Nobel recognizes American ideals

As a Republican and a John McCain supporter, enough partisanship! Let us, as Americans, congratulate President Barack Obama for receiving the Nobel prize for peace (”;Obama deserves Nobel,”; Star-Bulletin, Oct. 10). As he said in his remarks, this prize belongs to America and its people. It is a recognition of the principles and ideals our nation stands for.

Instead of this political carping, we can instead offer the president suggestions about what to do with the Nobel prize money. My suggestion is a foundation to help the families of those military men and women who were killed or wounded overseas. In a time of a world recession and a ballooning national deficit, those federal and state agencies that do provide services to the families face budget restrictions, and any additional funding would further help the families.

The foundation could offer health, medical and financial support. The children could be assisted in getting a college education. Help with mortgages or even buying a house could be another aim of the foundation.

We need to turn liability into asset

Shelly Brown likened the homeless in Honolulu to a pile of guano from the 'akekeke bird — as if guano were a bad thing. (”;Get the vagrants off the sidewalks,”; Star-Bulletin, Oct. 10)

I should like to remind her that guano is an especially rich source of nutrients, especially since the 'akekeke is primarily a shore feeder and thus deposits a wide array of marine nutrients in upland areas where it nests.

Further, the 'akekeke is a most ecologically useful bird: It eats flies while it is in Hawaii, thus keeping their numbers in check and relieving this irritation.

With this in mind, perhaps it is time to stop seeing homeless people as a blight and a burden. See the value in these people and find a way for them to contribute to Hawaii.

Homeless often dirty, dangerous

Of course City Council Bill 69-09 was directed at the homeless! (”;Get the vagrants off the sidewalks,”; Star-Bulletin, Oct. 10) That's the segment of society who sleep on our sidewalks; hence the term “;homeless.”;

I see these people sleeping on our sidewalks and beaches every day while on my early morning walk along Kalakaua Avenue. If the only thing they did was sleep on our sidewalks, it would be bad enough. Sadly, this is not the case. They also litter, do drugs, get drunk, aggressively panhandle and get into fights. Since the city Parks Department closes the restrooms at Waikiki Beach from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., these same people use the sidewalks, gutters, sides of buildings and bushes as their own personal bathrooms.

Waikiki residents and tourists keep waiting for a solution that would move these people off our sidewalks and beaches. We deserve a safer and more sanitary Waikiki. I'm sure that there are people who live in other areas of Hono-lulu who feel the same way.

Maybe it's time that someone started looking out for the rights of the majority.

Raise funds via scratch card game

Every day we read about it, we see it on the television news. It's in conversations on the radio, and even bloggers are talking about teachers, furloughs, students and parents affected by the lack of tax revenue to pay for the expenses of running the schools.

But what we don't hear are the commonsense solutions in finding ways to raise the tens of millions of dollars to make up for the losses in a timely manner.

I propose that a state fundraising program in the form of an educational scratch card game. This is the only realistic way to raise the tens of millions of dollars very quickly and address many of the issues of past complainers who don't want a lottery program here. Today those misleading arguments no longer apply or conflict with a state-funded scratch card game.

The urgency to stop the bleeding of our economic fallout demands decisive action. Our children, educational system and jobs that stimulate the economy are a priority and worth supporting.

Nobel to Obama demeans its value

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama is arguably one of the most absurd awards that the Nobel committee has ever made. Highly patronizing, it will be received with incredulity around the world.

The award is apparently an encouragement to America's first black president and a way of saying we hope there is going to be a new direction in policy. However, all of this undermines the point of a Nobel Peace Prize. Obama has only been in office since the beginning of the year, and while his foreign peace aims are noble, his achievements are rather few. To award a prize simply on hope suggests a naivety and a blindness that I think will only damage the value of the prize and diminish its value to all its previous winners.