Ethanol production won't benefit Hawaii

I disagree with Governor Lingle's adviser that ethanol will benefit Hawaii's citizens. A decade of lobbying already confirmed that ethanol is not economically viable or a good idea.

A government-enforced market for ethanol may rescue a few Hawaii investors who made a large bad bet, but it will also cut the legs from under more promising alternatives. If government mandates give ethanol an artificial advantage, no better alternative can raise private capital for development.

Gasoline cannot be "saved" like water. A gallon of gas forgone by a U.S. citizen will not be there later. Another country, such as China, will buy it and use its energy advantage to compete with U.S. businesses forced to use ethanol.

Shame on a Republican governor for undercutting the free market. As the falling price of used SUVs now attests, the free market works well.

Gay marriage fades against weighty issues

James Roller's comment on a poll showing Rep. Ed Case leading challenger Mike Gabbard (Letters, Aug. 10) shows Gabbard to be a one-issue candidate.

Same-sex marriage is a trivial issue in the face of all the problems facing the nation in education, budget deficits, wars, health funding, security and environmental pollution. Even the U.S. Senate could not muster enough votes to proceed to a vote on the marriage issue, with Democrats and Republicans alike unwilling to waste their time while so many greater issues are before them.

Case has served Hawaii with strength and honor. He serves on the House Committee on Small Business, Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the Congressional Caucus to Control and Fight Methamphetamine.

He has visited Iraq. He has brought money to Hawaii to fight drugs, upgrade harbors and water projects, improve roads and protect endangered lands. Case has a proven record on a broad range of issues. He deserves to be re-elected.

Iraqi soccer team isn't worth cost of war

John L. Werrill is thrilled that Iraqi citizens participated in the Olympics and that Iraq's soccer team beat Portugal (Letters, Aug. 22). But does that validate the war in Iraq?

I know of 958 dead American soldiers whose lives were not worth the price of admission to some game.

Many worked hard to get funding for plant

I'm responding to an Aug. 27 letter written by Sen. Fred Hemmings. In relation to the Waimanalo Waste Water Treatment Plant appropriation, Hemmings is focusing on who should get credit. The fact is that the entire community has been working on this issue for more than 10 years. We all worked very hard to ensure that this money made it through the Legislature this year. We all did our part to get the job done. Let's move on.

We have other problems in our community. We should focus on permanently fixing the dangerous curve near Olomana golf course, tackling the horrible traffic problem commuters face every morning and afternoon, timely fixing of the Pali Highway and other roads and ensuring that we have enough police officers patrolling our streets.

Let's not focus on the past. Let's spend our time fixing our problems now and in the future.

Monkeys are suffering at Blue Tropix club

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state Agriculture Department and the Hawaiian Humane Society quibble about which agency is responsible for the welfare of the three squirrel monkeys imprisoned at the Blue Tropix Nightclub, the animals are suffering (Kokua Line, Aug. 22).

I recently saw the monkeys and, contrary to what club co-owner Darren Tsuchiya says, the monkeys are not in "perfect health, well fed, happy."

The monkeys were totally freaked out. The females huddled tightly together with their heads tucked forward into their bodies, tails over their heads, as if trying to withdraw from the world. One was very skinny, and looked sick and frail. The male was agitated, pacing the length of the glass display, stopping in the corners to press the glass as if testing it for escape, jerking and twirling his head around nervously.

Tsuchiya says the environment is "no different from a zoo." The Blue Tropix environment is a cheesy diorama with a couple of feet of painted blue "sky" above fake "rocks" that attach to the back of the enclosure, offering nowhere to hide. Lurid lighting and dead branches with not one bit of greenery completes the surreal picture. Does a zoo have music pounding so loud you can't hear the person next to you?

If this is a healthy habitat, why not invite the media, the public and animal experts to videotape the monkeys during a weekend night at the club for the duration they are displayed (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.)? Then let the public and experts decide if this is abuse or not. I contend it is.

Does the state have power over a church?

The Aug. 17 editorial, "Congregations should scrutinize church finances," contained an error. The lawsuit filed against The Way of Salvation Church is in state, not federal court.

Instead of investigating TWSC, which is not a charitable trust, the attorney general should be investigating the Apostolic Faith Church which is a charitable trust. Under Hawaii law, the AG has clear jurisdiction over a charitable trust, but not necessarily over a nonprofit church like TWSC.

Why is this selective investigation of TWSC going on, especially when the AG's authority to do so is in doubt?

Knives kill fruits and vegetables, too

Bravo to Jay Ambrose ("Shouldn't we ban those deadly butcher knives, too," Star Bulletin, Aug. 24) for resurrecting the literary device of travesty -- comic treatment of deadly serious topics -- in calling for a ban on butcher knives.

George Bush's waffling on the assault weapons ban needs more arguments like this one to end this absurdity.

To quote Ambrose, butcher knives and assault weapons share a single unimportant feature -- they "look more frightening" than guns and cutlery that are equally dangerous.

Just the other day, I noticed that my Colt revolver was not powerful enough to blow the top off my pineapple, and I longed for the return of assault weapons to compensate for my poor aim. And, by the way, those paper bulls-eyes on human forms at the target range lead enthusiasts to the mistaken conclusion that the sole purpose of guns is to practice killing and threatening people.

We need practice targets to be in the shape of fruits and vegetables, because it is not assault weapons that kill produce or people, it is the people who won't admit these guns' sole purpose. Don't remain in denial. Remember, "assault" is not a cooking spice.