ELECTION 2008

REACTION TO PALIN SHOWS DIRTY LITTLE SECRET OF SEXISM

I wish to thank Democrats and their spokespeople for doing what I could not do in 30 years.

As we watched the news of Sarah Palin's selection for VP, my husband and son both turned and looked at me as though a light bulb had finally lit. "Nobody says that about a man."

Now I am no femi-nazi, but I am a woman who has known the insidious dirty little secret of sexism. We saw it with Hillary Clinton. She did the hard work (18 million votes) and Joe Biden got the promotion.

We ladies who have gone to job interviews know that regardless of your resume, walking in as a woman, you are often viewed as a liability. You are seen as most likely to be late to work, miss work because the kids are sick, again, or the dreaded maternity leave.

I was appalled at the reaction to Mrs. Palin's being named VP candidate by John McCain.

I actually heard a man on CNN state that he didn't think Mrs. Palin should be able to be a heartbeat away from the presidency when she had a special-needs child.

Excuse me? Every morning that woman wakes up she is a community organizer. Want to know if she is ready for that 3 a.m. call? Trust me, she is probably already up.

I guess I did not expect that the party that claims to be for women's rights really didn't mean it. Maybe they thought we wouldn't notice. I noticed. Did you?

APPLAUDS CHOICE OF PALIN TO GOP TICKET

I wholeheartedly applaud Sen. John McCain and his campaign and their side-stepping of conventional wisdom in the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin to run on the GOP ticket. In today's political climate, such a choice not only required great vision and courage but is representative of substantive change in the making.

Several months ago, I wrote to The Advertiser in the wake of the grants-in-aid fiasco here in Hawai'i, urging Isle voters to hit the polls this November in support of local candidates who place the greater good at the core of their platforms and agendas.

Once again, I humbly entreat the citizens of our great state to vote with their conscience in the selection of legislators who, in Sen. McCain's words describing the governor, "will help (us) stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities."

PALIN WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE COMMAND

So John McCain has chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate.

All I can say is Sarah Palin as vice president is akin to the captain of a jetliner sticking a flight attendant, with a few student pilot lessons under her belt, in the co-pilot seat.

She may look good playing the part, but without the captain she will never be able to command the jet. She is just along for the ride.

GRASSROOT INSTITUTE

ALL HAWAI'I RESIDENTS OUR ULTIMATE RESOURCE

In his letter of Aug. 22, Oswald Stender, a trustee at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, claims a study by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is "a new tack... to tear down Native Hawaiians." But it looks like Stender himself is tearing them down.

Consider his assertion that "native poverty rates are nearly double those of the overall population." The Census Bureau estimates various demographics in its annual sample of the population — which is not a "study," as Stender stated. The Grassroot Institute study considers not just poverty statistics, but age as well.

According to Census data, the Native Hawaiian population is much more youthful than non-natives (36 percent of the Native Hawaiian population is 17 years old or younger compared to 20 percent of non-natives).

With so many more youthful nonincome producers, it is unsurprising that 12.2 percent of Native Hawaiians fall below the poverty threshold compared with 8.6 percent of non-natives. Native Hawaiians have the same poverty rates as their non-native peer groups, and Stender does not bother to cite contrary evidence.

Unlike others, we don't accept that Native Hawaiians are somehow permanently handicapped by virtue of their race. We believe that all Hawai'i residents, native or otherwise, are our ultimate resource.

More individual liberty and less government intrusion will promote prosperity.

When he concludes that readers should "consider the source," he's exactly right. Who has the most to lose if kanaka maoli ascend from poverty, real or imagined? If you answered "OHA" you're on the right track.

EDUCATION

A MISTAKE TO DISCOUNT SAT EXAM RESULTS

Tuesday's editorial suggested the SAT test be used as a guide, not a standard. Why not use it as both? What better standard than a standardized exam taken annually by 1.4 million students?

When exam performance declines for three years running, it's not the exam's fault. Nor is it a call to "teach to the test." Teachers already do that; it obviously doesn't work.

So why isn't it cause for panic? How long should we wait to take action when we all agree there's "room for improvement?"

As a longtime SAT instructor, I'd suggest we focus on writing skills. Though some colleges don't look at writing scores, many still do. Moreover, the writing section is the easiest of the three to improve upon. It tests basic grammar skills, many of which are otherwise ignored in this state.

No one claims that the SAT is "the sole indicator of success." But it's a mistake to discount exam results as an "insufficient means of gauging student potential." Student success rests on many factors; exam performance is one among them. Stopping it decline can only help our students. Ignoring it can only hurt.

NCLB SHOULD REWARD SCHOOLS FOR GROWTH

John Kawamoto shared his personal belief on public education in a letter on Aug. 26.

However, stating a belief doesn't make it so. He labeled a number of O'ahu schools as "failures" or "successes" based on test data without examining all the facts and details.

Educators use test results to drive instruction and address the individual needs of students to help them improve. We welcome every student who enters our public schools, each with a multitude of strengths and weaknesses, backgrounds and cultures, physical and mental needs, and experiences. We do not turn away students.

Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, Hawai'i public schools have witnessed an upward trend in both reading and mathematics test scores. While NCLB doesn't reward states and schools for growth, shouldn't it? If a world-class athlete doesn't meet a goal but improves his performance, do we label him a failure? No, we don't.

The reality is that in 2014, NCLB's all-or-nothing standards will mean a majority of schools across the nation will be in "restructuring." Mandating 100 percent of students to test proficient in reading and mathematics is one thing; making it happen is another.

Hawai'i's public schools strive to prepare all students to achieve and succeed in our changing society. I welcome Mr. Kawamoto to join us in making a positive difference for our keiki.

TRANSIT

ALTERNATIVES MAKE MORE SENSE THAN RAIL

Cliff Slater has been studying transit systems for a long time. If you listen carefully, you will be convinced that "rapid" transit is not rapid, has a negative environmental impact, and does not reduce traffic. HOT lanes, expandable buses and other options are obvious solutions. Nonetheless, a "rapid"-transit "system" remains emotionally and politically attractive.

Our common sense should tell us this project will take decades and cost many times the billions estimated.

Honolulu rapid transit will slash through where most of us live and work. It will be an unbelievable mess and a major impact on street traffic for decades.

In a few short years, we could implement the alternatives Mr. Slater and others propose. The choice is between long-term agony without progress or real solutions we can implement quickly with obvious benefits.

Buses can be expanded during rush hour and scheduled as needed. HOT lanes can be adjusted. A rapid-transit system will be sitting there 24/7, mostly under construction and subsidized by all of us.

RAIL WILL MEAN SLOWER SERVICE, HIGHER TAXES

Why is tax money being used for a media blitz to convince me that I need rail?

Supporters of rail, viewing ads depicting sleek high-speed trains, actually think that rail will get them into town faster than a car or bus. Guess again.

A person in Makaha can walk to a bus stop, board an express bus at 5:50 a.m. and arrive at Ala Moana Center at 7:30 a.m. — one bus, nine stops, 1 hour and 40 minutes.

With rail, the Makaha rider can take the local bus from Makaha to Kapolei, making many stops, wait for the train to Waipahu, then take another local bus to Ala Moana. She had better plan to leave home at 4 a.m. for this new and improved service, since express bus service will be eliminated to encourage rail ridership.

The train travels east in the morning full of passengers, then travels back, empty, for more passengers. The scenario is reversed in the afternoon. Trains cannot be used for other routes.

Buses come into town and are then used locally. Consider the energy cost per mile for trains and double it, since half of the time they will be empty.

The train offers slower service, less convenience, higher taxes and less efficiency. What a deal.

WIND FARM

LANA'I CAN DO WITHOUT MURDOCK'S ENERGY PLAN

So David Murdock wants to turn Lana'i into the "power island." (Page One, Aug. 31)

He says " we can make the island into something spectacular." Has he not noticed that Lana'i already is spectacular and was long before his arrival?

The location he has chosen for O'ahu's power farm is one of the most spectacular in all the Islands, a beautiful, untouched natural environment.

What he says is a remote location is only a few miles from Lana'i City, down a well-traveled dirt road, through the Garden of the Gods.

After failing to make money off of the island with diversified ag, truck crops, a piggery, cattle ranch, luxury home development, two resorts, and fighting to use the sole source of drinking water on the island to water his golf course, he now says "I like the environment, I guess you could call me a tree hugger."

Now he proposes to develop a pristine location into a power supply farm for O'ahu. This project is not to make Lana'i energy sustainable but to make money selling power to O'ahu.

Let's keep O'ahu's energy problems on O'ahu and not spoil our Neighbor Islands with O'ahu's energy needs.

Murdock's vision of spectacular, 12,000 acres of wind turbines for O'ahu is the kind Lana'i can do without.