Maybe it’s time for term limits

The late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was recently eulogized for his humility, self-sacrifice and hard work.

These traits combined with his seniority in the Senate enabled him to make major contributions to the economic growth of Hawaii in the years following statehood.

His loss and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka’s retirement leave a void in Hawaii’s congressional delegation and, with that void, a potential loss in economic clout.

There is much to be said for lack of congressional term limits, including the growth of leadership and the sort of power that senior congressmen such as Inouye and Akaka wielded to support their state’s economy. But lack of term limits also leads to the situation faced by Hawaii’s nascent congressional delegation.

The introduction of term limits for congressmen would introduce new ideas and free them from the grip of lobbyists who support their re-election campaigns. As it is, congressmen currently spend more than half their time fundraising for the next election.

Why hasn’t it happened? Maybe we’ve become accustomed to Washington gridlock as business as usual.

Michael Bornemann
Hawaii Kai

Abercrombie put in tough spot

I believe that by trying to get U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa named to replace him, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye did a great disservice to the state of Hawaii.

He put Gov. Neil Abercrombie in a no-win situation. If the governor had picked Hanabusa, he would have been seen by many as knuckling under to political pressure. Had he picked anyone else, many would have vilified him for not respecting the dying wish of the late senator.

The governor followed the law of the state in choosing Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz as the replacement. If the voters of Hawaii are unhappy with the choice, they should, when the time comes, follow the law and vote for someone else.

Stephen Abrams
Honolulu

Selfish writers are real travesty

Your "Letters to the Legislature" section of Sunday’s edition was filled with self-interest appeals to the extreme.

The most annoying one to me was the one relating to overdevelopment of Oahu being a travesty ("Overdevelopment of Oahu is a travesty," Star-Advertiser, Insight, Dec. 30).

A travesty it is, indeed, but for reasons totally opposite the anti-development tirade the writer reiterated, as have so many others, time and time again. They are views that will never change, in the minds of a vocal minority that are bent on preventing improvement in everything on this island, from rail to roads to new buildings and neighborhoods. The list is endless.

Talk about a new and better way to ease life on this island, and getting better jobs for people required to work two, sometimes three jobs at a time while sharing housing with nine or more residents, and someone sees a reason to get an attorney and sue against the change.

Gordon Wolfe
Waikiki

Tone down heated rhetoric

Violence begets violence.

How else to describe a reader’s response to the Newtown school tragedy ("Shooting a sign of culture war," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 28), blaming the mass murder on a vague "war of permissiveness" waged by a "counter-culture elite," and calling on citizens to "fight to the finish" to "preserve the republic."

Please, let’s tone down the faux patriotic, inflammatory call-to-arms rhetoric — it actually contributes to a culture of violence.

If there is a problem with "permissiveness" in our society, it is that we permit weapons capable of mass murder to far too easily get into the hands of killers.

Eric Gordon
Bangalore, India

Armed teachers might shoot kids

Is everyone going insane after the Connecticut shooting?

As a veteran and a teacher, I am very concerned with the immediate trend to arm teachers in some states. A conversation during Christmas dinner really threw me for a loop. Someone asked, "What happens when a teacher with a gun has a bad day and has a whole room of potential victims?"

Putting guns in schools is one of the most irresponsible things a community could do. Let’s not even remind the public of how many schools get robbed on a weekly basis in some cases.

Brian Cole
Ewa Beach

Prison disparity linked to youth

Your article "Panel seeks to ease inmate disparity" ignores important facts (Star-Advertiser, Dec. 28).

Why do ethnic Hawaiians have higher rates of incarceration and longer sentences than other ethnic groups?

Not because they’re bad people. Not because the judiciary discriminates against them.

It’s because they’re much younger than the rest of Hawaii’s people.

In Census 2010, ethnic Hawaiians’ median age was only 26, while other groups were 42. Young people make less money, use more illegal drugs and commit far more crimes, with much greater violence, than older people.

Also most "Hawaiians" have most of their ancestry being other than Hawaiian. If someone with 1⁄8 native blood goes to jail, then only 1⁄8 should be counted for Hawaiian incarceration when calculating racial data.

Hawaii’s racial entitlements empire needs the Akaka Bill and public sympathy for protection. That’s why the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the tycoons of the Hawaiian grievance industry love portraying Hawaiians as downtrodden victims of injustice.

Kenneth R. Conklin
Kaneohe

Inouye coverage was outstanding

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser should be commended for its outstanding coverage of the passing of the Honorable U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. It provided us with a stream of daily photos and information that touched the people of Hawaii. I never did vote for the senator, since I left the Islands in 1958.

Recently, in 2009, I returned to Hawaii and became aware of the impact that Inouye’s tenure and political acumen had on our island state. Many of us on the mainland saw the senator chairing the Watergate investigation and the Iran-Contra affair. We were all impressed. But it is also the heartwarming stories of World War II veterans and photographs of the love and respect displayed from the National Rotunda, all the way to our own state Capitol and The National Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.

Norma Nomura DeSaegher
Ewa Beach

650-tower will affect park, too

Regarding "Rail work can resume following judge’s ruling" (Star-Advertiser, Dec. 28): Has anyone noticed the irony of the recent court decision that said the city should study the impact of the rail system on the historic Mother Waldron Park, but no one has raised the question of the impacts on the park of a 650-foot building right next door?

Chuck Prentiss
Kailua