Wives gambled husbands' pay

When I was a youngster, gambling was legal in only two places: Nevada and two counties in Maryland. I lived in one of those counties. I lived close to a Navy base. To this day I can't forget the scene of Navy wives lining up on payday to pump their husband's meager earnings into one-armed bandits. Even at that young age I was aware that gambling is a cancer on society.

So what we have now is the state Legislature, having come out of the closet where they were cowering from civil unions, only to inflict this cancer on our beloved land of aloha. I could not be more disgusted with them.

Legislature more like Disneyland

As usual, after all of the posturing, we have a Legislature that strives to be more like Disneyland than a responsible legislative body. A good example of its priorities are about a dozen proposals to legalize gambling in Hawaii to balance the budget. Would you believe that House Bill 2396 and Senate Bill 2867 contain the line: “;... create a state gaming fund to help compulsive gamblers”;? Is this a joke or a legislator's distorted sense of humor? Whatever happened to the hot-button issues: 1) Furlough Fridays; 2) a crumbling infrastructure; 3) Department of Education reform; 4) strengthening the University of Hawaii system?

'Wealthy' are mostly a dastardly bunch

In R. Gnolda's letter (”;Multiply wealth, don't divide it,”; Star-Bulletin, Feb. 1), the “;wealthy”; are referred to as though they were some noble but persecuted group that needs protection from the avaricious onslaughts of the undeserving poor and from the unreasonable demands of social service programs. Overlooked is the fact that many of today's wealthy have profited from yesterday's (or today's) exploitation of the aforementioned aggressors.

The writer says, “;The government cannot give to anybody that the government does not first take from someone else.”; I fail to see how this does not apply to the wealthy, which cannot have unless someone else has not. While some of the wealthy have obtained their fortunes through hard work, fair play and diligent saving, we all know that most have not. While some of the poor are indeed lazy, frivolous and undeserving, most are underpaid, undereducated and oppressed.

BOE chairman needs to take responsibility

Many people are to blame for the dismal performance of Hawaii's public schools, but none more than state Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi. This man would rather launch personal attacks against Gov. Linda Lingle than take meaningful action to end the teacher furloughs that are closing our schools on Fridays.

As Gov. Lingle and the three previous governors correctly point out, reform of our mediocre school system must include an overhaul of the education power structure—especially the BOE. All four governors agree that the board is bogged down in politics and suffers from an appalling lack of accountability.

Rather than trying to deflect the blame for Hawaii's failing schools, Toguchi should take responsibility and become part of the solution.

Gay marriage hasn't ruined Nova Scotia

My brother visiting from Nova Scotia gives this report on same-sex marriage in that Canadian province. Now a reality, it is no longer talked about as an issue. Everyone seemed to enjoy hearing about the two male officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police getting married in Metagan, and when Scott Brison, the federal member of Parliament from the Kings-Hants riding, married his boyfriend, the main topic of conversation was who got invited to the wedding and who didn't. In conservative Nova Scotia, the Roman Catholic Church, the evangelical churches and heterosexual marriage all have survived same-sex marriage quite nicely. Perhaps it's time for Hawaii to catch up with modernity.

Ala Wai parking plan rammed through

Your Kokua Line article, “;Vendor can ticket cars parked at broken meters,”; (Star-Bulletin, Feb. 3) quoted state Boating and Ocean Recreation Division spokesperson Deborah Ward as saying the division “;has been through a process involving public input over several years to implement a parking plan for the Ala Wai small boat harbor.”;

Yes, and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources ignored the strenuous objections of hundreds of harbor/beach users and went ahead and did just what it planned from the beginning. Stop blaming “;public input”; for your unpopular policies that you developed and rammed through, DLNR!