Brown ushers in new revolution

The Second American Revolution has begun with the election of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown into the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Scott is a present-day Paul Revere warning us that the British are coming, except this time the warning is, “;The socialists are among us.”;

We the people don't approve of these socialists among us. We the people don't approve of our government bailing out greedy and irresponsible corporations with our tax money. We the people don't accept taxation without representation. We the people don't approve of new taxes being forced upon us, utilizing catchy phrases such as global warming, climate change, carbon taxes and government-mandated health care.

The Second American Revolution has begun, and so it is.

Who owns land along rail route?

Thank you, Dr. Kioni Dudley, for the excellent piece on the rail route (”;Rail route, agenda scrutinized,”; Island Commentary, Star-Bulletin, Feb. 15). Two recent letters also had excellent ideas: (1) Building the rail over the existing H-1 freeway, and (2) starting construction from the airport so that part of rail could be in operation if at some later time funds run out for the complete route.

The Star-Bulletin published an article when rail was first approved. In it, a person owning property along the approved route commented that he was just waiting for an offer to be made on his property. That is among the reasons why none of the good ideas will be adopted. Those property owners can count on their elected representatives to ensure that they get their take from the first allocation of federal funds.

Has anyone ever investigated who owns the properties that will be bought under eminent domain?

Old rail route rightly rejected

When I heard Kioni Dudley call for shifting the Kapolei-Ala Moana rail line to the former Oahu Railway route at the Kapolei Neighborhood Board meeting last month, I sat in stunned disbelief. Now that he has expressed his position in a Star-Bulletin commentary, I must explain why the old railway route was rejected.

The first is that the Oahu Railway & Land route does not pass by many concentrations of housing or shopping. The OR&L was a freight-hauler; much adjoining land was and is industrial, which would depress ridership.

Ironically, the second reason is that the route passes many houses near Pearl Harbor. The situation would be like the one before the proposed Exposition light rail line in Los Angeles, where the strongest opposition is from an expensive neighborhood built around a railroad closed 20 years ago.

Third, the Oahu Railway has already been re-used: It's a bikeway. It also borders five parks from Kapolei to Aiea. Therefore, under federal law, the city would have to prove there is no “;feasible and prudent alternative”; to using the railroad.

However, there obviously is an alternative: the elevated line nearly ready for construction. This is why the Oahu Railway route was rejected in 2006, and why we are fortunate the federal government is willing to pay for 29 percent of the new line.

Public should fund campaigns

Since money is speech, more money means more speech, especially if that money is fed into political campaigns. It buys more access to legislators and legislation that favors big money interests. So where does that leave the citizen? He just wants legislation for the public good. The only way the citizen can get enough money to reach the legislators' ear is through public funding of election campaigns, paid for by the tax dollar (the public).

Anti-gay tyranny a threat to all

The apparent winners: state representatives.They didn't have to disappoint or anger the opponents of civil unions in this election year because House Bill 444 was effectively killed, in a blatant attempt to save their own political necks.

These representatives also “;technically”; honored their word to civil union proponents (and the Democratic platform) by voting for a civil unions bill last session, stating “;they still personally support civil unions as a civil rights issue,”; and yet they didn't take a stand this year, hiding instead behind an anonymous voice vote to “;indefinitely table the matter,”; and realistically delaying any further action on civil unions until 2011. So much for transparency or honesty in government.

The apparent losers: The people of Hawaii. Gay and lesbian families are denied equal rights and relegated to second-class citizenship for at least two more years. What's worse: All citizens of Hawaii are at risk to a tyranny of the “;majority”; (or at least the vocal, and now empowered, Christians who profess to be the majority) to deny them equal rights.

Cancer center making progress

A recent article concerned a resolution in the University of Hawaii Faculty Senate about the search for a permanent director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii (CRCH). The search resulted in the hiring of Dr. Michele Carbone.

In the last year, the CRCH has made great progress. New faculty all having cutting-edge research programs have been recruited to add to those now doing research on the causes and cures for cancer.

A new building for the CRCH is beginning construction, and a consortium has been formed with local hospital systems and the John A. Burns School of Medicine to bring the most up-to-date treatments to patients diagnosed with cancer. As directors for CRCH programs in Cancer Biology and Cancer Prevention, we support the current direction of the center, as these developments will build the infrastructure of Hawaii and provide the best possible treatment for patients.

We are supported in this letter by the dean of JABSOM and the heads of Hawaii Pacific Health, Kuakini Health System and Queen's Health Systems, who are building bridges between cancer researchers and physicians.