MAHALO

HEARTFELT GRATITUDE FROM GOES' FRIENDS

I thought it could never happen — one of my friends getting in trouble while diving and having to place a call to 911.

Although our search for Sergio Goes did not go as we had hoped, the coordination and dedication of so many first responders — Ocean Safety, Fire/Rescue, HPD, Coast Guard, and even the Good Samaritan crew from Atlantis Submarines did not go unnoticed.

Those who responded to our call for help on July 11 and continued the search on July 12 did so with such a level of fortitude, speed and coordination they deserve a special level of recognition and a heartfelt mahalo from all who were involved.

The next time you see one of these everyday heroes, please pass along our special words of gratitude.

DRUG TESTING

BLAME UNION, NOT TEACHERS, IN DRUG ISSUE

I have seen only negative editorials and letters regarding the HSTA's changed stance on random drug testing. Comments like David Shapiro's, "Public school teachers displayed a disturbing lack of integrity," are unfair.

Keep in mind that, although we teachers voted on the contract, only union representatives decided to renegotiate.

Also important to the issue is that the union should never have put teachers' rights up for a vote. Can our rights to free speech be negotiated through collective bargaining? Of course not.

Keep in mind, too, that almost 40 percent of teachers voted against the contract, declining the pay raise and risking a strike. Unfortunately, too many of us gave in, out of necessity or expediency, to a travesty against our civil liberties.

Would teachers vote to allow their employer to search their bedrooms? Of course not. But how much more private is the inside of one's body?

Who knows if the union expedited the vote on this contract while planning to renegotiate on it? Maybe, maybe not.

But please do not point the finger at "public school teachers," especially the 39 percent of us who risked no contract and a possible strike to stand up for what is American and what is right.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

DON'T SPIN THE PUBLIC ON PROBLEMS FACING US

I know my eyes are getting bad but not this bad, especially with glasses. These eyes read that Sen. John McCain says our problems are psychological. Are high gas prices, foreclosure of homes, our deficit in spending on the war in Iraq, people losing jobs and homes all psychological?

Maybe his running for president is psychological. I wonder if the public wants a president with this kind of mind?

Let's face reality and do what we think is right, not making statements like this.

WEALTH OF MATERIAL WILL TELL YOU ABOUT OBAMA

It seems Republicans are now writing letters to the editor stating they just simply don't know who Sen. Barack Obama is.

Good grief, he has written two books. In the first one, he told a lot more about himself than most people ever reveal. He is also a very public person and has been since he entered politics. The media certainly have covered him like a blanket for months. He seems to be everywhere. How can anyone say they have no clue who he is or what he stands for?

Plus, he's not just a local boy. He's a local boy who knows a lot of local people and they have talked a lot about him for publication. Everybody from Congressman Neil Abercrombie on down has talked about him, about his mother, about his grandmother and so on.

For those who say they know nothing about Obama, I suggest they get on a computer, go to Google and type in his name. They will have a wealth of reading material that should inform them if they are truly interested.

WHY CAN'T OUR LEADERS FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES?

This is my first letter to the editor, but after seeing your article, "Magazine cover draws the ire of Obama camp," I feel compelled to speak out.

No need to call it offensive; that was the point.

Reading about the Barack Obama caricature in The New Yorker alongside an article about another U.S. bank collapse makes me want to scream.

Now more than ever, we need to focus on real issues. Instead of debating the significance of a cartoon, let's start dealing with the issues that are sending this country into a rapid downward spiral.

It pains me to see President Bush opening up the Gulf of Mexico for more oil drilling. I grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., swimming in the gulf with an unobstructed view of the horizon and no oil slicks on my toes.

Why do our leaders continue to make such shortsighted decisions? Instead of chasing current technologies, which become more outdated every day, why not focus on alternatives to fossil fuels? Why not develop new technologies that are ahead of the curve and will put our country in the lead of developing technology versus always chasing our tails?

Controversy over The New Yorker cover highlights our willingness to divert the issues and obsess about non-issues I liken to all things pop culture.

Maybe The New Yorker would be better off drawing a picture of the lovely Gulf of Mexico dotted with oil rigs all over the horizon and we'll have something significant to talk about.

TAXES

MOST OF US SUBSIDIZING RICHEST OF THE RICH

In response to Larry Symons' July 18 letter, "Middle class is not subsidizing the rich," I'd like to point out that Warren Buffet has famously declared he pays a lower tax rate than his employees.

Last year, he paid almost 18 percent on his $46 million taxable income; his receptionist paid 30 percent. Granted, Buffet would have paid a much larger dollar amount, but one has to admit, the receptionist's 30 percent tax rate approaches double that of Buffet's.

The book has already been written to substantiate the claim that almost all of us are subsidizing the richest of the rich: "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense" by David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter.

Part of the explanation has to do with lobbyists and lawyers, greedy corporations and politicians — and politicians who later become employees and lobbyists for greedy corporations. They know how to legally manipulate the system to their benefit.

There is also something referred to as "corporate welfare," tax subsidies to corporations. Last year, although Exxon Mobil reported the largest profit by a corporation in the history of the world, it also received billions of dollars in tax subsidies — from us.

PAPER, PLASTIC

DON'T MAKE RECYCLING HARD FOR RESIDENTS

I thought that the city was supposed to be encouraging the recycling of paper and plastic. After a year of making the drive to Nu'uanu Elementary School to deposit my recyclables at the community bins, on a recent Saturday I arrived to locked gates and new operating hours, Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

For most working people, this schedule is unrealistic. If most people are like me, they probably dropped off their paper and plastic waste on Saturdays.

Now, my stuff is going into my rubbish can, and I will save my time and gas rather than try to drive to another location — if there is one.

If this is only for the summer schedule because of school operating hours, then the city should keep people informed, either on site or at their Web site. Is this too much to expect from our government?

RAIL DEBATE

WHY CAN'T LINGLE TAKE CLEAR POSITION ON RAIL?

After reading the commentary by Gov. Linda Lingle's communication guru Lenny Klompus, one could not help but laugh at Klompus' misleading comments.

Again, Klompus has taken a "two sides of the mouth" approach regarding Lingle's apparent ambivalence on rail transit.

First he says she supports rail for O'ahu but never took a position on the current rail project. Then he doesn't even clarify where she really stands now, other than that she might sign the "Stop Rail Now" petition, that is meant to kill the project. Or, I guess she might not sign.

Then just one day later, she signs and has the gall to say "a rail system could be a viable transportation system for the island."

Amazing. There is no point in being the top state official if you can't even take a clear position on something that's been so thoroughly debated for so long.