Enforce current fireworks laws

Current laws prohibiting all bombs and illegal aerial fireworks are not being enforced; however, given that only four states have a total ban on fireworks, and many of the 46 other states are effectively enforcing safe and sane fireworks laws, it is clearly possible to enforce fireworks laws.

The problem of willing witnesses will remain the same with or without a ban on consumer fireworks. If people are mad, then step up.

Why should thousands of perfectly law-abiding citizens of Honolulu be penalized or worse, forced to buy culturally necessary products through the black market?

Djou has dared to stay in touch

U.S. Rep. Charles Djou has introduced a new level of political representation to Hawaii, one that is truly representative of the people, long overdue, new and refreshing.

He has dared break from the stagnant, "If you’re a Democrat, you’re one of us" political philosophy that has permeated Hawaii politics for decades.

In the short time he has been in Congress, Djou has made several contacts with Hawaii residents requesting their feedback on political issues and reassuring them of his responses.

Star-Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna hit it right on the button when she asked how many times Hawaii residents have heard from the other old (Democrat) horses in Congress besides when they wanted to shore up their votes.

Djou is good for Hawaii; we should keep him in Washington.

Djou’s votes are revealing

I was always going to vote for state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa if Ed Case lost, and U.S. Rep. Charles Djou’s recent votes confirm that choice.

His votes against deficit-neutral small business investment and for the repeal of the health care mandate say much more about his values than any number of slick mailers.

Djou supports party of the rich

Recent comments about U.S. Rep. Charles Djou’s phone queries seem to neglect what those leading questions demonstrate: He belongs to the party that serves the rich. It doesn’t care about people who have lost their jobs and homes in this recession.

One of his first votes was against the extension of unemployment benefits. That says it all: Let them sleep on the street! Ever since the Reagan era, the rich have gotten much richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and the rest of us have struggled with debt.

Lowering taxes on the rich does not create jobs. It enables big businesses to gobble each other up while driving small businesses out of the market. But the rich control the media and fund lobbyists to divert people’s attention from the real culprits, so some folks get angry at any government effort to help those who need it.

Peacocks noise isn’t the worst

This situation is sad, very sad ("Koko Crater peacocks doomed," Star-Advertiser, June 19). The article says that relocation was not an option. Why not?

In Kaneohe, where I live, the peacocks used to come occasionally. The cattle egrets and ducks still do, but also less often. I suppose to some people they can be a nuisance, but their presence reminds me of what a wonderful place we live in.

If we’re serious about noise, we have other nuisances we could be concerned about: motor- cycles, souped-up cars and trucks whose drivers seem to want to own the road, and sound systems that continue to blare despite laws that attempt to control excessive sounds.

Given a choice, I would vote for the rights of the peacocks, anytime.

There’s a reason some are angry

I read two very interesting Letters to the Editor in your Friday edition: Leigh Ann Braley’s ("Political hostility is sad situation"), about an elderly man yelling at her because of her Obama car sticker, and Al Armand’s ("Obama speech a sleight of hand"), discussing Obama’s politics and the lack of local town hall meetings by our elected officials.

I can understand both concerns, since a friend’s car was recently vandalized and angry words scratched into his anti-Obama car decal. Yes, people are indeed angry and frustrated about the increased budget deficit, increased national debt, dismissal of the Constitution and rejection of states’ rights, weakened defenses, antagonism of our closest allies, encouragement to those wishing us harm, repeated moves toward more socialism and the trivialization of the war on terror. This is not intended to justify Ms. Braley’s sad experience but it does identify the sources of utter frustration with the current administration being felt by many.

Bay schedule not changing

The June 20 letter by William Gurowitz ("Don’t cut hours at Hanauma Bay," Letters, June 20) incorrectly stated that there is a proposal to shorten operating hours at Hanauma Bay as part of the city’s furlough plan. Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced details of the plan on June 15, and made it clear that there will be no changes at the bay. With adjustments to employees’ schedules and the continued assistance from many dedicated volunteers such as Mr. Gurowitz, we were able to keep the bay’s operating hours the same in the summer: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.