Hawaiians of old studied the stars

All the protesting about the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea has led me to wondering, "What position would the ancient Hawaiian ocean voyagers have taken on this?"

They were, after all, the explorers of their day. They wanted to know what was "out there," beyond the confines of their little islands. Ironically, they used the stars to guide them and find out. I wonder if they would have thought it "disrespectful" to build on a sacred place in order to look out into the ocean of the sky. I wonder if maybe, instead, they might have thought Mauna Kea not only an acceptable place, but actually the most fitting and appropriate place of all.

I wonder if they would have leapt at the opportunity to further their explorations and knowledge, and to look farther outward than any of them could have ever imagined. They’re all long dead and gone now, so we’ll never know. But I wonder.

Nada Mangialetti
Kapolei

Exploration best from Mauna Kea

We are a species of explorers. Using the most advanced technology of their time, Polynesians crossed the vast Pacific and settled new lands. While they did not always know what they would find, the very act of exploring honed their skills with the seas and stars, allowing Hawaii to be peopled from across an almost unimaginably vast ocean.

Today, Hawaii is still at the forefront of exploration. Mauna Kea’s height and location make it the best place on the planet to observe the universe. What we learn may help avert the next civilization-destroying meteor strike, or show us what keeps planets hospitable for life.

We should be proud that Hawaii is once again at the forefront of exploration. We rightly celebrate the technology of exploration embodied in the Hokule‘a. We should be just as eager to support the astronomers and observatories showing us the way across the universe.

Michael J. DeWeert
Kaneohe

Education isn’t rich versus poor

Hawaii State Teachers Association presidential candidate Corey Rosenlee said schools are segregated by income, with well-off "higher-ups" sending their kids to private schools while the rest suffer with public schools ("Hawaii’s schools are segregated based on parents’ income," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, April 9).

His mentality of rich versus poor as the reason for a dichotomy in our educational system is nothing but divisive. Does he even know Punahou created a teacher partnering program with public schools?

First, his public-versus-private per-pupil funding figures are inaccurate based on government census, and do not take into account capital and infra- structure costs borne by private schools.

Second, nowadays it is "working-class" parents making huge financial sacrifices who send their kids to private schools — and only after their children pass a stringent entrance test. I speak from experience.

If Rosenlee insists on creating a chasm between public and private schools, then members of the HSTA will do themselves and public school students a service by not electing him.

Orson Moon
Aiea

Libertarians offer real change

It was interesting to see the commentary about the potential of a libertarian president ("Is U.S. ready for a libertarian president?" Star-Advertiser, RedBlue-America, April 12). I think it would be better to allow libertarians to speak for themselves than to be described by their opponents.

Neither columnist even mentioned Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, who was the Libertarian nominee in 2012. Nor did they discuss the continuing cycle of stagnant economic growth and recessions that has become the signature piece of the two-party system and the bad public policy it has produced.

President Barack Obama continued 99 percent of the Bush administration policies.Many of them were at odds with the values of his own liberal base.There is barely a dime’s worth of difference between their two parties.Millions of people no longer bother to vote. Yet the media continues to dismiss third parties that represent genuine change.

Tracy Ryan
Chair, Libertarian Party of Hawaii

Stop feeding of park’s pigeons

I’m concerned about the growing pigeon problem at Kapiolani Park. People who would never tolerate a colony of rats living in their attic or home will turn a blind eye toward pigeons or other birds. Yet in terms of disease and damage, the two pests are quite similar.

These vermin pose a significant risk to human health. They can harbor more than 40 types of parasites and host types of infectious diseases that can be spread by the dried bird droppings to your family and pets.

There are ways to humanely solve a pigeon problem, but the first and most important is to stop feeding the pigeons. When is the city going to enforce the rule against feeding birds at the park?

There are signs in the park, but without enforcement, they are ineffective.

David S. Weiss
Kaimuki

Don’t cut federal worker benefits

Twenty years ago, on April 19, 1995, the Oklahoma City Alfred J. Murrah Federal Building was blown up by a truck bomb, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more for the sole crime of being federal employees serving their fellow Americans.

Currently, we have a federal budget proposal that continues the denigration of the federal community by reducing benefits to the tune of $318 billion on top of the $120 billion already given in an attempt to balance the budget on the backs of federal workers.

How comfortable would you be without air marshals and air traffic controllers when you fly?

How confident would you be without U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified products on your dinner table?

I could go on, but I close with a description of the statue at St. Joseph Old Cathedral across from the bombing, which is of Jesus holding His hands over His face in sorrow and the words, "And Jesus Wept."

John Priolo
President Hawaii State Federation of Chapters, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association

Green accusers have conflicts

The accusations that a physician, as chairman of the state Senate Health Committee has a conflict of interest, are preposterous ("Senator takes heat from psychologists, retirees on potential conflicts of interest," Star-Advertiser, April 12).

The public should be grateful that someone experienced, both as a legislator and physician, is prepared to make informed decisions on such complex issues.

In reference to conflicts of interest, are psychologists interested in expanding their scope of practice for the good of humanity or for monetary gain? Also, doesn’t the AARP have a conflict of interest when it endorses certain Medicare insurance health plans to its members? Who should recuse themselves here?

Deborah A. Luckett
Kahala