What’s the big deal about state Attorney General Douglas Chin running for Congress while holding a job? It sounds like a smear campaign by his political opponents.

What’s the difference between that and mayors and governors who habitually campaign for re-election while being in office and being paid by taxpayer money? Also, Hawaii is one of the wise states that has an appointed attorney general.

If it was an elected office, the temptation would be for the attorney general to get as many convictions as possible, whether justified or not, in order to please a public who unfortunately stupidly judge an attorney general by the percentage of convictions rather than by how often justice is done.

Chin’s campaign for justice in opposition to President Donald Trump’s campaign against immigrants should be applauded instead of condemned.

Bob Karman

Hawaii Kai

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AG needs to resign to run campaign

David Shapiro hit the nail on the head regarding Attorney General Douglas Chin deciding to run for a congressional seat (“Chin should resign as AG while he runs for Congress,” Star-Advertiser, Volcanic Ash, Dec. 24).

Shapiro said Chin should do the right thing right now and resign his position to avoid potential conflicts of interest between running his campaign and running the AG’s office.

Shapiro further pointed out Chin’s grandstanding in attempting to take on the Trump administration regarding immigration (and likewise wasting $150,000 of taxpayer money).

If Chin were somehow elected to higher office, what’s to stop him from further trying to grab the limelight, the way at least one of our elected congressional representatives has already done with an unsanctioned trip to Syria, accompanied by her husband and entourage?

I hope there are menehunes at work already making T-shirts that say: “Save money. ABC. Anybody But Chin.”

Chip Davey

Downtown Honolulu

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Reckless bicyclists may cause accidents

Many bicyclists on Honolulu streets ride unsafely.

They ride in dark clothes at night, with no side, rear or front reflectors or head lamps. Most don’t have warning bells and pass pedestrians and joggers without calling out they are approaching.

Recently I was jogging on Diamond Head Road and two bikers whizzed by me heading east just as I turned my head at the first crosswalk just before Diamond Head Road splits off with Kahala Avenue. The first female biker whizzed past me as I was turning my head. The second biker, a male, had a sheepish look when he and I made eye contact as he passed me.

If I had stepped a foot in his direction when turning my head, we would have collided. No wonder other road users have negative attitudes toward cyclists. I’m a cyclist myself, so I speak from both viewpoints.

Leslie Ozawa

Honolulu

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Liberals contort facts to attack president

The contortions through which liberals continue go to undermine the Trump presidency remain elaborately entertaining (“Mueller has plenty of evidence already,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 29).

To say that President Donald Trump’s mocking of the disappearance of 33,000 of Hillary Clinton’s subpoenaed emails demonstrates collusion because he suggested the Russians might have them is particularly amusing since by definition, collusion involves a secret agreement. Trump’s taunt on national television hardly constitutes as such.

As for Donald Trump Jr.’s “clearly colluding emails,” there was nothing contained in his communications to suggest that he was informed of a larger alleged Russian effort to meddle in the election.

It has been the 24/7 objective of the left to oust Trump for a variety of professed crimes. If there is such clearly damning evidence out there, I should think he would have been sent packing long ago. Perhaps those still clutching pearls over Hillary Clinton’s loss should look up the word “denial.”

Stephen Hinton

Waialua

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Military should take abandoned vehicles

If a large number of abandoned vehicles belong to former military members, make the branches of military responsible for storing and disposing of these vehicles (“City sweetens tow deal,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 25).

Problem solved.

Maria Bardenas

Ewa Beach

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Combat abuse of handicap placards

I read with interest the article referencing California’s attempt at preventing handicap placard abuse (“California plans crackdown on disabled-parking abuse,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 29).

How about one of our legislators (a disabled one, if we have one) introducing a bill to provide for policing and penalties for abuse of these placards?

I am sure that one could enlist an army of handicapped volunteers to do the enforcing. So many of us have been shut out of a space by an unauthorized user.

Hawaii issues a blue wallet card with the name of the authorized handicapped person. Aloha Stadium requires you to produce the card and identification, and to show the placard to gain entrance to the handicapped parking area. So there is precedent in asking to see the card.

Let us move to protect one of the few benefits of being handicapped.

Ron Palma

Hawaii Kai