Brainstorm! Challenge

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Sing-along couple ruined Raitt concert

After a hard month of saving every penny so I could take my wife to the Waikiki Shell to hear Robert Cray and Bonnie Raitt, we finally made it to our seats, settled in and looked forward to an evening with two of our favorite performers. This was going to be worth all of the long hours and overtime.

No sooner had Bonnie started to strum her guitar when the couple behind us had to ruin the mood by deciding that everyone within earshot had paid to hear them sing the lyrics instead. Yes, we would rather hear them and their American Idol wannabe attempt at singing than listen to the guitar virtuoso and nightingale voice of Bonnie Raitt. Please! They didn't even have the courtesy and respect to listen to the performers do their thing.

Now, just because your drunk friends at the Karaoke Hut told you P. Diddy would be ringing you up at any moment to ask you to sign a multimillion-dollar contract ... don't believe it. And if my wife and I had wanted to hear your "singing" instead of Raitt's, we'd have met you in the parking lot of Zippy's and listened for free.

Finally, these posers had the audacity to announce that they were going to sing every lyric to every song because it was their "right" to do so.

Can anyone really be that selfish, self-centered, egotistical and clueless to actually do that and ruin everyone else's evening? You bet! Unfortunately, they were sitting right behind us.

Doug Olivares
Kapahulu

Obesity threatens too many isle children

We are facing a public health crisis with regard to childhood obesity in Hawaii. Unfortunately, our public and private schools have contributed to this problem. The high-calorie, high-fat, sugar-loaded foods and beverages that are served, promoted and sold in schools undermine our children's health. Childhood obesity leads to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that if current obesity and diabetes rates continue, parents of this generation will be outliving their children.

Hawaii must set nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold or served out of school vending machines, cafeterias, fund-raisers and stores. It is sad to see our schools sell junk foods in an effort to raise funds at the expense of our children's health.

Soft drinks, which are nothing more that liquid candy, contribute to obesity and harm the health of our kids. We should replace junk foods with nutritious options that build healthy bodies and minds.

Support SB2147 and HB1891, which establish nutrition standards for Hawaii's schools to prevent childhood obesity and contribute to the wellness of our kids.

John Westerdahl
Director Wellness & Lifestyle Medicine
Castle Medical Center

'Death with Dignity' bill deserves hearing

I am a disappointed Republican. One of the platforms of the Republican Party for decades has been to get the U.S. government off its citizens' backs in the area of personal freedom.

Two years ago three Senate Republicans -- Sam Slom, Fred Hemmings and Bob Hogue -- torpedoed the House bill that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide. Last year at a Republican Party function, Hogue emphatically informed me that he hoped we would never see that bill surface again.

It has. This year SB391 is alive and kicking and waiting only for Sen. Roz Baker to conduct the hearing. I've heard that the majority of Baker's constituents are in favor of the bill, yet she continues to hold it without a hearing. Why would that be? Her personal beliefs? Or are we too close to election time?

Don Neill
Kailua

Senator's own remark showed 'insensitivity'

You know, it doesn't surprise me that Sen. Kalani English would make such a comment of Governor Lingle being of Jewish descent going into a Muslim country and how that was such an "insensitive" act on her behalf (Star-Bulletin, Feb. 11). Well, does English ever wonder what state she is representing -- the people, the military families and the nation that the people so dearly love?

I think English lacks the "sensitivity"to know that being an American and an elected state official means sacrifice, honor and duty, just as the military men and women in Iraq and the families they left behind are doing. If only English could take the place of a soldier and be apart from his family for six months or a year, I'm sure all the sensitive issues he's come to acquire would be sided with the rest of the American people.

God bless America and Lingle for supporting our soldiers and putting aside her "insensitivity" of being a Jew going into a Muslim country.

Margret Taugavau
University of Minnesota
Formerly of Ewa Beach

Slow down, that's not a racist bumper sticker

One of the virtues of your online edition comes from the care your webmaster shows in referencing the original article that inspired a reader to write. The letter by Frank W. Roberts in your Feb. 1 issue provides an example of how useful this is. Roberts took issue with Alicia Kaneshiro, whose own letter of Jan. 23 called upon Hawaii drivers to slow down and not run red lights. Roberts seized one thought in her letter and then tangentially worked his way toward calling it "thinly veiled racism."

Lacking the link to Kaneshiro's letter, I might have given Roberts' response more weight than it merits. To the point, Kaneshiro says nothing at all about race or culture when she says she loves the bumper sticker "Slow Down -- This Ain't the Mainland." What culture is being knocked? Which race?

It's not derogatory, it's funny. And to this former mainlander, it's not only funny, it's apropos. One day I clocked three people zooming through red lights and one squad car making four lane changes in a row without signaling. No sirens or lights on, mind you, just toodling along -- and this, after the officer pulled what we in Minnesota used to call "a California stop."

When the police don't care to obey traffic rules, it's tough to persuade the rest of us that we should, bumper stickers or no.

Should Roberts hail from California, then let me apologize for the unintended slur.

Steve Wagenseller
Honolulu

Hawaii should not tolerate vicious dogs

Please do something about the vicious dogs all over the islands. My husband is from Hawaii so we visit often, mainly on the North Shore where my brother lives. I cannot believe all the vicious dogs everywhere. Whenever we try to take a walk, dogs are snarling and snapping at us. What is the problem??

As we all saw recently ("Boy hospitalized after dog attack," Star-Bulletin, Feb. 1), the neighborhoods aren't even safe places for children to play -- and that was only one of many attacks that have taken place.

Leash laws must be enforced and severe penalties levied. Many counties have outlawed vicious dogs and pit bulls. Don't wait until another child is fighting for his life before taking care of this terrible problem.

Edith Hutchinson
Mobile, Ala.

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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