Child porn a heinous crime

Jacob Sullum’s column illustrates why child pornography exists ("Penalties for child porn get Supreme Court’s attention," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 15).

Chastising the Supreme Court for considering harsh penalties for purchasing child porn because its producers may receive lesser penalties reflects the line we have crossed in the sexualization of our society.

If Sullum truly understood the heinous crime that is child pornography, he would argue instead to raise penalties on the abuser-producers.

Just because the defendant is the 1,000th criminal to download pornographic photos of Amy doesn’t mean he should pay one-1,000th of the penalty, as Sullum alludes.

That’s like advocating a robber should be charged a fifth of the penalty for robbery because he was the fifth person to rob the same house.

It is hard to fathom why anyone in this day and age could suggest demanding and using child pornography does not merit the harshest punishment.

Kirsten Baumgart Turner
Kailua

Make better use of elections cash

Is raising a lot of money for a political campaign a positive or a negative sign?

I am always suspicious of candidates who have too much money to waste on meaningless TV ads or those irritating telephone calls I ignore.

Surely the state should limit campaign spending. So many projects in Hawaii need more funding.

Wouldn’t it be the decent thing to give some of the hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars to worthier projects such as to cover University of Hawaii shortfalls?

How sad that we are becoming more like the mainland — too much money for campaigns, too many cars, overwhelming population growth.

How about Hawaii setting an example for the other 49 states?

Peter T. Coleman Jr.
Makiki

Elections should be fully funded

I want to thank you for supporting House Bill 2533, which would establish public funding for state House candidates ("Make it easier to seek office," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 15).

Because funding is always a problem, I especially appreciate your argument in favor of funding the program fully, while being certain that the Campaign Finance Commission itself has enough money to do its job properly.

Dollars spent on this program would do much to restore public faith in the democratic system.

On the Big Island, we saw the success of the pilot program for county council candidates.

I can only think that a wider program to include state House candidates would work as well and better as it reaches even more people.

Susan Dursin
Captain Cook, Hawaii island

HECO engineers doing their jobs

Will Walker said that, despite "frantically searching," he has been unable to substantiate Hawaiian Electric Co.’s concerns about PV systems ("HECO policy blocking transition to solar," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 16).

Simply Google "voltage regulation problems with PV systems" and "safety issues with PV systems." Seek and ye shall find.

If he can’t find any examples of actual damage or injuries, it’s because utility engineers are staying ahead of the problem.

That’s their job and we should appreciate that they are doing it.

James B. Young
St. Louis Heights

Uninsured cars could be snared

I would gladly give up my license plate confidentiality if doing so would remove the estimated one third of the uninsured vehicles from the road ("New police cameras note license plates," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 17).

That would be a "no brainer."

Gerrit Osborne
Waialae Iki

Education cuts limit our future

Thank you for David Shapiro’s terrific column about the way the University of Hawaii has deteriorated due to budget cuts by legislators ("Once a beacon, UH dulled by the dim bulbs in politics," Star-Advertiser, Volcanic Ash, Feb. 16).

What a forward-looking vision previous lawmakers had for Hawaii — that the university was "the answer to the hopes and prayers of thousands of island families whose forebears were originally imported as plantation laborers."

Our son is married to a Honolulu native and each time we’re in this beautiful place we are struck by the number of people employed in low-paying service industry jobs.

Hard work is always honorable; it’s also important to know that a good education can hugely increase the number of opportunities for everyone.

I recently retired from the University of California. I, too, saw what eviscerated budgets have done to a magnificent state (and national) asset.

We should all be concerned when myopic legislators cut our education — they’re limiting our futures.

Lyra Halprin
Davis, Calif.

Rhoads ignored email requests

Our political system in Hawaii is badly broken.

Otherwise, how could more than 2,000 email requests for a hearing on House Bill 1624 (known as the Hawaii Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2014) be ignored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Karl Rhoads?

It is a solid, proven bill needed in the wake of religious freedoms eroded after the special session.

What exactly does it take for issues of concern to the people of the state to overshadow the concerns and bills of the committee chair?

Perhaps Rhoads has overstayed his time in office and should be replaced.

Ruth Brown
Waianae

DHHL request took real gall

Written testimony by the current Department of Hawaiian Home Lands director, requesting more document privacy, goes beyond a lack of conscience when you consider the cloak-and-dagger mismanagement that has plagued the department for decades.

With the exposure of disfunction reported by the Star-Advertiser still recent in mind, it takes real gall to suggest legislation to give more privacy to the department. Keeping "sensitive information" private hints of conspiracy and collusion or a way for future misdeeds to fester.

As my grandpa was pure Hawaiian, I feel compelled to voice my personal opinion on the matter.

Lawrence Makishima
Pearl City

Let people end their own lives

I’m not sure I want to experience extreme old age.

Why shouldn’t I be able to go to a doctor at a time of my own choosing and ask for some morphine and cyanide? After all, it’s my body and my life.

We should have a conversation about why the nanny state won’t allow me to determine the course of my own destiny, if I’m not harming anyone else in the process.

We could limit access to those over the age of 80.

Lloyd Lim
Makiki