Sign wavers are better than mainland campaign blight
There have been several letters to Kokua Line and and the letters column complaining about sign wavers. I say count your blessings!By the time this letter gets printed, the sign wavers will be gone until the next election. This is in direct contrast to most mainland areas where political posters and billboards are a blight on the landscape for many months before the election and often for months afterward.
I will gladly take the small inconvience and sometimes annoyance of the sign wavers.
Zane Clark
Kahuku
(Via the Internet)
Negative campaigning was disgusting
We are appalled by the behavior of politicians who ran for office in the now concluded political race.Campaigns deteriorated into tactless and selfish grudge matches. Politicians no longer focused on the issues, but spent most of their time trying to deface their opponents.
Instead of bringing out their personal strengths and abilities, politicians devoted campaign money to bringing out their opponents' faults and weaknesses. Frankly, we wanted to vote for candidates because they are strong and full of integrity. We didn't base our votes on who can write the best smear reports or who had the best commercials.
Granted, we are not saying that a politician's past is not important. In fact, how a candidate has conducted him/herself in previous years is extremely important, but we would hold persons in higher esteem if they were willing to admit their own mistakes while bringing out their strengths.
The attitude that the politicians brought to the race was a sign of poor sportsmanship. As young and upcoming voters, all of this mud-slinging sickens us and discourages us from want-ing to vote when we turn 18.
Bethany Fong, Darren Ho,
Kymberly Yano
Hawaii Baptist Academy , Grade 12
(Via the Internet)
Papers should have refused deceptive Cayetano ad
The political advertisement run by the Friends of Ben Cayetano in both papers Monday was intellectually dishonest and Cayetano and the publishers of the newspapers should be ashamed of themselves.The ad, on page B5 of the Advertiser and D6 of the Star Bulletin, quotes an editorial in the Advertiser as saying: "Gov. Ben Cayetano has served the state for the past four years with honor, honesty, and sincerity. If re-elected, there's no doubt he would continue to serve well."
What the ad left out was the fact that the Advertiser went on to endorse Linda Lingle for governor. The quotation was taken completely out of context and made it appear that the Advertiser had endorsed Cayetano.
The lie in this ad should never have seen the light of day. Cayetano and the publishers of the newspapers owe the people of Hawaii an apology for their blatant falsehood.
Richard Halloran
Hawaii Kai
(Via the Internet)
Let's quit labeling those who differ on gay vote
These days no one knows for sure whose side you're on. If you voted "yes" on traditional marriage, people assume you're against homosexuals. If you voted "no," you're gay.Whatever anyone else's reason to vote "yes" or "no," I think it's as unfair to the person voting "no" to be assumed gay as it is for the person voting "yes" to be labeled anti-homosexual.
Personally, I have close friends and family members whose lifestyles I don't agree with, but I can love them just the same. However, if they ask me to go buy them crack or take them to their girlfriends' houses without their wives finding out, I'm saying no!
Although I voted "yes" on traditional marriage, anyone out there who voted "no" is not going to get branded "anything" by me.
Stephanie Ige
Waianae
Inouye is master of fear-mongering
Bigotry and racism are alive and well in the Democratic Party, as reflected in a speech given by Sen. Dan Inouye at an Oct. 24 public rally at the Old Stadium Park in Moiliili.Inouye's speech was fear-mongering at its best. Among other things, he stated that a Republican win would return Hawaii to the society of pre-1954, which consisted of segregated restaurants, schools, etc.
He said that back then, capital punishment was legal, and it was common practice to hang Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Hawaiian people while the "rich" (undefined but who's left but the Caucasians?) were not. He implied that this might happen again with a Republican victory.
His referral to "newcomers" and anyone who did not support the Democratic ticket as destroying our "local values" was heard on a regular basis from his camp. This rhetoric is nothing short of blatant, ugly racism.
Diane D. Ackerson
Glenn mentions Hawaii on his trip around world
Oct. 29 was a day of proud nostalgia and renewed exhilaration as a genuine 20th-century hero returned to space. When John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 21, 1962, in Friendship 7, he was alone in the tiny Mercury capsule.Last week, Glenn returned to space in the shuttle Discovery, at age 77, now one of seven members of an international, co-ed crew. In 1962, Glenn's flight lasted 4:55:23. In 1998, the mission is scheduled to last nine days.
I well remember listening to the radio broadcast over the public address system in my first-grade classroom as a 6-year-old at Manoa Elementary. All were fascinated by the courageous daring of the "Original 7" astronauts. This time I intently watched the extensive television coverage of the launch, again hoping for the best.
Could any of this simply become routine? Hardly! Especially when you hear the call to "go with throttle up" -- forever remembering the last communication with the Challenger crew on Jan. 28, 1986. This time, and again in the proud history of the U.S. space program, all with the launch went spectacularly well on a beautiful day we all enjoyed in south Florida.
To make it sweeter were Glenn's remarks last week during Discovery's first orbit: "We're just going by Hawaii and that is just beautiful. Hawaii is -- I just can't describe it!" Thanks and Godspeed, John Glenn.
Tom Heinrich
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