Rally will support ferry’s return to Kauai

Everywhere we go people people tell us they want the immediate return of the Superferry, no ifs, ands or buts.

We are organizing a peaceful demonstration and potluck at 1:15 p.m. Sept. 21 at Kapaa Beach Park behind the Kapaa neighborhood center.

We are asking everyone who cherishes the American dream of free enterprise, and is against singling out the Superferry on political and environmental issues, to please come and be counted. We need to show unity, tell your friends and relatives to come and be counted.

Please make signs that are positive about the Superferry.

There will be a petition to sign to bring back the Superferry. We hope to collect more than 6,000 signatures and present it to the mayor and governor in hopes of a ballot initiative this coming election.

Focus on need, not cost of Con Con

The issue of how much it would cost to convene a Constitutional Convention in Hawaii has received the bulk of the attention in media, but what's often left out is how much we need it.

I've been looking at different schools for my daughter and I have major concerns about the quality of the public education system here. Surely, I'm not the only one.

By holding a Constitutional Convention, we can do what those in government have failed to do: fix our broken education system. For once, Hawaii's residents have the opportunity to set the agenda, and it's certainly not going to be based on political partisanship. It will be focused on the real problems we face, like education, the economy and crime.

It's our Constitutional Convention and we deserve a more robust discussion on the issues that can be addressed. We have had enough about the cost. As the Constitutional Convention Cost Task Force showed, it will likely be under $10 million. If that is what it costs to improve our schools for my daughter and other families in Hawaii, so be it.

Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona has done an admirable job of educating voters on a Constitutional Convention. We need other leaders to step up to the plate.

We need them to give us a chance to make the changes we want for our state and our families.

GOP keeps Palin’s family in foreground

There seem to be a lot of people talking about Sarah Palin's family and they're all news media and Republicans! Barack Obama said clearly that Palin's family is off limits. The right wing is clearly trying to make an issue where there isn't one. The right-wing talk shows and pundits keep quoting anchormen and other reporters and then attribute the quotes to Obama's campaign - this is directly out of the Karl Rove strategy book.

The only people making an issue about Sarah Palin's family are the GOP! The Democrats seem content to judge her on her words, actions and accomplishments.

I don't think we need a VP who believes that the war in Iraq is "God's task" or that there should be no choice on abortion even in cases of incest or rape. She also favors teaching only creationism and not evolution in public schools.

These are her views, they are extremist, and when they become more widely known, voters can make up their own minds.

We can greatly reduce our water consumption

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is asking us to reduce water consumption by 10 percent until supply catches up. What a joke. We could reduce by 30 or 40 percent without excessive inconvenience, and not only for a while. Indefinitely.

We Americans are outrageously irresponsible and wasteful. And not only with water. Everything. Food. Clothing. Electricity. When John Doe wastes resources, he's wasting everybody' resources. He's destroying more than his share of our assets. I really don't expect John to change his wasteful way of life, but maybe it will help just a little bit if somebody would say something about it.

Our population is growing. Supplies are not limitless. Everything costs money.

Proposal would add awareness of rights

Health care providers should be able to deliver care in accordance with their conscience ("Congress must stop erosion of our civil liberty," Our Opinion, August 25). During the past three decades, Congress has passed several statutes protecting that right. However, awareness of those laws leaves much to be desired, which is why we proposed this regulation.

I can personally attest to the need for greater awareness. During my years of medical training and practice as an OB-GYN, not once did anyone reference my rights under these laws. Similar stories are being posted on HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt's blog (http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/my_weblog/2008/08/physician-con-2.html).

At the same time, the proposed regulation in no way restricts health care providers from performing any legal service or procedure, including abortion. In fact, it will improve the quality of care as physicians carry out their duties to their full potential and in concert with their beliefs.

Surrendering one's conscience shouldn't be a prerequisite to receiving a medical degree. This regulation is intended to ensure that it's not and that health care providers and their employers understand and comply with those rights.