SERVICE TO COUNTRY

SHINSEKI SHOULD GET CONGRESS' GOLD MEDAL

I would like to suggest that Hawai'i's congressional delegation take the lead in nominating and cosponsoring the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to our distinguished retired Gen. Eric Shinseki.

It is now common knowledge that Gen. Shinseki was the only senior general who openly stated, during congressional hearings, that several hundred thousand troops would be required to stabilize Iraq after an invasion.

This was almost double the number of troops that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was advocating and subsequently sent to Iraq.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz dismissed the testimony as "wildly off the mark."

We now know that Shinseki was right and his civilian bosses were wrong. This has been acknowledged by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Army Gen. John Abizaid and, implicitly, by the president.

Standing up to Mr. Rumsfeld and risking his career took at least as much courage as going to war in Iraq. After his retirement, Shinseki has resisted pressure to go public about his disagreements, stating: "I do not want to criticize while my soldiers are still bleeding and dying in Iraq."

The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity and national interest of the United States. For his lifelong contributions to the acts of service in the categories mentioned, for his outstanding courage in standing up for his convictions and for his exemplary demeanor on and off the battlefield, it would be fitting for Gen. Eric Shinseki to be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

BUSH PLAN

ESCALATION OF WAR IN IRAQ IS NOT JUSTIFIED

All we've heard about for months is Bush's popularity, or rather, how it is at a record low because the American public does not agree with his handling of the war in Iraq.

I thought this issue was settled in November when complicit Republicans were voted out of power in Congress and when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned.

Yet, Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq is just more of the same strategy he's been using all along. There is no justification for escalating a war when we've been on the wrong track all along.

I wholeheartedly support the effort of Democratic leaders to challenge this escalation. The people made their voice heard, and if the president isn't going to listen, the Democratic Congress will.

NEW IRAQ TROOP PLAN DOESN'T HOLD WATER

President Bush's plan to send an additional 21,000 troops to Iraq just does not hold water. That number is roughly 16 percent of the troops currently there, about 132,000.

Does he mean to tell us that he cannot move 16 percent of the troops from outside Baghdad to fulfill the mission of securing Baghdad?

After all, we were told some time ago that several provinces are now secure and stable.

If after four years we still cannot reduce troop levels in those areas that are supposedly secure, how can we expect to secure the most volatile, violent area where one out every four Iraqis live with just 21,000 additional troops?

IRAQ STUDY GROUP

BIPARTISAN PANEL'S FINDINGS HAVE MERIT

Like many Americans, I am deeply disturbed about the situation in Iraq, and it seems to me that the course proposed by the president is likely to make things even worse.

On the other hand, I was impressed with the carefully reasoned report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Although it does not guarantee success, it is an approach that both parties should embrace. I do not understand why it is not given the consideration by Congress and the administration that it deserves.

RECYCLING

MICHIGAN BOTTLE LAW SHOULD BE EMULATED

I moved to Michigan from O'ahu in the early 1980s, and have watched Michigan's bottle law evolve into a great system that Hawai'i should emulate.

All major grocery stores here have automated bottle/can collectors. These collectors are the size of the average soda machine.

The incentive to the retailer is after the cans are collected and the receipt given, most people spend it right in the same store.

Redemption is so easy that can collecting is now a favorite fund-raising opportunity for kids.

Make it easy, and they will come.

GOVERNMENT SERVICES

STORY ON LEGISLATURE ASKED WRONG QUESTION

Your Page One story on Sunday asked the wrong question.

Instead of "What will legislators do for us this year?" it should have read "What will legislators do to us this year?"

Taxes are up, services are down and our highways resemble the bombed-out roads in Iraq.

Better we pay them to stay home.

TRAFFIC

TOO MANY CARS WITH EXPIRED SAFETY STICKERS

I would like to point out that many vehicles are currently on the road with expired safety checks and/or vehicle registrations.

If these vehicles were not on the road, it would have a tremendous impact on the current traffic problem. I am not saying that this will prevent us from having mass transit, I am simply saying that it will help with our current situation.

HIGH DEFINITION

KGMB, OCEANIC MUST WORK OUT DIFFERENCES

The Super Bowl is only a few weeks away and will be aired on CBS this year.

It would be a great show of regard for their viewers and customers if KGMB and Oceanic Time Warner Cable could put aside their differences and work out a deal so the game could be broadcast in high definition.

The three other local stations have managed to work out deals, and we've gotten late-season games in high definition.

It's long overdue that KGMB and Oceanic show us they really do care about us.

They need to work this out in time for the Super Bowl.

DENMARK MODEL

MINI-CITY PROPOSED FOR WAIKIKI'S HOMELESS

Homelessness in Waikiki is to no one's advantage.

It will hurt tourism, which will hurt pocketbooks and Hawai'i's reputation.

One solution might be to do what has been done in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Christiania, which is an abandoned military base that was turned over to the city's homeless. It is permissively supervised. Basically, the homeless have squatted in the buildings and the government pays for their utilities. The police have undercover people watching to curtail the drug trade. Social and medical workers attempt to help the residents with their mental and physical problems.

It is a reality that the homeless present themselves daily around Waikiki to the detriment of the tourist industry.

Can we not help them and ourselves by giving them a mini-city within the city but away from commerce and tourism?

My intention is to stimulate thought and action.

CONTRACTS

NON-BID SELECTION IS NOW OPEN, TRANSPARENT

A Dec. 18 article by Rick Daysog, "Firms land contracts despite donation fines," is misleading in several ways.

When the media report on so-called "nonbid" contracts, it is often from a negative point of view that misleads the public to believe that nonbid contracts cheat the public.

The fact is that Hawai'i's engineering community, spearheaded by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawai'i, worked for many years to pass legislation that would take politics out of the selection process to provide a fair and open system in the selection of architectural and engineering professionals.

These efforts were begun many years before the actions against firms by the Campaign Spending Commission and city prosecutor, and resulted in the passage of Act 52 in 2003 that awards all state and city contracts for engineering and architectural services by selection committees on the basis of qualifications and experience of the firm. This process is open and transparent.

Design services by engineers and architects, like medical and attorney services, are considered professional services and the congressional Brooks Act and Act 52 provide rules on selection of professionals based on qualifications. The qualifications-based selection process allows for procurement of architectural and engineering design services first on the basis of competence, creativity and past performance; and second on negotiation of a fair and reasonable price.

This process ensures the best-qualified firm is selected for the job. Most people wouldn't choose their surgeon based on price, but would research and find the most competent specialist who can perform a complicated procedure. Selecting a consulting engineer is similar, as engineering firms offer different areas of expertise and experience.

The article also failed to mention that many of the firms involved have made good-faith efforts to put their mistakes behind them, while continuing to provide significant, valuable and innovative design services to their clients and the people of Hawai'i.

As a taxpayer I want the best engineers working on our infrastructure and public buildings to ensure they are safe, economical, efficient and reliable.

Furthermore, the public can now be assured that safeguards are in place to prevent the past problems related to procurement and campaign-spending violations from occurring again.