Concerning the escape of Randall Saito from the Hawaii State Hospital: Aside from the obvious incompetence of hospital employees, can anyone tell me how a certified homicidal lunatic on the run has no problem getting through Transportation Security Administration security in Maui and boarding a jet passenger plane using an alias? Or is it only people with Muslim-sounding names that the TSA is concerned about?
Paul Pollitt
Kaneohe
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It’s difficult to treat mentally ill homeless
Mental illness is not often a topic in everyday conversation, but when it pertains to homelessness in Hawaii, it is one of the major contributing factors.
Normal citizens wonder why such homeless people have unthinking bad habits, and want relief in knowing something can be done to curb them.
Enlistment of professionals is the only answer. But the nature of the illness makes it difficult for such homeless to be willing to get the help they need to be healthy, useful citizens.
We see so many homeless mentally ill people for the very reason that help may be beyond reach, and that many attempts to get them professional help have failed.
Thus, it is doubtful that there is a possible end in sight for many of our homeless problems.
Gabrielle Makuakane
Moiliili
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Trump’s Twitter insults apply to him
The online trumptwitterarchive.com includes Donald Trump’s more than 60 statements about his predecessor Barack Obama, such as: total incompetent, pathetic, delusional failure, inelegant and unpresidential, worst president in U.S. history, not a leader, racist, able to fool the Americans by getting elected, doesn’t have a clue, loves wasting our money, complete and total disaster, totally irrational, arrogant, and everything he touches turns into a mess. It also includes this revealing tweet: “How much can one man lie about even the most obvious things?”
However, any intelligent, rational, informed and objective person who is in touch with reality will quickly realize that these statements apply to Trump, not Obama.
If you really want to try to understand the unreality of Trump, one way is to simply think the opposite of whatever he says and does. That includes his campaign promise to “Make America Great Again.”
Leslie E. Sponsel
Hawaii Kai
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Voters fixed America by rejecting Clinton
Wendy Pollitt quoted Bill Clinton: “There is nothing wrong with America that what is right with America cannot fix” (“America can repair what’s wrong with it,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 16).
What Pollitt forgot to mention was that Clinton also said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
A liar is still a liar. What America fixed was that America would not have another President Clinton. To the despair of Hawaii’s (and much of America’s) progressive left, President Donald Trump is now in the driver’s seat. Let’s make America great again.
Gary MacLeod
Kailua
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Pedestrians have many distractions
I can’t look at my cell phone while lawfully crossing the street? What if I look at my little radio to change the station or my iPod to change the tune?
What if I glance at the headline of the newspaper I just bought or the list of groceries I’m on my way to buy? What if I look up and point at an interesting cloud formation, a waterspout or a UFO?
What if I’m daydreaming and concentrating on the images, voices or ear-worm music in my head? What if I’m deeply engrossed in a conversation with a companion or pulling my lover close and telling her how much I love her?
What if I’m eating? What if I’m blind?
The preposterous law opens the door to victim-blaming and mitigating liability for drivers who hit pedestrians in crosswalks. It’s absurd.
Kurt Butler
Makawao, Maui
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Voters must oust pro-gun politicians
Our elected officials have a moral obligation to do what is in the public’s best interest. Unfortunately, however, when it comes to the topic of gun control, the loyalties of the Republican Party lie first and foremost with the National Rifle Association, and the lovely campaign contributions this industry rewards them with for playing by the rules of the money game.
Neither this seemingly endless series of horrors that have been plaguing the country since the 1999 Columbine massacre, nor the desperate pleas of the citizens for our lawmakers and leaders to do their jobs, will ever persuade this party to jeopardize its friendship with the folks who butter their bread for them. They will never change.
Therefore, the sole responsibility of alleviating the problems falls squarely upon the shoulders of the public, and as such, the math is simple: Do not vote for politicians who don’t support strengthening gun laws.
Kevin Johnson
Kawaiahao
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Chin should give up travel ban challenge
I do not support Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin’s continued challenge to President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
The U.S. Supreme Court and 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have provided guidance on this matter.
No more tax dollars should be spent chasing immigration issues that Hawaii residents oppose.
Ted Newburg
Aiea
