Public radio is a national treasure

Sarah Palin is urging Congress to cease funding PBS and NPR. This is obviously Palin’s attempt to keep the public as ill-informed as she herself.

Say goodbye to programs such as the BBC, PBS News, NHK, in-depth international news as well as local political analysis and business reports, Island Insights, cultural programs, the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, jazz and classical broadcasts, local performances of Hawaii’s slack-key musicians, hula halaus and Na Mele … and even Sesame Street! All these wonderful programs that enrich our lives Palin would gleefully see disappear.

Let the politicos know how much we value and need these programs to continue. They are indeed a "national treasure," to borrow an expression from Antiques Road Show. Sarah Palin is not!

Lingle declines to help needy

It is unfortunate that Gov. Linda Lingle during her last few months in office, when given a golden opportunity to help those with the greatest need in our state, chooses to do nothing.

At a recent legislative hearing on the status of Act 191, the administration said it had no intention of releasing the $23.7 million of rainy day funds for safety-net services to help those in need. Despite the fact that these funds were set up for this specific purpose, and cannot be used to balance the budget or for any other reason, this administration does not feel there has been a "compelling" enough reason.

In these tough times, it is raining and storming on our keiki, kupuna, disabled, poor and those with mental health issues. The community will pay so much more in the long run should we neglect our responsibilities today.

Is penny wise and pound foolish the legacy this governor wants to leave behind? 

U.S. has lost its moral compass

I am appalled by the testimony of violence contained in the hundreds of thousands of Iraq-related military documents in WikiLeaks.

In their own words, U.S. soldiers were complicit in torture sanctioned by their commanders.

I grieve at our government’s lack of response to these violations of our moral compass as a nation, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan.

President Barack Obama, Congress and the Pentagon must immediately embrace steps leading to the complete removal of all U.S. and NATO troops and contractors from Iraq and Afghanistan, and cease all hostilities in Pakistan.

Enough shame!

$60,000 not as much as it seems

On the surface, $60,000 seems like a steep allowance for housing for University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood, but the reality is different.

Greenwood’s allowance is well within the national average for a university president, is a standard benefit used for recruiting qualified candidates, and is, in fact, below the national average for a university this size, especially when you take her voluntary 10 percent reduction in pay.

Greenwood also has to pay taxes on that allowance, thus effectively reducing that amount by 50 percent. Good luck trying to find a suitable home, in Manoa, for $2,500 a month.

The university is probably saving many times that amount by not having to staff and maintain the property full time.

The true outrage should be that the house was renovated for $1 million in 2001 and less than eight years later needed almost $400,000 of additional renovations and repairs.

Lambert spreads message of love

I would like to say thank you to "American Idol" sensation Adam Lambert for a mind-blowing, ear-popping, thrilling Glam Nation Tour concert at the Blaisdell Concert Hall Oct. 26.

I would especially like to thank him for the message of love that we all need to have for everyone, including ourselves at best!

Money, fame and fortune don’t matter if love doesn’t exist.

Hannemann needs real job

May I suggest that Mufi Hannemann seek employment in the private sector where most of us live, instead of accepting yet another position bellied up to the public trough where he has spent most of his adult life ("Leading Democrats here would be ideal job for Hannemann," Star-Advertiser, Richard Borreca, Oct. 24).

Hannemann is one of many who badly need to experience the trials and tribulations of working at a real job for a change.

I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody would suggest yet another public or political job for him. He badly needs to have the experience of paying his own way like the rest of us.