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Congress should clean its own house first

You just gotta love the news on the telly. On Thursday Congress had all these professional baseball players testifying about steroid use -- those baseball players who would actually consent to come, that is. One congressman said that if baseball didn't clean up its act, "Congress would have to do it for them."

Lord, but that is funny. Can you imagine that group in Washington cleaning up anything? Covering up, yes. But cleaning up?

Mayor rips out trees just to spite Harris

"Nice to have" vs. "need to have." That was Mufi Hannemann's mantra on the campaign trail; now it's becoming his vendetta as mayor.

I don't doubt that some of the beautification projects undertaken by former Mayor Harris might have been ill advised for a number of reasons. But Mayor Hannemann's slash-and-burn strategy for getting rid of the fingerprints Harris left all over the island is just as self-serving as the former mayor's efforts to build his legacy.

Quit harping on Harris and trim the trees

It's time for our new mayor to get done with bashing the former mayor and get on with his job of being mayor. The Waikiki tree problem is not a tree "planting" problem, it is a tree "trimming" maintenance issue.

Please trim the trees as needed. They are blocking signs and lights of importance -- not because they were planted, but because they need to be trimmed.

Mr. Mayor, while you're at it, please finish hooking up the new traffic lights on Kuhio Avenue, as the new trees are now blocking the old traffic lights, making it difficult for drivers to know when to stop. The answer is not to pull out those trees as well, just finish hooking up the new traffic lights.

Please remember the revenue that tourists bring to our economy and the revenue that local businesses bring to our economy. Beautifying and maintaining Waikiki is a very important issue for us all.

'Affordable housing' costs everyone more

Isn't it curious when our elected officials talk about "affordable housing," since one of the largest barriers to "affordable housing" is the government? In their infinite wisdom, our legislators pass laws that require developers and home builders to wait years for permits to build homes. Every month's delay raises the cost of the home to the consumer.

As part of the approval process, the developer is required to pay impact fees to build schools and parks in the project's neighborhood. This adds to the cost of the home. Never mind that many times, those impact fees collected by government are never used for the intended purpose. The developers are often required to offer up to 20 percent of their project as "affordable housing." This requirement raises the prices for the remaining units.

Now the Legislature wants to raise prices even more. Senate Bill 1897 increases the conveyance tax on a sliding scale. SB 1814 assesses additional impact fees. SB 1870 imposes general excise tax on owner-builders. House Bill 1243 changes the conveyance tax rate to an unspecified rate. All of these increases add to the cost of housing. SB 1366 increases the general excise tax to 5 percent and HB 923 allows each county to impose its own general excise tax.

With legislators continually raising our taxes and fees, housing prices go up and disposable income goes down. Affordable housing? Who is really responsible? Call your representatives and encourage them to oppose the above bills.

Walt Harvey
East Oahu Realty

Smokers, get mad! Don't take it anymore

Here we go again. The smokers of Hawaii are being bombarded with more taxes (Star-Bulletin, March 13). Why us? Just because we enjoy smoking? We know it's not good for us, but the legislators are not our parents. Enough already.

Hawaii smokers, you need to get on the bandwagon and start protesting this unfair practice. Call or write your legislators now! If Reps. Dennis Arakaki and Josh Green think Hawaii will be tobacco free in five years, they are dreaming. The black market will thrive and the state will lose revenue from cigarette sales. And what about our tourists? You think Japanese tourists will continue to come here?

Hey, smokers put up with laws banning smoking indoors. It's time for us to fight back.

Go tax someone else.

Akaka bill encourages Hawaiians' self-pity

Are there any perfect parents out there? Speak up. How many encourage their children to dwell upon injustices and misunderstandings heaped upon them by their mother, father and/or siblings? Is it common for parents to say: "Remember when I punished you for making noise when all the time it was your sister who was doing it? Please don't forget that day, keep remembering it as long as I live and long after."

Or, do they say "Count your blessings. Look forward, not backward."

Now think a bit about the proposed Akaka bill.

Then read the following quote from Forbes magazine (May 10, 2004): "'Count your blessings'" is a kindergarten-level moral insight, but nowadays we teach children to nurse their grievances instead. Why? It's perverse. Dwelling on your unluckiness is a waste of time, savoring your victimhood gets you nowhere." (David Gelernter, Drawing Life: Surviving the Unabomber)

Having done the above, please explain the mature reasoning demonstrated in the provisions of the Akaka bill.

Vote enables Big Oil to destroy wilderness

To Senators Akaka and Inouye: I haven't lived in Hawaii for a number of years now, and I may have missed something, but since I moved away, have you both defected to the Republicans?

I can't wait to see what a dramatic drop the fuel prices will take, now that you've both enabled President Bush and Vice President Cheney's Big Oil cronies to ravage -- that's right, I said ravage -- the Arctic refuge.

Or did you sell out? That's usually a term reserved for the big-money Republicans who only vote their own pocketbooks. Is that the case here?

Let's see what you do when the oil rigs show up in Honolulu Harbor.

I'm ashamed I ever voted for either one of you. And you both ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Don Kadlec
Portland, Ore.

Senators voted not to protect the aina

When faced with a hard choice to protect a pristine land, I naively thought Senators Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye would stand pono on the merits of the issue and vote to protect the aina -- a choice that most of the people of Hawaii, and the nation, appear to support. Sadly, they didn't, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was traded for the Akaka bill. They may now win the vote for that bill, but in the process destroy a great unspoiled natural legacy, and along with it one of the few remaining subsistence cultures on this planet.

In the world of Washington, is everything beautiful ultimately for sale to the highest bidder or as a trade for something else? Shame on both of you and shame on the Senate for this blatant sellout of our children's heritage.

Bruce Justin Miller
Honolulu

'Yes' to ANWR drilling, 'no' to isle vacation

In response to Hawaii's senators' undemocratic votes to permit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge without debate, but through a back-door budget amendment: Boycott Hawaii.

My family and I, as many families do in California, regularly spend our vacation money in Hawaii. That is now over.

Share your organs with others who donate

Regarding the story "St. Francis starts work to expand dialysis for Maui" (Star-Bulletin, March 10): We wouldn't need more dialysis facilities if more people were willing to donate their organs when they die. But only about 30 percent of Americans are registered organ donors. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 life-saving organs every year. More than 6,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.

There is a simple solution to the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

This will persuade more people to sign donor cards. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. About 70 percent of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven't agreed to donate their own organs when they die. People who are too lazy or selfish to register as organ donors shouldn't be eligible for transplants as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers (www.lifesharers.com). LifeSharers is a nonprofit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. LifeSharers has 2,959 members, including 34 members in Hawaii.

Public funding doesn't keep elections clean

There has been much discussion concerning a movement to allow taxpayer financing for political election campaigns for state-level candidates. At the heart of the law's issues is the utopian expectation that if its enforcers dam up every avenue for special interests to influence an election, eventually they will give up and go away. This is a ludicrous expectation.

Supporters often point to a "successful" Maine program. Testimony often features positives such as large increases in contested primaries, and more first-time candidates. They also point to more members elected "without special interest money ties."

However, there has been no change. Numerous incumbents in Maine and Arizona do often choose to run with taxpayer money in order to eliminate time spent on their own fund raising and instead form political action committees (PACS) to support few highly touted same-party challengers that might swing the majority balance. Also, many legislators drum up support among colleagues who might choose them for leadership posts by spending private money through their PACs to help other candidates win their races. That money often comes from big contributors like pharmaceutical companies and labor unions. I've assisted such campaigns in my home state and incumbents love the freedom from reporting that comes with PACs.

Unfortunately, such laws secretly perpetuate the very inequity they supposedly intend to resolve.

Certification doesn't make good teachers

There are many reasons why the retention rate for Hawaii teachers is so bad. Being one of those who left the profession after three years, I ought to know. Many of the letters in recent months have commented on those reasons, save for one: the length of time, cost and complexity of getting certified. What other profession requires you to work for free for six months after finishing all of your college-level classes (doctor, perhaps)?

Our society seems to have this "myth of certification." Someone sitting through a bunch of classes, paying a bunch of money and passing a few written tests does not make them a good teacher. And someone who is a good teacher but lacks one of those qualifications does not magically become a bad teacher. Shortening the certification process while giving principals the ability to retain, promote and raise the pay of excellent teachers (in other words, get rid of tenure) would do more to alleviate the teacher shortage than any other measures currently proposed. Unfortunately, I do not think the Legislature or the Board of Education members have the courage to propose such drastic changes.

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Bribery bill was
full of loopholes

I am outraged that the attorney general and the county prosecuting attorneys have accused me and the House of Representatives of supporting bribes ("Hawaii needs to put more teeth into its anti-bribery law," Star-Bulletin, March 8).

The prosecutor's office testified that in the last 20 years it has not investigated anyone for bribery. This is another example of sensationalizing an issue, playing to the media with catch phrases, without the justification to back their claims.

If any of the writers had been present at the hearing, they would have understood that the bill was riddled with loopholes, exemptions and other problems.

Here they are:

We should encourage our governor to attend events to represent the state. Making her responsible to pay her own way when she is invited to be a keynote speaker could have a chilling effect on the number of appearances she would make. Both Democrats and Republicans on the committee found this to be unreasonable.

We want to work with the attorney general and the county prosecutors to develop legislation that addresses bribery of public officials and other important issues.

I'm disappointed that the producers of the letter did not contact me directly to discuss the problems. Speaking through the media hurts our ability to work collaboratively on other important issues for the future.