On Memorial Day, we remember those brave men and woman of the armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice, with their lives, in defense of freedom for the United States.

From the Revolutionary War, when our brave patriots said no to King George and fought and died for our independence from England; to our brave armed service men and woman who said no and died so that Germany could be defeated during the First World War, and who said no to Adolph Hitler and the attack on Pearl Harbor and died in battle in Europe and the Pacific; to our military forces who fought valiantly and died in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan; and finally, to all the brave members of the armed forces of the United States who gave their lives in defense of freedom.

We honor your sacrifice on this Memorial Day 2022.

Robert Camilleri

Makiki

We should adopt sane gun-control measures

I do not believe the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is an absolute guarantee of some sort of hard-to-enforce absolute right to bear arms. Are we common people to believe we can all bear nuclear arms or chemical arms?

The human race has a history of wars, acts of aggression, terrible crimes against others and many heinous offenses that chill the bones of most decent people. The doctors think much gun violence is a disease.

Something is dysfunctional about a society where “normal” is two or three mass shootings a day. At the rate we are going here in America, we might have more than 500 mass shootings this year.

I am not so naïve as to think we can do away with our arms of all sorts overnight. However, I do favor sane gun measures such as gun registrations, realistic background checks, mental health evaluations and so forth.

If they want to bear arms, let them join the military, or they can hire out as mercenaries in Ukraine.

Phil Robertson

Kailua

When will we overcome our warring madness?

We have answers to the questions that Bob Dylan asked in his classic song, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Two of his questions were, “How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they are forever banned?” and “How many deaths will it take ’til he knows that too many people have died?”

More than 50 years have passed since Dylan wrote his song, and the cannonballs are still flying and the children are still dying. We are a violent nation. And we are getting used to it, if not numb. How else can we explain the fact that we haven’t even banned the selling of assault rifles?

And the violence that we have created and fostered at home is exported overseas. Who is the worldwide leader in arms sales worldwide? It is our United States of America, accounting for just under 40% of the total.

Maybe the winds of change are finally blowing now and we will start to end our warring madness. But what are the odds, really, of us beating our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks?

Roman Leverenz

Aliamanu

Biden right to challenge China’s aggressiveness

President Joe Biden was right to assert that America will defend Taiwan against China’s objections (“Biden says U.S. military would defend Taiwan if China invaded,” Star-Advertiser, May 23). Ever since China was allowed entry to the World Trade Organization, it has aggressively taken actions against any semblance to global harmony that it espouses.

It has occupied Tibet, persecuted the Uyghur minority and harvested organs from prisoners such as the Falun Gong. It has been battling India along its borders and built man-made military islands to increase its territorial area. It has been wiping out fish stocks globally.

Chinese hackers and spies are stealing international data for their own uses or for the manufacture of counterfeit goods, tainted food and illegal drugs sent to South American cartels. We have the global COVID-19 pandemic, which China claims was a plot by the American military.

China has locked down most of its country. Millions are now quarantined in Beijing and Shanghai without access to food and water.

How long will it be before the Chinese realize how corrupt their leaders are and take action?

Jon Shimamoto

Mililani

Georgia election shows new procedures worked

A year ago when the citizens of Georgia, through their elected representatives, had the temerity to revise their election procedures to “make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” the president in particular and the Democrats in general leveled nasty charges of racism and Jim Crow 2.0.

Those of us who looked into what the law actually did saw that it increased opportunities for its citizens to vote with the minor imposition that they had to verify their identity. We knew the charges were despicable slanders or ignorantly parroted talking points.

And now, lo and behold, in the first primary election under the new rules, a record-shattering number of votes have been cast. This is called empirical evidence — real-world proof that the Georgia election procedures are not suppressive. It is also proof that politicians and media lie, and that blind faith in bigoted political narratives can make you end up looking pretty stupid.

Scott Moore

Mililani

Feeding cats turns street into haven for chickens

The surge in populations of feral cats and feral fowl is not coincidental. Chickens like cat food. When a Makiki homeowner gave permission to two “cat ladies” to feed the cats on his property three years ago, chickens flocked to the property.

The chickens have expanded their territory, such that Makiki Street has become a barnyard, with the accompanying noise, stench and scratched-out yards. The “cat ladies” feed the cats, chickens, and now pigeons.

Laura M. Fink

Makiki

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