Senators' critics can't remember oil crisis

Where were all the critics of the decision by Senators Inouye and Akaka to vote for oil drilling in Alaska during the national oil crisis of the 1970s? It was under President Nixon's administration that the OPEC oil cartel cut off oil to the United States, creating havoc in the 1970s.

The oil crunch had Hawaii drivers in four to five lanes of waiting lines at gas stations. If you blocked the crosswalk, the Honolulu Police Department would issue tickets.

The Arab oil countries tried to control the automobile driving destiny of Americans.

Those critics of Inouye and Akaka have no memory of this, probably due to not having drivers' licenses because they were too young to drive.

Terri Schiavo still fighting to stay alive

Terri Schiavo is still fighting to stay alive and those who think or say anything to the contrary either ignore the truth or want to ignore it. One has only to watch the news on television to be convinced that her life must be preserved. Her face brightens up vividly with a happy and radiant smile each time her parents visit her. That's a sure sign that her brain still functions and that she is happy to be alive, even after being confined to bed for 15 years.

We are facing a tragic case here. For their own good, her husband, her doctors and the District Court judges in Florida should humbly recognize the truth as what it really is and the federal court should order that Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted before it is too late.

We also think of Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler. Their distress is beyond measure. We earnestly pray with them.

Bush hypocritical on Schiavo case

President Bush's recent comment on the tragic Terri Schiavo case is particularly noteworthy.

"In cases like this one," he stated, "where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life."

Let's see now ... if our president had applied that same standard to our actions against Saddam Hussein and the people of Iraq, wouldn't 1,511 young American soldiers still be alive today? And what about the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi causalities that resulted as a consequence of Bush's war?

Presumption in favor of life? The sheer hypocrisy is astonishing!

Harris' projects had community support

Before Mayor Hannemann goes too far with his efforts to erase the marks Jeremy Harris left on our island I'd like to remind him of something important. The already-completed projects that you are lining up for the chopping block were not just the manifestations of your predecessor's desire to be fondly remembered.

These projects received a lot of community support through a public process in which we were told our participation had real meaning. When you exercise your power to change those projects without public input, you disrespect everyone who donated their time and energy to an effort to improve our city.

Schools must be OK, they were reinvented

I am perturbed and dismayed at the bias displayed in your March 29 headline "Hawaii schools rated worst." You have some nerve printing such an inflammatory and obviously false headline, when the Democrats in the Legislature who have served us so well over the decades "reinvented" an already excellent educational system last year. I mean, how could we possibly be dead last in the nation in educational achievement when good and honest politicians, endorsed by the teachers union no less, told us they worked hard and perfected our schools?

I suppose next you're gonna try to convince us that the Reinventing Education Act was just election-year shibai to keep incumbents in power. Have you no shame at all?