Drivers must heed orders from police

It was unfortunatea52-year-old man was shot and killed on Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki while trying to avoid police.

However, the editorial ("Review training for HPD arrests," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Aug. 2) and a letter ("Did punishment fit the crime?" Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 2) did not address the root cause of the problem, which was the perpetrator.

Ifan officer tells you to stop, stop.A motorist avoiding arrest becomes a deadly weapon.The officer has to make a split-second, life-or-death decision. He has to defuse the situation. Deadly force is an option.

Had the officer in the latest incident not done this, and the perpetrator had struck and killed a bystander, the officer would be criticized. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

The police have a tough job. If someone putslives in danger, I, for one, will not criticize them for using deadly force.

Robert K. Soberano
Moiliili

Election poll shows voters intelligent

The results of the Star-Advertiser polls were an eye-opener ("Ige surges ahead of Abercrombie," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 3).

It showed somewhat that the millions spent by the candidates did not translate into a proportionate share of poll votes.

The losers were sitting complacently and now have less than a week to reorganize or they will be out the door.

All the millions ofdollars from special interests have not helped them. Hawaii voters have seen through them. We have shown we are intelligent voters.

Ron Nakatsu
Pearl City

‘Soaking the rich’ bad for the poor

In their quest to quench the insatiable thirst for taxpayer dollars, our city leaders (members of the "tax-and-spend" Democratic Party) came up with a plan to double the property tax of homes that are not owner-occupied.

"Yay!" shouted lower-income residents. "Stick it to the rich!"

Well, guess what? That second home they taxed was your rental. The rich guy they taxed was your landlord. And now he is forced to raise your rent $400 a month to pay the extra $5,000 ayear the city now suddenly wants.

Ever see a Democrat not vote for a tax hike? It’s rare. Higher taxes hurt us all, not just the rich. Remember that at the polls.

Erich Wida
Kaneohe

Legislature actually did listen to voters

Enough of all the letters to the editor claiming legislators didn’t listen to them during the special session and now should be voted out regardless of who would replace them.

Do they really think the only citizens testifying were those who would deny equal rights to all people as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and as upheld by numerous circuit courts around the country?

Equality issues are never decided by the majority, but by legislators who must follow the Constitution.

Anyway, more people testified in favor of Hawaii’s same-sex marriage bill than those who testified against Senate Bill 1. So I guess our legislators listened and followed the law.

Barbara Krasniewski
Kailua

When is Jay going to show some love?

Last year, near the end of the University of Hawaii football season, non-season ticket holders were offered individual game tickets at up to 50 percent off regular prices.

Meanwhile, season-ticket holders like myself, who are loyal fans and who have been purchasing tickets for more than 20 years, were left out in the cold.

I emailed Athletic Director Ben Jay last year to question this program, and I am appalled and disappointed that a man of his stature has yet to reply.

Jay said he was going to come up with a plan that would "show how much love we have" for season-ticket holders ("Jay vows prices for season-ticket renewals will not rise," Star-Advertiser, April 20).

Well, I still haven’t seen the love yet, as I recently renewed my four season tickets and had to pay the same price as last year.

Keith Kagehiro
Ewa Beach

Bicyclists don’t pay their way for roads

The bicycle community always seems to complain about space for bicycling around all islands.

It must be reminded that the highways and roads and streets are funded by gasoline taxes.

If bicyclists want a say in the roads, the solution would be to license all bicycles, perhaps at the rate of $100 per year per bike. Then they would have the right to comment on how the state and counties should build their roads.

Bob Dukat
Pahoa

Israel cannot bomb its way to security

Propaganda is a powerful tool used on people to promote a political view or cause based on biased, misleading information. Israel is a master of propaganda.

Israel has kept the Palestinian people oppressed for more than 60 years by controlling their movement, food, access to clean water, electricity and medical and building supplies, all the time being in violation of the United Nations by continuing to build settlements on what were Palestinian lands.

Israel claims its right to defend itself, yet who defends the Palestinians? The indiscriminate slaughter of more than a thousand people, one-third of whom are children, on beaches, in hospitals and in U.N. schools are facts, not propaganda.

Israel cannot bomb and bulldoze a path to security; it needs to recognize a two-state solution and stop the massacre. We need to urge our officials to stop sending $3 billion a year to a government that wages war on an impoverished, oppressed population while pretending its way of life is somehow in jeopardy.

Tim "T.J." Dow
Waikiki