Homeless policy is mean-spirited

I witnessed the homeless sweep at Kakaako recently. It was cruel and unnecessary and will have no positive effect on our homelessness issue.

I saw one woman’s tent home along with all her possessions summarily picked up and crushed in the waiting garbage truck. She had a small outdoor kitchen, a tarp shade area with a chair and a small book shelf.It was all neat and clean. She did not have the time to move it.

She told me she lost her bedding, her clothes, her food, her money, her medications andher identification cards, which are crucial for receiving social services. The police would not listen to her pleas and kept her from retrieving anything.

Should we allow this mean-spirited and ineffective policy to continue?

The officials who developed and enforce this inhumane treatment of the least fortunate of our residents should be held accountable.

Malachy Grange
Kahala

Don’t allow drinking, guns

If city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro wants a third, fourth or fifth trial for Christopher Deedy, let him do so on his own dime, not on the taxpayers’.

I do believe that one thing that came out of the trial should be pursued. Push through a law that says no law enforcement agent, local or federal, shall be allowed to carry a firearm while drinking, legally drunk or not.

Another thing that should be looked into is educating our young. Teach them that it is not acceptable behavior to get drunk or be high on drugs and go out and harass people and get into fights.

Who started the fight is not important. The outcome is most often never good.

Stephen R. Abrams
Waikiki

Bad cops bad for all police

Any law enforcement officer with integrity will acknowledge that he or she has colleagues who are closer to the bully end of the spectrum, especially when dealing with the young, the poor or the disenfranchised of any race.

Nevertheless, it is an embarrassment to all law enforcement officers of good will when others in their profession behave badly.

When any law enforcement officer points his weapon at unarmed protesters and tells them, "I will f…… kill you," it’s an embarrassment. When any law enforcement officer says he believes in diversity "because I kill everybody," it’s an embarrassment. When any law enforcement officer writes that protesters should be "put down" like rabid dogs, it’s an embarrassment.

Officers of the law who are unaccustomed to treating those they serve with respect and dignity give a black eye to their colleagues who do, as long as they are tolerated and accepted.

Robert Griffon
Moiliili

‘Inouye century’ a bit overdrawn

Walter Wright’s imaginary "end of the Inouye century" is a bit overdrawn ("’Inouye century’ ended in 2008," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 26).

His dramatic inference has to be validated by a deeper empirical study, not by mere impression. In the past primary season, the "Inouye factor" has been belabored.

In the case of U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa’s U.S. Senate campaign, she was not hounded by Inouye’s "ghost." Historical low voting turnouts in primary elections, aggravated by stormy weather, largely accounted for her narrow loss of less than 1 percent. She was also outspent more than 2 to 1, enabling her opponent to campaign more aggressively with endless slick commercials.

Actually, Hanabusa won 20 of 35 districts on Oahu, her political base from Pearl City westward, but with smaller margins. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz took 15 districts in eastern Honolulu like Hawaii Kai, where richer and mostly white voters gave him much bigger majorities.

Belinda A. Aquino
Moiliili

Media being unfair to Obama

Why is the media and GOP clamoring about President Barack Obama’s lack of a strategy?

His choice of words on this matter wasn’t the best but isn’t it understood that he is trying to get a coalition involved to fight ISIS, while strategically hurting them with air attacks?

They clamored when Obama didn’t bomb Syria a few months ago, and now they want him to bomb ISIS in Syria — in effect, helping Syrian President Bashar Assad get rid of ISIS.

CNN is the worst at spreading this garbage. It should go back to its "breaking news" on finding Malaysia’s flight 370.

Besides, who most wants to know Obama’s strategy? ISIS.

Ray Horita
Palolo Valley