Let voters have say again on rail

The 2016 election is roughly a year from now. The powers that be should include a vote on this rail transit debacle and give voters a choice to either continue with the rail money pit or convert it to a two-lane reversible highway as suggested by Cliff Slater (“Where are we with rail? Way over budget, as predicted,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Aug. 19).

Stopping rail at the stadium would be preferable, as there is sufficient parking (even on swap meet Wednesdays), as opposed to stopping at the Middle Street bus terminal, where there is little to no parking. Buses would need to be available to get motorists to other parts of the island.

As for the federal money, pay it back as soon as possible, if it can’t be converted from rail to highway funding. If this is not possible, paying it back will still cost less than the maintenance of the rail and more important, the cost to future generations.

Lani Johnson
Salt Lake

Express Yourself

» Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime telephone number.

» Mail: Letters to the Editor
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210
Honolulu, HI 96813

» E-mail: letters@staradvertiser.com
» Fax: 529-4750
» Phone: 529-4831

Iran deal seems fatally flawed

After learning that Iran will inspect itself for infractions of the nuclear deal, I was flabbergasted (“U.N. to let Iran inspect alleged nuclear work site,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 20).

How can our congressional leaders vote for this deal?

It’s been said it would be similar to a professional athlete sending in a urine sample. How about a frequent DUI violator monitoring his own actions and reporting infractions?

President Barack Obama said this is an agreement based on facts, not trust. The problem is the facts come from a known violator.

Vote for the facts and say no.

Chuck Reindollar
Makiki

Illegal aliens not a voting threat

The fear that illegal aliens will all find asylum in the U.S. and vote for only Democrats is hyperbolic, as only U.S. citizens can vote (“Democrats seek immigrants’ vote,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 19).

Currently there is no immigration system in place rushing illegal aliens toward citizenship and no appetite in Congress for enacting such a plan.

More salient is the recent erection of voting barriers to people who already are American citizens. Immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively invalidated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, several states, mostly Southern, enacted measures to make voting more difficult and less available.

Most of these measures, like eliminating early voting and absentee voting, cutting voting hours, specific ID requirements, and reducing polling locations, have been shown to disproportionately affect and disenfranchise certain ethnic and minority groups, single parents and poor families.

If these demographics have traditionally voted Democratic, these measures, along with the rampant gerrymandering in states like Texas, are surely geared toward gaming the system in favor of red states.

William E. Conti
Waikiki

Schools could house homeless

It is my understanding that there are some empty schools. It would only take one or two of them to fix family homelessness.

Each classroom could function well for a family, and there are bathrooms.

These families could move in almost immediately, since the buildings exist already.

Since many family members have jobs, they might be able to pay for electricity for that room. There are parking places for those who have cars. Most rooms have sinks, so a simple modification for cooking could be installed.

Jean Kartchner
Kailua

ISIS inside U.S.’s ‘decision cycle’

If you don’t pay attention to short-term problems, long-term solutions may not arrive in time to be useful.

The U.S. military bases its tactics on the concept of getting “inside the enemy’s decision cycle.”

By the time the enemy has begun to react to your initial attack, you have initiated additional actions that render his response ineffectual.

The Obama administration has allowed ISIS to get inside our decision cycle. By waiting for Arab countries to carry the fight to ISIS, the administration has forgotten the dismal history of Arab armies.

This policy also assumes that the Arab armies have the support facilities necessary to successfully prosecute an external war. How, for instance, is the Egyptian army, probably second only to the Israeli army in the Middle East, going to get to and be supported in Syria, much less Iraq?

Andrew Rothstein
Chinatown