No gender bias in primary election

Regarding Sophie Cocke’s article, “With women losing major races, some question role of gender bias” (Star-Advertiser, Aug. 15), the “experts” have it wrong. Cocke should have talked to female voters instead of relying on Meda Chesney-Lind, Ann Freed, Amy Agbayani and John Hart.

I am a woman. I want more women elected to office. But I do not blindly vote for all female candidates. I vote for the better- qualified candidate, male or female, as do many of my friends.

We were appalled at phone calls saying we had to vote for women. Those calls turned some away from voting for U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

We were also turned off by Be Change Now’s vicious ads against Gov. David Ige and City Council member Carol Fukunaga.

Women won some elections. Fukunaga defeated three men to win re-election outright.

Newcomers Sharon Moriwaki defeated state Sen. Brickwood Galuteria and Heidi Tsuneyoshi won the Council seat being vacated by Ernie Martin.

The outcomes had nothing to do with gender bias. Your “experts” need to get over it.

Lynne Matusow

Downtown Honolulu

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Hawaii Republicans nominated women

Clearly it’s time for Democrats to confront the implicit sexism of Saturday’s primary results (“With women losing major races, some question role of gender bias,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 15).

In contrast, Republicans selected two women, Andria Tupola and Marissa Kerns, as their nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, each having defeated two male opponents.

In recent history, there was no agonizing over gender bias when Republicans nominated Linda Lingle who went on to serve two terms as Hawaii’s first and only woman governor.

Harvey Harlowe Hukari

Kaimuki

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News media need to correct biases

The editorial in Thursday’s Star-Advertiser is a bit off (“Strong democracy needs a free press,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Aug. 16). The headline should have been, “A strong democracy needs an unbiased free press.”

It’s amusing that when the media is criticized, they tend to yell and scream as if their First Amendment rights are being infringed. They can dish it out but can’t receive any criticism. The majority of the press continues to print negatively biased articles concerning President Donald Trump and neglect to print almost any good things happening under his administration.

The press freedom has not been taken away and the press is not being muzzled — the press just wants to scream that narrative, which is equivalent to being a crybaby. Any positive news about the administration also tends to have a negative spin. In simple terms, most of the press is afflicted by the “Trump derangement syndrome.”

The president has no choice but to push back. Otherwise, his silence would be considered an affirmation of any biased reporting. Fake news to me is extremely biased news, news that only focuses on negativity, distorted news, politicized news, untrue news and more. Fake news is the enemy of the people.

Whitlow W.L. Au

Kailua

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Media can be guilty of issuing ‘fake news’

I also believe in a free press (“Strong democracy needs a free press,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Aug. 16). But the press should report news without bias.

When you have FOX News, MRCTV, CNS News, Judicial Watch, The Watchdog, The Daily Caller, Restore American Glory and others reporting mostly favorable news about Republicans and negative news about Democrats; and ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc. reporting mostly negative news on Republicans and positive news on Democrats, I call that biased news reporting — even if it is the truth, although one-sided.

When I was working for the government, I was the victim of biased reporting. When the reporter asked a question I did not know, I responded I didn’t know the answer. When it was reported in the news, it said I declined to give an answer. It made me feel as though I was hiding information. That is what the president and I will call “fake news.”

Athan Adachi

Kahala

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Much input into motto’s translation

We appreciate Ed Ige’s question in his letter, “How do we translate Kamehameha III?” (Star-Advertiser, Aug. 7).

The Mayor’s Commission on Culture and Arts (COCA) approached the translation of the state motto, “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono,” by receiving input from many prominent scholars of Hawaiian history and language.

COCA voted for the translation as, “The sovereignty of the Kingdom continues because we are righteous,” given the facts and sentiments of the specific event in 1843, at which time the sovereignty of the land was returned to the Hawaiian people.

During the discussion, COCA members agreed that history should be continually revisited, reviewed and openly discussed. This creates a better understanding of the past, while also encompassing many diverse viewpoints. We thank Mr. Ige for shedding further light on this important event in Hawaii’s history, now proudly on display at Thomas Square.

Betty Lou Kam

Chairwoman, Commission on Culture and the Arts

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Homeless welcome new Thomas Square

Now that Thomas Square Park is done with repairs, the homeless want to thank the City and County and all the taxpayers for their new home. Fix it and they will come.

Patrick Carvalho

McCully