Brainstorm! Challenge

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Correcting injustice not part of curriculum

A private school should be allowed to restrict its admissions (Editorials, Dec. 6) and an applicant to disagree without being vilified, bullied or heckled.

A school's duty is to provide the best education possible for the individual child; it is not to correct past social injustices. Acceptance should not be based on an exploitive political agenda, but on whether or not the school is good enough for the student.

E.M. Skinner
Aiea

War, terror, guerrillas aren't the same

President Bush is confused. He doesn't seem to know the difference between war, guerrilla action and terrorism, and it is costing us. A war is fought between the armies of two nations. Bush started a war against Afghanistan and Iraq, and our army defeated their armies. Mission accomplished. The war turned into a lethal, expensive guerrilla action in both countries. Small bands of paramilitaries harass and undermine our attempts to install a stable government. We do not have enough troops trained or equipped to fight guerrilla actions. Bush won't or can't implement the obvious solution: Get thousands of military police and civilian administrators into both countries under United Nations or NATO command. It worked in the Balkans.

Terrorism is not a war. It is the use of force by small groups against a government for political or ideological purposes. Terrorism is not defeated by armies. It is contained by intelligence and police action. Bush started a giant Homeland Security agency that harasses air travelers yet provides little protection against terrorists. Meanwhile, under the cover of the "war" on terrorism, Bush plunges us deeper into debt, dismantles Medicare, wrecks the environment, rewards cronies and raises funds for re-election.

As citizens, we cannot put up a "Mission Accomplished" sign until we set an example of the democracy we want others to follow. We need a leader who understands what is actually happening and has the wits and will to change it. Bush doesn't. "Anybody But Bush" is a slogan, not a program. We need to act. Register to vote, talk to your neighbors, raise funds and campaign for the candidate of your choice.

Keith Gilchrist
Kula, Maui

Why isn't Bush junior more like his dad?

The quagmire we find ourselves in by occupying and governing Iraq should cause us to reflect on why the elder George Bush, in pursuing the Gulf War, chose not to advance into Baghdad. After all, we were responding to naked aggression against a friendly nation and we had the support of all our allies, the U.N. and much of the Arab and Muslim world. George W. has been criticized for not taking Baghdad and hunting down Saddam Hussein. It seemed to many as the logical finish to the war. So was it timidity or stupidity or, perhaps, sound judgment that cautioned the elder Bush not to occupy Iraq?

Certainly the elder Bush wanted the Baath regime to fall in favor of a Western-style democracy. However, he knew that removing Saddam was not in our critical national interest and certainly not worth the enormous costs and risks in taking, occupying, rebuilding and administering Iraq's cities. He recognized that Iraq had always been ruled by strongmen, sectarian chiefs and dictators and that developing an enduring democracy takes decades, not years. Also, we might find ourselves in a guerrilla war. George H.W. Bush was not willing to gamble the lives of our troops, our national prestige and billions of our tax dollars on a very bad bet.

Instead, he opted for U.N.- sponsored economic sanctions and inspections, a no-fly zone and overwhelming military supremacy. The plan was to wait for the Baath Party to lose power and for Iraq to make its own history.

George H. showed great wisdom in not marching into Baghdad because he would have courted the same disaster that George W. has now visited upon us. Oh, had only George H. passed on his smart genes to George W!

Joe Gedan
Honolulu

Let's examine options for easing traffic

There are only three options to rescue surface transportation on Oahu. They are to double-deck the freeways, to build a rail rapid transit system or to create an offshore marine highway system of car-carrying fast catamarans.

All three would be eligible for federal aid. Rail transit would not attract people from their cars unless the freeways are congested. Double-decking would make driving the freeways unbearable during years of construction. Fast car ferries offshore will have neither of these objections.

Time has run out. Analyze and publicize the three options. Debate. Enact a 1-cent dedicated increase in excise tax. Registered voters select option by ballot in November 2004.

E. Alvey Wright
Kaneohe

Developers, stop moaning about stalls

According to your article of Nov. 19, the proposal to increase the size of parking stalls to be 3 inches wider than the current measurements was shot down. Miles Kamimura, president of commercial real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander, was quoted as saying, "This will have a definitely negative effect on a developer."

Wah, wah, wah. Once again the developers are crying that they don't make enough money. Wah, wah, wah. I should charge the developers for all the door dings on my car that happen as a result of these small spaces.

I don't care if the developer doesn't make more and more money. I demand that the developer respect my property as much as he expects me to respect his. How would he like me to bang on his walls with a hammer and cause damage to HIS property?

It's time that Hawaii and Governor Lingle stop catering to development interests in all areas, not just parking stalls.

Steve Milewski
Kihei, Maui

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Dirty gutter talk Those orange rolls that highway engineers have been shoving into storm drain openings -- there must be a more efficient or practical or attractive way to filter out road debris. These things are about as useful and pleasing to the eye as huge, discarded cigarette butts. Send your ideas, drawings and solutions by Thursday, Dec. 17 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame 529-4750