BURIALS

GREED IS MAIN BARRIER TO BURIALS PROTECTION

There has been a lot of recent publicity on historic preservation projects gone bad, and on the poor performance of the State Historic Preservation Division .

These various critiques rarely, if ever, mention the most important factor in all of this, which is the role and responsibility of landowners and developers to malama (take care of) cultural and historic resources.

The fundamental problem is greed and unrestrained profit-taking, mostly by people who have other places to go when this place is used up.

To blame the inefficiencies of the pathetically under-funded SHPD, where I worked for eight impossibly busy months in 2006, is like blaming Parks and Recreation for people who litter. We might as well blame ancient Hawaiians for building their sites and burying their dead in our way!

Facing the truth isn't easy, especially when the worst offenders will stop at nothing to get their projects completed, including suing anyone who tells it like it is and aggressively cutting corners at every conceivable point in the historic preservation review process.

Fixing historic preservation must start with the recognition that greedy landowners and developers are the source of the problem.

RELOCATING GRAVES CAN BE DONE WITH RESPECT

It is interesting that undocumented burial sites produce such high emotions among some Hawaiian families. Most of us are accustomed to the tradition of relocating lost graves to a more reverent and respectful permanence. The iwi found at the Ward construction site is a case in point.

I wonder whether reverence for ancestral bones or mixed politics about land and culture are the real issues here. Relocating a grave is not a violation of values. Many growing societies must contend with the eventuality of less space for the dead and even lesser space for the living. Large societies improvise and revise their values toward the dead.

My mother attempted to devote our lives in a Shaman Buddhist tradition, which disrupted our lives by worshipping the dead. In her later years, she regretted burdening her children with the belief that the dead were punishing us because of our disobedience to tradition.

I respect those Hawaiians who have the nobleness and poise to know the right place for the dead and living in a modern world. They restore this non-Hawaiian's faith in the soundness of Hawaiian motives.

It is my hope that the Hawaiian nation will take the necessary and reverent steps to relocate iwi to permanent memorial tombs as a legitimate part of their modern culture. I'm sure that their kupuna wouldn't want their children to be burdened under a future of oppression by the dead.

NEIGHBORHOODS

RESIDENTS CAN LOOK OUT FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

I live in Kailua and read with interest the article on the 18 home break-ins. Thanks to an alert neighbor, police were able to make two arrests.

However, it is disturbing that they were released. Perhaps it is time that we have stricter laws for these types of criminals.

Maybe if we had more police officers patrolling our communities, property crimes would decrease. Theft is on the rise, and the current crime-fighting methods are not effective.

Clearly, neighbors looking out for each other and their homes appear to be one of the most effective ways to stop these thieves.

Make a point to know your neighbors, be familiar with their routines and types of cars so that as a community we can stay alert to these thugs. Report suspicious activity immediately.

Let's help each other stop crime!

LACK OF CONSCIENCE

WAR VOTE AFFECTED BY RE-ELECTION AMBITIONS

In Victor Davis Hanson's May 10 "expose" of Democrats who voted for the Iraq War, he fails to mention that the war vote was scheduled just before a general election.

Facing a deeply 9/11-enraged public, members of Congress were unlikely to vote their conscience, since doing so was political suicide that close to an election.

While this kind of vote scheduling displayed a canny knowledge of what really motivates Congress (re-election), it displayed ignorance of the larger context within which Congress functions, one in which actual Americans are sent to die in actual wars.

It turns out that there is a time when you want Congress to vote its conscience and lead the nation rather than follow it. That's when the subject is war.

For this reason, at least some of the 3,300 dead and 25,000 wounded that have resulted must be attributed to this Machiavellian scheduler.

HOMELAND SECURITY

CITIES MUST NOT GIVE SANCTUARY TO TERRORISTS

The illegal and illogical concept of "sanctuary cities" must stop. These cities, their mayors, councils, and police leadership are putting our citizens' lives in danger.

Three men intent on killing soldiers at Fort Dix were known illegal immigrants, yet the city where they resided chose to thumb their nose at federal authorities, and rather let these men continue to plan an attack in which hundreds of soldiers may have been killed.

No part is greater than the whole. If America has any hope of protecting itself from these criminals, all America must work together. These cities that consider themselves as protecting human rights, or whatever their excuse, are unpatriotic and care little about the future of this country and the safety of its citizens.

I call upon all citizens of these cities to voice your displeasure with your vote and if necessary with your feet; move to a city that obeys federal laws and cares about your safety.

KAPOLEI IS BETTER

LACK OF SPACE DEFEATS CAMPUS STADIUM IDEA

I hear Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona is in favor of building a new stadium on the University of Hawai'i lower campus. I think it is a stupid idea.

For one thing, traffic before and after games would be horrendous. It's bad enough that the present location of Aloha Stadium on Salt Lake Boulevard produces a traffic jam despite six ways to access the two parking lots, but it would be a lot worse at UH, where there aren't those accesses.

Second, think of the noise pollution for nearby residences. When I was single, I lived next to lower campus. Even then, I was often troubled by loud music coming from concerts at the amphitheater. How much worse it would be if a stadium were built on the lower campus?

Finally, there is simply no space.

I think the new stadium should be built in Kapolei. There's plenty of space there and when the mass-transit system is finally installed, it will be very easy for fans to travel to and from that venue. Wouldn't that make more sense?

NOT FEDERALISTS

U.S. SHOULD LISTEN TO VOICE OF IRAQI VOTER

The Afghan parliamentary vote reported in this paper May 10 — in which a majority of the upper house called for a cease-fire, negotiations with Taliban and a U.S./NATO withdrawal deadline — closely parallels a petition by the majority of legislators in Iraq two days earlier calling for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from that country. But the latter got no coverage in the mainstream U.S. media.

Is there a message there that should be heard, perhaps? Despite U.S. rhetoric, the regime it backs in Iraq is composed of federalists who want to partition Iraq, carve up its oil and gas resources and cut separate deals with foreign firms.

But polls for the past two years have shown that the majority of Iraqis in all three major regions want a strong central government and oppose turning their most valuable resources over to foreigners.

The real nationalists in Iraq, then, oppose what the U.S. is doing there, politically, militarily and economically. Only 7 percent of the so-called "insurgents" are al-Qaida, so they are insignificant compared to the strong nationalist surge against our ongoing, self-interested presence in their country.

Please don't fall for claims that "supporting the troops" should compel us to stop thinking and informing ourselves and to simply turn over our brains to the current regime in Washington. If democracy matters to you, then listen to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, not the propaganda of deceitful U.S. expansionists.

ENFORCEABLE LAW

COPPER BILL WILL LEAD TO TOUGHER PROTECTION

Copper theft in Hawai'i is a felony, and our state has new enforcement tools to deal with this growing problem — under the terms of a measure introduced this legislative session. This session, the Legislature toughened valid and enforceable statutes that have been on the books for more than 30 years.

In an article on May 10, your reporter gave the impression that a "loophole" in the bill would somehow allow thieves (and those who deal in stolen copper) to escape justice. This is just not so. The measure introduced this session, HB 1246, was introduced by the attorney general and endorsed by the Law Enforcement Coalition.

Rather than weakening laws relating to copper theft and scrap dealers, the measure enhances current law to send a strong message that copper theft and dealing in stolen copper are serious crimes and will not be tolerated.

Among other provisions, HB 1246: