• Debate and action good • Officials, true voice • Infamy of minority • Drive with aloha • Big Island may be lost cause Debate and action good The Superferry has energized debate and action in many areas of our
• Debate and action good
• Officials, true voice
• Infamy of minority
• Drive with aloha
• Big Island may be lost cause
Debate and action good
The Superferry has energized debate and action in many areas of our island and that is a good thing if we do not allow our differences to divide us. The ferry has stimulated interest on the issues of development, traffic, government control, Hawaiian independence and others. Many citizens want to see a change. I’ve seen this kind of uprising before, and unfortunately, the change that we achieve is, too often, as bad as that we are trying to replace.
However, we will clearly continue to lose our freedom and our island if we proceed in the direction that we are going. There is only one way out that I can see and it is a four-step approach:
• Get informed and involved (no one has the time) but no one of us can afford to remain ignorant and silent. Get together with others (parties, debates, etc.) to study and learn.
• Encourage our best citizens to run for office (this is critical).
• Vote, after truly studying the candidates and issues.
• Do not give in to apathy.
New Year’s is on the way. Let us resolve to make 2008 the one we rescue our island and our country.
David Dinner
Hanalei
Officials, true voice
To comment in response to Henry Boranian’s letter (“System worked,” Letters, Nov. 19):
It is an unfortunate assumption of a majority of American citizens that we live in a democratic nation. We, in fact, do not live in a true Democracy, but rather, a Republic. That would, indeed, mean that we live in a republican nation. I am not referring to party politics. Just like the Pledge of Allegiance we learned in grade school taught us: “And for the Republic in which it stands, with liberty and justice for all.”
In actuality, the people are not the ones with the true voice, but the officials that they elect to office to represent them. It is sad to see when the “system” works/chooses to rewrite itself to further private interests and industry, but, that is the way it is (the way the system works).
So, this is why — with all due respect — at times, some people must circumvent the law, because they are forced to, in able to exercise their right to freedom of speech to express their personal opinions and voice their beliefs.
But, I suppose, “enemies foreign and domestic” helps give credence to “national security concerns,” thereby permitting the violations of privacies that we believed we possess here in America.
Paullie Purdy
Waimea
Infamy of minority
In response to Jim Holbrook’s letter (“Day of infamy,” Letters, Nov. 20):
Isn’t democracy a great thing? Isn’t it nice to know that a majority of the citizens in this state can urge their legislators to change laws to reflect their wants and desires within the confines of the United States Constitution, as amended? It’s nice to know that no business can influence our legislators to do anything they don’t believe our populace supports. Look at this state’s long tradition of labor-friendly legislation and you’ll see that is true … to the chagrin of many pro-business advocates.
Maybe a word to the wise here … it wasn’t the Superferry folks who changed the law. It was our elected officials who, by their actions, reflected the majority opinion of the people of Hawai‘i.
The Superferry is just there to fill the need for improved inter-island transportation the vast majority of the people of this state recognize they want and need.
So, your rants are more logically directed at the populous and not our elected officials or the Superferry.
Those two entities merely serve us.
Here the majority rules, bro.
Jason Manawai
Kekaha
Drive with aloha
Just because your vehicle has a safety sticker, that doesn’t mean your vehicle is in good order. I’d like to remind drivers for vendors and of heavy equipment vehicles who share the highway and streets through towns: Make sure that your rear lights (brake lights and signal lights) are in good working condition.
There is a lot of stop-and-go through towns and drivers cannot see ahead of you for traffic conditions. On the island most places are bumper-to-bumper vehicle traffic.
When you have to make sudden stops and if your lights are not working, the vehicle behind you will probably either rear end you or brake quickly and cause a chain reaction of rear ending.
I’m not trying to single out only large vendor and heavy equipment vehicles. It is good for every driver on the highway to make sure your vehicles’ brakes and signal lights are in good condition before driving on the roads. Also, check that brakes and tires are in good condition too.
Again, just because your vehicle has been checked and has a safety sticker, it isn’t always safe.
Help prevent unwanted accidents.
Howard Tolbe
‘Ele‘ele
Big Island may be lost cause
Responding to R. Pontes letter to the Forum (“Ferry didn’t bring them,” Letters, Nov. 17) from the Big Island he writes: “The Superferry is a catamaran built just like the cruise ship Radisson Diamond. This ship has been sailing all over our oceans and I have never heard of them hitting whales.”
Well, the fact is, the Diamond cruises at 12.5 knots which is one-third the cruising speed of the Superferry at 37 knots. Now if a car is coming down your residential street at 25 mph, it is quite easy to see and hear it coming so one can safely get out of the way. But if a car is coming down your residential street at 75 mph, this is another matter entirely and would be quite a hazard to everyone, obviously.
Regarding invasive species, R. Pontes and others seem to feel that it is a lost cause to try to stop this problem. A little research about the KISC (Kauai Invasive Species Committee) reveals otherwise. They are working very hard to contain outbreaks. The fire ants and the frogs have been isolated and almost stamped out. Compare this situation to the Big Island where the the outbreaks are literally everywhere and it is perhaps a lost cause. If the Superferry does indeed come to Kaua‘i the workers at KISC will be running around playing “whack-a-mole” and they will probably not have the resources to keep up.
T.L. Cameron
Boulder Creek, Calif.
