Mayor's office wants to clear
air about speeding ticket call

I'd like to set the record straight and hopefully put to rest the doubts that some in our community mistakenly have regarding Mayor Mufi Hannemann's call to the chief of police last month following the issuance of a speeding ticket to the mayor's wife.

First, both the chief and the mayor have said there was no attempt by the mayor to use any influence or ask any special favor regarding the ticket. That's because there wasn't. Both men worked hard to get to the leadership positions they hold today, and neither would risk their achievements over something as minor and routine as a speeding citation.

Both the mayor and his wife did have some questions however about the procedures that seemed to them to be out of the ordinary in the issuance of a speeding ticket the officers used. That's what the mayor called the chief about ... to ask questions about the procedures officers use when issuing a speeding ticket. The mayor wondered whether officers when issuing a speeding ticket routinely question motorists about where they've been, what they've been doing and if they've been drinking. Especially since the officers admitted they witnessed absolutely no evidence of driving under the influence ... that is there was no swerving in and out of traffic lanes or other driving behavior normally associated with impaired driving. Besides, neither the mayor nor his wife drinks alcohol.

The chief answered the mayor's concerns. The chief said he never felt intimidated, because the mayor was not intimidating. The mayor raised some legitimate concerns. His wife paid her fine, as she intended to do all along. That would've been the end of the story had not some within the police department called reporters and wrongly accused the mayor of going to this assistant chief or that district commander to try to get the ticket fixed. Reporters learned that was not in fact the case. In fact, it is the Honolulu Police Department's policy to not comment on speeding tickets issued to private individuals.

In the end, it was the mayor who came forth and told reporters what happened and when. It was he who told reporters of his call to the chief. This was not something he had to do. He was merely a passenger in his wife's car when she was ticketed and sat idly by as the officers went about issuing their citation.

The mayor hoped to let the story go by setting the record straight, but the Star-Bulletin continues to publish letters from people who either have an axe to grind, or who are speculating wildly about what the mayor did and what his motives were. We hope this letter can finally bring the story to a close.

---

Some pedestrians should be cited, too

I am responding to our lieutenant governor's June 3 letter about the new crosswalk law. If drivers will be ticketed for not abiding by this law, what about ticketing those pedestrians who cross when the light is flashing "don't walk"?

For the law to work, pedestrians also need to do their part. How many time have I seen them crossing even when the light has already turned yellow? This law will create more frustrated drivers on the roads because now fewer vehicles will be able to make a turn on each green light.

Let's not just ticket the drivers -- ticket pedestrians, too. Keep it fair.

China has nothing to fear from U.S.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was right on target when he criticized the Chinese for increasing their military spending and trying to emulate America in that respect.

After all, China has nothing to fear from the United States, whose only interest is bringing the blessings of peace and prosperity to Iraq and any other countries we feel need our attention and help.

America is the world leader in military spending, in the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal and in selling guns, bombs and other military equipment to peace-loving nations throughout the world.

Let's keep it that way.

Taro industry needs all the help it can get

The May 25 article on activists seeking a ban on genetic modification of taro was interesting, yet disheartening -- especially so for the commercial taro growers within our state.

Genetic engineering is a safe scientific option to controlling the many plant diseases reducing taro yields, and offers a solution to these problems without the use of pesticides.

Very few approved pest-control materials are available to taro growers compared to other crops, leaving them extremely vulnerable to pests and diseases.

Genetic engineering offers the possibility of breeding a variety of taro resistant to one or perhaps all of these pests or diseases, before a more potent strain develops that could wipe out the taro industry. This could happen, and it almost did happen to the papaya industry.

It would be a shame to ban such scientific research when it can offer so much to the prolonged existence of the taro industry in Hawaii.

'People with Ears' have just about had it

A new special interest group is gathering momentum and clout in Honolulu. It might even have the ear of our new "Can Do" mayor. It's called People with Ears.

As other letter writers have noted, unnecessary noise on this island is painful and out of control. Thanks to a merciful God, I have lost some of my hearing and hope to lose more. Not even Beethoven in his later years would have accepted this situation, and neither do People with Ears, who probably outnumber Noise Lovers one hundred to one.

How much longer will the peace-loving majority tolerate the intolerable noise generated by amplified mufflers, loud music and those sacred, untouchable Harleys?

Downing memo shows it all to be a lie

It has been more than a month since the Downing Street memo was leaked. (see www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html)

This memo makes it clear that George W. Bush had decided to go to war in Iraq in 2002, and that the intelligence was being "fixed" (as in "fixing" a horse race) around that policy.

So, Bush lied. He knowingly lied. Our young men and women in uniform are dying because of that lie.

How has Congress reacted to this revelation? With surprise? With outrage? No. Congress (with a few notable exceptions) has pretty much looked at the memo with obvious casualness, which suggests that Congress was not surprised at all when proof of Bush's lying leaked out. And that means Congress has known all along that President Bush was lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Now, what does that tell you about the U.S. Congress?

And what does that tell you about the true nature of this war that has cost so many Hawaii families their loved ones?

How to write us The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (150 to 200 words). The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number. Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813