Outcry over landfill is source of amusement

The outcry over choosing Campbell Industrial Park as a dump site is amusing. In the late '90s, Animal Rights Hawaii sued Palama Meat for building a slaughterhouse across the street from the proposed dump site.

ARH argued that the huge manure pit and pesticides would stink up Kapolei, pollute beaches and make people sick. They said it was a tsunami zone, and that it would endanger the turtles.

A team of high-powered lawyers showed up in court to get the case dismissed on a constitutional technicality. The state even backed loans for Palama. Then the Earth, animals and people downwind lucked out, and Palama went bankrupt. However, HPOWER is still spewing dangerous heavy metals into the air and water, as is the oil refinery. The rendering plant stinks, and there are mountains of scrap metal.

So excuse me if I chuckle when I hear the nearby bottling company complain about the air quality, or the environmentalists complain about an endangered plant there and when Ben Lee says you can't put garbage there. They are about 20 years too late.

NBA brawl looks familiar to UH fans

I have just seen the NBA basketball debacle for about the 75th time. It doesn't get any better than this for news. I was especially fond of the segment when the players were being hustled into the exits and people were flinging food and beverages at them. Reminded me of a University of Hawaii football game here. Looks like our fans are ready for the pros.

Remove pro sports' anti-trust exemptions

The recent brawl between the NBA's Indiana Pacers' players and Michigan fans is the pinnacle of what's wrong with professional sports in America.

It is time for Congress, including our Hawaii's delegation, to remove the exemptions from anti-trust laws that professional basketball, football and baseball leagues enjoy.

If these were simply privately owned businesses, I would not say this. But they enjoy their unchallenged status primarily because local governments across the nation subsidize them with multimillion-dollar stadiums.

Basketball is the prime example. The NBA has set the tone for, and now defines, the game of basketball. It is no longer basketball, it a cross between field events and professional wrestling, and this permeates the sport down to the high school and neighborhood levels.

In what used to be a relatively noncontact sport, youths are now regularly injured playing and practicing. It is a shame that should be corrected.

What we need is the RBA (Real Basketball Association) to promote sportsmanship, athleticism and basketball talent. It's all I would watch.

Christmas beats Thanksgiving in stores

Merry Fourth of July and Happy Christmas!

Well, it doesn't sound exactly right, but if the merchants and Madison Avenue types have their way I figure we will be seeing Santa mounted up there on the wall at Ala Moana along about the Fourth of July.

Yes, he's been up there about two or three weeks now. There was one store at Ala Moana that had a little Christmas tree up in August. Even Foodland had ornaments out weeks ago.

I remember when it was considered tacky to start putting out cards and ornaments before Thanksgiving. Most of that stuff has been out for weeks now in the majority of the stores. The city even got started with the decorations at Honolulu Hale before Thanksgiving.

All of this has nothing to do with seasons, or family, or tradition. It has to do with greed. I intend to shop as little as possible in stores that are so disrepectful of one of our most significant holidays.

Should old flu vaccine be used anyway?

There has been a concern about the use of old flu vaccine to compensate for the shortage. Proponents of using old flu vaccine argue that at least it will provide some protection. Theoretically it may seem to be a reasonable option; however, there are several problems with this course of action.

First, to the best of my knowledge, there is no data available for the safety and efficacy of last year's flu vaccine that has passed its expiration date. Second, it does not guarantee protection against new and usually more virulent strains of influenza virus. Until we resolve these issues, old vaccine should not be used and efforts should be made to immunize the maximum number of people who are at high risk with available amounts of this year's new flu vaccine.

Also there should be better public awareness, especially through the media, about the symptoms of flu so that people can be diagnosed early and treated in time.

Mail-in voting ensures honest election

In America, every vote should be counted correctly. Following the Nov. 2 general election, we have learned that there were numerous incidents of e-voting machines malfunctioning and/or being tampered with. Congress is being asked to investigate. In the name of preserving democracy itself, every citizen in every state should urge their state legislators to pass state laws to vote as they do in Oregon -- by mail.

Everyone in Oregon votes by mail-in ballot filled out in ink. Therefore, there is a paper ballot in case a recount is necessary. All 50 states already have absentee ballots, so why not just expand it to 100 percent?

This method saves millions of dollars because no precincts are set up and far fewer optical scanners need to be purchased. There are no long lines at the precincts because there are no precinct polling places. You simply drop your ballot in the mail. To see how simple it is to vote in Oregon, please go to Google and enter the key words: "voting Oregon" and read the articles that come up. Official state and county Web sites explain everything.

If it is a close race, or if the optical scanner breaks down or malfunctions, all ballots would be available for a recount. This is why it is so important to have a paper ballot.