Legislature must act against cockfighting

The recent conviction of a former Honolulu Police Department officer and four others (”;5 guilty in Waialua cockfighting case,”; Star-Bulletin, Dec. 20) demonstrates that federal officials take cockfighting, and its ties to corruption and organized crime, seriously. Our state Legislature and judiciary must do the same. In addition to the associated crimes of illegal gambling, drug distribution, cruelty and human violence, experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have directly implicated the movement of game cocks with the rapid spread of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus in Asia.

More than any other industry, cockfighting involves the unregulated transport of birds across borders. In 2003, an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle disease in the Southwest cost taxpayers more than $200 million. According to California officials, the illegal transport of fighting birds spread the disease throughout the region.

To reduce all forms of criminal activity and protect public health and our state's economy, Hawaii must now treat cockfighting as the serious crime that it is.

Is a first strike always wrong or isn't it?

I read that the first strike with the military of another sovereign nation is always wrong, no matter what the perceived reason. Use of propaganda to control the people and profiteering, along with looting the Treasury, also are illegal.

I am still puzzled as to exactly what is the mission of our troops in Iraq. More than 4,000 U.S. casualties, many in a war that was started under false pretenses. If the people of Iraq want justice, let them charge the figureheads in the war crimes tribunal.

We can make a big difference for elderly

As a student from Washington Middle School, I am researching and trying to address the issue of elderly who can't take care of themselves, but are forced to. It really breaks your heart to see these senior citizens being neglected. The worst part is that most of them live in retirement homes all alone!

I always see elderly out in the street struggling to walk. Most of them don't even have much support from their family. According to a Jan. 8, 2007, article about senior services in the Star-Bulletin, the elderly are projected to increase by 27.4 percent by 2030 here on Hawaii!

Together, we as a community can help by volunteering at hospitals and elderly care homes. Helping them with their everyday routines and things they aren't physically capable to do would be a huge step in caring or our community. A simple task such as walking an old lady over the crosswalk would be an excellent contribution to these seniors.

Obama picked wrong pastor for inauguration

It is understandable what Barack Obama is attempting to do by featuring Rick Warren at his inauguration. He is trying to showcase representatives from every walk of life at this joyous ceremony. It is about unity despite our differences. I get it. However, Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in California, politicized his pulpit and made donations in support of Proposition 8 in California because, as he ignorantly puts it, homosexuality can be likened to pedophilia and incest.

Because of the passage of Prop 8, a majority vote stripped the rights from a minority for the first time in California history. Warren's blatant lies instilled fear in his followers to vote against their fellow Americans. Obama is asking everyone to be tolerant of someone who feels OK with denying gays and lesbians basic rights like being able to visit their sick partners in the hospital.

Having Warren participate in what should be the celebration of a new beginning for our country is a slap in the face to the thousands of gay Americans who campaigned and voted for Obama. This local boy, who avidly fundraised for the Obama campaign, is now profoundly disappointed in him. Would he embrace someone who questioned the validity of an interracial marriage and have him or her speak at the inauguration? I don't think so.