Article upheld Kuhio's legacy

Mahalo for your fine article about Micah Kane and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (”;Micah Kane,”; Star-Bulletin, Aug. 14).

With all the negative stories in the media regarding statehood from a few native Hawaiians, it was a joy to read such a positive article. Not only was it fair-minded and impartial, it was also enlightening, encouraging and inspirational. Positioning him in front of Prince Kuhio's portrait for your article was masterful.

Very few people are aware that it was Prince Kuhio, who as a nonvoting delegate to Congress, introduced and advocated the first statehood bill in 1919 and again in 1920, the same year the Hawaiian Homestead Act was passed.

He envisioned a modern Hawaii one day and in 1959 his vision became a reality. It is rewarding to know that his legacy lives in Micah Kane and that now that he has become the new trustee for the Kamehameha Schools, Kuhio's dream for a better way of life for his people will finally come true.

Margaret K.
Archivist, Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu

We need to hear from lawmakers

Where are our congressmembers when we need to hear from them now? Sens. Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka, Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono—come to the aid of your people and tell us, all of us, what you think and believe is best for your citizens of Hawaii.

Are you all in support of President Obama's national government-run health care, or are you against it? Tell us, we need to know what your position is. Why haven't any of our elected congresspeople appeared on local television to tell the people of Hawaii their position and why they believe what they believe?

Silence is not golden, it is a sign of fear or ignorance.

Steven Norstrom
Honolulu

Falsehoods need rebuttal

President Obama is upset with the media. What does he expect? Media makes its money from advertising to businesses, like insurance companies. They use the radio and television views of (opinionated on-air commentators) and wannabes. These people rant and rave with a blend of misinformation and lies about health care reform without contradiction.

Why? Obama's health care reform, while improving health care coverage for many Americans, will result in the insurance companies, that have a lock on the business, to lose billions in excessive profits.

Back in the day, before Ronald Reagan eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, if a Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh promoted falsehoods about any proposed health care program, a voice of reason and honesty would provide the facts on the air so the public could hear and see both sides and decide where the truth is.

Mostly, now it's distortions, backed by on-air interviews with supporters of the insurance industry, acting as disgruntled voters, and no voices from the opposition. Obama needs to restore the Fairness Doctrine.

Stephen Burns
Mililani

Time to move on from cars

Michael Ferguson has a point when he gripes about the state of our roads (”;Potholes part of master plan?”; Star-Bulletin letters, Aug. 19). There are too many potholes, too many streets that need repair. But to say that we shouldn't have forward-looking transportation plans for bicycles and rail is short-sighted.

One of the reasons that our roads need so much work is we have too many cars on the streets. We need to give people the option not to choose a car. TheBus is nice, but it can't do everything. Like any major U.S. city, we deserve more ways to get around than just by car.

Jake Shinsato
Honolulu