Congress should probe any voting problems

There are many indications that there has been significant voter suppression and vote manipulation on a very large scale in the 2004 and potentially in the 2008 elections. Congress should take any steps necessary to expose the truth and to get the problems corrected.

Check out the Met's performances in hi-def

In what is probably the best kept secret in town, the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD Series is playing in Honolulu at Regal Dole Cannery. Eleven operas are scheduled for Saturdays at 1 p.m., with repeats on various Wednesday evenings. The next one is “;Dr. Atomic”; this Saturday. The final performance is May 9, 2009.

These events are shown worldwide. Rave notices have come from as far away as Paris. Yet there has been virtually no public notice of this opportunity to see opera at its best. I heard about it from a cousin in North Carolina. After surfing the Web and calling Regal Theatre management at Dole Cannery, I learned the dates, performances and run times.

But when I tell people about it, they say no, that they checked the Web site and its links and could not find any listing for Honolulu. Regal has not advertised the performances. Not even a line or two in the movie ads the week of the performance.

If few people attend because no one knows, we could well lose the opportunity to attend these magnificent performances in years to come. This is the third year of the program, and the first time for Honolulu.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office now for all shows.

Matson and Horizon deserve some praise

Kudos to Matson for lowering the fuel surcharge rate so quickly, and to Horizon for following suit (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 1). I don't personally use their services, but I know most everything I buy gets here by ship and have confidence this savings will be passed on to me. The airlines blamed fuel costs for all the new wacky charges they have recently imposed. Something tells me not to hold my breath for them to rescind these outrageous added fees.

Mahalo again to Matson and Horizon!

Help the homeless, not the freeloaders

Isn't it time for us to recognize that our use of the word “;homeless”; is a misnomer? How about replacing the word with either “;helpless”; or “;freeloaders”;? This would make it easier to address the obvious related problems. At anyone's request, investigate each family or person, and provide a picture ID for those who truly qualify as helpless and treat them accordingly.

Now for the freeloaders, it's time to take some serious action. One possibility might be a big free box lunch and a couple of hundred dollars in cash, given to each of them after they had been placed on a pre-paid one-way flight to Washington, D.C.

Whatever we do, it's time for our elected representatives to take some serious action with the freeloader group. The problem has gotten completely out of hand.

Native entity wouldn't have to follow laws

The Star-Bulletin Nov. 1 edition featured the “;Whatever Happened to ...”; column with a headline “;Strict building codes dull interest in Moiliili site.”; The article revealed that the old Stadium Bowl-O-Drome site is owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the 1.89 acre property is subject to building code, sewer and other environmental restrictions, which severely limit its development possibilities.

But if the pending Akaka Bill becomes law, a native Hawaiian governing entity would be formed. The property in question would likely be absorbed into the NHGE and would be part of a “;sovereign nation”; and immune from such restrictions. As for the neighborhood, look out! No state excise tax would be required. How's that for a good business deal? What a great casino site that would be! So right there in Moiliili a separate sovereign enclave where state, city and county zoning, health, safety, fire and police protection, drug laws, homeland security laws and tax laws probably would not apply. Who gains and who loses?

Some might say the Akaka Bill does not specify any of those things. Perhaps, but the Akaka Bill creates the NHGE, which is entirely sovereign. Anything could happen.

So, when someone says to you, “;That could not happen under the Akaka Bill,”; your answer should be, “;Great, put it in the bill!”;

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