Let's all pitch in and do PR for Hawaii

National Public Radio discussed Ireland's bed and breakfast success, bringing up the way the Irish are so hospitable and welcoming. I'm sure we can do as well in promoting Hawaii's hospitality. I'm all for it.

I engage in some one-on-one PR myself every time I make a call to the mainland (mutual funds, business and official calls, etc). I take the opportunity at the end of my call to ask 1. You see where I'm calling from, 2. Have you been to Hawaii yet? When, how was it? Oh, it's time again, right? or 3. No? Well, when the weather gets cold ... and bring a friend!

It's usually a very positive exchange and of course most want to come as soon as finances permit. In these downturn tourist times, we need to do all we can.

Teach Hawaiian in every school

Hawaiian is an official language of the state of Hawaii. And while the Hawaiian language was once on the verge of extinction, it has grown in speakers and popularity for many years now. Yet the Hawaiian language is not taught in many of Hawaii's high schools today. As a requirement for graduation, students need to take a "foreign language." Most schools offer classes in languages such as French and Spanish. But before any school offers a French class, it should offer a Hawaiian class. Before any school offers a Spanish class, it should offer a Hawaiian class.

Many students in the public schools would like to learn the Hawaiian language, but do not have the opportunity to do so. Yet this is Hawaii. Why would we not have Hawaiian language classes available in every high school? This would be much more valuable to the children and the people of Hawaii than French and Spanish. Not only would this help to preserve and perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and instill pride in the children taking the language, but it would also be great for those visiting Hawaii to be able to hear the Hawaiian language once again.

The Hawaiian language should be taught in every high school. It is the right thing to do.

Elected leaders must fix the economy

Our economy is in dire straits and all we can do is complain about the rising gas prices and rising food prices. We, the common citizens, can't fix the situation. We elected our representatives to Congress and the president, who are capable (I hope) of doing something about our problems. I haven't heard anything from Washington, D.C., to indicate something is being done to remedy our sad economic situation.

Hawaii should declare a statewide drought

Radical weather change due to global warming is here and all we do is complain that gas is over $4 a gallon! Big deal - in Germany they pay $8 to $10 a gallon! Twisters in Colorado, huge Midwest flood, world's biggest corn and soybean crop gone! Homes wash away! Hong Kong flooding is not even reported by most U.S. papers (read about it in a European paper).

New York City and the rest of the East Coast is roasting in more than 100 degrees in June. California declares a statewide drought. When will Hawaii declare a statewide drought? Are we afraid to upset tourists?

Hawaii rainfall is 11 percent of normal levels and 99 percent of the state is abnormally dry. I see daily water waste, sprinklers going off all over to keep grass green. In North Carolina, wildfires triggered a state emergency. A friend of mine who lives there has told me every year for the last 15 years it's been getting hotter and hotter, earlier and earlier. Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" explains severe weather change is a result of global warming and the world seems to care little.

Let's start conserving our water today by declaring a statewide drought and bike or use the bus whenever possible.

What the heck, take away all their benefits

Sen. John McCain's opposition to the proposed G.I. Bill extending additional education privileges to veterans makes good sense.

With America now involved in two wars, with another war pending, and since we're now scraping the bottom of the barrel in search of recruits, it's important to follow Sen. McCain's lead in order to encourage re-enlistments.

In fact, it's time we started to withdraw more and more perks for veterans in line with McCain's efforts to keep members of the armed forces from leaving the service.

Windfall profits tax is just socialism

The recent activity in Congress concerning a "windfall profits tax" on the oil companies reeks of socialism. Private enterprise, human ingenuity, hard work and the profit motive are the factors that drive the American economy. We do not have communism in the United States. Communism lost in the battle of ideologies of the Cold War. The oil companies already pay, depending on which country they are doing business in, almost 60 percent of their operating income to various taxing authorities. As the late George Harrison of the Beatles said in his song "Taxman," "there's one for you, nineteen for me," referring to how he was in the 95 percent tax bracket in Great Britain when he wrote the song back in the 1960s.

With universal health care, universal college education, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, all the payroll expense of all the government employees, and all the pensions and Social Security the government is paying out each year, I do not think it is economically feasible to start launching grandiose government socialist plans for everyone without strangling many taxpayers and having them paying $19 to the taxman for every $20 they earn. What is the point in working, if the government always spends our money for us?