Letters for Saturday, March 17, 2007

• Think we stand a chance?

• Send criminals to Iraq and Afghanistan

• Case of injustice

• In defense of Gore

• It ain’t the good fairy

• Troubled by lack of response

Think we stand a chance?

The front page of the Friday, March 16, The Garden Island announced the appointment of former circuit court judge Matthew Pyun as the new county attorney. Even though he does not live on Kaua‘i and owns houses on two other islands he has ‘promised’ to move here. We shall see.

On page A3 in the same paper, under the general heading of Openness in Government was an article about the ‘Lava Tube Awards,’ which recognizes the worst example of openness in the state. In 2006, the ‘award’ was rightfully bestowed on the Kauai County Council. We all know their penchant for secrecy. In 2005 this ‘dishonor’ was presented to Third Circuit District Court Judge Matthew Pyun. Can there be any doubt that this was a factor in our mayor’s choice for the position?

Our County Government has worked hard to defy any and all requests for openness and so far succeeded. Now that they have hired, as the arbiter of what can be kept secret or not, a former judge who also worked hard to get the same reputation does anyone think we stand a chance at open and above board government?

Hanalei

Send criminals to Iraq and Afghanistan

Something really stinks on Kaua‘i! (Say offered plea deal in drug charge).

Why is it that time and time again the rights of the criminal outweighs the rights of the victim.

This guy mowed down two innocent people on a motorcycle, ran over and dragged one with his vehicle causing her extensive and continual pain and suffering), ran from the police (several times), got caught with drugs and drug paraphernalia and now he’s being offered some secretive plea bargain.

Hello, law enforcement agencies and court system; this is your wake-up call.

We, the people are getting tired of it! You continually arrest the same people over and over, only to have them get into the court system to be let out time and time again to wreak havoc on the community.

Lisa Wilson is living a life of pain and extreme agony with no one caring about protecting her rights.

But you somehow feel it necessary to make sure you’re protecting Byron Say’s rights. From the judge who felt a need to release him on bail again and again, the court system that somehow kept botching the case(s); causing several charges to be dismissed, and a lawyer who feels he needs to be defending him. As Byron’s attorney, how do you sleep at night, knowing you’re defending scum? Guess money talks …

And to have Say’s family offer to pay Lisa Wilson, $120,000.00 in car insurance money. Get real, how far do you think that will go towards her medical and living expenses. She will not be able to support herself with the state her body is in, thanks to Byron.

And don’t forget people, we are the ones that are having to support these criminals with our hard-earned money that goes into the tax coffers. These criminals are not just in the Hawai‘i Prison System, don’t forget all the ones in the mainland prisons, we still have to pay to support them too.

I suggest we send all these “bad ass” criminals to Iraq and Afghanistan and let them fight it out with the terrorists. If a few of them end up getting killed or maimed it might be their wake-up call.

It sure would save the taxpayers a lot of money that could be put to better use, like our kids education for starters. Just my opinion….

Kalaheo

Case of injustice

Justice system??

Say plea deal?

Give me a break.

This is one of the worst cases of injustice I’ve ever had to witness, at least on a local level.

This guy is clearly a danger to society.

Even if I wasn’t a friend of Lisa’s I’d be completely outraged by this entire process.

Okay, Kaua‘i, let’s over-develop, allow the traffic to get worse AND let drug addict criminals run loose.

Great.

Lawa‘i

In defense of Gore

It’s time to put to rest another Carl Rove, swiftboat lie. Even honest news papers such as yours got sucked into it.

Al Gore never did claim to invent the Internet. He did call attention to it as a wave of the future. The first I heard of the Internet is when Al Gore mentioned it on tv, many years ago . At the time, I didn’t know what he was talking about, because once again, as with global warming, he was ahead of his time.

It just goes to show that what Hitler said is still true today: Tell a big lie often enough and it becomes an indisputable truth.

Lihu‘e

It ain’t the good fairy

Let’s see …. huge tourist hotel complex on the Eastside, smack in the middle of the worst traffic already on the island? Approved.

Wal-Mart expansion to include food at lower prices that the citizens of Kaua‘i NEED? Denied (or in the process of being, if the council has its way).

For every one of you who voted last election to keep in the ‘good ole boys and girls,’ you brought this on yourself (and the rest of us).

But this letter is mainly to ask Ms. Yukimura a question. She states, “The idea of Wal-mart shipping goods 1,500 to 2,000 miles to Hawai’i with oil-based fuels that are gradually depleting world-wide, runs counter “to the idea of sustainability in my opinion.”

I would like to ask her, how does she think Foodland and Star and Big Save get their Campbell’s soup and Huggies diapers and most everything else they sell here from the Mainland? It ain’t the good fairy bringing it, that’s for sure.

Waimea

Troubled by lack of response

e as to why I have not heard one word from our local Christian community denouncing the murder and mayhem of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan by our government. Is it not a basic tenet, in fact a commandment of this religion that thou shalt not kill?

How does this group of people ignore and remain indifferent to the bombing of innocent children of Arab blood while being incensed at the bombing of innocent Israelis? How do these people continue to gather each Sunday, share in fellowship and not even discuss this issue?

Would someone please explain this to me? I just don’t get it.

Moloa‘a