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Organizing with GOP weakens Democrats
Rep. Joe Souki’s bid for the state House speakership using Republican votes gives enormous leverage to the minority legislators.Without their support, Souki would not be able to gather the necessary 26 votes to pass a measure in the House.
How willing do you think Souki will be to change a bill should the Republicans threaten to vote no if he doesn’t? They will be able to hold bills hostage and even threaten to reorganize whenever Souki takes a position they don’t like.
With that kind of leverage, do you really think Souki will be able to balance the budget, especially if revenue enhancements (raises in taxes or fees) are required?Will he be able to protect workers’ rights and benefits if the business community protests? Doubtful.
Organizing the House with Republican votes sets a dangerous precedent that succumbs to the tyranny of the minority that James Madison warned against.
Rep. Marcus R. Oshiro
D-39th District (Wahiawa-Poamoho)
Politicians should represent all of us
Your editorial correctly focuses discussion on the importance of legislators working for the people of Hawaii rather than political parties ("Bipartisanship not so terrible," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Jan. 9).
While some would vote for Vlad the Impaler over Mother Teresa strictly because Vlad is on their team, most voters are willing to support candidates they believe will best represent their district.
No district is 100 percent blue or red, and most local issues do not need to be partisan brawls. We have 51 House districts and all the residents of Hawaii deserve representation, no matter if their specific representative is blue, red or green.
Let’s demand better representation, not blind party loyalty.
Gil Riviere
Waialua
Oahu roads need permanent solutions
I would like to commend Mayor Kirk Caldwell for pothole fixes and planning to hire temporary workers at the Motor Vehicles, Licensing and Permits Division.
I just don’t think he understands that we don’t need temporary fixes. We need solutions like repaving the roads and better procedures with more permanent employees at the division.
We have the worst roads in the nation and we average one water main break a day. Let’s stop wasting money on temporary fixes and come up with some permanent solutions.
Brendan O’Connor
Kailua
Let’s get real about Falls of Clyde’s status
Not long after arriving in Hawaii, I was introduced to the word "shibai." Such a useful word!
And yet, according to Google, it is commonly used only here in Hawaii.
Surely no one can doubt that every place has the underlying activity in abundance.
Bruce McEwan, president of Friends of Falls of Clyde Inc., gave us a perfect example of it in his article, "Falls of Clyde’s rich history deserves preservation"(Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Jan. 9).
Rich history!She was mostly an oil tanker, later a floating fuel station.Try Googling Thermopylae, Flying Cloud, Cutty Sark, Glory of the Seas, Sea Witch or a dozen others if you want to read about clippers with a rich history. In the high seas sagas of those magnificent ships, poor Falls of Clyde merits not even a footnote.She’s been an anachronistic canker on the face of our beautiful downtown harbor far too long.Time to make her a reef for fishes.
Talk of anything else is shibai.
Barton Cox
Makiki
Second Amendment quoted out of context
I recently had anoccasion to look back at an interview I conducted with U.S. Rep. Cec Heftel in 1982. Among the issues we discussed was gun control. Imagine that.
He said, "Our freedoms and protection under the law are not dependent upon the ownership of a gun but rather an adequate police force and equal enforcement of the law for all people."
Whenever the issue of gun control arises, the National Rifle Association brings up theSecond Amend- ment of the Bill of Rights — the "right of the people to keep and bear arms"— to beat it back. However, it is a quote out of context. The amendment’s intent was to maintain "A well regulated Militia …" — in others words, an organized civilian army for the defense of the nation.
The NRA has interpreted it to mean that anybody has the right toown guns with unlimited fire power.
Sid Rosen
Hawaii Kai
Hanabusa’s outrage hard to understand
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is riled up at Bill O’Reilly because O’Reilly stated that "Asian-Americans are not liberal by nature. … They are usually more industrious and hard-working."
One wonders what Hanabusa is riled up about. Being industrious and hard-working is normally considered praiseworthy.
Perhaps Hanabusa is miffed that O’Reilly is suggesting that Asian-Americans are liberal voters,but, knowing Hanabusa’s politics, that cannot be it.
Maybe it is O’Reilly’s suggestion that liberals are not naturally industrious and hard-working, which is at least debatable.
Trying to figure out why she is riled up is taxing.
Tom Freitas
Hawaii Kai
Abercrombie right to support preschools
The problem with preschools is that there isn’t enough of them.
Joy Pullman of the Heartland Institute rambles on about research ("Help parents, not preschools," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 9).
I did a quick check on the Heartland Institute, where Pullman does her research. The Heartland Institute advocates all sorts of things, mostly big coal, tobacco and climate-change denial. The Heartland Institute is a political lobby machine designed to influence Congress and political officials.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie knows Hawaii. While not perfect in all areas, the governor recognizes the need of parents and their children.
Hawaii has many small children. Not all come from financially secure homes with generous resources.
Head Start helps families with needs.
Fred Klettke
Makaha
Liliha library eager to help preschoolers
It was good to read about our governor’s efforts to improve early childhood education.
Everyone knows what happens in the early years affects adults years later.
The Friends of Liliha Library donated plastic carts on wheels for our "book box" project. With an organizational library card, preschool staff can borrow a cart full of 24 pre-selected picture books.
We have eight sets with a total of 192 different selections. This should provide one-a-day treats for most of an eight-to-nine-month period of eight schools.
We started the project a few years ago, but it has not been as popular as anticipated. Perhaps we shouldn’t have limited publicity to our own neighborhood.
Teachers who understood the value of reading to youngsters were quick to understand the value of what we offered. Once those key teachers retired, participation dropped. Currently our only customer is Harris Methodist Preschool.
Sylvia Mitchell
Branch manager, Liliha Public Library
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