Letters to the Editor

Kahuku coach right to discipline players

Suspending Kahuku football coaches Reggie Torres and Ikaika Plunkett for disciplining their team, after players were caught in possession of an illegal substance, is sending the wrong message to Hawaii’s youth.

We’re not talking about players being made to run laps for dropping a pass or fumbling a football. Students knowingly broke a commitment they made to their teammates, school and community. When the players were caught during training camp, the team ran laps to learn a lesson as a group. The punishment was completely justifiable.

It comes as no surprise that teenagers occasionally make dumb and dangerous choices and sometimes, scaring them can be the most effective solution to ensure they don’t make those mistakes again.

On the OIA Sports website, "serving Hawaii’s youth since 1940" is prominently displayed at the top of the page.

We won’t be living up to that standard if we take away our coaches’ ability to reasonably discipline our young athletes.

Michael Fujimoto
Mililani

Greater awareness needed for kupuna

As a newcomer to the islands, I have heard of the tremendous respect for the kupuna. I have witnessed this many times myself and have a great appreciation for this attitude so often missing from the mainland.

I wonder sometimes how respectful drivers are when they see elders crossing the streets on foot? I live on the Windward side and often take the bus into town and cross busy streets around King and Piikoi. I often see elderly ladies with their shopping carts crossing slowly in the mornings. I have witnessed near misses where cars sneak into the intersection behind or ahead of elderly pedestrians.

Many kupuna ride the bus and walk slowly, and their vision is not what it used to be. Likewise they no longer drive and need to move about on foot.

So, please, watch out for them on the crossways.

Mike Carter Bertoglio
Kaneohe

Has Abercrombie forgotten his roots?

I was surprised recently to receive an invitation to an Abercrombie for Governor fundraising dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

It seemed early for a fundraiser with the election three years from now. But what shocked me more, in these hard economic times, was the price of a ticket, which ranged from $300 to $3,000 to $6,000, up to $12,000.

Is the governor appealing to corporations and the wealthy for his re-election support?

What has happened to the Abercrombie who often championed people’s causes? His administration’s tax, labor and fiscal policies have been unfair and unwise — the opposite of what we expected. It puzzles me that when we elect Democrats who promise to protect social programs and services, enact fairer tax policies and close tax loopholes for the wealthy and the corporations, we too often get politicos who go after the big bucks and betray those who put them in office.

John Witeck
Honolulu

Buy puppies from reputable dealers

The recent haunting descriptions of puppy mills should be a wake-up call for Hawaii residents ("Protection for puppies," Star-Advertiser, July 31).

It’s hard to imagine anyone raising dogs in such cruel and inhumane conditions, but it’s a reality that can no longer be ignored.

The website Awarenessday.org estimates that four million dogs are bred in puppy mills every year. The mills contribute to millions of unwanted dogs that are euthanized each year in the U.S.

Puppy mill conditions can include over-breeding, minimal veterinary care, poor food and shelter, crowded cages and lack of socialization.

We all need to be aware of the commercial breeders. Their main goal is to collect as much money as possible rather than taking care of the animal’s well-being.

The next time you’re looking to buy a puppy, do your research and be sure that your puppy is coming from a reputable source.

Claudia Veikune
Wahiawa

Class warfare talk turns into art form

Two recent letters are indicative of what divides many — keep spending money we must borrow or try living within our means ("A bit of reading could be useful," "Deficit obsession is bad economics," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 4).

One contributor offered a reading list. I strongly suggest "Atlas Shrugged" be added.

Spending more government money during hard times sounds good, but government traditionally spends much more, not less, during good times.

Democrats are often too beholden to unions and put a happy face on their legalized extortion and handouts to constituents at the expense of taxpayers. Class warfare has been turned into an art form by President Barack Obama by playing to the approximately 50 percent of taxpayers who do not pay federal income tax while demeaning the hard-working producers as still not paying their fair share.

Shared-sacrifice rhetoric from liberal spenders needs to include impacts on future generations, not just their own selfish interests.

John Fernie
Kailua

Raising debt hurts future generations

I don’t think that the government should have raised the debt ceiling.

As a young adult, I am worried about the government’s future debt, and how government officials will want to tax me to pay for the interest due on it (they seem disinclined to pay off the principal).

When are our leaders going to stop thinking about their personal agenda of spending and instead reduce unnecessary government spending and corruption for the future generations?

Janae Rasmussen
Senior, University Laboratory School