Sovereignty could turn out very badly

My husband is 75 percent Hawaiian and recently left Hawaii — moved to the mainland two years ago to be able to buy a nice home and property to raise horses. In fact, his grandfather wrote the Hawaiian Homestead Act of 1920.

Anything good for the Hawaiian people is a good thing. But what will Hawaiian sovereignty be? More flim-flam? Friends giving friends and family favors?

Until the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands can be managed professionally, forget about it. It would be another avenue for the cronyism that prevails in Hawaii.

Nancy Lyons
Aberdeen, N.C.

Higher pay would offset need for aid

I kept thinking about your editorial advocating full use of the federal food stamp program, and I kept thinking there is something wrong ("Fully use federal food-stamp funds," Star-Advertiser, Our View, June 12).

You say that people in Hawaii are not fully using the food stamp program and too much federal money is left on the table.

I believe that approach in this matter is completely wrong. You should not be advocating more people on food stamps. That is total insanity. There are already about 47 million people in this country on food stamps.

What you should be advocating instead is that companies or corporations pay people more so they don’t have to go on food stamps. Why should it be up to U.S. taxpayers to subsidize these companies that don’t pay their workers enough to live on?

Joe Harrison
Waipahu

Pain killers become a pain themselves

I am a victim.

The oxycodone HCL-acetaminophen 5 mg that my empathetic physician prescribed for my extreme pain itself became a pain.

The pain became the medication calling for me to come … come … come.I became an animal thirsty for its next meal.

Finally, I turned over my supply to my husband.

Now, despite the fact that my original pain was caused by a fall or chronic back pain, I now have liver enzymes, probably due to the medications.

How many of those pharmacy envelopes are loaded with opiates? People should avoid them and should seek an alternative specialist for acupuncture, physical therapy, massage or mindfulness training. Walk your dog.

The fault for this lies not within ourselves, but within a health care system that reimburses for medicine and often not for alternative approaches.

I recommend against giving your loved ones pain medication.

Barbara Melamed
Kaimuki

Let’s be prepared for climate change

The commentary pieces that the Star-Advertiser has hosted on the subject of global climate change have not contributed to the development of a rational policy regarding this looming challenge.

This problem cannot be addressed by debating whether the proponents and adversaries believe in their positions. Like all potentially calamitous events (hurricanes, fire, serious illness, etc.), we cannot wait until the event occurs to prepare for the consequences of the event.

So the discussions that we should be having are:

» What is our best guess of the probability of global climate change and its effects on our lives?

» What steps should we be taking to limit those effects?

Would those who deny the existence of global climate change also urge us to avoid the expense of fire or major medical insurance?

John Madey
Manoa

Gabbard made reasonable demand

It’s a shame that Jim Anderson chose to make a personal attack on U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for asking for Hawaii Veterans Affair Director Wayne Pfeffer’s resignation ("Gabbard didn’t know about VA problems?" Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 22).

Obviously, Mr. Anderson is not a fan of Gabbard, who has been most responsive to her constit-uents and deserves our support.

According to news reports, Gabbard and other congressional members and staff met with the VA director to get updated on the problems about the wait time for veterans in Hawaii.Pfeffer told them wait times were 30-50 days, when, in fact, he later admitted knowing that wait times were at least 145 days, the worst in the U.S., after the Inspector General’s report surfaced.

Who can blame Gabbard for being upset after being lied to? She is doing her best but there’s only so much she can do when she is being given false information by the VA.

Bureaucrats like Pfefferneed to be held accountable for deliberate misrepresentations to our congressional delegation, or the VA problems will only continue.

Linda Wong
Kaneohe

Media complicit in smear of Cayetano

Complicit with the Pacific Resource Partnership spreading lies about Ben Cayetano are local television and radio stations.

Theyaccepted the scurrilous accusations about Cayetano knowing full well that PRP was lying. Rather than live by the ethics they try to make us believe they follow and refusing to participate in defaming an honest man, they chose greed to make as much money as they could.

Laurence Goldstein
Alewa Heights

NFL team should change its name

I heartily agree with those who believe the "Washington Redskins" is a hateful slur, a constant reminder of what has gone so terribly wrong in America, especially in the last half-decade.

From now on, in the name of long overdue justice, the team should be renamed "the Redskins."

Thomas E. Stuart
Kapaau