Computerized voting doesn’t work (“Election security,” Star-Advertiser, Insight, July 27). It is super complex and costly, with still no guarantee. Voting systems can still be hacked via Wi-Fi.
The solution: 100 percent paper ballots, using the same system for absentee balloting. Low cost, systems in place, long window to mail in ballots, verification system in place, mailed to one secure location. Giving your Social Security number through the mail is as secure as any web site.
And for those who like the thrill of voting in a booth: Walk up to the post office and drop your ballot in the specifically designed box. Mr. Putin won’t like it.
Beth Rasmussen
Kaneohe
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Homeless in Kailua need to be dealt with
I am past compassionate care for some of the homeless in Kailua. Now I am onto great concern for the health and safety of the residents and visitors in Kailua. There is a core of non-caring homeless that are making life difficult for all.
Just last week there have been three incidents of concern that I know about. A man was urinating directly onto the wall of our building. A man was sleeping in the city parking lot on the sidewalk by our building, taking up the walk so no one could pass. I called the police and they came. The next day I discovered someone had defecated on the side of our building — major health issues.
This is in addition to the man who stands in the middle of the street waving his arms and yelling, and the woman who is often almost naked walking around Kailua. There are several others who really need help.
As a kupuna trying to “age in place,” I am greatly concerned, for not only my own safety and health but for others who live here. We need help.
Claudia L. Webster
Kailua
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Lose planters near Thomas Square
I watched daily as the walls went up around Thomas Square Park. Week after week we discussed why it was necessary to spend so much money on the park when operating cost were increasing everywhere on the island.
Now the walls are down and the statue stands as the focal point. I’m impressed with the results and everyone involved should be proud of the final results.
My only complaint/recommendation is to remove the ugly planters on the sidewalks. They were installed to stop the Occupy movement from camping.
Now, years later, they are an eyesore on the renovated park. They do not allow enough room to walk with your child, they all leak mud on the sidewalk and they prevent you from seeing the new Thomas Square. Plus daily I see a truck out there watering them. Enough is enough, remove them from the sidewalks.
Thomas Moody
Manoa
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Trump racks up success after success
Have you ever had someone mention a song that sticks in your head? That’s what the incessant drumbeat of Trump negativity is like (“Admit that Trump was a mistake,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 1).
President Donald Trump’s America is one in which minorities, among the rest of us, are employed at record-high levels. His America is one with a burgeoning economy. His America is one in which record tax cuts have provided relief to a middle class nearly taxed out of existence. His America is one in which he has confronted threats posed by the likes of ISIS and despotic dictators with a spine constructed of something other than vermicelli. And I am expected to apologize for this?
See you in 2020, and I won’t be bringing that apology along.
Stephen Hinton
Waialua
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Keep large-caliber guns of streets
Will the federal court judgment allowing open-carry lead to people carrying AR-15s on our streets?
Carrying a firearm on your hip makes you a target for criminals They could walk up behind you and knock you out or grab it. Will women carry one on their hips? No, and they are the ones who need protection the most.
Concealment should not be an option but a requirement. Even displaying a firearm in public should be a criminal offense.
The one I would want is a five-shot .22 short derringer, which would also be perfect for women to carry in their purses.
Large-caliber bullets can travel up to a mile. One coudl miss the target, making it a public safety issue on this crowded island. The prohibition of such weapons would be defensible in a federal court of law.
All that is needed in a one-on-one confrontation is a .22 short ammunition.
Paul M. Gundlach
Wahiawa
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Pro-choice advocates ignore life of baby
I am astounded at the lackadaisical attitude of politicians this year who boast about being pro-choice and all for women’s reproductive rights.
It is easy to use terminology such as abortion, pro-choice and women’s rights. But the bottom line up front is that a baby, a human being, will lose its life.
A baby dies. Why won’t anyone say that?
Everybody is so worried that women won’t have the legal ability to kill their unborn baby.
Is there no politician who will speak for the baby? Where’s the aloha and love for the ohana? When will someone care about the baby?
Cheryl Holliday
Waianae
