Aiona has regularly used his office to advance religious zealotry, as when he testified at the Legislature this year in opposition to a compromise civil rights measure that would've provided equal protection for same-sex couples and their families.

The diversity of our state demands that we respect private beliefs. We needn't elect a governor who will simply be a mouthpiece for his church.

RACISM

OFFENSIVE REMARK REVEALS TENSIONS GO ON

I witnessed a local boy discard his rubbish in the Kane'ohe Burger King parking lot. I asked him to dispose of his rubbish properly out of respect for the 'aina, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "What does a haole know about the 'aina?"

I have been a resident for four years, and to experience this kind of racism was unacceptable. He shamed his elders and the rest of the good local people on this island.

This was a testament that some people still demonstrate animosity toward "haoles." What a shame. I don't think this would please the ali'i and kupuna.

FARE WARS

SHOW LOYALTY TO OUR LONGTIME LOCAL AIRLINES

Hawaiian Airlines has faithfully served these islands since 1927. Aloha has been here since right after World War II. go! airlines jumped into the Hawai'i market just last year with absurdly low interisland airfares.

It distresses me that some local folks are abandoning Hawaiian and Aloha even after our longtime local airlines have matched those low fares.

go! is owned by Mesa Air, which operates in the Southwestern part of the Mainland. A simple check of Mesa's own Web site reveals the following:

For a roundtrip flight between Albuquerque and Carlsbad, N.M., Mesa Air charges $179.50. The flight time each way is just an hour and five minutes.

For a roundtrip flight between Dallas-Fort Worth and Hot Springs, Ark., Mesa charges $194.50. The flight time each way is an hour and 15 minutes.

Their own internal documents have shown quite clearly that go! has just one intent: to drive Aloha Airlines out of business.

If that happens, does anyone seriously think that go! will continue to offer low fares? Let's stop supporting this Mainland corporate predator.

NEW AIRLINE WILL DRIVE LOCAL COMPANIES OUT

go! Airlines has apparently chosen a suicidal/homicidal approach to business in Hawai'i. This smacks of much worse than a "big box" approach to competition.

The $1 one-way fare is a desperate act to put our longstanding, home-based, kama'aina airlines, Hawaiian and Aloha, out of business.

Do we really need this maha'oi attitude and sub-service victory? And what happens if they win? Only the worst, if this Mainland menace prevails.

Try to find two better airlines to and from the Mainland. They don't exist.

Pay the extra and get this airline out of Hawai'i. There is no substitute for service and aloha.

HELMET 'SAFETY'

STATISTICS DON'T PROVE WRITER'S STATEMENT

A recent letter (May 31) advocated for a mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists. The writer claimed that helmets "save lives."

If helmets save lives, then all road users should be wearing them. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, motorcyclists account for 6 percent of all transportation-related brain injuries. The remaining 94 percent are occupants of enclosed vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists and others.

In fact, helmets do not save lives. If helmets have significant safety benefits, then the ratio of deaths to accidents should decline as the use of helmets increases, such as after a mandatory helmet law is enacted. Yet in most states the death-to-accident ratio averages 2 to 3 percent, both before and after helmet laws have been enacted.

While helmets may be of benefit in some circumstances, in others they can snap necks and cause basal skull fractures. This is why riders say: "Let those who ride decide," and insist on choosing safety equipment as they see fit, not as dictated to by the inexperienced or uninformed.

IRAQ SPENDING

AKAKA EXPLANATION ON SPENDING BILL FAILS

"Enough!" summarizes my reaction after reading Sen. Daniel Akaka's letter in the Sunday Advertiser (June 10) about his spending bill vote.

In case the senator didn't notice at the time because of his own re-election campaign here, Americans voted en masse in last November's election against America's involvement in the war in Iraq, not for it. They did so by taking away control of the House and Senate from the vastly pro-war Republicans and by giving it to the so-called anti-war Democrats.

Senator Akaka and his Democratic brethren have turned their collective backs on the American people by folding like deck chairs at the first sign of resistance from the president on an Iraq spending bill with timelines for troops withdrawal attached. No letter or personal ideology can excuse this.

By ultimately genuflecting in front of the president and weakly granting him his every wish on this issue without a fight, the Democrats have miserably failed in their duty to the country and to the troops.

Shame on them! And shame on Senator Akaka for trying to explain his indefensible position.

IN MEMORIAM

CARING VOLUNTEER WILL BE MISSED BY MANY

The staff and volunteers of the American Cancer Society were shocked and deeply saddened to read about the tragic death of Karen Ertell, the "'Ewa Beach woman" who was killed in her home.

We just want your readers to know that Karen was a special human being who touched the lives of many children healing from cancer.

Karen was a volunteer with us since 1994 at our camps for children with cancer. She spent weeks every year to help in the planning for the camps and then served as camp counselor and staff director at our Camp Anuenue for children and our Camp Ikaika for teens.

Our campers are recalling how Karen stood out as a vibrant and caring mentor. One of our former campers, Kiyomi Goto, now a college student in North Carolina studying to be a medical doctor, wrote that Karen was her counselor, role model and friend.

During this year's Camp Anuenue, the children will be putting together a memory book to give them the opportunity to share with Karen's family the joy and spirit of the gifts she has given to all of us over the years.

Kiyomi, our former camper, expressed the feelings of all of us at the society when she wrote, "Here's to a wonderful woman whose life was cut short."

DIPLOMACY

BUSH ADMINISTRATION MUST START PEACE TALKS

On the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War, Trudy Rubin (June 9) offers sound analysis and advice. Israel needs to accept the futility of continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza but cannot engage in peace talks with the Palestinians because the leadership of both parties today is too weak.

In this vacuum, the Bush administration needs to act much more forcefully to get peace talks underway, which respect both parties — or the situation will be still more dangerous on the 50th anniversary.

Just as Britain found in India, France and the U.S. found in Vietnam, Israel found in Lebanon last summer and the U.S. is finding in Iraq, local people passionately defending their homes wear down the armed might of a conqueror.

SHORTAGE

TEACHER LICENSE COURSE IS A LONG, HARD ROAD

I had to laugh when I read your article about the high number of retiring teachers (June 8), not because this matter is funny, but because it is pitiful.

I am 38 years old, I have a master's degree in my content area, and 11 years experience teaching in the private sector. When I unexpectedly became a single mother, I decided that the DOE would be the best option for the well-being of my family.

I soon found myself cornered into a lengthy and expensive teacher-certification program in which we study teaching strategies and classroom realities in assigned readings. As a seasoned teacher and an emergency hire in the DOE for the past two years, I have experienced these realities.

Despite my resume, before I am granted full certification, I will have to student-teach for a semester. Without detracting from the value of what I am learning, I don't understand why my years of experience don't apply toward the licensure process.

By the time I am licensed, hopefully in one year, I will have incurred $25,000-plus of debt. My situation is not unique. Is it any wonder the DOE cannot attract teachers to replace the exodus of retirees?