Cell phone ban is unnecessary

The cell phone ban will punish thousands of people who innocently and harmlessly use cell phones, and should be vetoed.

I believe it will actually affect business activity.

We already have laws against inattentive or distracted driving, which includes being distracted by a cell phone.

Why make criminals—why cause unnecessary traffic stops—of people who can drive and talk?

Police and our justice system will waste resources in an exercise that will not improve safety.

Protocols followed in handling of iwi

Three generations of my kupuna are interred at Kawaiahao Church, circa 1880 through 1926. I feel strongly the responsibility for family vigilance regarding the respectful treatment of their iwi.

I attended a meeting at Kawaiahao Church on April 11 where the Na Iwi Committee brought us up to date on construction activities related to the replacement building for Likeke Hall, and its treatment of new grave remains discovered under this old construction site.

This is the sixth meeting that I've attended over the past several years, and I remain convinced that the committee has been candid and forthright in its presentations, diligent and extremely cautious in its efforts to leave iwi at rest and undisturbed, but very respectful and rigid in its adherence to Hawaiian protocols in their treatment of those remains, both iwi and the intimate collected lepo that are unearthed.

I have gained enormous respect for those who have assumed the soul-touching task of collecting and shielding these remains. This burden has become their labor of love, and their priceless gift to us.

I think it both unfortunate and unfair that those who have not attended these meetings, either by reason of uninvolvement or disinterest, find it necessary to bark from the sidelines to judge those matters that do not arise from their first-hand knowledge.

To those who are concerned, please take comfort from my observations.

'Alarmist' gun editorial harms more than helps

By irresponsibly linking “;buying frenzy”; and “;mass killings”; in the first paragraph (”;Ready, aim, time for firearms control,”; Star-Bulletin, April 23) the calculated use of fear by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin—in tandem with the more extreme elements of an already extremist-infested Obama administration—offers timely evidence, albeit inadvertently, of what is really fueling heightened public interest in acquiring fire arms.

If the Star-Bulletin believes the best course of wisdom for citizens of this state is to leave matters of their personal safety entirely in the hands of the police, fine and dandy, but deliberate fear-mongering is unworthy of a great metropolitan daily. Indeed, the Star-Bulletin is exacerbating the very problem it declaims against.

Some points to consider when evaluating this fevered editorial work product:

There is no such thing as an “;assault weapon.”; Firearms covered by this fearful, if nonsensical description, albeit menacing in appearance, are all semi-automatic, thus incapable of delivering sustained, high cyclic, fully automatic rates of fire.

Absent a BATFE license, the possession of fully automatic weapons (”;machine guns”;) by private citizens has been illegal since the 1930s.

Given the exorbitant price of the iconic Barrett Model 82/M-107 rifle, has there been even a detectable increase in the number of law-abiding .50 caliber sniper competition/ gun club enthusiasts?

Would-be criminals attempting to conceal and transport so massive a chunk of hardware would face a daunting challenge, on the order of trying to shoplift a tuba.

In the interests of accuracy, please try not to use “;magazine”; and “;clip”; interchangeably. An editorial that is both alarmist and inaccurate does not reflect credibility on the Star-Bulletin.

Turn Waikiki Natatorium into a place for peace

I suspect that those 101 WWI veterans who the Waikiki Natatorium war memorial honors would, if asked, have wanted a monument to peace and not one to glorify the horrors of that war.

Militarism continues to expand in our society and our nation has not come to grips with the fact that we are addicted to war. The U.S. has been preparing for, or at war, since 1940. The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan continue with no set end in sight.

As to the Natatorium, fill in the pool and have an area where people can sit in peace and be in awe of our beautiful ocean and clouds.

The politicians can justify the costs because the concept will be attractive to tourists, especially the Japanese. In Japan they have many monuments to peace. There should be only symbols of peace at the site and no nationalistic symbols such as the American flag.

Legislators need to help others besides the unions

Well, as the Legislature's anti-business tax scheme gets international publicity of the “;are they crazy?”; variety, the lie that “;we're all in this together”; during these rough economic times has finally been revealed.

As a Democrat reliant on the visitor industry to feed my kids, I feel betrayed in discovering that the only “;little people”; the legislators care about are those with public labor union memberships. We suffer while HGEA sacrifices nothing and feeds off our labor like vampires.

It's unbelievable that Gov. Linda Lingle is now the voice of the common folk, but that's the way it is. We must all support her efforts to fight the powerful interests who care only for themselves.

Time keeps on ticking, give it some respect

There is real time and there is “;Hawaii time.”; Everyone I know in Hawaii is always late for everything.

When inviting someone over for lunch, dinner or just to talk story, friends are casually at least 30-90 minutes late.

A stranger responded to a classified ad, and said they would be over at 9 a.m. and showed up at 11:45 a.m.

Time is important to all of us, so why are so many people inconsiderate of our time? When I ask people if they would show up 45 minutes late for a doctor's appointment, they unanimously respond “;of course not.”; So why are so many disrespectful of our time?

Our time has a value. Many professionals charge hundreds of dollars per hour for their services. When giving of our free time to friends and relatives, it should be equally respected.

Time is precious, respect it; functional is to be punctual.