Letters to the Editor
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
CHOOSING THE RACE OF STUDENTS IS RIDICULOUS
This is in response to the June 6 article "Supreme Court accepts two race cases": The U.S. Supreme Court is going to soon hear two cases, one from Seattle and one from Louisville, about public schools that admit a certain percentage from each racial group for the sake of "diversity."
The idea that schools choose the race of their students, for any reason, is ridiculous, especially if it's a public school.
Our state is more racially integrated than most of the Mainland. This state has the largest rate of interracial marriages and multiracial people. And we didn't get that way by having government schools choosing the race of their students.
The real reason people had problems with segregated schools in the South pre-1960s was that public schools chose the race of their students. Now, forcing schools to have a certain percentage of whites, blacks, etc. for the sake of "diversity" is just as crazy.
Let the people figure out their own way of dealing with diversity. That's what we in Hawai'i have done. Hardly anyone has a problem with Waipahu High being mostly Filipino or Wai'anae High being mostly Native Hawaiian because people can choose where they live.
Other schools have very different combinations of people: Kahuku High has a lot of Polynesians and Caucasians; Roosevelt High has a lot of local Japanese and Native Hawaiians; McKinley High has a large number of immigrants from Asia and the Pacific (which, by the way, is where I, a Mexican, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, German, graduated from).
The people in those districts choose to live among such diversity.
Pablo WegesendHonolulu
HELP HAWAIIANS
OHA SHOULD STOP SPENDING ON LOBBYISTS
An article in The Hill ("The Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress") says "Despite last week's setback (failure of the cloture petition backing the Akaka Bill) supporters promise to continue to try to get the bill passed this year, and next Congress if need be."
It quotes Martha Ross, a spokeswoman for OHA as saying "We are determined that we will move forward."
Does that mean more money for more lobbyists?
"Since 2001," the article says, "the agency, a division of the Hawai'i state government that was created to improve the lives of native Hawaiians, has spent more than $1.7 million on lobbying in support of the Akaka bill. It paid $660,000 in 2005 to Patton Boggs, helping the firm finish first in the race for lobbying revenue last year."
How nice for Patton Boggs, but just think how much help that $1.7 million could have given young Hawaiians through the Early Beginnings program, for example. Not to mention how much good OHA could do if it would spread to Hawaiians the nearly $400 million in taxpayers' money it has been sitting on for years.
OHA, while many of us believe it is an unconstitutional program, by its charter is supposed to be helping people with a drop of Hawaiian blood, not Mainland lobbyists.
If it isn't going to do that, the state should go back to giving out taxpayers' money directly to people of Hawai'i who need help, whatever race their parents were.
Thurston Twigg-SmithHonolulu
INEFFECTUAL
LINGLE GETS THE BLAME FOR AKAKA BILL DEMISE
Aloha. Just like the collapse of Kaloko Dam, we can lay the demise of the Akaka Bill directly at the feet of Linda Lingle.
Four years ago she stated that one of the reasons that we should vote for her is that she was from the same party that was in power in Washington and as such could wield considerable influence with the president and Congress on behalf of the Hawaiians.
We learned that the White House sent a letter to the Senate urging the defeat of the Akaka bill and that Republican senators were the main instrument in its defeat.
So much for that Lingle lie. She's proven to be ineffectual at the state level and now she has shown that she is not effectual at the federal level either. She'll be asking for four more years soon. Why? We've already seen Lame Duck Lingle.
Martin RiceChair, Democratic Party of Kaua'i
HELP POOR AREAS
GIVE MORE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS REASON TO STAY
Education writer Beverly Creamer's coverage on teacher quality in poverty schools (June 9) was excellent. It validates what has been long known but not publicly acknowledged by educators.
Now that it's out, why can't we come up with some ideas to correct the problem so more of our kids can experience success in learning?
The above would have the following effect: (1) Raise the quality of education in needed schools, (2) Reduce their concentration of inexperienced teachers, (3) Allow the inexperienced time to learn and improve (4) Make it easier on teachers inheriting these students the following year to teach.
To continue to do nothing would be unconscionable.
Bill PrescottWai'anae
COMPETITION
ALOHA'S NEW DEAL CAME JUST A LITTLE TOO LATE
Aloha Airlines is as phony as a $3 bill. All these years they have charged outrageous prices for Island travel. Now that our new go Airlines has come and offered a super-low $19 dollar one-way charge, Aloha gives 1,000 free trips to show how nice they are.
They're not fooling anyone. Why did they wait until someone forced them get their act together and stop their price fixing with the other airline? If Aloha can give 1,000 free trips that means they could have lowered their price a long time ago. I'll pay go Airlines its price before I ever ride Aloha again, even if it's free.
Mahalo, go, and aloha, Aloha.
Eugene CorderoPearl City
INACCURATE COUNT
HOMELESS DATA DISTORTS TRUTH ABOUT PROBLEM
No! The Advertiser article about Wai'anae homelessness on Sunday continues to disseminate erroneous data about the growth and prevalence of homelessness on O'ahu.
The manner in which homeless data is currently collected by the state of Hawai'i's homeless service utilization database does not allow determination of either growth or prevalence of homelessness.
The inflated homeless numbers cited in your article reflects the fact that the database includes service to individuals who are not homeless in addition to containing many old cases that have never been closed.
The 3,418 number cited is just flat-out wrong. The real homeless number served by Wai'anae Community Outreach would be less than 1,000 annually.
There is currently no data that supports any increase in unsheltered homelessness on the island of O'ahu since 1992.
The public continues to be incorrectly informed about the growth of the problem.
Government officials and providers, in particular, continue to refuse to implement periodic beach park counts in order to actually measure whether the homeless problem may or may not be increasing in certain parts of the island.
Michael UllmanHonolulu
PALAUAN-HAWAIIAN HYBRID
KALO DEAL MISSES LEGAL POINT
In March of this year a Hawaiian representative of the Waikiki Hawaiian Civic Club and Na Koa Ikaika o Ka Lahui Hawai'i met with representatives of the Government of Palau in Curitiba, Brazil, to discuss the patenting of a hybrid kalo by the University of Hawai'i.
The patent covers a hybrid of Hawaiian and Palauan kalo. Palau is a nation which has signed the International Convention on Biological Diversity, Palau claims ownership of its biodiversity and its genetic resources under international law.
The Palau representative told us that a UH researcher had asked and received permission from the traditional Palau Women's Council (which has oversight of lo'i kalo) and the Palauan government to use Palau kalo for research with Samoan species. They indicated that they have not been notified about the hybrid research and the patenting of the hybrid by the UH and its researcher.
By engaging in this type of misrepresentation and misconduct, the University of Hawai'i has become involved in what is known internationally as "bio-piracy;" the theft of genetic and bio-resources from indigenous peoples and poor countries who are less technologically advanced than the nations and research institutions of the north.
To complicate matters further, the university, by utilizing true Hawaiian kalo has also taken our Hawaiian bio-resources without the free prior informed consent of the Hawaiian people. Kalo is in our genealogy through Haloa, it is the basis of the native Hawaiian diet and is utilized by la'au lapa'au practitioners for medicinal purposes. This is why Hawaiians are demonstrating at the University of Hawai'i and calling for the university to rescind the patents.
The university is now saying they want to transfer these illegal patents to a Hawaiian group in order to share the benefit with Hawaiians and help us make money through kalo commercialization.
This action is unconscionable given the fact that the patents and hybrid kalo are in part, stolen property of the government and peoples of Palau and in part the stolen property of the Hawaiian community.
Whoever accepts these three patents will also be accepting the liability that goes along with them: violations of international law and demonstrations by irate Hawaiians.
The university should do the right thing. Inform the Palau government of the truth and give up its illegal patents. The university needs to work with the Hawaiian community to create responsible policies relating to research and patenting of Hawai'i endemic species based on the Paoakalani Declaration, passed by Ka Aha Pono in 2003.
The kalo belongs to all of us, it is our cultural heritage, food and medicine. Hawaiians should not accept the offer of the University of Hawai'i to transfer these patents to them.
Those who receive and benefit from a theft are no better than the thieves themselves and in this case they might just get stuck holding the liability bag.
Mililani B. TraskConvener, Na Koa Ikaika o Ka Lahui Hawai'i and member, Waikiki Hawaiian Civic Club
COURAGEOUS STAND
WATADA SOUGHT TO RIGHT WRONG OF ILLEGAL IRAQ WAR
Two recent letter writers have assailed Lt. Ehren Watada's courageous decision to refuse redeployment to Iraq.
Howard Okada (June 9) said that since Watada swore to obey all orders from higher-ups, he would be violating his oath if he refused and would be displaying "cowardice."
Richard Sasaki (June 10) agreed that Lt. Watada has a right to his opinion against the Iraq war, but he had a duty to follow orders. Sasaki urged that Watada be sent to prison for 20 years or more.
Such letters fail to recognize that the disastrous occupation of Iraq, undertaken based on our government's lies, is illegal under international law — primarily due to the indiscriminate slaughter of Iraqi non-combatants (over 50,000) caused by the warfare.
Lt. Watada is upholding the U.S. Constitution and his commission by his courageous stand — by seeking to right a wrong. When one realizes a wrong is being committed, then one's duty is to cease being a part of it and to try to halt it.
For Lt. Watada and other G.I. war resisters, duty and morality demand this view, "My country, right or wrong, but if it's wrong, I will make it right."
I salute him for his effort and hope more people speak up in his defense and against the continued wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Philippines. He and others like him should not be punished. They should be honored.
John WiteckHonolulu
