Terrible message sent on predator

Reading that sex predator Matthew Cargill got sentenced to a measly one year in jail made me vomit. The poor teenage victim will live with this memory the rest of her life, while this maniac will be set free next year.

What these judges need is a course in fair justice for sex victims. Soft sentences like these send these maniacs a message: “;Do your crime; you'll do so little time.”;

Wake up, you judges, and have some compassion for these victims and their families. Just getting one-tenth of the 10-year mandatory sentence is a sad joke.

Watada made choice that put him in limbo

At the risk of being included into what Cynthia Oi contemptuously dismisses as “;yowls from flag-pinned airwave patriots”; (”;Under the Sun,”; Star-Bulletin, May 10) her notion that “;If Watada goes to jail, so should Bush lawyers”; is exactly the sort of childish, silly reaction one has come to expect from the Vietnam-era draft-dodging ranks of the Cry Baby Boomers.

The Army has every reason to court-martial Watada for disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming an officer. Watada is the one who made the choices that have, as Oi describes, resulted in his life being put “;on hold.”;

Her attempt to link Watada's disgraceful conduct with unsubstantiated allegations against the Bush administration is nothing but the sort of petulant temper tantrum Cry Baby Boomers always resort to when their every whim is not instantly gratified.

Personally I hope that both civil and military court proceedings drag on for years while Watada suffers the extended consequences of his foolish treason.

Chief shouldn't decide who gets to carry gun

Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa may know about guns in the hands of criminals (Letters to the editor, Star-Bulletin, May 11), but he knows nothing about guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. He is unqualified to decide who can carry a gun.

The courts have recognized that the police cannot protect us. When innocent people are killed in Ewa Beach or Kailua, or attacked by a knife wielder on Koko Head, HPD bears no responsibility. We are responsible for defending ourselves. Why deny us the means?

Correa states that Hawaii has “;the lowest gun death rate in the nation,”; but how many were killed or maimed by means other than a gun? How many could have been spared had they been armed? How many of those shot were killed while committing a crime?

Despite the chief's claim, unbiased scientific studies show that where concealed-carry permits increase, violent crimes decrease; where strict gun-control exists, violent crimes increase. When will HPD understand that sane, law-abiding citizens have not traded their rights for a false sense of security?

Airport security hassle hurts Hawaii tourism

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reported recently that Hawaii state tax revenues are down 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Surveys consistently show that a major reason for the decline in tourism, even before the recession, was the harassment endured at the hands of the TSA.

Because of the recently details of the torture of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, we know that prisoners were tortured into providing “;confessions”; used by the previous administration to bolster a case for invading Iraq. In other words, much of the proclaimed terror threat was a war-justifying hoax.

This makes sense as despite all the confiscated Swiss Army knives and nail clippers, TSA has yet to actually find any real terrorists, even though Homeland Security's own testing shows that a real terrorist would have a 50% chance of smuggling their bombs onto a U.S. airplane.

The hard-working people of Hawaii are paying a hideous price for this deception. Tourism is in crisis mode, with no relief in sight.

Enough is enough. This hoax has gone on long enough. It is time to put the aloha back into the Hawaii travel experience.

Overrides reveal parties' stark divide

The recent override of the governor's tax increase vetoes shows the basic difference between the Republican and the Democratic parties. The Republican governor is for less government and lower taxes, while the Democratic Legislature is for more government and higher taxes.