Brainstorm! Challenge

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Addict's letter showed great courage, faith

I just wanted to send a wish to Michael Spiker, who wrote the letter "To cope with addiction, take responsibility" in the Jan. 3 Star-Bulletin.

I want to congratulate him on "acknowledging" his mistakes and "taking responsibility" for his actions. It is definitely a very hard journey back from the dark side; this I know, for I have experienced it myself. Nonetheless, I know it is a journey well worth taking. You just have to keep the faith and keep on moving forward.

I also wanted to wish Michael a very Happy New Year to start your journey back from the other side, and to send God's blessings, love and faith to guide, comfort and protect you as you find your way back. May you find everything you're looking for -- and more -- when you make it!

Lahela Victorino
Waipahu>

Judges should follow sentencing laws

Yesterday's editorial says that federal legislation interferes with federal judges' sentencing discretion. The task of the judicial branch is to interpret law, not to make law. Its area of discretion is limited to deciding what is "constitutional" and ensuring the hearing is held in a nonbiased manner, within the bounds of the Constitution and applicable law, free from their personal opinions and discretion.

Discretion equates to personal opinion and personal opinion equates to judicial law-making.

Our Constitution intended the legislative branch of our government to make the law, not the judicial. Once a verdict has been reached, the issue is technically out of the direct realm of the judge and now privy to the wishes of the people. The wishes of the people being specifically, the terms and penalties provided by the law.

Our judicial system should not put itself in a position of making law, though it has done so for years. Leave it to the lawmakers, those chosen by the public, to make the law. Our judges are often appointed and therefore not accountable to the people. Not being accountable to the people means a judge has the opportunity to legislate instead of interpret.

The two ideas are not the same. Laws are written for specific purposes and the public has a right to know when a judge is not following the law. None of us is above the law, including a judge. If judges did not habitually interpret the law, then the public would not insist upon judicial guidelines.

Ben Clinger
Honolulu

Players, not coach, threw the punches

Get off Coach June Jones' back! Enough already about the fight that broke out among players after the University of Hawaii-Houston game on Christmas Day.

Jones was hired to coach, not babysit his players. He was hired to win games, which he has accomplished. Those who play for him understand there are consequences/rewards, and he holds them accountable.

It was unfortunate that a brawl occurred after a great game, but UH players are adults and they should be responsible for their actions. Coach Jones, you're doing a great job!

David Kapaku
Kihei, Maui

LSU-Oklahoma kept cool in heated game

I watched a very hard fought game between Louisiana State and Oklahoma and the one thing I did not see was a fight. If you watched the game closely you could see there was a lot of taunting, but no fights. Unlike UH, it was nice to see teams that have real head coaches and players who play the game the way it is meant to be.

Russell Hoover
Waipahu

Bush 'advantage' in religion isn't great

A headline in the Jan. 4 Star-Bulletin Insight section regarding the presidential election says: "Democrats have a tough time overcoming Bush's religion advantage."

President Bush claims to have given up drinking through the power of Christian belief and employs religious words and principles in his speeches. If you believe this propaganda, then Bush has the advantage.

Let's look at how he acts with regard to two of the Ten Commandments. After 12 years in a Christian school, I learned that "Thou shall not kill" meant that only while protecting yourself from an attack, as a last resort, was taking the live of another acceptable. Killing because someone might attack was forbidden. Even in an "eye for an eye" scenario for 9/11, the Iraq invasion wasn't justified as it was primarily Saudis (no Iraqis) involved in the terror attacks.

"Thou shall not covet thy neighbors goods" means even though you deem it is in the national interest to control someone else's oil, you can't! Bush supporters are already profiting and overcharging!

If Jesus were here today, would Jesus name Bush as one of his apostles or would Jesus whip Bush like he did the money changers in the temple?

Smoky Guerrero
Mililani

Letter writer unfair to South Koreans

I don't know if Larry Hayashida has ever lived in Japan ("It's unsafe to waive visas for South Koreans," Letters, Dec. 31). I have. I have also lived in India, Thailand, France and the Soviet Union (Moscow, to be exact). In each of those countries, there have been demonstrations against Americans. In Japan, loudspeakers were used both to gather crowds and to try to disrupt one's ability to work in one's office. In India, I was trapped in a building with other American and Indian U.S. government employees while anti-American demonstrators surrounded us.

I have never lived in Korea -- North or South -- but South Korea is the only country I know of where there was a counter-demonstration (by South Koreans who remembered with gratitude what Americans had done for them) in support of Americans.

Patricia Kim
Honolulu

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] What should the city do with the elegant old sewage pump station? It's empty and fading, and now it's taking a beating from all the construction going on around it. The O.G. Traphagen-designed sewage pump station on Ala Moana Boulevard, more than a century old, is a monument to the glory days of municipal architecture, when city fathers took such pride in their community that even a humble sewage station became a landmark structure. Millions of tourists drive by it every year, and it's an embarrassing reminder of how poorly Honolulu treats its historic landmarks. Over the years, dozens of uses and excuses and blue-sky speculations have been suggested for the striking structure. Now we're asking you, Mr. and Mrs. Kimo Q. Publique, what should the city do with the elegant old pump building? Send your ideas and solutions by Jan. 15 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750