U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has always been a warrior for peace, and she is a rare, sane voice in Washington opposing the neoconservative and neoliberal warmongers who push U.S. policy to overthrow another foreign government.
Now, regarding Syria, she is seeking a different outcome, and her questions are valid (“Gabbard defends meeting Syrian leader,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 26).
Have we forgotten that overthrowing the Iraqi government caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, and strengthened al-Qaeda and created ISIS? Are we ignoring lessons from U.S. intervention in Libya that plummeted it into a failed state, leaving a power vacuum for ISIS and other extremists to occupy — resulting in genocide and mass dislocation of Libyans?
The bottom line is that regime-change wars, including the one currently being waged in Syria, create more harm than good. Gabbard recognizes this truth, and is fighting to achieve peace by circumventing an unnecessary war.
Tara Waller
Papaikou, Hawaii island
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Med school brings care to homeless
Caring individuals and organizations in our community have supported a mobile van providing medical service for the homeless for past 10 years, in a program organized and staffed by the University of Hawaii medical school (“Reach homeless with mobile clinics,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 2).
The H.O.M.E. (Homeless Outreach and Medical Education) Project has grown to where medical students are in the field in our medical van four days every week, at seven different locations across Oahu. Under faculty M.D. supervision, they provide ongoing care for chronic conditions and basic vision screening, as well as first aid and help to ensure the homeless population is appropriately immunized and receiving care that they need.
Services have expanded to include a teen mentoring program for homeless youth. The project is completely funded by donations, including that of the Walmart Foundation supporting our current van. We hope soon to offer basic dental services, too.
Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, M.D.
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii
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Prostitution bill one of the worst
House Speaker Joe Souki’s bill to legalize prostitution, and make it legal for police to have sex with prostitutes, has got to be one of the very worst bills ever introduced (“Measure aims to decriminalize isle prostitution,” Star- Advertiser, Feb. 4).
The sexual trafficking of adults and children is second only to drugs in profitability, and unknown thousands are sold into slavery every year. Legalizing prostitution would only make it harder to prosecute the slave traders.
It may be the oldest profession, but it is not one to which most people dream or aspire. It is generally resorted to out of sheer desperation, lack of skills and opportunity. Can’t we focus instead on properly educating people to obtain the skills they need to have a decent and respectable occupation?
Vicki Vierra
Keaau, Hawaii island
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Trump lacks respect for judicial branch
The Founding Fathers crafted the separation of powers to thwart the potential oligarchy that one branch of government could engender. The power of the judiciary to rule legislative and executive enactments unconstitutional is the most significant of these.
President Donald Trump does not respect the separation of powers. He denigrated a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against his company as incompetent to handle the case because of his Mexican heritage. The judge was born in Indiana.
Now that a federal judge has blocked Trump’s executive order regarding entry into the United States by citizens of seven countries, he has tweeted that the ruling is “outrageous” and “ridiculous” and referred to the judge, a Bush appointee, as a “so-called” judge.
Condemnation of one branch of government by another annihilates the separation of powers. Perpetuation and respect of the separation of powers is critical to the survival of the democracy our founders intended.
Nancy N. Grekin
Makiki Heights
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Travel ban won’t make U.S. safer
No sir, we are not at war (“Travel restrictions needed in wartime,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 5).
War is declared by Congress. We have not declared war on anyone, least of all those seven countries included in the ban (as a 26-year veteran, I take that word very seriously).
The letter writer also was mistaken to imply we have an “open border” with those countries. Geography aside, visitors from those countries all have to be vetted and get visas to come here.
Further, rather than “compassion,” I see the ban as offensive to the thousands of 9/11 victims. The hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon. None of those countries are listed on the ban.
As for the “other attacks” mentioned, those attackers came from Kyrgyzstan (Boston Marathon bombing), the U.S. (Orlando Pulse nightclub), the U.S. and Pakistan (San Bernardino). Not a Yemeni in the bunch.
In short, this ban will contribute nothing to our safety but will allow every terrorist in the Middle East to say, “See? We told you America hates Muslims.”
Troy Snell
Waikiki
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Urination violators can’t afford $2,000
A $2,000 fine for defecating or urinating in public (“Bill would impose $2,000 fine for public urination,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 6)?
The people who seem most likely to commit such a crime don’t look to me like they would have the money to pay the fine. And besides, what judge is going to convict when the defendant says, “Your Honor, when you gotta go, you gotta go?”
Jack Schmidt
Kailua
