Ashcroft's warning was necessary

Richard Halloran's Dec. 10 Scratchpad criticized Attorney General John Ashcroft's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He said Ashcroft's statement asserting that Americans who disagreed with his initiatives were aiding the terrorists was "out of line."

I think Halloran's editorial was unbalanced and misleading. First, Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy was found to have leaked sensitive information to the press in the past. Ashcroft's statement was a warning.

Second, Halloran advocated vigilance because of the lies and abuses of government in the era of Vietnam and Watergate. What about the lies and abuses in the era of Clinton?

Where's the balance?

Jay Bauckham

There is good radio to listen to in Hawaii

You say it's hard to find a radio station worth listening to (Editor's Scratchpad, Nov. 27). Thirty years ago, University of Hawaii students started the state's first alternative to commercial radio -- KTUH FM. Today the station is broadcasting at 3,000 watts to listeners in town (90.3), the North Shore (91.3), Hawaii Kai (89.7), on the Web (ktuh.org) and Oceanic's Digital Cable (843).

They get to hear 56 disc jockeys play folk, jazz, latin, rock, ska and other music you will never hear anywhere else. The Manoa campus also was the first home for Hawaii Public Radio, which still transmits -- via four FM and one AM frequencies -- the world's best reporting, as well as excellent programs in classical music, jazz and other genres.

Jay Hartwell

[Quotables] "For those who see this tape, they'll realize not only is he guilty of incredible murder -- he has no conscience and no soul." President George W. Bush Describing a videotape that reportedly proves terror mastermind Osama bin Laden is responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States. "It was a preventable accident." Stefanie Suenaga Owner of Commercial Flyer Inc., which owns the Cessna 150 that crashed Sunday into a yard in Waialae Iki. Suenaga said the accident could have been avoided if the pilot had followed safety procedures required by the company. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Let smokers keep paying all those taxes

Say the politicians and the whining liberals get their way and eliminate tobacco sales altogether. What will they name the new tax bestowed upon us? Do people realize how much money in tax revenue is generated from cigarettes? Government relies on this money to run itself. Where does the money lost from the ban come from? You got it -- us citizens. Keep smoking America, because most of us can't afford another huge tax, whatever they name it.

Danny McMonigle
Kaneohe

Rules make it difficult to root for Warriors

Congratulations to the Rainbow Warriors for a terrific season. Going 9-3 -- especially after starting off 1-2 -- was a tremendous accomplishment.

Why were more people not in the stands during games against Boise State, Miami of Ohio and the Air Force Academy? Simple: A lot of people don't want to put up with the rules of the stadium.

When you first go in, you are given a flyer saying, among other things, "no weapons allowed." Second, if you try to park in the lower parking lot, attendants try to tell you where to park. It's bad enough that they restrict your movement around the stadium, but something is wrong when they don't let you park by your friends.

Third, when the game is sold out they don't have all the turnstiles open. A lot of people missed the first two scores during the BYU game. Why not hire people who have been laid off to help?

Last, leis were allowed in the stadium, but people were not allowed to go from the upper deck down to the lower level to present them to the departing seniors.

June Jones always wonders out loud why they don't have more fans at the stadium. I think it's pretty clear.

Michael Englar
Pearl City

Harris raised money but garnered few votes

The investigation into Mayor Harris' campaign finance practices raises a couple of questions. First, if Mayor Harris really had all that extra money in the last election, why did he receive barely a third of the votes cast, the votes of fewer than 15 percent of registered voters?

The second question involves next year's gubernatorial election. Do those unimpressive numbers look any better when Harris has to play by the same campaign finance rules as everyone else?

Robert Kessler

Felix decree necessary to bring about change

The current "real problem" with the Felix decree compliance, which Richard J. Gelles addresses in his article ("What is the real problem with Felix decree compliance?," Star-Bulletin, Nov. 30), is the misinterpretation of the progress and goals implemented thus far. Gelles fails to realize that the "well-intended efforts of the Federal Court" have indeed provided the beginning of an educational system for our special-needs students.

Gelles does not understand that the "disrepair (and) antiquated texts and resources" in our school system existed long before the court's mandate. I just completed a service testing and found the process to be credible and, one hopes, helpful to the state by providing needed data.

Most important, the evidence shows that many disabled students, including my son and many other children with autism, finally are receiving services along with a semblance of an appropriate education rather than being warehoused in an institution or a DOE classroom. A properly conducted state response (i.e., process) would have provided timely help for the Felix children.

I am appalled and saddened that Gelles, hired by the legislative auditor's study, is misrepresenting his findings to a community that is becoming increasingly leery of supporting a process that is finally beginning to provide services for the disabled.

Mary Taylor
Parent and DOE teacher

Editor's note: This letter was originally published Dec. 9 in the Insight section. It is being reprinted because it was illegible in many copies of the paper.

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