Weather a warning?

I wonder if the odd weather in Hawaii in 2010 is among the first signs of global warming. Winter, normally the islands’ rainy season, was bone-dry, and our summer has been filled with wind, rain and overcast skies.

I dearly hope this is not the case. But it is clearly a warning sign that we need to encourage activities that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Individuals can choose solar heating in their homes, dry their clothes on a laundry line instead of with a drying machine, and using public transit like the bus to get to work or school. Companies can provide incentives for their workers to use the bus. Government can push forward with more tax credits to encourage green energy like solar power and rail transit in Honolulu.

It is up to us to protect Hawaii, our skies, our ocean and our planet for the next generation.

All must follow rules

I’ve been dismayed to read all the glowing support letters for the two Aloun Farm guys. Some lamented that prosecuting these guys endangers traditional farming, but that is only true if your idea of "traditional farming" harkens back to Alabama or Mississippi in the mid-1800s.

Just as important, the Aloun Farm mess reminds us (as did the Superferry fiasco) that we can’t take shortcuts to get out of our economic woes. If a business plan will succeed only with tens of millions of dollars in public infrastructure spending, or waivers of significant environmental and safety laws, or slavery, that business plan is doomed.

It sounds nerdy and boring, but the way we are going to get ahead is by hard work within the rules and laws.

Face of GOP is cynical

You did a great service by publishing the letters of Sens. Daniel Akaka and Jeff Sessions on Justice Elena Kagan (Letters, Aug. 5). Sen. Sessions’ vulgar and cynical letter shows the true face of the current leadership of the Republican Party.

Headlines misleading

Your Aug. 31 paper contained two headlines so misleading they could have been written as they were only to hide the truth. One noted that Hawaii stimulus jobs were overwhelmingly "outside the private sector." Why obscure the truth — that they were in government — with such gobbledygook? The second boasted of a 21,300-client rise in projected daily rail ridership. It was left to the article, as in the case of the first headline, to explain what was really meant: that the 21,300 number was likely wrong, and possibly even "phony."

Muslims protected, too

The decision of the Anti-Defamation League of the Jewish fraternal organization B’nai B’rith to oppose the construction of an Islamic center near the ground zero site in New York was disappointing. Probably more than any other group, Jews have suffered persecution for their religious beliefs over many centuries. They should certainly appreciate the importance of defending religious freedom.

Muslims have been demonized because of the horrific events of 9/11. But the fanatics responsible for those crimes have shown no compunction over killing Muslims as well as Christians and Jews. Most American Muslims condemn these atrocities.

The Constitution’s commitment to religious freedom is absolute. There can be no picking and choosing which religions deserve protection.