grossly unfair and degrading to the many residents and businesses located close to the landfill.

To our city and state officials, listen to the thousands who oppose the expansion of the landfill. Find an unpopulated site, a remote region or an uninhabited island. The cost to haul rubbish to a remote area will be higher, but to avoid paying higher fees the people will be less wasteful, reduce their trash and begin recycling in earnest.

Amy Tanaka
Nanakuli

HECO, power users need Waahila lines

In a story about Waahila Ridge (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 10), the president of Malama O Manoa says, "The need is not there -- the load has dropped."

Changes in electrical load have nothing to do with the need to add a single 138KV circuit to the existing 46 KV transmission line on Waahila Ridge.

Two islandwide power outages in the past decade, several close calls and the fact that the power supply for the Waikiki-Kapahulu area is wholly dependent on two 35-year-old 138 KV power lines caused the Public Utilities Commission to order a review of Hawaiian Electric Co.'s transmission system.

The resulting study by a nationally recognized engineering firm confirmed that a second major 138 KV power supply corridor was needed to insure reliable service for East Oahu. The 138 KV circuit addition to the Waahila transmission line is the final link in completing that major system reliability improvement.

If HECO is forced to abandon this improvement or spend an extra $15 million to put it underground, the existing double-circuit 46KV overhead trans- mission line on the ridge will remain exactly where it is today.

The three-month power outage that crippled Auckland, New Zealand several years ago and the events of Sept. 11 this year confirm HECO's position on the need for this circuit.

Alan S. Lloyd

Old politicians never go away in Hawaii

As a transplanted Hawaii native, I enjoy keeping up through your on-line paper.

It never ceases to surprise me that after 14 years away from the islands, the more things change, the more they remain the same, and politics in Hawaii prove this to be true.

John Carroll running for governor; Andy Anderson thinking about doing the same; Frank Fasi running again for mayor?

When are these men going to learn that there is a time to go quietly and become elder statesmen? They should all learn from Sen. Hiram Fong who left office with his dignity and honor intact. The same cannot be said for these others.

I guess the same could be said about Daniel Inouye who should leave Washington, D.C., after 40 years there. It was interesting to me that when he received his Medal of Honor (which he greatly deserved) that in the report in a Seattle paper, his address was listed as Bethesda, Md., not Hawaii.

I guess once an ego has been captured by the thrill and power of politics, memories of past defeats a last hurrah, out weigh common sense.

Terry Fisher
Kirkland, Wash.

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