Late-night comedy skit turned out to be true

Many people, including Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, were appalled by the recent “;Saturday Night Live”; skit where Duane “;The Rock”; Johnson cast a poor light on the tourism industry. Of all things, the setting was a resort on Kauai. Ironically, the Superferry protests proved that some of their “;points”; were spot-on accurate.

Were people really concerned about the environment or whales? Maybe a few. But most were worried about an influx of people coming to ruin “;their”; island. Who would those people be? Oh, tourists!

Tourists are not welcome on Kauai or Maui. That is the message being conveyed, and that is why all those people protested. Ironically, it was a distinct minority that was against the Superferry. Most of the locals on Kauai and Maui wanted the Superferry. It was a few people with loud mouths who ruined it for the rest of us; a few people who riled up crowds of other ignorant people to cuss and scream at fellow kamaaina from other islands.

So now, I think the “;SNL”; skit is a work of art. A truly satirical piece that rings true in so many ways, whether it's good for business or not.

Fletcher Young
Honolulu

High court opinion an exercise in hypocrisy

The hypocrisy of the Hawaii Supreme Court in its unanimous, 113-page opinion putting the Superferry out of business is stunning.

The opinion insists, among other things, that the Hawaii Constitution “;prohibits laws which provide disparate treatment intended to favor a specific individual, class or entity, or to discriminate against a specific individual, class, or entity,”; and that the Constitution requires “;equal rights and treatment for all persons under the law.”;

Have the justices never noticed the disparate, favorable treatment which the laws provide for the class known as native Hawaiians ?

Have the justices never observed that the class of non-Hawaiians is discriminated against in receiving benefits from the taxpayer-funded Office of Hawaiian Affairs or in gaining entry to the tax-exempt Kamehameha Schools?

And have they also not noticed the imminent passage of the Akaka Bill that will further widen the “;disparate treatment”; that government provides to these different “;classes”;?

Yes, here in Hawaii all persons are entitled to “;equal rights and treatment under the law.”; But some persons are more equal than others. And soon some will become even more equal than others.

T.J. Macdonald
Kaneohe

Anti-prosperity forces claim another victory

In the ongoing war against economic recovery and prosperity, the state of Hawaii (the Supreme Court, this time) won a major battle by ruling against the Superferry. It's been a costly and grueling war so far, but it appears that, with this ruling, the people of Hawaii are getting pushed over the Pali to their ultimate defeat.

The branches of the “;military”; (Legislative, Judicial) have coordinated and fought bravely and brilliantly to stop all economic progress of the enemy, the people of Hawaii. Legislatively, a pervasive and persistent anti-business attitude has thwarted capitalism in Hawaii for years. Ideas for making money (i.e., gambling) are quickly shot down and all that's left is to raise taxes, impose fees and regulate further. Environmental overreaction has done much to stifle economic success. Judicially, rulings like the Superferry decision will continue to guarantee failure, economically.

There is a third branch, the Executive, but since 2002 they have been abysmal, almost treasonous, by supporting business and yes, even success.

Victory is sweet.

William Ralston
Honolulu

Supreme Court was right to stop the ferry

Congratulations to the Hawaii Supreme Court for its decision requiring the Superferry to file an acceptable environmental impact statement. This reaffirms the equality of all before the law. What Gov. Linda Lingle and the Legislature have been engaged in was serving the special interests of a group of rich investors who own the ferry. We need to know about the dangers the Superferry poses to whales and dolphins, not to mention the people who inhabit these islands. And before it is permitted to operate.

Noel Jacob Kent
Honolulu

Schools should stay out of transit planning

With Kamehameha Schools' leadership, each time they take a step forward, such as trustees declining pay raises, they take two steps backward. The latest example is the schools' demand that Honolulu's rail system travel on the ground instead of the city's plan for trains to travel above traffic on a guideway.

Ask yourself, how would reconfiguring the entire 20-mile route to travel on the ground affect the project's timetable? A reasonable answer is a delay of many months, perhaps years, during a time when our island desperately need the thousands of jobs that would be created by construction. It also would delay the traffic relief that rail will bring to those who live on the west side, including the schools' students, parents, teachers and staff.

Kamehameha Schools' leadership is out of touch with what the people of Oahu want. We voted for rail. We want rail. Please do not stand in the way.

Jason Wong
Honolulu

Give final curtain call on this performance

Outrage about the $165 million in AIG bonuses is only genuine at the taxpayer level. The politicians (and we taxpayers) knew this was coming as the forthcoming payment was widely reported ahead of time. Our politicians promised that they would know where every nickel was going in bailing out AIG. The current histrionics I'm seeing on the news is just bad theater. It's almost as repulsive as the bonus payout.

When are we citizens going to stop supporting this show, demand our money back, close down the theater and get a whole new cast of characters?

Keith Rose
Honolulu