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POSTED: Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Councilman Tam target of smears

These certainly are interesting times!

There are so many really big issues requiring serious attention and immediate resolution, yet someone has chosen to use ugly tactics to smear mayoral candidate and City Councilman Rod Tam.

For what? For poor record-keeping of discretionary expenses involving piddling amounts of money. Let us not forget that Councilman Tam has confessed publicly and has agreed to repay the money. Should he be crucified, too?

Aren't we big enough to forgive this minor administrative sin and move forward to solving the really big issues of the day?

Susan Chamberlain

Honolulu

 

               

     

 

 

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Don't build over prime farm land

When our supermarkets are full of all kinds of food, it is hard to imagine what starving would be like. However, as the state Land Use Commission tries to decide if houses should be allowed to be built on the prime agricultural land at Koa Ridge in Central Oahu, we need to imagine it.

Cheap oil has brought us cheap food. It allows liberal use of fertilizer and lots of ships to transport the crops. Now, as we are all aware, oil is becoming more expensive as it is getting harder to find and more costly to extract. The situation will get progressively worse over time.

On our isolated islands, we'll serve as “;the canary in the coal mine,”; as one University of Hawaii-Manoa professor put it. We'll suffer before the mainland does. Ironically, people may flee the islands, leaving empty houses behind.

Alice D. Fisher

Honolulu

 

Hawaii does not need gambling

Legalizing gambling would be bad for Hawaii. One recent writer said it would offer a “;win-win situation,”; but it is clearly not so. The reason that gambling is so profitable for the gambling industry is that most people lose their money. If we make it readily available here, more of us will be tempted. Then we won't be able to spend as much on going to the movies or eating in restaurants or doing all the other things that are such fun to do here. There will also be an increase in crime, mental illness and perhaps even homelessness. Gambling is addictive for some.

We should not overestimate the number of tourists who might be drawn here by gambling. It is already available in 48 states, and why should they come from Asia when Macau is so much closer? It is being developed to rival Las Vegas.

We offer far more that just “;sun and surf”; here, for our islands provide an extraordinary number of things to do. Not only are we one of the most desired destinations for a honeymoon, but we are also a perfect place for a family to visit.

Evangeline Funk

Kailua

 

Kudos to doctors who lend a hand

In celebration of today's National Doctor's Day, I want to thank all the physicians who provide health care services to Hawaii's low-income residents and other vulnerable members of society.

Although they are not required to care for this population, many doctors choose to do so because of their professionalism and a strong commitment to helping our communities.

These physicians form a critical part of Hawaii's health care safety net, and they deserve our recognition and appreciation.

Dr. Kenny Fink

Medicaid administrator,

State Department of Human Services

 

Keep religion out of politics

It was very upsetting to see the article by Richard Borreca headlined “;Broadcaster Robertson speaks highly of Duke Aiona on '700 Club'”; (Star-Bulletin, March 21). I was very disappointed to see Mr. Borreca give credence to any of the content of a talk show, to treat the content of the show as newsworthy, and to interview and elicit from local community members comments that in some cases were as offensive as the quotes from Robertson.

Our Hawaiian community has not used personal religious beliefs as a political campaign tool out of respect for, and celebration of, our diverse cultures and beliefs, and the respect for the privacy of each individual. For Mr. Borreca to report on what has become antithetical to our local culture as a newsworthy story is sad.

It is even more disturbing to have Dennis Arakaki, a former public official (and long-time friend), suggest that if a person is a Christian he/she will be prone to vote for a particular candidate for governor.

As a Christian minister, serving in Hawaii for over

40 years, I find this perspective abhorrent and contrary to everything I value in a state and nation that constitutionally mandate the separation of church and state. Hawaii has fought to ensure the integrity of all by preserving the constitutional mandate against the “;establishment”; of a state religion.

Jory Watland

Honolulu

 

Military in Makua issue unresolved

I would like to congratulate the U.S. Army on its public relations effort in the article entitled “;Growing Relationship”; (Star-Bulletin, March 25). It was very strategic to have favorable quotes from Waianae and Nanakuli residents. It gives the false appearance the Makua issue has been discussed and resolved.

It will make a nice attachment that Army leaders will send to Washington to “;prove”; that the Army is working well with native Hawaiians to solve the Makua problem. This is the PR side of it.

Let me clear the record by stating that those of us who continue to be kept from sacred sites in Makua, and the beneficiaries of flawed scientific marine and subsurface archeological studies, were never asked to be on the “;advisory council,”; nor to review the covenant.

At the very minimum, our native Hawaiian representatives should have at least asked about our position on the statements in the covenant, by our fellow Hawaiians, before signing off.

How can you sign an agreement after hearing only one side of the story? Unless that was the objective in the first place.

William J. Aila Jr.

Waianae