Schools should end football programs

Kaiser High School recently canceled its football program for this year (“Kaiser forfeits rest of football season,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 20).

I hope the school shuts the program down completely and encourages the other high schools to disband their football teams as well.

The Kaiser principal was quoted as saying that the safety of the students was paramount, and I am sure the other school principals feel the same way.

Brain damage from football injuries is no longer just a rare event. Aaron Hernandez had the CTE brain disease and he was 27 years old, only 10 years older than a lot of high school players.

An unpopular decision, certainly, but one I feel should be considered.

David Wagner

McCully-Moiliili

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Discrimination common in military

I read Robert K. Wight’s comments with interest regarding discriminatory practices in the U.S. military (“Remember GIs who served in Vietnam,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 15).

It is commendable for him to describe the GIs as “melded together.” I somewhat agree, but did they really have a choice?

Dictatorship and acts of discrimination are a common practice of the military. Pre-statehood Hawaii suffered the highest casualties of the Korean War per capita; Puerto Rico had the second highest casualties per capita. It’s not hard to figure out that one, is it?

The members of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed almost entirely of AJAs, were among the highest decorated members of World War II while thousands of AJAs were rounded up and held captive in relocation camps.

American slavery is unheard of today, too. Americans need hindsight, and greater foresight. Bertrand Russell once said, “Most people would sooner die than think.”

James Kataoka

Korean War veteran

Mililani Mauka

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Fresnel lenses have fascinating history

It was a fine article by Bob Sigall (“The bulging eye of Makapuu,” Star-Advertiser, Rearview Mirror, Sept. 22).

The Fresnel lens at Makapuu is a hyper-radiant, also called hyper-radial, lens, more than 12 feet high, with an inside diameter of 8 feet, 9 inches.

The size of Fresnel lenses is identified by the term “order,” with the first-order normally being the largest. Hyper-radial lenses were developed later by John Wigham and Frederic Barbier in order to accommodate a large gas lamp which could not fit inside a first-order lens.

If interested, the history of Fresnel lenses may be explored by reading “A Short Bright Flash — Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse” by Professor Theresa Levitt.

John Priolo

Pearl City

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Government should learn from mistakes

We have seen a fair amount of government error in the past two decades. Part of the problem is that it is hard for any organization to separate good new ideas from bad new ideas. In addition, trial-and-error is harder in government because the law is hard to change and because big egos and a desire for control get in the way.

Worse, even good ideas can turn into disaster in the execution phase; please note the ancient Greek distinction between theory and practice. And the context matters: Pushing an idea prematurely can set it back decades.

So we learn as we go, but with interventions like the Affordable Care Act and No Child Left Behind, I hope some lessons can be learned about the clumsiness that these “improvements” can produce.

Lloyd Lim

Makiki

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Some Kailuans like Japanese visitors

Susan Dowsett doesn’t like the Japanese tourists (“Japanese tourists overwhelm Kailua,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 22).

I was raised in Kailua and have lived here most of my life. There are excellent improvements going on in our town, thanks to Kaneohe Ranch and Alexander & Baldwin.

My view and the majority view is that Japanese tourists are the best, the nicest, and the most humble people visiting Kailua. I love to see them walking around and elevating our local businesses, which creates employment.

Some Kailuans have put mean bumper stickers on their cars and they need to learn how to be nice. We welcome them to our Kailua.

Steve Holck

Kailua

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Trump is correct to challenge Kim

Greg Harding implied that President Donald Trump is the bully in his conflict with Kim Jong Un (“Move aside bully in North Korea conflict,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 21).

Actually the bully is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who started the dialogue with his threats of launching nuclear ICBMs at Guam and the U.S. continent.

I was always taught that when a bully starts a fight, you must stand your ground. I am proud that Trump knows this as well.

I must advise Harding that the U.S. military’s mission is to deter war and, if deterrence fails, to destroy the enemy. Simple as that. Trump got it right.

Russel Noguchi

Pearl City