People aren't fooled by Hanabusa's game

Politics as usual continued with Senate President Colleen Hanabusa's comments in her guest column yesterday ("Disagreement about bills doesn't make them 'flawed'") Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona publicly reached out to legislative leaders in an effort to work collaboratively, across party lines, so legislation wouldn't get hung up on technical flaws. However, when given the opportunity to work with the administration, Hanabusa showed her true partisan colors by lashing out against the lieutenant governor in her column, trying to divert public attention away from any substantive discussion on the issues.

Whom does she think she's fooling? We need leaders who stand up for the public interest, not for political gain.

Honolulu doesn't need fancy crosswalk lights

Gov. Linda Lingle is correct in not allowing the funding to replace the old-style walk/don't walk traffic signal with the newer type that has a timed count-down display. We don't need these fancy lights. All we need to do is to adjust the duration of the existing walk lights a little longer to accommodate the elderly. And if someone is so slow and frail that they cannot make the light in time, they should not be walking, but rather riding in a wheelchair no matter how independent they want to be.

The main improvement we pedestrians need is a fresh coat of paint on the crosswalk. Stick to the basics.

Whoever will get hurt should be careful

In response to Ken Chang's letter "Fault lies with drivers, drivers and drivers" (Star-Bulletin, July 10): You can't fault the driver for every pedestrian being hit. Like Chang says, there are careless and stupid pedestrians out there who don't look before crossing the road because they feel they have the right of way so being cautious is out of the question. Too many pedestrians crossing when they're not supposed to is what is causing all these accidents.

Drivers are not God; they don't see everything. The bottom line is, who is going to hurt more when hit? The driver in a car or the pedestrian? That's the one who should be more careful. Not who has the right of way.

Men should stop using pregnancy as weapon

While the "Safe Haven" legislation provides an option for the few women in Hawaii who do not have familial support through the hanai system, it does not address the main issue: male responsibility for wrongful conception. This bill provides just one more excuse for male partners to deny responsibility for the economic, emotional and physical consequences to women in unwanted pregnancy. "If you don't want the baby, just drop it off -- it's not my problem."

This is not just an issue for teenagers. Men even in their fifties exercise power and dominance in unwanted pregnancy with younger women with full legal immunity, regardless of social status. Women suffer economic harm, changes to their bodies and the emotional consequences of abandoning their children.

It is time to pass legislation holding male partners responsible in unwanted pregnancy. When we finally address the real source of this social problem, wrongful insemination, men will think twice about unprotected sex, which will decrease not only the percentage of unwanted babies, but also transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

So it's all about politics -- gee, really?

Excuse me? Republicans and Democrats are calling the override session all about politics ("Lingle clashes with Democrats over 'flawed' bills," July 11). If I wasn't so busy laughing, I could send a really, really long letter to the editor.

Hirono has a duty to start impeachment

Regarding impeachment, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono wrote to me, "What is required to start such proceedings are enough votes in the House. The House is relatively evenly divided and the votes are not there. "

It is Hirono that is the problem. When the executive engages in fraud, war crimes, unilateral breaking of international treaties, torture and spying on citizens, she has the duty to impeach. It has nothing to do with the votes. You start the process, then you investigate and then you fight for the votes, as a leader should do.

The Democrats, led by the coward House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have now shown themselves to be completely incapable of governing by this craven posturing exactly as Hirono is doing. This is why they are even lower in the polls than President Bush.

You have to fight for the high ground or else you will lose the support of the people. Although I voted for Hirono, if she doesn't immediately start efforts to impeach both Bush and Vice President Cheney, I will find myself actively supporting, with both time and money, a candidate who will have the courage to do the DUTY required of a congressional representative.