Early one recent morning, Eduard Thompson was struck by a car while pedaling his triwheeler up Monsarrat Avenue. He flipped over and was left bleeding on the side of the road, victim of a hit and run. When I picked him up at Queen's, he had stitches in his forehead, abrasions and a huge bandage over his left (dominant) hand, but fortunately, no broken bones. Inner strength puts hit-run
victim ahead of the packA lot of people went out of their way to help that Saturday. Mahalo, Honolulu Police Department, for taking care of Eddie at the scene, and for taking his crumpled bike back to his apartment.
Mahalo to the wonderful staff at Queen's emergency room for repairing his battered body. You gave him clothing to replace his bloody shirt, fed him, and comforted him when he was afraid and alone.
Mahalo to Dale Hoffman, who has always taken the time to be a good friend to Eddie.
Mahalo to the crew at Chuck's Cellar. You always show him the extra care he needs and make him feel welcome every day.
Mahalo to those countless other strangers who have stopped to offer assistance in the past and have found inspiration in one man's struggle to live as independently as possible.
Eduard Thompson has cerebral palsy. He cannot walk unassisted. He is difficult to understand because he cannot control his speech. But he is sharp as a tack and has a quick sense of humor. He is not mentally challenged. He is physically challenged, but leads an extremely active lifestyle. His bike is more than just a favorite possession -- it is his life. It gives him the independence many of us take for granted. That it was damaged and not ridable was the worst news he could ever receive.
We can dwell on Ed's misfortune; he has had more than his fair share. But he is the strongest person I know and continues to inspire me and remind me of my own selfish complaints.
Jay Kim
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Congress must negate Capitol ignorance
It seems so improbable that the opinions of some staff workers in the White House and Department of Defense would cause the president to veto the Defense Authorization Bill, which has nearly full support of the Congress. The reasoning of these staffers, who certainly have never heard a shot fired in anger or smelled gunpowder, is well known to disabled veterans, and must be rejected as faulty. Now is the time for our elected representatives to fully support the decisions of the Congress, to include overriding a presidential veto, if necessary. Their future actions will count.Shepler W. FitzGerald Jr.
USAF, retired
Gabbard's personal visit showed he cares
I am a resident of Ewa Beach and have seen a lot of politicians in my day. But I have never seen an elected official as motivated and enthusiastic as Mike Gabbard. I was so impressed that he took the time out of his day to visit me at my house during his campaign to introduce himself and talk story.You can tell that Gabbard actually cares about people and I am sure that he will make an excellent City Councilman.
David Sakata
Ewa Beach
Left-wing news media unfair to Republicans
I find it interesting that when Republicans do well in elections, the news media use terms like: Republicans "stole two seats" in the Senate (KGMB 6 p.m. news, Nov. 6) and Republicans "seized control of the Senate" (Associated Press, Nov. 6).There was no stealing or seizure going on, the people voted and the Republicans won.
The "radical left-wing extremist" media are in denial!!
T.J. Pochinski
Political ads offered reason to give thanks
Now that the election is over, I am grateful for one thing: My mute button did not fail.Chester Chaffee
Pearl City
Hey, ACLU, what about 'blank means no'?
What about ACLU's threatened suit to overturn our electoral process ("ACLU appeals ruling allowing constitutional amendment vote," Star-Bulletin, Nov. 2)? Whose side is the ACLU on, anyway? I thought the ACLU was committed to support the free, unfettered right for citizens to vote.If the ACLU has a problem with Tuesday's vote, why don't they take up the problem of the "default vote"? If you voted "yes," that means "yes," and if you voted "no," that means "no"; if you did not vote "yes" or "no" but left the space empty, then by some screwy process the non-vote defaults to a "no" vote.
Hey, ACLU, this is what you should challenge.
Bob Hampton
Army of Democrats fought dirty for 51
The "D" army invaded District 51 in a way that rivaled the events of D-Day in 1944. It threw everything it had into the race. It brought in a carpetbagger to represent the party, but not the district. It solicited the Sierra Club to make phone calls against the incumbent, but not against those Democrats who, like Joe Gomes, were all for the ecology's protection but not for bad legislation. They out-spent the incumbent with mailers that used misleading innuendoes.Finally, in an unprecedented wartime maneuver, they brought in Senator Inouye, to endorse their puppet. In the end, their scorched-earth policy won the battle.
During the battle, though, Joe never compromised his ethics and human values. We are proud of you, Joe, and District 51 and Hawaii will miss your sincere efforts in the Legislature.
Scott Gomes
Kailua
Editor's note: The writer is Joe Gomes' brother.
Why punish Capt. Soo but not UH's Dobelle?
The spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department was removed from his position after he spoke as a private citizen in support of Linda Lingle for governor, whose commercial labeled his position, not him. Even Dobelle, president of the University of Hawaii, has come out as a "non-partisan educator" in support of Mazie Hirono, yet he has not been removed from his state-funded position.Where is the logic in removing one and not the other?
Jim Schmidley
Pearl City
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