I wish commentary writer Kevin Chang was correct that the Obama administration has halted construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) (“Empowered aloha for indigenous people at summit,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Sept. 15).

What the administration did on Sept. 9 was pause, not halt, construction.

Indigenous people from all over the world are converging in North Dakota to protest this encroachment on native people’s rights to fresh water. I am not a formal member of the Hawaiian coalition that stands with the Dakota Sioux, but I participated with them this past Tuesday in sign-waving to try to get people to be aware of what is happening to native people all for the sake of oil.

Bernie Sanders is the only politician to make a stand with the tribal leaders against the pipeline. If there is any kind of breach of this pipeline, it could destroy the only source of drinking water for the Dakota Sioux Tribe.

Say “No to the DAPL.”

Judith Pettibone

Makiki

‘Floating prisons’ is 30-year-old problem

Kudos to our congressional delegation for highlighting the plight of these foreign fishers (“Politicians say they will help foreign fishers,” Star-Advertiser, Sept 15).

However, my question is, why now? According to reports, this so-called loophole is over 30 years old — just about the time we started seeing ships docking at the Ala Moana Boulevard/Nimitz Highway loop.

Also, KHON News reported about these “slave-like working conditions” in 2013. If I am not mistaken both U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz were in office at the time.

My only conclusion: This is a news story now because it’s from Associated Press and Whole Foods decided to stop purchasing from the fish auction. It is the typical wait-till-the-public-makes-noise, knee-jerk reaction I have come to expect from our leaders.

Dale K. Yamauchi

Makakilo

Teacher unions elevate education

The writer of the “counterpoint” to the question “Are Unions Necessary?” (Star-Advertiser, Sept. 4) wrote that “it is time for unions to re-evaluate how they operate” and “become responsive to the needs of membership.”

Teacher unions are essential to sound public education. Two examples: First, Finland became the world’s top school system chiefly through a strong national union that took control of educational policy late in the 20th-century. Second, the U.S. states with the best-performing schools are also those with the strongest teacher unions.

Without robust unions, schools are at the whims of district bureaucrats, who, as our own state’s recent educational history demonstrates, are frequently incompetent to make the best decisions.

Case in point: The Hawaii State Teachers Association has been working very hard to re-evaluate its role, to reverse the direction of public education, and to put Hawaii schools on a new path to success.

Andy Jones

McCully-Moiliili

Trump getting the Goldwater treatment

The portrayal of Donald Trump as “dangerous” by the Democrats is nothing more than an old campaign strategy used by Lyndon B. Johnson to defeat Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Like Hillary Clinton, LBJ was not very likable, but capitalized on people’s fears during the height of the Cold War by portraying Goldwater as dangerous so people wouldn’t vote for him.

I can’t imagine how promises to secure our borders against drug traffickers and illegal aliens, improving relations with Russia, demanding fair trade deals with China and strengthening our military are dangerous.

Instead, we should be concerned about a candidate who’s part of the “old boy” network, uses an illegal server in her home to mishandle top-secret information, lies about and destroys thousands of incriminating e-mails, receives millions from foreign entities, and mysteriously disappears while our ambassador to Libya and his staff are overrun and killed, despite their repeated calls for help.

It is abundantly clear which presidential candidate is a true danger to our country.

Robert Ing

Alewa Heights

Local elections are where votes matter

All of the talk about the presidential election is fun but we in Hawaii will have no say in the outcome.

We have only four electoral votes, which in the long run are meaningless. The presidential election will be decided before Hawaii’s polls close.

Hawaii voters should concentrate on local elections where our vote can make a difference.

Otto Cleveland

Pearl City

Kudos to folks who help cancer patients

As a “watchful waiting” patient, I welcomed the article on prostate cancer research in England “Early prostate cancer overtreated, study says,” Associated Press, Sept. 15).

Dealing with this cancer requires the support of a skilled specialist, supportive medical staff, family and friends.

I was blessed with Kaiser Permanente, which supports me medically while “thriving” for Hawaiian quality of life.

Cy Barker

Kaneohe

Many responsible for spread of distrust

Letter-writer Jim McDiarmid asserted that the American people have been constantly lied to and this has led to high levels of mistrust in government (“Americans accept more than just lies,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 15).

He forgot to mention the following inconsistencies relating to government inefficiencies: government shutdowns, tax cuts for the rich, income inequality, environmental degredation and money in politics.

His comments would have been more acceptable if he had offered a more balanced approach.

Ryan Tin Loy

Nuuanu