• Brawl, pitifu • Why no showing of support? • From where I sit • Let’s slow down for humans • Praising little improvement Brawl, pitiful As a spectator I am appalled to see the brawl that occurred Sunday, Sept.
• Brawl, pitifu
• Why no showing of support?
• From where I sit
• Let’s slow down for humans
• Praising little improvement
Brawl, pitiful
As a spectator I am appalled to see the brawl that occurred Sunday, Sept. 21 in Waimea after the soccer game between Hanalei and Kryptonite.
You “men” of the mens’ league should be ashamed of your sportsmanship. Was this a soccer game, or an incident of young “mens’” testosterone gone awry? What are you teaching the young men, women, children and spectators who came out to support you?
To fight over a game is ridiculous.
This was mob mentality and all involved should feel ashamed!
Kaleo Keliipuleole
Wailua
Why no showing of support?
Harry Boranian in his letter to the editor (“Majority favors ferry,” Letters, Oct. 23) gives weak excuses for the lack of support for the “super fiasco” at the public hearings and its proposed bailout on Sunday. If there is a great majority of the people in support of the ferry, I would imagine that there would have been more than just the brave two people there to give testimony.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not for or against the Ferry. I’m not an expert in environmental or cultural impact issues, nor do I have the facts to come up with a sound opinion. However, an assessment by independent professionals would clear away the haze surrounding the issue and give people the necessary information to come up with an educated opinion.
While many like me favor another mode of transportation, the issue at hand on Sunday was whether or not an answer to an injustice committed will be supported by further injustice by passing a shortsighted ferry bailout bill. It is our obligation as inhabitants of this planet to keep our governments accountable and in check for any irresponsible decisions they make. While I do not condone extreme and unlawful protests, I do believe in the adage, “When injustice becomes law, then resistance becomes duty.”
Dominic Acain
Kekaha
From where I sit
As I sit atop the Sleeping Giant mountain, I am greeted by a dazzling sunrise in a cloudless sky. Even Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale, one of the wettest spots in the world, shines forth in radiant, sparkling clarity. Surely the abiding spirit of this island is grateful for the clarity of truth expressed by the astonishing testimony of hundreds of Kaua‘i residents at a watershed meeting at King Kauamali‘i School in Hanama‘ulu yesterday. The clarity, passion and intelligence shared at this meeting was both touching and poignant, and raised the bar of the Superferry dialogue to a higher level.
Seven senators from O‘ahu, including Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, gave generously of their precious time to listen patiently to the eloquently spoken concerns of so many Kauaians, ranging in age from 12 to 80. To the many of you who were not there, the truth that was expressed by hundreds of Kauaians burst forth like the radiance that graces our island at this very moment from the mountain top.
It is so important that we educate ourselves about the real motives and intent behind Gov. Linda Lingle’s unabashed, yet deeply puzzling support of the Superferry. It appears that Lingle strides upon a pale horse and, in her public distortions of the truth, may very well be leading Hawai‘i down a treacherous road that will further divide our community while decimating our precious environment. Her sweeping statement that most of Hawai‘i supports a superferry is in error as attested by upwards of 500 people who attended the meeting yesterday. With 6,000 plus petition signatures supporting an EIS, and 1,000 people publicly disapproving the “maiden” Superferry voyage here, and 1,000 people sharply critical of her views when she visited Kaua‘i a few weeks ago, what universe is Lingle referring to when she says, “Most people are in support of the Superferry?”
If we don’t educate ourselves, as an island, to what is truly transpiring here, we will be sentenced, by our own ignorance, to a future beset by problems and challenges that will plague and overwhelm our children and our grandchildren for generations.
I believe we all want to be at peace and be happy. If we all open our eyes and look deeper, collectively, we might discern a deeper truth that was so eloquently expressed by a passionate, well-educated cross section of our population on Sunday afternoon, and steer our island onto a higher road.
Richard Moll
Kapa‘a
Let’s slow down for humans
In order to satisfy the environmentalists’ demands, one of their conditions to “save the whales” is to force the Superferry to a more manageable speed of 15 mph.
If these people are as concerned for the humans who wander our islands, sometimes straying in front of the many 2-ton vehicles that are responsible for killing over 100 innocent humans and injuring thousands more every year in Hawai‘i, it seems logical to me that the environmentalists, with their natural, ultra-keen sense of “pono,” would already be driving their cars at 15 mph today without the need for any state laws forcing them to reduce their overly excessive speeds.
Just think how many humans would be “saved” if everyone were forced by law to drive only 15 mph, like they want the Superferry to travel.
I wonder why they don’t drive 15 mph today? Perhaps they must have a good reason, them being enviornmentalists and all.
Paul Staples
Kailua, Big Island
Praising little improvement
Of course test scores have improved, there’s nowhere to go but up. I am tired of the Department of Education heralding any improvement, no matter how slight, as a successful milestone in the education of our keiki. Don’t get me wrong, I am ecstatic to see progress. But how have our scores remained so poor for so long with millions of taxpayer dollars funneled to the DOE every year? What is so praiseworthy about the fact that our fourth graders’ reading scores are still below the national average and only higher than three states and D.C.? It is a disservice to our kids to applaud the system for such minimal achievement and it is no wonder that Hawai‘i has the highest number of students per capita enrolled in private schools.
Our keiki deserve better. They deserve a system that sets the bar high and equips them with the skills to excel rather than to squeak by. We should be demanding a lot more from those tasked with educating our children and more money isn’t the answer — at some point the DOE is just a bad investment of our hard-earned dollars.
Emily Lundblad
Kaneohe, O‘ahu
