Aiona practices honest politics

It is unfortunate that state Rep. Tom Brower believes Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, as acting governor, should sign or veto the civil unions bill (House Bill 444) behind the back of Gov. Linda Lingle while she is in China.

Brower should not be doling out political advice, especially since he voted for HB 444 days before turning on his Democratic colleagues for reviving the issue.

While Brower’s deceptive politics may pass in a state Legislature overrun with 90 percent of its members from one party, Aiona believes government works best with balance, integrity and accountability.

If Aiona were to betray the public trust by acting solely for political gain, he wouldn’t be any better than his opponents.

There are many challenges and opportunities ahead for our great state, and the people of Hawaii want a leader who is committed to a brighter future. We deserve nothing less.

Japan whaling is bad karma

Is it time to run a Hawaiian 4×4 karma truck over Japan’s whaling dogma? Japan is whaling in the Pacific and Antarctica International Whale sanctuary, and having seen recent whale kills on the Animal Planet’s "Whale Wars" series, it is clear that whales can only cry out in agony and die. Some type of Hawaii response to Japan’s bad acts is required. There is a Japanese consulate we can peacefully protest at in Honolulu. It seems time to send a bit of Japan’s own bad karma right back at it. Stop harpooning whales!

Cal Thomas a loose cannon

I hope that what I read Thursday is not the new policy of the new paper: columnist Cal Thomas denigrating our president and no voice in opposition to his views ("Politically naive starting to see the real Obama," Star-Advertiser).

I was outraged at his statement that the president is failing, amazed that your paper would print his article without balancing it against an opposing opinion, e.g., someone pointing out all the positive aspects of this presidency.

I confess that I did not know who Cal Thomas was and wondered what his platform might be. So I went to the Internet and did a little research. A number of reliable and reasonable organizations and individuals characterized Mr. Thomas as a rather loose cannon on the far right.

Don’t count on drug companies

I am impressed with our new Star-Advertiser. It is colorful, exciting, looking more like a magazine and exotic as our beautiful island. It is also full of readable topics, like the article "Overtreated America" (Associated Press, June 7).

I hope that every medical member of our community will take heed and recognize the significance of the message: Not all ailments need to be immediately seen and treated with the invented machines created by the drug companies.

Rail benefits limited locally

In the letter "Any candidate must support rail" (Star-Advertiser, June 9), the writer says the rail would "improve the business climate" of Honolulu. Although some local businesses and workers would benefit from the rail’s construction, management and operations, any real economic benefit to the state must come from outside the state.