Be thankful that you’re not a turkey

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year — being grateful for all our many blessings, especially the bounty of Mother Earth and the food that sustains us.

I do not personally choose to celebrate the occasion by the killing and eating of a turkey or any animals, but if you do, please kindly remember to give heartfelt thanks for the life you have taken, and perhaps consider a vegetarian Thanksgiving holiday in the future.

It doesn’t have to be "Turkey Day" to be a great Thanksgiving.

Diane Anderson
Haleiwa

Generalizations about Europe unfair

In response to Nelson Lampert’s lament over high taxes ("Tax structure too much like Europe," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 22), not all European countries are equal, any more than all U.S. states are equal in the services they provide for their residents/citizens. And not all European countries are going broke. Germany is doing very well and providing first-rate health care, equaled in the U.S. only by the health care package for members of Congress.

Rike Weiss
Honolulu

Saint Louis builds men of character

In a letter to the editor in the Star-Advertiser, I was quoted as stating that a "private school education is no longer a luxury for college hopefuls" ("Enrollment up at Saint Louis," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 16).

I would like to take this opportunity to put this quote into context, and to clarify that I was specifically referring to this statement from the perspective of our Saint Louis families, and their expectation of Saint Louis School to establish their sons as gentlemen of character.

Saint Louis School is a single-gender, Catholic-Marianist s chool, and our mission is to provide a strong academic foundation as well as to instill discipline centered on the characteristics of a Marianist education.

These principles include family spirit, adaptation and change, education of the whole person, service, justice and peace, and the formation of faith. Through these values, our faculty incorporates practical application into the classroom so our young men are able to strengthen their moral fiber.

Social issues we discuss with our students include how to avoid substance abuse, when to apply mature strategies for conflict resolution and how to be a more responsible contributor to their household.

Our Saint Louis families deem the fulfillment of our school’s mission as a necessity for their sons to compete in and contribute to the workplace and society.

James R. "Duke" Aiona Jr.
Executive vice president of development and recruitment, Saint Louis School

City gamble on rail is fiscal madness

If the pending rail lawsuit in federal court is successful, we will have to stop the rail project and all monies spent will be lost.

The amount of money that has been spent so far on rail is in the hundreds of millions.

Although the city is aware of this potentially huge loss of public funds, it is still planning to execute a billion-dollar rail car contract. This type of gamble with public funds is madness.

John Brizdle
Palolo Valley

Republicans block budgetary progress

Along with the failure of the congressional supercommittee to save $1.2 trillion over the next decade is the failure of the mainstream news media to report the real reasons for the failure.

The fact is that the president and most congressional Democrats have accepted significant budget cuts, but the Republicans are entrenched in retaining the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy. That is the cause of the impasse in Congress. Yet mainstream media will not ask the hard questions of Republican leadership, perhaps because they fear they will be branded liberal.

Democrats want to roll back the excesses of the Bush tax cuts and curb government spending. With what is now virtually unlimited spending on federal campaigns, it is time for the main- stream news media to step up and do the tough job of real reporting.

Chuck Freedman
Honolulu

Federal agent refused blood test

So it was finally revealed that Christopher Deedy, the federal agent who killed Kollin Elderts, refused to take a blood test to detect the presence of drugs or alcohol. Looks like he had something to hide.

The Star-Advertiser can begin fair and balanced coverage by not repeating in every article it runs that Kollin Elderts had alcohol in his bloodstream.

David Young
Aina Haina

Noise near base is to be expected

In response to the letter, "Marines make too much noise" (Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 22): Those Marines are making noise because they are practicing how to stay alive while putting their lives on the line to protect our great country. If you do not like it, move!

It is absurd that people who live around there complain about the noise. What did you expect when you moved in next to a Marine base?

The military does try to limit its flying around that area. As a civilian and a Windward resident, I see and hear those planes and helicopters flying and I think, "Thank God for our military."

So thank you to our brave servicemen and women. Thank you for sacrificing your todays for our tomorrows.

Michelle Look
Kailua