Rail opponents will be stuck in the gridlock

The opponents of rail have a passion for writing letters claiming the train will not solve our traffic gridlock problem.

Well, it's time for this transit supporter to tell them they're right.

There is no cure-all for any problem, especially traffic in a city growing as fast as ours. The problem rail will solve, however, is traffic gridlock for those with the sense to ride.

Thousands of cars may be stuck at a freeway merge or heavily used exit, hundreds may be hitting every red light and three might be fighting for the same parking spot. But one person on a train will whiz by in record time and get a refreshing, healthful walk on the way to the office.

So if these folks choose not to believe in rail, they will prove themselves right by remaining in their cars and in the gridlock.

Those of us who look forward to the alternative will find the solution we've been waiting for.

Don't ban booze, oust misbehaving fans

Regarding the news story "UH football and beer don't mix, Aiona says" (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 4):

It is clear the lieutenant governor and the University of Hawaii are not against alcohol sales at UH sporting events because they are not proposing a ban at the other UH events. They want to stop the disruptive behavior at football games.

Banning alcohol at UH home football games is not the answer to the problem of disruptive behavior. Removing and banning those people who are being disruptive is the solution.

Every person who walks through those gates is responsible for their actions. Every person should also be aware of the consequences of those actions. These consequences should be in place at all UH events, not just football:

Banning alcohol is unfair to the responsible UH fan because of a few irresponsible ones. Besides, I don't think there will be many people attending home football games because they are pricing us right out of the stadium.

More mo-ped road rules are unnecessary

I can't believe the Star-Bulletin is advocating more regulation for mo-peds after eight people have died in one year (Editorial, Aug. 2). Eight people out of 800,000-plus people who live in the island. More people are killed as pedestrians or car drivers than mo-ped riders. Let's make cars illegal! Why not advocate that?

The city has always been against mo-peds since they were introduced in Hawaii more than 30 years ago. Mo-peds were back then considered bicycles. Mo-peds were regulated to traveling on the side of the road. Mo-ped parking has been curbed -- it used to be that you could park a moped at a bicycle rack. Now it's illegal.

Moped modification has always occurred. Now we want the police and government to regulate mo-peds further. It sounds like more government bureaucracy. With gas prices on the increase shouldn't we be encouraging alternative forms of transportation? Wouldn't slowing down mo-peds make them more dangerous to ride in the city? Isn't a mo-ped rider safer when he can keep up with traffic?

The vast majority of mo-ped riders are law-abiding citizens. The majority of modified mo-ped riders are teenagers, so why not crack down on the younger riders that cause the problems rather than a broader law that makes every mo-ped rider pay for a few people's mistakes?

Military parent's column made sense

The Aug. 9 editorial page column "Gathering Place" by Leighton Loo ("Military parents struggle between pride and fear") is the most perceptive and cogent discussion about Iraq, terrorism, and our military that I have read to date.

Thank you for printing it.

It would be a service to all the military personnel and their families if this article could receive nationwide distribution.

Let's cheer Hawaiian independence

I seem to have been spoiled by the ovations when nations fight for their independence. We cheered the Jews when they created Israel in 1948. We congratulated Bangladesh when they seceded from Pakistan in 1971. We encouraged the Hungarians in 1956 to fight for their freedom and independence. We were jubilant when the Soviet Union broke up and the satellite states regained their independence.

But where are the cheers for the Hui Pu movement that wants 100 percent autonomy in governing a sovereign Hawaiian nation?

I am not a kanaka maoli, but I respect their nation, their goal and their striving for independence, and I fully support it. The Hawaiians should not be less important to us than the Jews, Hungarians and Estonians. It is their right to seek independence, to make Hawaiian culture flourish in Hawaii, and to make Hawaiian the only official language of Hawaii, if they like. So fly the banner of the Hawaiian kingdom proudly! You'll see how many of us will support you.

And those who are worried about it? No need. The overwhelming majority of Russians who had lived in the former Soviet republics did not to return to their homeland, and they are happy they stayed. The same is bound to happen here.

John Doe's action a form of thievery

There is something missing in the federal court's ruling against Kamehameha Schools. The school is a manifestation of a private trust, a trust expressing the private wishes and desires to take care of a clear set of beneficiaries whose dire straits, at the time of the trust's writing, could have spelled a near genocide of the race.

Now a John Doe demands to become a beneficiary? His circumstances have no relevance to the beneficiaries' circumstances either historically or at present.

Aren't John Doe's actions an almost perverse form of carpetbagging? Or more starkly, a form of thievery?

The abstract application of discrimination laws by this court reflect a crude insensitivity to the unique circumstances surrounding this trust. This kind of overreaching of the discrimination laws' intent (John Doe is not a member of an oppressed class), like affirmative action quotas, is a single factor that can lead to severe social divisions and Balkanization of this country.

The violent riots in Watts during the 1960s were an outcome of this kind of severe dislocation of society, and this court's decision blatantly ignores the social injury created by its myopia.

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