It’s scary to read the newspaper these days and realize that the government of the people, by the people and for the people is in dire jeopardy. Is inefficiency and incompetency and delaying of important decisions the new norm?

Exposed for bad business practices are the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the building of the Traffic Management Center, the Office of Information Practices and our Civil Defense system. Of course, we can throw in the overbudget and behind-schedule train fiasco.

Who is responsible or accountable for the screw-ups?

Let’s face it — no one will be fired. The adage of “protect me from my government”’ seems particularly appropriate.

Bubba Walker

Kaneohe

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Figure-skater Chen is model of resilience

Tears of joy rolled down my face as I watched American figure skater, Nathan Chen, during his long-program competition for the 2018 Winter Olympics. A few days before, I felt the pain of his falls during his short program.

Chen did not win an Olympic medal in Pyeongchang, South Korea — but I would give him a medal for his beautiful long-program performance, resilience, perseverance and determination. I look forward to reading about his future endeavors and watching him in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Gladys Bautista

Pearl City

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Good people with guns will save lives

If the National Rifle Association was as powerful as liberals imagine, any responsible, capable adult would be able to keep and bear arms anywhere. There would be no “gun free” zones. Criminals and murderous madmen would learn that they would be met with a lethal response anywhere they might attempt their nefarious attacks. Violent crime rates would plummet. Mass murders would be rare.

Progressive policy touts a disarmed society as being safer, but evildoers ignore laws. If weapons exist on the planet, bad guys will use them, regardless of any legislation. Gun control doesn’t prevent crime, but armed citizens are a proven deterrent.

Good people with guns save lives, especially in the minutes before the police are able to respond. Observe the Constitution and let us be armed to defend ourselves, our families, and those around us.

Brian Isaacson

Kailua

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Clearly constitutional to bear … muskets

The Second Amendment says nothing about firearms. It refers to “arms,” not firearms. So constitutional literalists should support the right to bear such things as chemical weapons and laser weapons.

Absurd? Do we know what the Founders meant?

Yes, and we know they meant single-shot muskets, not the AR-15.

Kurt Butler

Makawao, Maui

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Allow humanity in immigration policy

Regarding the Ho‘okipa Welcoming Policy Act (Senate Bill 2290, House Bill 1994): Hawaii must protect our undocumented immigrants who are law-abiding, contributing members of our Hawaii society.

President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are not only inhumane and cruel; they make a mockery of what he claims is “to defend Americans” and “to protect their safety.”

If you will take the time to hear the stories of many of these immigrants, you will find that many are good, law-abiding and contributing members of their communities. Yet, many of their families have been torn apart as their family member — oftentimes a father or a mother — has been forcefully deported.

We in Hawaii — a beautiful land made up of people of many ethnicities, religions, cultures — should not have to obey blindly the implementation of racist ideologies and policies. We should stand up for those ideologies and policies we believe in our hearts are good and right.

Myra Taketa

Mililani

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Not making U.S. great again, but worse

What is happening to this country? We have a president who is a womanizer, a liar (2,000 times in his first year, per CNN), a dictator (wanting a military parade for his own ego at an estimated $20 million; surely that money could be used to protect children or the elderly). And he puts a figurative gun to the heads of the Democratic senators and says he will help the “dreamers” if they give him $20 billion for his wall.

The blood of those killed in Florida is on the hands of President Donald Trump, the National Rifle Association and the Republican senators who refuse to do anything about gun control. Do hunters really need assault weapons to go after deer, or to protect their homes?

I’m an emigrant from England and served in the U.S. Army and was proud to be in the USA as a great country. No, Mr. President, you are not Making America Great Again, you are making it worse.

Toby Allen

Hawaii Kai

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Require buoyancy device for novices

The number of visitor deaths attributed to snorkeling activities on Oahu and the other major islands have steadily increased throughout the years, but this year have already soared to unacceptable levels in just a couple of months.

I know this can be prevented with the proper safeguards in place to reduce further loss of life.

I am pleading for regulations requiring a simple questionnaire and for novice swimmers to have a buoyancy compensator device, or make it mandatory equipment before renting snorkel equipment from ocean activity vendors.

I just read an article that stated Australia has either passed or will soon pass a bill that requires exactly what I am suggesting.

Let’s hope that our legislators will make the effort to contact the Australian authorities who drafted/enacted that bill that will certainly send many tourists unfamiliar with the ocean safely back home to their loved ones.

Byron “Jiro” Kaneshiro

Wahiawa