Letters To The Editor
June 21, 2006 - MidWeek
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Thanks for publishing Chuck Shepherd’s “Weird News.” It never fails to bring a laugh, and in this world today you can never get enough of those. That’s also why I always turn to Ron Nagasawa, DL Stewart and Bruce Cameron. MidWeek is like my print version of the Comedy Channel (but cleaner).
Dan Lee
Honolulu
Defend America
Jerry Coffee’s column “Real Threats For Democracy” should be broadcast and reprinted far and wide. The continuation of our American way of life is not guaranteed, and must be maintained and strengthened. The external threats are obvious - Islamic jihadists, overwhelming Mexican immigration. But equally dangerous are internal threats - failing to teach what we used to call civics in public schools, emphasizing self-esteem over personal responsibility, corrupt politicians who drive citizens to apathy.
History is full of great civilizations that wasted their greatness and collapsed. Let’s hope and pray Americans simply refuse to let that happen by safeguarding our democracy and our freedoms.
Arthur Matsura
Pearl City
Bush’s threat
Jerry Coffee’s column “Real Threats For Democracy” misses the current point entirely: George Bush and his administration are the greatest threat to the continuation of American democracy because they so often subvert it for their own causes. While trying to force democracy down the throats of Iraqis, the Bushies lie, deceive and pull dirty tricks.
I hope all Americans are thinking about making a real change in the White House in 2008. Our democracy depends on it.
Lucille Lim
Honolulu
The Price of tickets
Every time I saw one of those electric signs warning of a $92 fine for not failing to wear a seatbelt, I wondered, huh, why $92? Thanks to Larry Price for explaining it all.
Jesse Silva
Honolulu
GOP and Akaka
Dan Boylan laid out an impressive list of indictments against Republicans, this time directing his formidable rhetoric at the white male ones who were so uncooperative on the Akaka Bill. Since I observe that Mr. Boylan, too, is a white male (as am ), I have to assume it’s really just the Republican part with which he has issues.
If these Republicans are such a nasty lot, who have it in for minorities, poor people and Hawaiians, why were they the only ones insisting that the people of Hawaii have a voice in the process? There were concerted efforts on the part of those white, male Republicans to have our valiant senators make provision in the bill for a referendum or plebiscite in Hawaii so that we, the people those Senators claim to represent, could actually be part of the debate, But nothing doing, no way. If you’ve observed the process over time you know the whole strategy has been to cut the people of Hawaii out of the process at every turn.
Maybe this top down, even authoritarian, attitude of the people you keep insisting are so passionate for the little guy is what in the end killed the Akaka Bill. I have no doubt that had our ruling party begun with the people and then crafted the legislation (novel idea), the effort to ensure that we keep our promises to the Hawaiian people would be way down the line by now, which is what I bet the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Hawaii really want to see.
The irony is that it was those loathsome white, male Republicans that represented the people of Hawaii this time, not Mr. Boylan’s heroes.
T. Mark McCamley
Honolulu
The race card
Dan Boylan’s column “Mostly Politics” might as well be called “Mostly Liberal Politics.” He would also make an excellent choice for chairman of the state Democratic Party.
He mimics the stale cliches of the Democratic National Committee: Using the race card, causing divisiveness and generational division. These kinds of inflammatory remarks and playing the “blame game” is not conducive to the spirit of aloha.
At least Boylan did not accuse American sailors of arresting Queen Liliuokalani and putting her in prison, as Sen. Dan Inouye did on the floor of the U.S. Senate on national TV.
It is too bad that special interest groups are trying to change the meaning of aloha, instead of extending aloha to all the peoples of Hawaii. The Akaka Bill really is “kaka.”
Joe Shorba
Kalihi
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