HPD should oversee traffic cameras

With respect to your editorial of Feb. 21 headlined "Put cops in charge of traffic cameras," I am in complete accord with your concept of assigning the responsibility to the Honolulu Police Department. When it involves traffic enforcement on state highways, such as H-1, Hawaii is unique in that we must depend on the local police (HPD) because there is no state law enforcement agency; for example, the California Highway Patrol oversees traffic violations on that state's highways.

The HPD issues citations for both traffic and parking violations. By giving the traffic-camera project to HPD, the issu- ance of all traffic citations would be under the command of a single agency (HPD), which should result in a higher degree of efficiency and control.

The police have the expertise to deal with traffic problems. Also, I believe HPD can play a significant role in resolving the traffic-camera issue, which now appears to be in disarray in the Legislature. Now is the time for Governor Cayetano and state lawmakers to take appropriate action to transfer this important public safety project to Mayor Jeremy Harris and HPD.

Shigeru Tsubota

Politicians forget they work for the people

When the majority of the citizens have voiced their disapproval for the traffic cameras and our legal system and the rule of law has concurred, some politicians are still trying to and have managed to force it down our throats.

We are told that the cameras will decrease the death toll, which was 67 last year. Instead of paying the traffic-camera vendor $46,000 plus, why didn't government officials allocate the funds to make the areas with the most accidents safer?

I always thought government worked for the people. It is not meant to punish, but by our combined dollars, make life better for all of us, the taxpayers.

Beatrix Shishido
Mililani

[Quotable] "If a significant tsunami occurred, it might be their last ride." Dan Walker Tsunami adviser to the Oahu Civil Defense Agency, on what might happen if such a wave hit while surfers were in the water.

God creates gays and Boy Scouts

Organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America eventually will change their doctrines. Their basic teachings of values are right on. Their stand on gays is a result of their ignorance, just as those who crucified Jesus were ignorant.

I strongly believe that the younger generation is much more open to their heart's message over their head's. I pray a day will come soon when a reaction to the statement, "I'm gay," will be responded by, "So what?" Let's work together and bring healing to the world.

Please don't let portrayals that you see on the news or television programs be the image you have of all gays. The other 90 percent of the gay population is quite different. Some of us are not even having sex until we get married ... or should I say, until we are allowed to marry. I am Christian and gay. I have been tremendously blessed since I accepted myself as the person God created me to be. No one can be converted to homosexuality. I was born that way.

Steven Leong

Bush should give N.Korea a chance

President Bush erred in calling North Korea part of the "axis of evil." He should encourage the unification of the two Koreas.

It would free the 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea, lower the expenses for maintaining them and encourage trade between the two Koreas and Japan. It would raise the standard of living of North Korea.

Instead of seeing North Korea as part of an "axis of evil," Bush should look at that country as a positive factor.

Upon serious evaluation of North Korea, perhaps Bush would change his position.

How Tim Chang

Gandhi's grandson offers naive message

As reported in the Star-Bulletin on March 12 ("Gandhi grandson calls on U.S. to seek peace in love") the Unity Church of Maui sponsored a speaker who purports to be the grandson of the great Mahatma Gandhi -- Arun Gandhi, a spokesman for the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.

He mouthed the same platitudes that other apologists for terrorists love: "The U.S. should look within itself to see why some in the world hate us, rather than taking revenge ..."

What disingenuous pontificating, what blatant hubris! Before criticizing a country for defending itself against murderers, Arun should apply his "love, not guns" philosophy to the chaos in his own country, India. In the last decade alone, infighting between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims has taken tens of thousands of lives. Why doesn't Arun proffer love to that situation, and to the terrorists in Kashmir, to test his theories?

God save us from these naive lovenicks. Why isn't Arun spreading his message among the really bad guys who do all the killing?

Art Todd
Kaneohe

Bush leads U.S. down road to war

I am concerned about the direction the Bush administration's "War on Terror" is about to take. There is no way to make a distinction between the government we are at war with and its people. We went to war against Afghanistan and its people, not the Taliban alone. The hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilian casualties prove it.

Now our president wants to lead us into Iraq. That fact that a majority of Iraqis despise their leader will not protect them when American bombs start falling. Why must we again prove ourselves to be an international bully?

I believe the reason is that President Bush needs a real, honest-to-goodness war. It is infinitely easier to take the "shoot 'em all and let God sort 'em out" approach to solving problems overseas, than to research all the local angles and then develop and implement detailed plans to aid those opposed to the regime. This is especially true if one is indebted to the corporations that fuel our militarized economy.

We are at a crossroads. The easiest path to take will further hurt our reputation in the Middle East. The other paths may start the long and arduous process of rebuilding. I urge our president to cool off his war before thousands of civilians are subjected to his lack of patience. Let's not turn friends into enemies.

Christopher Chalsma

Cut expenses, don't touch hurricane fund

Monies in the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund must not be used to balance the budget.

As altruistic as the state was in creating this fund, please remember that the lending institutions holding the mortgages that require insurance also would have suffered greatly if they'd had to repossess uninsured properties by default; thousands of pieces of property and no way for the lenders to convert them to cash. Homeowners weren't the sole beneficiaries of this act.

If Governor Cayetano wants to balance the budget, he should put the window-dressing projects on the back burner: Postpone the medical school, reconsider the state art museum and forget the film school for now.

Let's get our priorities straight. The school and the children can't wait. You can't fund their elementary education needs six years from now. Same thing with social programs. Those needs are immediate and critical.

Finally, the executive budget calls for cuts to many departments. Is the executive cutting the governor's budget by 5 percent too? Are the legislators and their staffs taking cuts? Is anyone looking at the recommendations of the state auditor and acting upon them to make operations cost effective?

Do not use the remaining monies in the hurricane fund for show-off boondoggle projects while cutting libraries, schools and social services.

Josephine Clay

Funeral directors back a state cremation law

Funeral directors provide a critical part of any community's response when a death occurs. We understand the special and important nature of our work. If a provider breaks the law, engages in deceptive practices and misrepresentations, they should be held accountable The Hawaii Funeral Directors Association supports the formation of a task force proposed by the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs to review state regulations and rules.

For more than a year the association worked proactively on a model cremation law for Hawaii. We submitted our model as part of testimony last week supporting the task force.The Hawaii Funeral Director's Association looks forward to working with the task force and the Legislature to make sure that what happened in Georgia does not happen here.

Last, the incident on Maui described in your editorial happened at a health care facility. To leave the impression that it happened in a funeral home is unfair to our members on Maui and your readers.

Kenneth W. Ordenstein
Spokesman
Hawaii Funeral Directors Association

---

Letter guidelines The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point on issues of public interest. The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed, must include a mailing address and daytime telephone number. Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813