As one Hawaiian to another Hawaiian, I’d say, if I was in Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha’s shoes, “Let me make this easy for everybody. You can keep the money.” (“Police chief will get $250,000 to leave,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 19).

Apparently, everyone is up in arms about the buyout. My advice to Kealoha is that he take care of his family and health first, and let God guide him. He should embrace and remember the times he spent as chief of police and all the good he did. He has my support. He is a good man.

Aloha.

John Keala

Maili

—

Repealing ACA work of death panels

An allegation that the original Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) would bring about “death panels” was so effective it almost prevented passage of the law.

Death panels were later seen as a lie to make us afraid. As I watched the C-SPAN video of the early-morning hearings to repeal ACA, it struck me that the death panels have finally come to be.

Since 20 million people now have health coverage who previously did not, there are stories in every state of real people who are alive today because of the coverage.

The average voter has more surprises to come because many popular controls of the insurance industry that are now embedded in Medicare and private plans will be gone as well.

Power plays that take place while we sleep look like a death panel to me.

Sara Marshall

Aiea

—

Supporting Trump an immoral prospect

Tyler Adams urged us all to “get over it” and support President Donald Trump (“Time to stand behind Trump presidency,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 12).

However, before I can do that, I have to make a few changes in myself. First, I have to accept that immorality is a good thing, and that the sense of ethics that I have cultivated all my life is meaningless and wrong. I have to accept that I can support a man who is misogynistic, bigoted and a xenophobe.

I must learn, somehow, to believe that it is good that the rich get richer (especially the Trump family), and to heck with the poor or disabled, who are only fodder for derision and scorn.

I am not sure why Adams saw fit to mention that he is a veteran. Does that make him better or more intelligent than the rest of us? Very Trump-like. I, too, am a veteran, and I will gladly match my 22 years of service as an Air Force officer against his.

Michael Mills

Ewa Beach

—

Make simple fixes to bad regulations

There are some simple regulatory changes that would help us.

Remove the cap on the payroll tax that funds Social Security. Focus the Federal Reserve only on inflation, not unemployment. Turn the Food and Drug Administration into a seal of approval, not a barrier to market entry. Disallow drug companies from direct marketing to consumers. Focus financial regulation on solvency and anti-fraud, and trim elsewhere. Require institutional and corporate investors to limit their portfolio investments in any one type of asset to ten percent, absent authorization from the CEO and board of directors.

Let’s get away from the idea that things must be big in order to be important.

Lloyd Lim

Makiki

—

HCIA misleads on pesticide use

The education and primary career of Bennette Misalucha, the executive director of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association (HCIA), have been in banking administration. It’s reasonable to presume she’s not a scientist. She’s also been a newsperson.

Therefore, her commentary bemoaning misinformation, while also providing misinformation, is troubling (“USDA report confirms that plant pesticides are used safely,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Jan. 12).

I’m neither for nor against GMOs. I’m a scientist, charged with providing evidence-based care for patients who sometimes ask questions based on misinformation.

At minimum, she should declare her conflict as an employee of HCIA, whose four members are all corporate agribusinesses.

The referenced USDA report analyzed fewer than 10,000 samples, excluding peanut butter. Only 10 states were involved and the corn samples tested were food corn — not the seed corn grown by HCIA members in Hawaii. Samples weren’t tested for glyphosate, aka Roundup.

The European Union requires GMO labeling, and the majority of European countries ban GMOs.

Roger Kimura, M.D.

Moiliili

—

Cal Thomas acts like liberals he despises

Cal Thomas, in his defense of President Donald Trump’s ties with Russia and Russian hacking, has become what he, a right-wing conservative, hates and despises the most: an anti-American liberal (“U.S. just as guilty as Russia of meddling in other nations,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 10).

He denounced America’s meddling in other countries’ elections and the outright overthrow of foreign governments from 1963 under President John F. Kennedy to recent years under President Barack Obama.

His rationale is that because U.S. foreign policies have been so wicked in the past, it is fair game for Russia to act the same way — even if it’s against the U.S., like hacking into the Democratic National Committee to influence the outcome of the election or even targeting Trump with compromising personal and financial information.

Today the GOP would ally with America’s adversaries in order to crush the Democratic Party. The road to a one-party nation under Trump with the help of Russian hacking and subtle propaganda and influence goes above and beyond our national security and interests.

Doug Nguyen

Waikiki