Law is murky about sovereignty issue

It is doubtful that the United States never acquired sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands, but University of Hawaii professor Williamson Chang implies that the Newlands Resolution was invalid because it was unilateral, as opposed to a treaty ("Annexation based on illegitimate act," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 10).

A treaty lacked support of the required two-thirds of the Senate, but the Republic of Hawaii requested annexation, and Congress and the president agreed.

The Constitution (Art. IV, Sec. 3) says only that new states may be admitted "by the Congress."

But what if it’s true that the annexation of Hawaii was unconstitutional? Would Barack Obama still qualify as a "natural born citizen" eligible to be president?If not, would his judicial appointments still be valid?

Chang raises titillating issues for law students, but it might be better to treat sovereignty as a political question, and leave the law out of it.

John P. Dellera
Kahala

Haole landowners overthrew the queen

There are heated debatesabout the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom by the United States, but the true fact is that the overthrow was done by the rich haolelandowners.

They created the provisional government that took away the rights of the Hawaiians away and put the queen in house arrest and illegally brought in the U.S. military.

They did this because of money and to prevent the queen from taking back their lands and kicking them out.

Even though the Hawaiian Islands eventually were annexed to the U.S. for political reasons, there was a growing fear that Great Britain and France would have colonized Hawaii and eventually would have taken over the islands.

So, let’s blame the right people who did the deed, and hope the Hawaiians can get together and end up perpetuating the righteous path to Hawaiian independence and settle this peacefully.

Allan Yap
Aliamanu

Hawaii News Now covering candidates

I’d like to thank Richard Manetta for asking why no commercial television station is broadcasting an entire forum featuring the seven Democrats running to fill the 1st Congressional District vacancy ("TV stations need to cover forums," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 2).

Hawaii News Now has featured each of the candidates live in an extended interview on our HNN Newscast at 6:30 p.m.

Those interviews are now prominently posted on our website, HawaiiNewsNow.com, so viewers at any time can compare the answers and performance of all the candidates.

We are making the same offer to all candidates in statewide or congressional primaries.

We considered a 1st Congressional debate, but determined that both the viewers and the candidates would be shortchanged by trying to jam seven candidates into an hour or even 90-minute format. We are sure that more people will see more of the candidates in our interview and Internet format than would have seen a televised forum.

Rick Blangiardi
President and general manager, Hawaii News Now

Schatz not forceful on illegal immigrants

I would like to know why U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is not leading the charge to secure our southern borders and invoke trade sanctions against Mexico and stopping aid to Central American countries for sending illegal immigrants to our country.

These people are not refugees.If they truly want asylum, they would go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in their country and request legal entrance.Mexico knows what is happening and is allowing it. It is time we say enough.

Force Mexico to take action to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and penalize the Central American countries for knowingly sending their citizens to our country illegally.Since Schatz has the president’s ear, according to his campaign ads, this would seem to be a slam dunk for him.

James Roller
Mililani

Driver error often to blame in deaths

The recent rise in pedestrian deaths among older residents is cause for alarm ("Seniors are urged to change walking behavior," Star-Advertiser, July 9).

While blaming pedestrians is easy to do, the facts provided by the Hawaii Department of Health indicate that most fatal pedestrian crashes involve driver errors — most commonly inattention or speeding.

We applaud the progress made on the policy front in recent years — our public transportation officials are working to design safer pedestrian environments and law enforcement is educating and citing both drivers and pedestrians. But it’s not enough.

Those who drive need to take a good look at our behavior and change it, before another of us ends someone’s life.

While pedestrians need to be alert and follow the rules, those behind the wheel with the power to kill bear great responsibility for making our streets safer for everyone.

Jackie Boland
Community outreach director AARP Hawaii

Let consumers access bonds to fund solar

Jay Fidell’s column, "Solar financing program warrants further scrutiny," (Star-Advertiser, Think Tech, July 8) missed the mark on the Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) program.

GEMS is a simple concept. For years, utilities have built power plants using private investment from bond markets. Why shouldn’t the same low-cost funding be accessible to help customers pay for solar power?

Without adding to the state budget, GEMS could attract $150 million in private investment for clean energy — aimed at reducing energy costs for low-income households. Some of the funding could also be used to upgrade the grid on saturated circuits. This is a win-win.

Fidell wants the state Public Utilities Commission to hold up approval of GEMS until the Legislature "can take another look," and make it "a campaign issue."

The Legislature approved GEMS in 2013 with a decisive 74-2 vote. Campaigns should tackle real problems, like the fact that our state spends billions each year importing fossil fuels.

Everyone in Hawaii should have cleaner, cheaper energy. Blue Planet believes the answer lies in rolling out innovative solutions like GEMS faster, not adding needless delay.

Richard Wallsgrove
Program director, Blue Planet Foundation

Raise awareness about mental illness

Recent fatal shootings and stabbings have been linked to mental illness. The answer is not just more gun control, but better care for the mentally ill.

Many people put a negative stigma on people who have mental illness, but the bottom line is that people with mental illness are real people who need help, and we have to come out of our shells to get these people the proper help that they need.

It’s not just giving them more medication. It seems that the people who care for the mentally ill are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. We need more peer specialists, peer mentors, case managers and doctors in the mental-illness field. Families and friends need to be trained to give the proper support, and churches can help by providing support groups.

The more we are educated to help the mentally ill population, the more they will be able to live a normal life.

Alan Kim
Moiliili

FROM THE FORUM

"Fisheries council members criticize sanctuary growth plan," Star-Advertiser, July 7

>> Obama’s sanctuary plan will just result in high price for fish. Poke will be around $50 a pound and good sashimi will be $100, $200 at New Years.

>> Yet another example of Westpac opposing conservation measures.

>> Commercial fishing methods are destroying the fish stocks, and the small individual fishermen cannot find fish anymore.

——

"Edgar beats Penn in the third round," Star-Advertiser, July 7:

>> (B.J.) Penn has nothing to hang his head about. He represented Hawaii well for many years as a real class act.

>> That was brutal to watch! Hang ’em up, don’t get hurt.

>> In a few years many of these fighters will be suing the promoters for the head trauma they endured during their careers.

——

"Statewide initiative sets goals for sustainability," Star-Advertiser, July 8:

>> How does the approval of large subdivisions on Oahu (Ho’opili, Koa Ridge) help agricultural self-sufficiency?

>> One of the greatest impacts on sustainable energy is PV and yet the local politicians all have their heads in the sand when it comes to mandating that the electrical monopolies get their acts together.

——

"West Maui residents out in force against federal recognition," Star-Advertiser, July 8:

>>  I am happy that the old racist and deeply insulting "Hawaiians are like crabs in a bucket" story is being put to bed. Sounds like the Hawaiian people are pretty unified on one thing.

>> The kingdom does live, there was and is no treaty of annexation.

——

"Judge decries stepmom as ‘evil’," Star-Advertiser, July 9:

>> It’s hard to believe she could be enjoying the outside world again at age 40.

>> With a broken and dead child, they did not have to plea bargain!

>> Absolutely sickening. She deserves life. And actually, she deserves to be treated in exactly the same manner she treated her daughter.

——

"Seniors are urged to change walking behavior," Star-Advertiser, July 9:

>> Maybe family members should not let these seniors out without supervision.

>> Sounds pretty sad overall — our seniors, who gave their all for us, are now denied the ability to walk without the fear of us in our hurried, busy life, to run them down like stray dogs in the road.

——

"Stadium concepts criticized," Star-Advertiser, July 11:

>> What is going to happen years from now when we have a winning football program and the complaints will be we should have had a 50,000-seat stadium?

>> You’re suggesting to commit hundreds of millions of dollars on the promise of a better football team, when the realities of recruiting, drawing top-tier opponents and the team’s performance all say otherwise?

>> I suspect the NFL would probably prefer a less-than-40,000-seat stadium. It would look full on TV.

——

"Pilot’s namesake wistful as quest nears its end," Star-Advertiser, July 11:

>> She might be flying around the world but she has a modern plane, instruments and she is not flying alone.

>> The first Amelia Earhart didn’t fly alone. She had a navigator, Fred Noonan.

>> Good luck, Ms. Earhart, you’re almost home!

——

"A Hall of Famer at 21? Even Moore was a bit surprised," Star-Advertiser, July 11:

>> In a sport where so much ego is involved, it is refreshing to have Carissa Moore in the water. She is an amazing surfer and ambassador of surfing. Her father is a huge reason for it, and their whole family should be sincerely proud. I wish them the best of luck and success.

——

"Deedy retrial begins, with some changes," Star-Advertiser, July 11:

>> Got to love the Hawaii court system. They’ll do anything to get a conviction on Christopher Deedy, even if it means changing the rules.

>> If the prosecutor wants a conviction, he needs to include the option of manslaughter.

>> It is rare for law enforcement officers to face criminal charges and be convicted of manslaughter; murder convictions are virtually unheard of. So the odds are definitely in favor of manslaughter.

>> If he is found guilty the defense will appeal for a mistrial due to all the publicity. There would be a third trial in a neutral city.