Even cultural groups are tied to communists

As a Vietnamese American and former U.S. Embassy employee, I would like to present my view on the East-West Center's sponsorship of performers from Vietnam. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, I decided to stay back to help rebuild my war-torn country. I soon realized the communist regime's brutality. It drove out city people to uncultivable zones, imprisoned millions of southern officials and soldiers in re-education camps and confiscated the private property of innocent people. I finally had to leave my native country in 1993 to live in exile in America.

Through my experiences under the communist regime, I feel responsible to inform the public that there is no independent company in Vietnam. All entities are subject to the government's tight control. Therefore, the EWC's statement mentioned in the June 2 editorial opinion that "the independent troupe has no ties to the government" is misleading. It is not coincidental that the U.S. Congress has reintroduced the Vietnam Human Rights Act 2003 and introduced the Freedom of Information in Vietnam Act 2003 to ensure that democracy will be a primary concern in U.S.-Vietnam relations.

Chan Pham

Caucasians are victims of hate crime, too

The latest beating by local youths (at a Kapiolani nightclub) of a young, white, mainland tourist, would surprise only those uninitiated to the peculiarities of life in Hawaii.

Local authorities will not take official notice of the obvious racial nature of this attack. It appears that in Hawaii, the only state in which Asians and other nonwhites make up the majority, a hate crime is not a hate crime if the victim is white.

Coming to terms with violent bigotry in paradise is impeded by a police department dominated by nonwhites, news media straight-jacketed by a politically correct ethos and an academic community dominated by the left.

Raymond De Flavis

Tax cuts make us richer, less civilized

The latest Bush tax cuts are leading the president to propose less money for Medicaid, seriously reducing care for the elderly poor ("Medicaid costs pit Bush vs. governors," Star-Bulletin, May 25). His past tax cuts are slashing medical care for all elderly by forcing doctors into dropping their Medicare services, plus raising costs for everyone else.

His tax cuts have shrunk funding to states for public schools and colleges. That means fewer teachers, higher tuition costs, fewer scholarships and less maintenance.

If taxes are a price of civilization, the United States looks the least civilized of the modern nations. Of the 25 countries with the greatest wealth, we are among the lowest in taxes. Civilization does not need high taxes, only sufficient services.

Low taxes are why we are the only affluent country without some form of national health insurance. More than 40 million Americans lack such health care, half of them children. We have high infant mortality, higher illness rates and shorter life expectancy.

So vote Republican if you favor low taxes for the very rich, and also for their effects -- less health care, education and other necessities of civilization.

Jerome G. Manis

HECO's maintenance of lines is still lacking

Alan S. Lloyd comments in his May 25 letter about the islandwide power failure of April 9, 1991, and why that event supposedly demonstrates a need for Hawaiian Electric's proposed underground interconnection between the Palolo and Moiliili substations.

At the request of the Public Utilities Commission after the 1991 outage, Power Technologies, Inc. was retained to do an investigation of HECO's practices. PTI found that HECO's failure to effectively and fully implement live-line work techniques was a "key item ... associated with the immediate cause of the April 1991 outage" and was an issue that "continued to require proactive management response at all levels, and by every department of HECO." Further, PTI reported that HECO's failure to implement earlier recommendations for vegetative management was a direct contributing factor to the 1991 failure.

Since then, HECO's vegetative management program has eliminated risk of a 1991-type transmission line failure. However, HECO still ignores the emphatic recommendations of PTI and other consultants to implement live-line maintenance. Of course, if transmission lines don't need to be taken down for servicing, the main rationale for HECO's $50 million disruption of Palolo Valley disappears.

Jim Harwood

If HECO needs line, put it underground

Alan Lloyd's May 25 letter to the editor, "Palolo-Moiliili line would fill HECO needs," is the best explanation of Hawaiian Electric Co.'s need for a new transmission line I have seen yet. Lloyd gives the background on HECO's attempts to build this line going back to 1991 and to the damage caused by Hurricane Iwa to transmission lines that extend over the Koolau range from Kaneohe to Palolo Valley.

Lloyd states that a new line from the substation in the Moiliili area to the one in Palolo Valley would "strengthen the entire Central-East Oahu transmission grid" and "reduce HECO's transmission system losses." Since this is such a critical, energy-saving project, HECO should make it beneficial to the communities affected by offering to put their electrical lines underground at the same time. It would improve the appearance and safety of the major thoroughfares -- and maybe someday we will not see power lines over the Koolau range.

Gloria Kaneshiro