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POSTED: Sunday, November 09, 2008

Con Con was missed opportunity

In the Nov. 6 ad from the Hawaii Alliance thanking people for voting against a Constitutional Convention, it states, “;Our state Constitution is precious to all of us.”;

Really? Then why are the basic principles written by our founding fathers being ignored? “;Together, we will continue to raise our voices and make a positive difference in our island home.”; Let's see what these unions and state legislators who wanted “;change”; do for the future. It is ironic how the majority that claimed to want change didn't vote for a Con Con, which would bring change and engage the community.

Cut the administration, not school days

It is amazing to me that the Department of Education's quick answer to cutting spending is to reduce teaching days (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 7). Superintendent Pat Hamamoto should cut the massive administration she has amassed at the DOE. Students are having a hard time meeting standards with the number of days they now go to school. There are, in my estimation, too many teacher administrators, too few teachers in the classroom and too few teaching days in the school year.

Don't play victim card, Kahana residents

As a native ... he Hawaii au ... I want to express a viewpoint that I believe is shared by many of our hard-working, successful kanaka maoli.

We have empathy for the displaced families of Kahana, but no more so than for anyone else, regardless of their heritage. After decades of free housing on public land (and probably government assistance), they have not managed to work, save, persevere and improve their lot in life? And then they play the “;race/victim card”; that is so prevalent and politically correct in this day and age. What happened to the values of our past - shared by all people - of personal responsibility, hard work, thriftiness, fairness and equality?

Please don't be so anxious to jump on the bandwagon of “;da pooah Hawaiians.”; This is a classic example of what perpetuates the negative stereotype of “;lazy Hawaiians.”; They are solely responsible for their plight, as would be any other people! I consider them an embarrassment, and their conduct shameless (a'ole hilahila).

The naysayers are already salivating

No sooner is the paint dry, or President-elect Barack Obama is out of the gate, so to speak, and out come the critics, the research columnists, the commentators, the editors, the New York Times know-it-alls, the will he's, the should he's, the could he's, he should have's, the Washington Post dirt diggers ... it's endless! I'm quite sure President George. W. Bush is darn glad to be getting out of the Mad House.

Obama reawakens global sense of hope

On Nov. 5 a dear friend e-mailed me from overseas: “;I wish to express my admiration and congratulate you all for the wonderful expression of the democratic spirit and tradition in yesterday's presidential elections. Amidst an economic crisis and political rifts and infighting the American people have proved once again that during times of emergency and distress they are able to pull themselves out of the mire and present a shining example of enlightenment to the rest of humanity.”;

On election night it was powerful to see celebrations in Chicago's Grant Park, where 40 years ago young people were tear-gassed for protesting the Vietnam War. It was powerful to see jubilant celebrations across the country, and especially at Martin Luther King's church in Atlanta, where a dream has finally come true.

Obama has reawakened hope not only for us, but for the world as well.

Obama wasn't elected based on his race

Two letters on Friday regarding President-elect Barack Obama compel me to write. First, Mike Brown's letter, “;Did race alone guide America's voters”;? No way. Granted, some people voted for Obama because of race. But I know most Americans voted for him because of who he is and what he stands for. I for one would not have voted for Obama, because of his age and lack of experience. I changed my mind when I saw and heard his sincerity in wanting to help America and its people.

Second, Rosita Spirok-Siregar probably wasn't born in Hawaii or she would know us Hawaii folks have strong ties to our high schools. When anybody asks what school you graduate, you would automatically tellum what high school you went. If I said Joe Blow College, they would say, noooo, I mean high school. Same on the mainland - when local folks ask where you went school, you tellum what high school.

Sorry, Rose, that tradition won't change for us local folks because we're proud of where we all graduated from. In Hawaii it will always be President Barry Obama from Punahou. Rah, Rah, Punahou and President-elect Barry Obama.

Stop whining about him not being 'local'

I am still amazed that Gov. Linda Lingle's tiny army of ignorant followers still have the nerve to bring up this “;local boy”; issue (Letters, Nov. 6). So what? Barack Obama might not be living and working here, but he has distinct ties to our home state. He was born here and graduated from here, two facts that most of Lingle's bandwagon followers as well as herself do not have in common with the people of Hawaii.

What also irritates me is what the governor said, and I quote, “;I expect from Hawaii's point of view, it was a no-lose situation for us because Sen. Obama is not going to punish the people of Hawaii because I supported Sen. McCain.”; It wasn't a big deal for her to support John McCain, but what she said about Obama on the campaign trail is simply unacceptable because in Hawaii, no matter what is happening, we always root for the “;local boy.”;

Lingle has lost sight of that and I believe those words will come back to haunt her if she ever thinks about continuing her political aspirations. I know when that time comes I will stand against the “;non-local”; governor of Hawaii. Hail President-elect Barack Obama!

Badly managed road work endangers lives

Growth is seen as a thing to be desired, and Kapolei is experiencing unprecedented growth.

Consider the situation that occurred on Nov. 3. A crew from Hawaiian Telcom was performing tasks on Farrington Highway. The left lane was blocked so that lunch-hour traffic had to squeeze into one lane.

The scene was chaotic. What would have normally been a five-minute trip from one end of Farrington to Kamokila took upwards of 25 minutes. The situation was so bad, traffic was backed up on the H-1 offramp.

What if a car rounding the corner on the H-1 was unprepared to deal with the stopped traffic and plowed into one of the stopped cars? Does it take a fatality to get someone's attention?

Where was the coordination in this activity? Were the police notified by Hawaiian Telcom? If so, why weren't officers stationed at key points to direct the flow of traffic to prevent back ups? Perhaps they were, but the situation was not considered severe enough for law enforcement to become involved. Who makes that decision and based on what? Why did Hawaiian Telcom have to do this job during one of the busiest times of the day?

Kapolei prides itself on becoming Hawaii's Second City. If plans for this growth are in numbers that are any multiple of what we have now, what can we expect in the future?

Big Island mayor was right to veto GE bill

Hawaii County Council passed Bill 361, which would place a ban in perpetuity against genetic engineering research on taro and coffee. Wisely, Mayor Harry Kim has vetoed this bill, asking instead that the Council set up an advisory commission to discuss this controversial issue before passing a law based on fear and misinformation.

By passing Bill 361 when there is no immediate threat of field trials of GE taro or coffee on the Big Island and no commercially available GE taro or coffee, the Hawaii County Council is behaving like a person who worries more about getting hit by a meteorite instead of by a car. We are at the beginning of an economic recession, and the Council should be ensuring that our Big Island hospitals are financially stable and that everyone on the Big Island can have access to high quality medical care. Instead, the Council members seem to be wasting their time and our resources on this non-urgent issue of GE taro and coffee.

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