School leaders need no raises

I can't believe it. No sooner have the furlough days to our schools been eliminated by raiding the hurricane fund than the salaries and the annual bonuses to the Department of Education superintendents are supposed to be increased. How can these administrators be given bonuses when we have one of the worst, top-heavy education systems in the country? Teachers should be given credit. When our state has trouble meeting budgets during this financial recession, all salaries should be frozen, not increased. But what can we expect from legislators who raised their own salaries 35 percent last year?

We need to know who the senators are who sponsored Senate Bill 2434, so we can dump them when they come up for re-election. Let's get rid of the tax-and-spend Democratic legislators and put in some fiscally responsible people instead. I dread to think what will happen when we lose Gov. Linda Lingle, who has tried to balance the budget but gets no help from the Legislature. Just wait and see. As soon as the election in November is over, our regressive excise tax will be raised. High cost of living in paradise!

Rail project supposed to be under way now

Are the citizens of Honolulu being taken for a ride on the mass transit?

Construction was to have started in November 2009 and we are now being informed that soil exploration and utility location is starting on Farrington Highway.

How did this project get awarded nearly a year ago when the city is still gathering data for design?

Four thousand union workers are waiting for jobs. How many homes have been foreclosed on during this period of delay?

A signed environmental impact statement by the governor would start the project, but construction would be delayed by this information-gathering. Is this research being done now for the other phases?

Penalty not sufficient for truck-bed riders

We need to rethink and revise our motor safety laws.

The “;Click-It or Ticket”; campaign now going on announces a fine of $92. If parents put their underage child in the bed of a pickup and get caught, the fine is $25. What is wrong with this picture?

If the child gets ejected from the bed of the truck and dies, do they still get the $25 fine?

The bed of a pickup is no place for any passenger, child or adult.

Democrats confused about good values

The local Democratic Party has been bragging about its values these days. Neil Abercrombie, who is running for governor, once said, “;It is an opportunity for us to share our values.”; This is in reference to his support of House Bill 444, the civil unions bill in Hawaii.

Then we have Colleen Hanabusa commenting about her second-place finish in the special election saying, “;We think it was the message that what we represent is Hawaii's values.”;

Is accepting a 36 percent pay raise for part-time work a value in a time of state budget shortfall? Is taking from the hurricane fund to pay for teachers' salary shortfall a value? How about overriding Gov. Linda Lingle's veto on the oil barrel tax that will increase my budget for gas and electricity? Is that a value? Is trying to negate the ban on same-sex marriage that the majority of Hawaii citizens voted for in 1998, then in 2010 bringing back same-sex marriage by another name in HB 444, a value?

Congressman Charles Djou represents a person with “;moral values,”; something the Democratic Party lacks and was missing for 20 years.