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July 21, 2010 - MidWeek

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A smokescreen

I have been following MidWeek‘s political pundits’verbiage on HB444 and find it entertaining. Bob Jones, Dan Boylan and Jade Moon made their cases why the governor should have not vetoed HB444.

I’m not disagreeing. OK, I really don’t care. Basically HB444 was used as a smokescreen to cover the again ineffectual legislature. That’s why they passed it on the last day of the session. Made the governor the scapegoat, it did. Now all one recalls is how the legislature passed this great civil rights package and the governor vetoed it - not their failure again to improve overall the quality of life for their constituents. Everybody blames the guv for the furloughs, but I put the onus on the legislature. Why? They knew it was coming and did nothing to mitigate it. I wouldn’t worry too much that HB444 was vetoed, as it will again be back next year to cover yet another ho-hum year.

Arvin Zane
Mililani

Facts, please

I would strongly recommend that Jade Moon and Rep. Roy Takumi use a fact check before trying to convince others as to why we should support the Civil Unions bill.

Rep. Takumi says, “Is there any doubt what the outcome would have been if the right for women to vote was decided by the voters (who ... were all men back in 1920)?”

True, amendments to the Constitution are not directly voted on by the people, but given the overwhelming vote in support of the 19th Amendment by the Republican controlled House of Representatives (304 to 89) and Republican Senate (56 to 25) as well as ratification within 14 months by 36 of the 48 states, it is clear that this was an amendment that was widely supported by the voters.

Also, in the election of 1918, the National Woman’s Party urged citizens to vote against anti-suffrage Senators up for reelection in the 1918. To infer that a democratic vote would have seen this bill defeated, is a stretch of the imagination.

If Civil Unions are so popular, our representatives would not have to sneak their votes in at the last hour of the last day. Let the people decide.

Michael Sudlow
Hauula

A 444 mahalo

Thank you to Gov. Lingle, after reading bashings from three MidWeek columnists, about her vetoing HB444. I think she voted courageously and from her heart. There are thousands of people in this state who do agree with her decision, and she listened to their voices. Our country has become terribly twisted where you can’t view a cross on the mountain, but questionable behavior on beaches is OK.

B. Okahara
Kapolei

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