‘Party of no’ doesn’t deserve support

I’m furious with "the party of no," the Republicans, for shutting down the government over Obamacare.

First of all, I like government services: national parks, highways, food inspectors, scientific research, etc. I am also a small business owner whose family is going to greatly benefit from the Affordable Care Act with lower health care costs.

I’m making a donation to those who are working to get rid of the obstructionists in Congress.

Lynn Beittel
Kamuela, Hawaii island

Let’s enjoy break from government

Free at last. Government has paused for a moment? Let’s experience that andrealize that the country is not the government.

The president does not run the country. In fact, he’s lucky if he can run the government. Our great country is the sum of its people’s work, desires, hopes and prayers. The individual initiative of sovereign people is what built this great enterprise. Taking a break from government might help us realize just that.

Julia E. Allen
St. Louis Heights

Shutdown driven by hate for Obama

How can America ever dream of world peace when our politicians are out todestroyeach other and America? Our enemies must be delighted as they watch America melt down.

GOP members may have their differences, but need to realize thatattempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 42nd time and not gettingtheirway is not reason enough to penalize innocent Americans.

Congresswill still get their paychecks during the governmentshutdown. However, the average American struggling to pay basic living expenses is the ones who will suffer.

The tea party made a pledge to make President Barack Obama fail no matter what, even if itbankruptsyour friends,familyand neighbors. The blatant disrespect the GOP has for Obama is notwarrantedby rational thought. It is only warranted by racism and hate.

Martin Luther King Jr. may have had a dream, but Obama and many Americans are now living a nightmare.

James "Kimo" Rosen
Kapaa, Kauai

Profligate spending is real issue at hand

"Law of the land" is a phrase the Obama administration uses to describe the Affordable Care Act and accuses the GOP of trying to sabotage the country.

I see it as a constitutionally legitimate response to profligate spending and a capricious application of the law.The president unilaterally decides not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, to suspend immigration rules, and to give ACA exemptions to big donors and subsidies to congressional staffers who are specifically excluded from such largesse.

The concept of law has been fluid under this administration and I see nothing wrong with the GOP using its constitutional power of the purse.

Instead of blaming the GOP for not raising the debt ceiling, we should be asking why the government is going nearly a trillion dollars deeper into debt this year.

Eric Eads
Manoa

Strong government counters profiteers

Recently my wife and I incurred substantial medical expenses while traveling.

We had purchased travelers insurance through one of the world’s largest insurance companies. The company paid the hospital bill promptly, but it consistent- ly denied us reimbursement for about $6,000 in our out-of-pocket expenses, even though these expenses were part of life-threatening covered expenses as per our contract. Attorneys advised us that the cost of suing the company made it not a viable option.

We turned to the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which sent a letter to the company. Because the company depends upon the DCCA to do business in Hawaii, it finally complied and sent us a check for the full amount of our claim.

As we experience the U.S. government shutdown, it is a nice reminder of just one of the many reasons we need a strong government. In this case, the government had the power to control a corporation that has no other interest, by definition, other than looking after corporate profits.

Steven Katz
Kailua

‘Software glitch’ is a lame excuse

The dog ate my homework.

That’s what "software glitch" sounds like to me when I hear about problems at the Hawaii Health Connector website.

People made that software. People installed it. People had time to test it and get it running smoothly by the Oct. 1 startup date.

"Blame the computer" is all too common these days.

Russ Lynch
Kailua

What Warriors need is better defense

The University of Hawaii quarterback controversy, as covered by Ferd Lewis, misses the mark ("With opportunity knocking, UH must open up to change," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 1).

UH gave up 42 points before scoring a touchdown. Therefore, of greater relevance is who plays defense, who calls the defensive plays, and what preparations are made beforehand.

Leslie Au
Punchbowl

Let competition drive isle cab rates

On setting a flat rate for taxis, we don’t need more government regulation on business owners who are trying to make a living. Let them decide their rates.

We recently took a shuttle service, paid a flat rate of $25 for the two of us and would not hesitate to use it next time.

Competition seems to work best in our country.

Cynthia Lebowitz
Waikiki