House bill would rein in moped noise

This is in response to David Vornholt ("Mopeds somehow evading noise rules," Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 27).

House Bill 2209 was introduced in the Legislature that would require inspections of motor vehicle exhaust pipes and mufflers to ensure that the noise emitted by those systems meet certain requirements.

The bill provided for penalties on inspection stations that issue safety inspection stickers in violation of muffler and exhaust requirements.

This is a serious quality of life issue. Honolulu residents have been complaining for years about these unnecessary aural assaults.It is time to restore some degree of peace to our neighborhoods.

Klement Kondratovich
Moiliili

Enforce noise laws against all vehicles

Mahalo to Mari Hartman for her letter ("Enforce noise rules against mopeds now," Star-Advertiser, April 1).

But let’s go one step further.

Those of us who live on or near Kamehameha Highway in rural Oahu are daily under siege with the illegal noise not only from mopeds, but also motorcycles, speeding heavy truck traffic and, most disturbing, the wail and bomb-like booming of modified auto sounds systems whose owners invade our homes day and night, rattling our walls and windows and often waking us from nearly half a mile away with their obscene lyrics and throbbing bass.

Let’s enforce all noise laws and make Hawaii a better place for everyone to live.

Seeth Trimpert
Kaaawa

Writers on U.S. wars left out the victims

In the pro-con articles on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, neither writer refers directly to the millions of killed and displaced as the prime human consequence of our crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan ("Were Afghanistan, Iraq wars worth it?" Star-Advertiser, Insight, March 31).

The imperial hubris, the callousness, the "America is exceptional" subtexts are hard to bear.

James Jay Carafano is by far the worse of the two. I challenge Carafano to prove his declaration-cum-baldfaced lie, "The U.S. went to war in Iraq … to eradicate the terrorist forces that had killed thousands of Americans."

To counter Carafano’s final odious statement, "Unilateral withdrawal is not victory," I offer an alternate that has vast parallel implications to our Hawaii:

Whether done unilaterally or via a purported coalition, invasion and occupation of others’ lands do not assure victory and are assuredly not pono.

Moreover, the eventual withdrawal process is invariably messy and ignominious.

Robert H. Stiver
Pearl City

Endorsement helps level playing field

I voted in the poll regarding whether President Barack Obama should have publicly endorsed U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz ("Should President Obama have publicly endorsed his candidate in Hawaii’s Democratic race for U.S. Senate?," Star-Advertiser, Big Q, April 2).

The wording of one of the choices, "No, should’ve stayed out of it," seems to be meant to guide a response from the readers to vote no.

I think that the president’s endorsement simply helps to equalize the request by the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye to appoint U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to be the interim senator.

People who have worked with Brian Schatz in the Senate are coming forward to endorse him.

Barbara Coons
Maikiki

Endorsements only go so far with voters

We live in a great democracy where qualified citizens who feel they can contribute to the running of our government can run for election to public office.

Candidates should be able to run their campaign without pressure or interference from the president of the United States.

If the voters of Hawaii choose to elect the opponent of the president’s choice, could this result in the reduction of federal funds to Hawaii?

Should the voters of Hawaii select the best candidates who can think for themselves, or vote to elect a candidate who only supports all of the president’s plans, even if they make no sense?

We, the voters, have an important opportunity to select candidates who have the ability to disagree with poor government choices and are unafraid to vote accordingly.

It is my hope that Hawaii voters will loudly convey a message that we will always choose the candidate whom we believe will serve the needs of our citizens and our country.

John Tamashiro
Pearl City

Speed traps are unfair and wasteful

The current speed enforcement campaign in Mililani smells of fowl droppings.

The police sit on a median at the entrance of the freeway to catch drivers exceeding the 25 mph speed limit of Meheula Parkway that leads to the freeway.

Who drives 25 mph on a main thoroughfare that leads to the freeway? Certainly not the police.

Don’t punish the guy who drives 37 mph in an unrealistically low-speed zone.

Why don’t we go after the real hazards, such as drivers lagging way behind the car in front of them because they’re using their cellphones, the really fast or slow drivers, or the uninsured?

Let’s move up to the 21st century and set our speed limits at levels at which most people drive. Reasonable citizens don’t appreciate being "speed trapped" just to meet an officer’s quota.

With almost a million cars on this tiny island, we need to find ways to help the flow of traffic, not hinder it.

Brian Yamane
Moanalua