War in Iraq was very, very real

I was startled by Fred Young's May 8 letter saying we "fought an imaginary army" in Iraq. Perhaps he should send his letter to the families of the coalition soldiers who were killed or seriously wounded in the fighting, and see if they agree with his unusual perspective. Or does he think those casualties were imaginary, too?

Jim Henshaw
Kailua

Liberation of Iraq, just like Vietnam

Iraq is liberated, but at what cost? Since the 1991 invasion more than 1.5 million people have been killed. These deaths came about through direct U.S. military action and by the postwar blocking of international food and health aid.

We also saw the "liberation" of Vietnam with a U.S. invasion about 40 years ago, but at what cost? To date, 4 to 6 million Vietnamese killed, from military action and as a direct result of the United States' successful effort to destroy the country's infrastructure. The casualties in Vietnam continue. In January, according to the Associated Press, three children were killed in Vietnam from a cluster bomb left behind by U.S. forces.

The facts are there to see, for those willing to go behind the veil of government, media and academic propaganda.

Hector Valenzuela
Mililani

Honolulu needs a few more on City Council

We all know "Honolulu Lite" columnist Charles Memminger is to be read with a sense of humor. But I take exception to his digs at Councilman Charles Djou (Star-Bulletin, April 24). Djou -- it is said -- is the only Republican member of the City Council, which must make him a great big target.

As Djou has said, we have too few City Council members to properly represent the people. When a Council district is way too large, the councilman has too many people to adequately represent. We need a few more councilmen to listen to the people, but not as many as Djou suggests (21). If it takes more money, that is the price of the democracy. Bring government closer to the people by increasing the City Council membership from nine to 13 or 15.

Mark Terry

Differences of opinion are not always partisan

Less than a week after the adjournment of the 2003 Legislature, Gov. Linda Lingle appears to be laying the groundwork for Republican electioneering next year. She recently stood on the grounds of Ka'ewai Elementary School and decried the poor condition of the buildings, using the forum to chastise legislators for succumbing to porkbarrel politics in funding school repairs, rather than the dictates of the Departments of Education and Accounting and General Services.

Her choice of Ka'ewai as a forum was odd given that Kalihi legislators had been seeking funding for repairs for many years, and finally succeeded last year in including the money in the budget (that on top of $245 million for school repairs statewide and millions more for discretionary spending approved the year before). The governor's announcement that she was releasing $3.34 million to fix Ka'ewai was, in fact, thanks to the work of the Legislature, to the very porkbarrel politics she faulted.

Governor Lingle accused us of playing politics when the Senate declined to confirm two of her nominees to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents. Never mind that the Senate had confirmed more than 170 of her nominees to key posts in state government, including the head of the Republican Party to her cabinet, numerous Republican Party insiders, and prominent Lingle campaign leaders. But when two ill-prepared nominees were justifiably rejected by the Senate, it was described as "partisan."

She also overlooks legislative support for many of her initiatives. The Senate supported the governor in attempting to rein in runaway tax credits associated with the Act 221 high-tech incentive program; restored money for essential operations of her office and the lieutenant governor's; joined her in calling for a scaled-back version of the hotel construction and renovation tax credits; and authorized a salary commission for state executives, besides passing many measures sought by the executive branch. We even kept alive her proposal for a constitutional amendment for regional school boards.

The governor must come to understand that disagreement is an integral part of representative government, of politics. Legitimate differences are common, if not vital to the checks-and-balances of government. Every past governor has had his battles with the Legislature, and so, too, will she.

In the spirit of Governor Lingle's "New Beginning," the Senate has made an earnest effort to work with her administration and will continue to do so. Of course, when differences do occur, rather than accusations or threats of retribution, they are best resolved through open discussion and cooperation.

Robert Bunda
Senate President