Were ferry opponents just out to get Lingle?

I have a hard time believing that the people responsible for stopping the Superferry are proud of themselves. Did they damage the lives of all those hundreds of workers just to get Gov. Linda Lingle? And how about the businessmen, tourists and locals who are just beginning to depend on the ferry?

The Superferry only does the same thing as the barges, except better. What possible environmental damage can the Superferry do that the barges, cruise ships, battleships, submarines and the multitude of other ships plying Hawaiian waters are not capable of doing?

Anti-ferry interests want a monopoly

About two years ago, National Geographic aired a special program about the Superferry. It lauded its marine architecture, its advanced engineering and its state-of-the-art navigational technology. It demonstrated the turning and stopping capabilities of the vessel. Superferry's radar and sonar reads from a distance the position of whales and dolphins and it can stop well in advance of a collision with them.

The suspension of the Hawaii Superferry service is marked with sadness and anger. Sadness for the caring, professional and attentive staff on the journeys, who are now all out of work. Sadness to no longer be able to have the beautiful views of the islands on the way. Anger that we will all have to pay much more money for services the ferry provided. Recently we moved a family member to Maui at a tremendous saving over what it would have cost by the other methods of transport. The Superferry has become important for many businesses in the islands because of its convenience for bigger shipments and lower cost.

Anger too, because it appears that businesses seeking a monopoly are hiding behind environmental issues.

Donate a few ounces, save a few lives

Be a hero. Save lives. How? It's easy. Give blood. You'll even receive juice and cookies afterwards.

Every year almost 5 million Americans will need blood. Twenty-five percent of us will require blood at least once in our lives.

Blood is used to help cancer and surgery patients, accident victims, burn and trauma patients, premature infants and more. Remarkably, a single blood donation might save as many as three lives.

Donating is simple. A brief screening is done with a questionnaire and testing for blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature and hemoglobin. The screening and donating time takes under an hour. The actual donation process takes only about 10 minutes. The blood is then tested for hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, syphilis and other diseases.

Despite the serious public need for blood donations, only 5 percent of eligible blood donors currently donate. Eligible donors are in good health, are at least 18 years old (17 with permission) and must weigh at least 110 pounds.

Admirably, President Barack Obama has issued a call for public service. Giving blood is an easily accessible and rewarding public service, and it turns out that saving lives is far easier than you think.

For more information call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 845-9966, or go to: http://www.bbh.org

Did God also create gays in his own image?

Your March 14 issue carried an interesting article by Rev. Neal MacPherson, most recently senior pastor of Church of the Crossroads, presenting two views of the Bible currently held across the Christian landscape. The first is the literalist view which sees same-sex marriage as contrary to God's law because it is listed among various dos and don'ts in codes of civil conduct prescribed in the Old Testament; the second is an unfolding view of the Bible that sees God himself as evolving and changing as humankind evolves and changes. In other words, as humankind expands in its conscious capacity to “;know”; — a proposition made evident by the advances of humanity through the centuries — then our vastly expanded consciousness becomes the more acutely aware of the boundless nature of God in ways not previously known.

According to the latter view, the God-man dynamic is characterized by an immediacy of experience. It is alive and present in human affairs and, ipso facto, challenges human beings to a higher sense of personal responsibility. If God made man in his own image, as all Christians believe, is it possible that God would reject people on the basis of their sexual orientation?

Lawmakers, how do you sleep at night?

Hawaii state legislators, you received a 36 percent pay increase in January.

Why do you think you deserve such a ridiculous amount given the state of the state? How can you recommend layoffs knowing you received such a ridiculously high increase? How can you cut funding for programs for seniors and mental health knowing you received this money? How can you justify 36 percent and not something like 4 percent or even 5 percent, which could be justified? How do you feel about taking this ridiculous amount when people who elected you are losing their jobs? How do you sleep at night?

I have some real concerns about the integrity for our elected legislative body and hope the people of Hawaii make themselves heard at the next election. This is despicable at best.