Letters to the Editor - Letters

Aloha:

State lotteries, Idaho included, function as a regressive tax on the poor. States spend over $500 million a year on advertising urging their citizens to play the lottery -- more than is spent on any other single message.

And the poor folks stand in line to spend their children's milk and lunch money in Idaho just as they do in 48 of the other contiguous states.

Gambing is a corrupting influence in many state and city governments, causing theft, embezellment, money laundering and scandal. We've seen that right here in Hawai`i nei.

An estimated 20 million Americans are problem or pathological gamblers (addicted) and nearly 60 percent of the members of Gamblers Anonymous admit that they have committed thefts to support their addiction. That does not mean they all stole from their employers. Some of the addicts steal from their loved ones, their families, so that when they get caught they don't end up as a statistic with their names and pictures on television and in the newspapers.

And don't believe the Hawaiian Airlines television commercial that says "99.9 percent" of people in Hawai`i love to gamble. That was made up by an advertising person to help Hawaiian Airlines sell seats on flights to Las Vegas. It is not true.

If you want the true story about gambling in Idaho, ask some of the folks who live there. It is not all roses, believe me.

Me ka pono,

Keith Haugen
Nu`uanu

Gambling is an Asian thing.

Not Hawaiian.

Ref Keith Haugen's comments. Keith, Keith, Keith, what are you thinking. "And the poor folks stand in line to spend their children's milk and lunch money in Idaho just as they do in 48 of the other contiguous states." What, you think that's not already happening here in Hawaii Nei. You're so wrong. What about chicken-fights, sports betting, office betting pools, illegal gaming parlors, and yes even dog fighting. It's already here and those who can least afford it make up a lot of their patrons. It's time our government and some "holy than thou" citizens realize that they can't be Mommies and Daddies to everyone. We're missing out on a wealth of revenue from visitors who like gaming and or lotteries. Methinks a lot of Vegas money is entering our State Capital through the backdoor to keep gaming out of this State. And no I'm not a gambler.

Ref: John Kawamoto letter. "Perhaps Sen. Sakamoto is forgetting that he is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Housing. He and his counterpart in the House should be leading the charge to protect our children's education instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen."

Forget it John. It's all about making the republican governor look bad. Also, they, Sen. Sakamoto and his counterpart, haven't a clue. Totally clueless.

John Kawamoto:

If it's leadership you want, then I fail to see the purpose of the BOE and DOE in it's current state. Perhaps they should change the laws and the way schools are run to have a group who CAN be administratively, fiscally and academically responsible for the kids.

For that I can put the onus of responsibility squarely on our elected officials. After all, that's how they got us into this mess in the first place.

Pat Hammers:

Although I see your point, I think there's a much bigger issue: Privacy. Nowadays it's easy for anyone to glean the personal information from a phone, especially since many are tied to their computers where information is sync'd. So essentially, whatever personal or private information you put on your computer and is protected, now becomes the purview of the public.

I agree you should have been informed in advance. If you'd like to show your displeasure, I'd suggest never going to such a viewing again. I'd have to think long and hard before giving up my phone to a stranger to wander through.

Keith Haugen wrote:

Gambing is a corrupting influence in many state and city governments, causing theft, embezellment, money laundering and scandal. We've seen that right here in Hawai`i nei.

Why is the media not called out for such glorification if gambling is only associated to degenerates of society? With your inference, then major media outlets are contributers to corruption with their airings of "celebrity poker" or the many poker competitions that take place on a national scale and televised daily.

The elepahnt in the room as far as Hawaii goes, is the long arm of the LDS church. Gambling will never be legalized here. Just look at the influence they put forth with Prop 8 in the last election in California.

Pat Hammers ,,, Did you watch 60 minutes last night? All about how people take cameras/cell phones in movie theaters and tape the movie and put in on the web/or make fake DVDS? I go to movie previews all the time and no cell phones are allowed in. It is needed now to combat piracy.

Gee natalie, the government did something which benefits the voters? The horror!

bumpercrop wrote:

Pat Hammers ,,, Did you watch 60 minutes last night? All about how people take cameras/cell phones in movie theaters and tape the movie and put in on the web/or make fake DVDS? I go to movie previews all the time and no cell phones are allowed in. It is needed now to combat piracy.

And to combat the idiots who don't turn their phone on vibrate or even off.

Haugen is confuised. There is much gambling out here..tons of it. Why not legalize it and tax it. Why should organize crime profit?

"It is important for people to understand that there is no guarantee rates for homeowners will go down just because this bill was passed. In fact, they are likely to go up for everyone simply because assessed values have fallen and the budget deficit is expected to be at least $140 million for next fiscal year.

The managing director is running for mayor. The mayor is running for governor. Bill 51 sounds like it will help homeowners save taxes. Homeowners vote. These are the reasons this bill was so important to the mayor and managing director that it had to be pulled out of the dust.

Natalie Iwasa
Honolulu

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You are absolutely right, Natalie. Mufi Hannemann and Kird Caldwell does not care long-term.

All they want is to be able to campaign that they did this and they did that. And us gullible folks just eat it all up.

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

alice wrote:

Haugen is confuised. There is much gambling out here..tons of it. Why not legalize it and tax it. Why should organize crime profit?

Vegas casinos dread Hawaii getting their own legalized gambling as it will damage their bottom line. So, they lobby the legislature to keep it out of Hawaii.

Obama's honeymoon with the American people lasted less than six months.

In the aftermath of his inauguration in January, Obama's approval rating soared to 70 percent. Early on, he tested Americans' faith by diving headlong into controversial programs to rescue the economy, including bailing out sinking US auto manufacturers and unleashing a 787-billion-dollar stimulus plan.

In late April, at the end of the first 100 days in office, Obama still enjoyed more positive reviews than his predecessors in the previous 20 years.

But the fall was soon to come as questions started simmering about the president's ability to pull the US economy out of a nosedive.

In July, his popularity dipped even below that of predecessor George W. Bush in the same period of his presidency.

Since mid-October, it has hovered just above 50 percent, a "significant drop" from his earlier numbers, according to Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll.

"In general, this puts Obama's current ratings slightly below average for all US presidents since World War II," Newport told AFP, adding that the country's ongoing economic travails are contributing to the curb in enthusiasm.

Obama has a huge Bush created mess to clean up

amen Pat Hammers

give obama time...he has a horrible mess on his hand