Do not disregard civil unions bill

Gov. Linda Lingle is missing the boat by casting civil unions legislation in opposition to the economy, education and the state budget. Passage of the civil unions bill is projected to contribute to state revenues, therefore being a good thing for our economy, state budget and education.

Having legislators and the governor show courage by adopting equality through civil unions would be a wonderful education in itself with so many positive lessons for all of our keiki—lessons in democracy, standing up against bullies, equal rights for minorities, sharing, caring for families and community, and being true to the principles on which this government was founded.

The civil unions bill is important to many peoples' lives and their families and should not be disregarded. I have confidence that despite the fear-mongers among us, we have courageous representation that will do the right thing.

Governor backs rail but carefully

After reading the Star-Bulletin's Jan. 14 editorial, “;Elevated rail is the best choice,”; readers might think that Gov. Linda Lingle is adamantly opposed to the City & County of Honolulu's proposed steel-on-steel rail system.

To the contrary, Gov. Lingle is supportive of transit and prudent development—provided such projects make sense and are carried out in the right way.

For those reasons, she will not simply rubber-stamp the rail project's environmental impact statement when it arrives for her review.

This multibillion-dollar project will have a profound impact on all Honolulu residents. And because the vast majority of Hawaii residents reside on Oahu, the entire state will be deeply affected should the project experience financial difficulties.

Gov. Lingle will discuss the rail project in great detail when she meets next month with U.S. Department of Transportation officials. Rather than relying only on the city administration's views on the pros and cons of the city's elevated rail plan, Gov. Lingle will confer with others and listen to their views and opinions to assist in her evaluation.

You might say she will follow Mayor Mufi Hannemann's mantra during the environmental review process: Do we need it, can we afford it, can we maintain it?

Public shut out of health debate

The American people have been completely shut out of the debate to set national health care policy.

Now we hear that our lawmakers don't even plan on having a conference committee to reconcile the weak bill passed by the House with the total insurance industry sell out passed by the Senate. No, they are just going to make another back-room deal and install the Senate version by fiat. Even our House of Representatives is to be shut out unless it entirely capitulates as well.

Who speaks for our school kids?

After months of talks, why are Hawaii's children still in school only four days a week? Our family lives are being disrupted; our children are suffering.

Hawaii's children are being used as pawns in another union-versus-government political drama. Please stop the nonsense.

The proposal made by the governor on Jan. 8 would immediately put the children back in school on Fridays until the end of the 2011 school year. Each school campus would open on Fridays with the essential staff, all the personnel needed to run the schools safely.

The parents like it because it gives certainty to the schedule and, more important, our children get back into the classrooms to receive the educational hours they need and deserve. The teachers with whom I have spoken are OK with the plan because they realize it is what's best for the children. They are willing to make the temporary compromise to get back into the classroom.

So if the parents support the plan, and the teachers support the plan, who then are the Board of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association representing when they continue to reject the plan?

Our children's educational needs must be made a priority. Please stop the politics and put the children back in school.

Fireworks abuse needs to stop

Why would anyone think that setting off loud bombs at New Year's, causing acrid unhealthy air and disturbing the peace of most residents, is OK?

Forget the police writing a few meaningless citations; where's the common sense of the people doing this? Sparklers and Fourth of July displays are fun to watch, but this display of insanity over New Year's boggles the mind. Why is it being tolerated, and why isn't it being legislated out of existence?

It's highly dangerous, unhealthy, invasive and celebrated by a few to the detriment of many. It's considered a “;tradition,”; and while we should certainly protect traditions that are beneficial, this abuse of fireworks needs to stop.

Religious leaders set poor example

What on earth is wrong with our so-called religious leaders?

The Rev. Pat Robertson tells us that Haiti has been destroyed because that country has “;made a pact with the devil.”;

Here in Hawaii, the Catholic bishop says it's perfectly OK to discriminate against a small minority (”;Bishop's call to block civil unions offends bill advocates,”; Star-Bulletin, Jan. 13).

I remember those exact same “;words of wisdom”; in my high school history class where we learned that in Nazi Germany it was perfectly acceptable to discriminate against Jews, gypsies, gay people, etc. That little tidbit of discrimination cost the lives of more than 6 million people who were in concentration camps and millions more during the fighting of the war.

Thankfully, at least the good Catholic bishop is going after only the gay citizens of Hawaii. His church has already paid out almost $3 billion to the innocent little boys who have been the sex abuse victims of pedophile priests. The best defense, as we all know, is a good offense, so maybe the bishop wants to divert our attention away from the priests and go after the minorities.