Brainstorm! Challenge

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Lingle's school reform omits main ingredient

In his Feb. 1 letter to the editor, Rep. David Pendleton said, "As a legislator, I'll respect whatever the outcome, but it's too bad that (state Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto) does not trust this decision (regarding education reform) to the very parents who trust her with educating their kids."

Pendleton is a decent man, but he misses the point that the governor is the party displaying a lack of trust, not the superintendent. By not trusting the teachers -- the very people who intimately know the status of the schools -- to take part in her "study" of education reform, Governor Lingle swiftly swept away any appearance of legitimacy to her reform agenda.

I'm sure Pendleton would agree that true educational advances must include teacher input. Advances cannot be made simply by way of a slick ad campaign and castigation of your political opponents when you don't get your way immediately in the Legislature.

Joshua Wisch
Kailua

We have no choice but to export prisoners

It may seem cruel, but the old saying is, "You've done the crime so you've got to do the time." But you can't do it here, because we don't have the space. You might not like it, but you've got to do the time even if it's not here. The American Civil Liberties Union does get carried away about some things and I do think that this is one of them. People say we should build another prison, but with our Legislature it would take too long. A lot of people say we need a new prison (or should I say, a bigger one), but "not in my back yard."

Let's cut out the bull and keep sending our criminals to mainland prisons, since they have the space. Let's make use of that space. If some of our legislators would get their heads on straight they would see the problem, but they don't want to endanger their jobs. Like the old saying, "My family first, relatives and friends second, and I'll think about the other people later if I choose to."

Bryan Lau
Honolulu

HPD punished officers much too harshly

Regarding the Jan. 28 Star-Bulletin story "Two officers demoted after fatal shooting":

The Honolulu Police Department's administrative review board and Chief Lee Donohue are required to take appropriate disciplinary measures. Punishment should be narrowly tailored to fit violations of rules.

Singling out Lt. Bill Kato and Detective Bruce Swann for demotion is much too severe compared to one-day suspensions of other officers involved in the arrest of Shane Mark. Demoting Kato and Swann is absurd. After all, Donohue saw fit to allow them to remain at their assignments to investigate other important cases long after Mark's arrest. Most recently they were involved in the Jan. 7 Pali Golf Course double-murder case.

The community, Kato, Swann and the rest of the officers and employees of HPD grieve the loss of Officer Glen Gaspar.

The unreasonable demotion of Swann and Kato, the high-profile HPD spokesman, can only cause irreparable harm. They have the option to file grievances through the police union, and no doubt they will prevail. But how are they to recover from the personal trauma, doubt, humiliation and lost opportunity to work at their former assignments?

Perhaps Kato and Swann deserved some form of discipline, but these demotions are mean-spirited, unwarranted and only serve to cause embarrassment.

Earl Arakaki
Ewa Beach

Let patients, family ease pain of death

Several years ago I watched a young friend of mine -- barely in his mid-40s -- die slowly and painfully from pancreatic cancer. Once he was diagnosed as having cancer of the pancreas and once he had decided that surgery would not work, he was reconciled to dying -- but he had been misinformed by physicians as to how painful (and, in his case, costly) it was to die slowly. The pain of his dying had an enormous impact on his young children, his wife, his parents, his brothers and sisters. Moreover, my friend's slow, painful death had an enormous impact on me. I learned a salient lesson from this tragic event: My friend's death might have been less painful and traumatic to his loved ones if there was a law in place that allowed a physician to hasten his death.

The Death With Dignity bill as it stands before the Legislature has many safeguards in it. It applies only to competent adults who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and whose life expectancy is six months or less; a second physician must confirm the diagnosis and prognosis; oral and written requests are required; and there is a provision for a waiting period. All of these are sensible and humane protective provisions.

The Legislature should pass the Death With Dignity Bill now.

J.M. Anthony
Kaaawa

Veal calves are victims of lifetime cruelty

In recent decades, cruel farming practices have been outlawed throughout Europe but, tragically, no such legal protections currently exist in the United States. Most state anti-cruelty laws exclude farm animals and, as a result, millions of innocent creatures are made to endure intolerable cruelty on factory farms.

Veal production is among the cruelest farming practices in existence today. To produce veal, baby calves are taken from their mothers and chained by the neck in small wooden crates just two feet wide. They cannot turn around, stretch their limbs, or even lie down comfortably, and they live in these crates for their entire miserable lives.

This severe confinement prevents the calves from exercising so their muscles cannot develop, which keeps their meat tender. In addition, veal calves are fed an all-liquid diet deficient in iron and fiber, designed to produce borderline anemia and the pale-colored flesh sold as veal.

As American consumers have learned about the cruelty of veal production, veal consumption has dropped significantly. But some people still don't realize that hundreds of thousands of baby calves are made to suffer intolerable cruelty every year in this industry. It is time to say no to cruelty, and that means saying no to veal.

Marie Le Boeuf
Kihei, Maui

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Can you design a quarter that represents Hawaii?? Some states have issued collectible quarters that commemorate their entry into the union. The front of the coin looks the same but the eagle on the back has been replaced by something that represents that state. For example, Georgia's quarter has a peach on it. If you could design Hawaii's quarter, what would it look like? Send your ideas and solutions by Feb. 17 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