Approve medical aid in dying bill

I hope our Senate and governor approve the “Our Care, Our Choice” act.

I am a Stage 4 cancer patient who wants to have the choice to use that medication at the appropriate time after taking into consideration the progression of my disease.

A letter writer referred to the death of her mother from Alzheimer’s (“Defeat bill to allow assisted suicide,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 23). I am glad she was an excellent caregiver, but those circumstances do not apply to the bill being proposed here in Hawaii.

In addition, she cited an example from Delaware, where a legislator proposed an amendment to allow a licensed clinical social worker to have the power to pass judgment for a disabled individual.

Both the Delaware and Hawaii legislation were modeled after Oregon’s time-tested, 20-year-old law, which protects the dying patient from abuse or coercion. Fear of “what if” should not defeat a compassionate bill that contains many safeguards.

Jim Wolfe

Nuuanu

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Zinke’s comments weren’t benign

When Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrived on the Hill to dissemble about why 2018 funds for Japanese-American confinement sites would be denied, it was the morning, and in a formal setting, yet the secretary addressed U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa not only in her non-native language, but with the wrong cultural expression. An ignorant slip? Or a slippery putdown by a pompous if “polite” man?

Enter one Keith Haugen (“Nothing wrong with ‘konnichiwa’,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 21). He cites with favor Zinke’s wartime command, although this is irrelevant. He doesn’t know Zinke, yet he “seriously doubts” any offense was intended, sweeps aside any dark motive, and casually disputes the rest of us who rose in defense of the congresswoman.

Whatever we thought or said, Haugen proclaimed, can be turned aside with nothing more than his confident no.

Absurdly, he spins his if-only-she-were-sharper retort (Say it in German!), then draws a complete nonparallel from the equally horrendous experience of Hawaiians without sovereignty.

Albert Edward Fyffe Jr.

Manoa

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Waikiki needs plan to fight violent crime

It was good to see the suspect was caught (“Man arrested after woman attacked in Waikiki with box cutter,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, March 22).

However, we need a immediate action plan from the mayor to address the growing number of violent assaults in Waikiki. Inaction is not acceptable. We must address this head-on.

I suggest bicycle and foot patrols at night and more plainclothes officers. Lots of officers.

There is so much crime taking place that is not reported to the police. I would suggest that reported assaults and thefts are only 10 to 15 percent of what is actually occurring.

Antisocial behavior by emotionally challenged and potentially violent individuals is on the rise.

As citizens and retailers learn how to protect their valuables and inventory, criminals who are possibly addicted to various substances find it harder to steal to support their habit. More crime, in particular violent crime, increases.

Waikiki residents, hoteliers and retailers should work together starting today to stop as much of these crimes as we can.

Dave Moskowitz

Waikiki

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Rising seas demand life-altering answers

Hawaii is experiencing coastal hazards. The cumulative impact of development is affecting our quality of life. Sea-level rise and waves demand life-changing realities.

Seawalls displace problems to surrounding areas. Consider removing some structures, including high-rises that are too close to the shoreline.

Rebuilding reefs is one protective measure. Land-based pollutants are contaminating the ocean; even common household goods are factors affecting the environment. Regulating products imported to the islands would have an immediate impact.

Control Hawaii’s population with moratoriums on development and downsizing the military. Transitioning from complete reliance on the visitor industry to include agriculture is essential. Growing more food instead of the population resolves multiple problems. Sustainable agriculture and vegetation remediation enriches the overall environment. Irrigation helps prevent saltwater intrusion that undermines the shoreline.

Healthy and prosperous living from the mountains to the ocean is possible.

Michele Lincoln

Lahaina

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Health issues may precede drownings

The number of drowning deaths among older tourists indicate that some of them may have had a medical condition that contributed to their deaths. Tourists should be made aware of the restrictions that scuba divers clubs have for persons enrolling in their classes.

My nephew, age 50, went to Florida on vacation and enrolled in a scuba diving class even though he was under insulin treatment. He did not indicate on his application that he was a diabetic and on the first day of class, as the instructor was explaining what the class would entail, my nephew went below the surface.

He was found unconscious and taken to the hospital, where he died.

Harry Matsuno

Hawaii Kai

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President’s talk obscures the truth

The president speaks daily with forked tongue, undermining light, clarity, truth and the rule of law. The White House and the country have turned several shades of gray darker.

What went wrong? Delusion is the bigly conclusion.

Richard Y. Will

Waikiki