Local race shows value of voting

Let the electoral race between Marilyn Lee and Shaun Kawakami in state House District 38 (Mililani-Mililani Mauka) stand for the reason why everyone should vote.

The No. 1 reason I hear from friends and colleagues why they choose not to vote, is that one vote does not matter. Well, if a 17-vote margin does not prove that every vote counts, then I don’t know what does.

It is our constitutional right to be able to vote, and one that was fought for with blood, sweat and tears. To every citizen, please vote and make our Founding Fathers proud.

GOP not much of an alternative

Instead of whining about losing seats and "going backwards," Gov. Linda Lingle and state Rep. Barbara Marumoto should use their influence with the Hawaii Republican Party to give us some Republican candidates we would actually consider voting for.

I vote for the candidates I believe will do the most to advance freedom and civil rights, including marriage equality, reproductive rights and the right to end one’s life with the help of a physician in the case of terminal illness. I will not vote for candidates who advance their personal religious beliefs at the expense of my personal freedom.

I voted for Lingle, but feel I was duped after her veto of the civil unions law and her action (or lack of action) on other social issues. I do not agree with a lot of the Democratic Party positions, but the Republicans give me no reasonable alternative.

Federal money won’t be there

Throughout his campaign, Neil Abercrombie talked about how Brian Schatz would be his guy in Washington finding all sorts of money for Hawaii — pretty much his solution for any question dealing with the economy.

Good luck with that, Neil. We’ll all be looking forward to your finding money in Washington after an election that has effectively emasculated President Barack Obama from exercising any further fiscal irresponsibility.

Who, exactly, will we be getting that money from? Not the Republican Congress. Certainly not the Democratic Senate after Tuesday night’s drubbing. Too many of those guys will be hanging on for dear life, hoping they don’t screw up further to tick off an already enraged electorate.

As for Colleen Hanabusa, good luck with helping Obama and his agenda. Even the most casual of observers can see that that nonsense has been stopped in its tracks.

Victory headline was tasteless

In my opinion, your headline "Abercrombie Thrashes Aiona" was cruel and tasteless (Star-Advertiser, Nov. 3). It just continues the nasty campaign mode of this season.

I don’t agree with the only daily newspaper in town being so blatant in its bias. We deserve balanced reporting.

Andy Irons deserved better

The Star-Advertiser was the only news organization to have the temerity to insinuate — in a bold headline, no less — that Andy Irons’ death might be related to an overdose. From SurfLine.com to ESPN, other reports resisted the urge to speculate. In failing to resist such speculation, your newspaper committed an egregious offense not only to the grieving Irons ohana, but to the greater surfing world as well.

As an elite Hawaiian waterman, Andy remains, arguably, second only to Duke Kahanamoku. He deserved better treatment by his home newspaper. Shame on you for not waiting until toxicology reports or even autopsy results were administered before tainting Andy’s tragically premature death.

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An amazing singer gets noticed

It gave me great enjoyment to read the article, "Humble school handyman can’t hide his angelic voice" (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 11). As an alumnus of St. Francis School, I remember Andy Llamedo around campus whenever someone needed help, and more often than not, participating in the musical portions of religious ceremonies and masses that were held from time to time.

Mr. Llamedo does have an amazing and powerful voice, as does the rest of the Llamedo family. I remember hearing it firsthand. This strikes a chord in my mind because at the time, St. Francis was an all-girls school and his voice stood out among the female voices. It is inspiring to read a great story on great people, because so many go unnoticed.