Save ‘hero’ label
for those deserve it

The term "hero" is, and should be, an important word. All too often it is used to sensationalize an otherwise boring account of an action, or an attempt to honor someone who died in an attempt to do something. It is a word that should not be used like this. It should be carefully used to respect those who really earn the title.

I was the resident who got "first water" on the apartment fire at 1040 Kinau St. the other day ("Neighbors aid firefighting effort," Star-Bulletin, April 19).

It has been batted around in the news media, calling me a "hero." I am not!

I am a trained firefighter who just did what I could at what was really a little fire.

To the layman it might have looked bad, but when you know what you are doing, it was really no big thing. My life was never in danger, and I had no doubt that it could be handled.

The real heroes are the firefighters behind the scenes who do save lives without any of the glory or recognition. It is the fire investigator who finds the cause of the fires so future fires can be prevented. It is the Public Ed instructor who will never know how many fires DIDN'T happen because of what he did. It is the fire inspector who has the building management fix the trash chute's self-closing doors so fire won't spread. It is the fire chief who, under ever-increasing financial pressure, is able to convince the politicians that money is needed not just to maintain but to improve the protection of the city.

And then there are those like the Federal Fire Department who saw the need, stepped up and said, "We can help," and helped their brother firefighters halfway around the world in Thailand. There are people being saved who they will never know or meet!

These are just a few examples of where the term "hero" should be used correctly. No glory, no thrill of the fight, no news cameras, just dedication to saving lives.

Don't get me wrong, the front-line firefighters are still the bread and butter of the "Hero Club." No lives are saved at greater risk than by those who "put the wet stuff on the red stuff," as we like to say.

Just remember the Hero Club should be for very special members only. And the next time you are cheering the firefighters going into a fire or rescue and patting them on the back as they come out, remember to save a special thanks for the last one out. He or she is my candidate for the newest member of the Hero Club.

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Finally, it looks like Honolulu will have rail

Usually Democrats annoy me, but I'm glad to see that they worked together to approve the first step toward building a much-needed, world-class, rail system in Honolulu. Sure, there are many other ways to fund such a project, such as selling development rights, but all I care about is the end result. Honolulu will have rail! I'm very excited and confident that the City Council will approve the measure, for I believe Honolulu has the greatest Council members and mayor in the state.

Raising excise tax is a shameful act

The general excise tax, which increases the cost of milk and bread and other food for Hawaii's overburdened families, and is assessed over and over again throughout production and distribution, is a mean and insidious tax. To even consider raising it is unconscionable. Shame on our legislators.

Better options than hiking excise tax

Our political leaders need to be more open-minded and a lot more creative when it comes to raising funds to pay for services.

First, rather than raising the GET tax, how about implementing a luxury tax? Those who can afford million-dollar homes can certainly afford a 1 percent tax vs. those of us who are struggling just to pay $1,500 per month in rent or mortgage.

Second, why won't they consider starting a state lottery? A lottery would raise a large amount of money for the state. I come from the New England area, and the lottery system there generates much-needed money for the schools. I know that they're afraid people would become gambling addicts, but why not let the people decide?

We need more people to start thinking outside the box. Raising taxes on the low-income and middle-class is not the answer -- it will only cause more homelessness, crime and other problems.

Taxpayers are left paying for Harris' folly

Thank you for publishing the April 29 letter from The Outdoor Circle, and to Mary Steiner for writing it.

However, readers should be reminded that the interests of The Outdoor Circle are considerably different than those of taxpayers, who must cough up $600 per tree per annum to prevent falling fronds and coconuts from damaging lives and/or property on our streets and sidewalks!

It would have been much more appropriate for the editors to celebrate Arbor Day by publishing a list of The Outdoor Circle members (and all those crybabies who wrote letters to the editor without first investigating Mayor Harris' scam) who adopted one of those high-risk, high-maintenance coconut trees Mayor Harris planted along our streets!

Harris replaced a honeysuckle fence with 33 coconut trees on the Ala Moana traffic island between Kalia and Kalakaua, which costs taxpayers about $20,000 per annum to maintain and insure against loss of lives and property. Just about everyone who drives that route would prefer that $20,000 was spent repairing potholes -- and to replace the fence, which prevented people and dogs from running across the street!

Social Security is not safe with Bush

During the 1970s investors put a bundle in George W. Bush's oil company in Midland, Texas, and when oil prices dropped, Bush bowed out with more than $800,000 while his investors took a $2 million bath.

In 1989 Bush invested just over $600,000 in a syndicate that bought the Texas Rangers baseball team. Within nine years the syndicate sold the team for more than $14 million, and there are reports that Bush walked away with $12 million of that. Meanwhile the residents of Arlington, who Bush convinced to build the stadium for the team, were left holding the bag, have to paying off the stadium's $150 million price tag.

As governor of Texas, Bush created a budget surplus because he didn't fund programs even though money was appropriated, fabricating an illusion of his fiscal responsibility, so he could look good while campaigning for president of the United States. As Bush left office in 2000, more than $600 million in deficits awaited the new governor, which turned out to be a pittance compared to more than $400 billion in deficits Bush has generated as president.

With that track record, why is anybody listening to Bush concerning Social Security?

Schools should stress Filipino languages

As principal author of the "Hawaii Youth at Risk" report (Hawaii Mentoring Inventory, 1999), let me emphasize a plea by University of Hawaii professor Teresita V. Ramos. In the April 16 issue of Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, Ramos writes about the need to have more classes in Filipino languages (Tagalog and Ilocano) in the public schools.

"Awareness is not enough," Ramos insists. "Advocacy is needed where ... we are depriving our children of their heritage language on the pretext by (the Department of Education) that there is no demand. The full Philippine languages classes at the university and some community colleges attest to the fact that there is a big demand."

According to two perceptive UH students in my Political Inquiry and Analysis class in 2000, priority should be given to reducing dropout rates among immigrant male Filipino students. Won't heritage language classes contribute to higher levels of student retention and graduation? That would benefit the entire community!

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