I think everyone should stop crying about the rail project. Admit it, folks, it’s going exactly as planned.

Rail was forced through from the beginning for money, and lots of people were part of the lie. Developers, unions, people wanting construction jobs, Kirk Caldwell, Nestor Garcia and others who’d sell off once-beautiful Oahu for personal gain. And the people of Oahu cooperated in the lying.

Everyone knew if they could just get the camel’s nose under the tent, there’d be no stopping it. The keg’s now tapped. The money is flowing to the “right” pockets. Everyone should be happy. It’s going according to plan.

Money has become our ultimate ideology, replacing all constitutional, moral and aesthetic values. Congratulations.

Mathew Johnson

Kaimuki

Let gambling cover rail project shortfall

The rail transit system is in dire need of a financial lift.

There’s a simple answer that other states has implemented that have helped pay for road repairs, educational needs (air conditioning in classrooms) and assistance to local hospitals, while not forcing us to support a fuel tax, mileage tax or any other tax that politicians come up with whenever there’s a shortfall.

A lottery: What else can I say?

Another option is to open a casino on Kahoolawe once Uncle Sam cleans up its mess.

Native Americans have casinos that make big bucks, so how about it?

Stan Batalona

Aiea

Ho‘opili will increase congestion from cars

Most of the time the commute from Kapolei to downtown is 1.5 hours one way, sometimes more in the morning.

After several days of stop-and-go to the point of getting carsick, I decided to get on the C-Express bus from the Kapolei Transit Center. The bus was full to da max. A kind man gave me a seat, but alas, the guy sitting next to me was unkempt, smelly and constantly clearing his throat. What to do? Sit and suffer, or stand up for the next hour or so all the way to downtown, packed like a can of sardines?

I tried another day, but again, the guy sitting next to me was another smelly and upkempt person. So I decided to go back to commuting through the stop-and-go traffic at 2 to 3 miles per hour.

And we will be having another 12,000 homes built (“Blessing celebrates realization of Ho‘opili housing development,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 9)?

Absurd.

Rosita R. Sipirok-Siregar

Kapolei

Trump lacks empathy, not fit for presidency

Donald Trump should never be president. It’s bad enough he has such a cavalier attitude toward nuclear weapons, refuses to release his tax returns, uses donor money from his “charity” to pay for his legal problems and to persuade two attorneys general to not pursue fraud charges against him, was sued twice by the government for not renting to African- Americans, and would not immediately disavow David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. I could go on and on.

But the one thing that bothers me most is that he mocked a man with a disability. This shows the true character of the man. He has no moral compass. Anyone who would make fun of a person with a handicap or disability shows a complete lack of empathy and does not belong in the White House.

Sheila Nakamura

Pahoa