UH regents set poor example

Your articles on the Senate hearings on the University of Hawaii’s loss of $200,000 on the supposed fundraising concert were quite illustrative.

It is apparent that no one connected to UH (including the administration and Board of Regents) has any sense of responsibility or accountability for his or her actions. I guess they expect us to believe that "the devil made me do it."

The whole episode would be funny except for the astronomical dollar amounts that are apparently being wasted on supposed top-notch people hired to run UH.It makes one wonder how efficient and worthwhile the nationwide searches are when they result in the glaring string of failures of the top-level personnel hired.

Thankfully, the Senate has decided to try to get to the bottom of the concert fiasco and is not following the pitiful example set by the Board of Regents hearing.

Francis A. Ritchey
Kailua

Noise distracts HCC students

All this buzzing, bombing and other types of construction noises are something we, the students, don’t need during school hours.

We already had to cancel one of our classes due to the loud noises, and who knows how many more classes have been canceled because of the disturbances.

I was excited to come back to school for the fall semester, but when I saw all the big construction machines, it made me wonder if it would be a problem during classes.

I paid my tuition to get a great education from Honolulu Community College, but the construction is making me change my mind about my education here.

It would be nice if the construction took place after school hours just so we could get our money’s worth for the education we wish to have here.

Jena-lee Sagucio
Makiki

Sacrifice is how to help nation

Thomas Sowell hit a bad note in contending that "redistribution" of the nations’s assets will lead to poverty and dependency ("Redistribution of wealth typically is path to poverty," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 22).

Nothing could be further from reality.He would be more comfortable in the 19th-century days of laissez-faire industrialization and Darwinian economics, when the vast chasm between the extremely wealthy and the dire poor was rampant.

The clear goals of Social Security, Medicare and unemployment benefits are to provide a boost, not dependency.We have already contributed to them through payroll taxes.

Normal governmental services such as fire and police are substantially paid for by those who can afford them, through state and local income and property taxes.

We must promote shared sacrifice for the good of the nation — not "pay as you go," which will only help the wealthy oligarchy and do more damage to the nation’s economics, social fabric and moral standing.

Paul Mizue
Aiea

Job demotions not really news

Why was it necessary to report that a Navy commander was relieved of his duties as the executive officer of a guided missile destroyer ("Navy commander loses bid to helm Pearl Harbor ship," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 21).

According to the article, there was no malfeasance involved.

Do you report on state Department of Education vice-principals who do not get promoted to principal, or principals who may get reassigned from their schools to lesser positions, unless there was malfeasance involved?

What about somebody who doesn’t get a promotion in any business, like a CEO or president of a firm; do you report that?

There are times when people don’t meet the standards to get to the next level. It’s not a crime. No need to make them feel worse by publishing it in the newspaper.

It seems to me that writing stuff like this shows a bit of insensitivity on your part.

Bob Mumper
Kailua

Share aloha, spread peace

Sometimes on a Friday afternoon I will catch the 2:10 No. 5 bus as it goes from Manoa to Ala Moana Center.

As it passes the side street where the mosque is located, several men may get on, having been to Friday prayers.

If I can catch anyone’s eye, I will say to him, "salaam aleichem" — peace be with you.

There is so much hate in the world that we who live in the land of aloha have a duty to spread peace, and let peace be within us, too.

Tom Huff
Manoa