AMERICANS MUST CUT PUPPET TIES, RISE UP

I am frightened.

America is what it is because of Americans; because of our collective ingenuity, ambition and passion for freedom; not because of American government. We the people (sound familiar?) are America.

Now our government is telling us that we cannot make the grade.

Even more alarming is the proposition that we as a people have abandoned the basic principles of personal responsibility and individual accountability, relying instead on a government that has a clear agenda of power and control.

With proper implementation of a system of limited governance we the people could, in our respect for each other and for the common good, find solutions to our problems in a moral and creative effort.

Sadly, though, we are rapidly becoming puppets, the strings of which are inextricably tied to a political machine that is choking our natural desire for self-actualization both as individuals and as a population.

How sad.

JOAN RANK | Waialua

FURLOUGHS

LINGLE'S ACTIONS DON'T PUT KIDS FIRST

Lingle claimed the teachers union stood in the way of restoring school days. Beginning with the stimulus signed into law in February, Lingle's decisions over the last 10 months make me think it is her that has not put the kids first.

Ninety million dollars from that stimulus was for the DOE in Hawaii. Lingle then cut $90 million from the DOE's budget. Then came furloughs. Wanting to balance the budget on state workers, Lingle ordered three furlough days a month. Teacher contracts were negotiated and Lingle applauded the deal. When furloughs came the public weighed in on how they felt, and Lingle claimed she never wanted furloughs in the first place!

Teachers are now willing to give up some of their non-instructional days to bridge the gap, but Lingle demands all of them. There's more, as if more is needed to be convinced of where education lies on Lingle's priority list. Special education teachers get federal money to help subsidize the needs of the classroom. The money finally arrived last week, but Lingle is holding 25 percent of it hostage.

What Lingle says to the media has been pure spin, hoping that the public will have short memories. Lingle, you are disingenuous.

BRIAN FLATT | Kaimukī

TOURISM

HIGH AIR FARES HURT VISITOR INDUSTRY

I just read in our local rag, the Oakland Tribune, about the deteriorating economy of Hawaii (e.g., short school year). I am not surprised; an island tourist-based economy is the first to go in a financial meltdown.

I love Hawaii but had to cancel Christmas reservations when confronted with $1,200 roundtrip air fares in November, which ballooned to $1,400 in December. I imagine the hundreds of mothballed jets in Arizona have had desired cash flow effect for air carriers, but has left Hawaii out in the cold, so to speak.

Until Hawaii can harness the yo-yo called air fares there will too many condos sitting vacant during high season. How about a subsidized air fare or a non-profit Hawaiian carrier?

STEVEN BELCHER | Oakland, Calif

UH FINANCES

TRANSFER OF MILLIONS YEARLY QUESTIONABLE

I question the use of the University of Hawaii's student tuition money to support a private nonprofit corporation, at a time when its students and former part-time employees are searching for jobs, including within the university.

The university transfers at least $3 million each year to the UH Foundation from its "special funds" — which are not only state taxpayers' money, through tuition by students — to a state agency.

VICTOR KOBAYASHI | Honolulu