Brainstorm! Challenge

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Reservists are willing to sacrifice for us

In response to the letter from Michael L. Last ("At least reservists weren't drafted," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 5): First, I thank Last for his service to our country during Vietnam. His sacrifice for our country is immeasurable. Second, I would like to point out a difference between our reservists being activated and his own military experience.

Yes, the reservists willingly signed on. But many of these weekend warriors have families. I was 3 years old when my mother, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves, was called to active duty 13 years ago. My younger brother was 4 months old. My mother was given about 36 hours to report to active duty.

The Reserve forces that were called up this time also have families. They support more than just themselves, and their loss of pay affects their whole family. When signing up, they pray the time never comes when they must report to active duty. When they do, it is with sadness for leaving families, often children, home. They report often with a hope that their sacrifice will be made so their children and all of us can live in peace and security in America. God bless them.

Bethany Nupen
Mililani

Where will we get money for space trips?

Will President Bush use his own money (he is raising $2 million a day!) to go to the Moon and Mars, or is he planning to use our tax money, which he has not spent on solving problems here on Earth? He has yet to give much-needed money to schools, the homeless or to provide jobs for those seeking employment.

Think about this if and when you vote.

Pat Meyers
Kailua

At least potholes are good for something

I have to agree with the assessments of the desolate conditions of our roads as a most likely result of poor workmanship. However, there is a bright side to it.

We should leave the potholes. It prevents speeding -- and may save lives.

Dieter Thate
Honolulu

U.S. did not instigate overthrow of kingdom

In his letter to the editor (Star-Bulletin, Jan. 10), George Kahumoku Flores deplores the assumed fact that America illegally overthrew the Hawaiian nation in 1893.

Historical documents clearly indicate that the overthrow was instigated by a 13-member group of Hawaiian subjects referred to as the Committee of Safety, not by an official edict of the U.S. government.

Washington received word of the overthrow weeks after its occurrence. The U.S. Congress expressed strong objections and President Cleveland favored reinstalling the queen. The only implications involving the United States were the actions of its minister to Hawaii, John Stevens. He indicated to the Committee of Safety that he likely would approve a post-revolutionary government but would play no role in the overthrow. Acting on his own with no orders from his superiors, he asked Captain G. C. Wiltse of the USS Boston to send some troops ashore to protect Americans. Whether this intimidated the queen is open to question.

To assume that Stevens, acting without orders from Washington, may have inadvertently bolstered the Committee of Safety may be reasonable, but unproven. But the belief that the U.S. government instigated the overthrow is without merit.

Frank Scott
Kailua

Houston players weren't perfect, either

I am the proud mother of an University of Hawaii Warrior football player and I attended the Hawaii Bowl. In Houston alumna Joan R. Smith's letter (Star-Bulletin, Jan. 7), she says, "It is apparent that this (fighting) is acceptable behavior at Hawaii games (against Cincinnati, for example)." I saw Cincinnati players taunting the Hawaii players and gesturing to the fans as well. Maybe it's a conference thing. Aren't Cincinnati and Houston in the same conference?

If you checked the stats of the game, you will note that Houston had twice as much penalty yardage as Hawaii. On the ESPN coverage, immediately following the game one of our players is seen reaching out to pat the shoulder of a Houston player, but instead he gets his hand swatted away and the Houston player takes a swing at him.

Smith also wrote, "The Hawaii team suited up about four times as many players as Houston did and blocked the Houston team's exit." That's an exaggeration. We had 105 players who were cleared to play in this bowl game, so if she saw only 25 Houston players on the sidelines, then maybe she did get lost and ended up at the wrong stadium. I did notice that the teams had to cross paths to get to their respective locker rooms and it looked like they were both blocking each other.

As for her comment, "the island of hospitality could stand to make some improvements," well, hospitality is bestowed on visitors with good intentions. Mahalo (with a shaka sign) for spending "several thousand dollars to come to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl."

Jalyne Wong
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