EXCISE TAX

END OF GAS EXEMPTION SHOWS DEMS UNCARING

Motorists are now feeling an immediate impact from the expiration of the general excise tax exemption on gasoline at the end of 2006. The cost of a gallon of gas rose an average of 11 cents. On O'ahu, we can expect it to be even higher with the additional increase in the general excise tax as of Jan. 1.

The exemption was provided to encourage the manufacture of ethanol, which is now required to be added to most gasoline sold in Hawai'i. The Democrat-controlled Legislature had the opportunity in the last session to pass the Lingle administration's bill to extend this tax exemption or to make it permanent. Instead, they allowed the exemption to expire.

It is estimated that Hawai'i consumers will pay $36 million more on gasoline purchases in 2007 because the exemption no longer exists. Once again, the Democrats have shown that they are not concerned how their decisions affect consumers. We need to let our legislators know that this tax exemption should be reinstated immediately once the session opens and be made permanent.

GOVERNOR'S HYPOCRISY SHOWING ON GAS PRICES

For Gov. Linda Lingle to urge the Legislature to extend the excise tax exemption on gasoline ("Keep gas tax break, Lingle urges," Dec. 30), thus saving us about 11 cents per gallon, is the height of hypocrisy.

If she really wants to save us some money, she already has the authority from the Legislature to reinstate the gas cap law, which would lower gas prices by about 25 cents per gallon. For Governor Lingle and the petroleum industry to point at Hawai'i's excise tax as the cause of our high gas prices is as disingenuous as the Bush administration pointing at 9/11 as justification for the invasion of Iraq.

FALLEN HEROES

OUR IRAQ WAR DEAD SHOULD ALSO LIE IN STATE

I could not help but wonder while watching the nation honor and mourn the late President Gerald Ford why we could not honor our sons and daughters who gave their lives in Iraq at the Capitol, too. Their caskets should lie in state there for a day or two and have the nation's highest honors bestowed on them.

A grateful nation would have a chance to mourn and thank our war heroes and offer a prayer. Their immediate families should be given an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to receive the public's condolences and appreciation.

The president and Congress can also pay their respects.

The brave soldiers who have already perished should have all their names there, too, since it is too late for them to receive the same type of services.

We should treat our fallen heroes the same as we treat our government officials when they pass on. After all, they made the ultimate sacrifice.

OVERHAUL

PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE STUDIED

Our mayor has the right idea of a tax status for homeowners who reside in their own homes.

However, opposition exists because this new category may further increase costs to renters. Why not have an expert study the situation and recommend an overhaul on a system that is unfair to all taxpayers, especially seniors on a fixed income living in their overtaxed homes?

We spend money on so many studies and why not on this very one so necessary to so many people?

LONG-IGNORED ISSUE

POPULATION GROWTH CAUSES MANY PROBLEMS

I share Margo Rauliuk's concern (Letters, Dec. 19) about traffic congestion, as well as the size of ever-increasing government and corresponding tax increases.

I also agree that population growth is the underlying factor behind many of humanity's problems. However, at some point government may have to step in and finally address the long-ignored, avoided and dismissed problem of our ever-increasing human numbers.

These days, people are seeing and often experiencing many painful effects of human population growth, especially here in the Islands. What are we going to do about it?

MISMANAGEMENT

NEWS COVERAGE SLOW ON HOUSING FAILURES

Auwe! The homeless crisis in Hawai'i has been a matter of public concern for the better part of the past year. Why is it that the failures and mismanagement of the state's housing agencies are receiving extensive reporting now rather than before the general election?

The details of HUD's grading on the state's housing management do not appear to have been a matter of public knowledge. It is outrageous that the state has more than 700 federally subsidized housing units sitting empty while the governor is grandstanding by opening homeless shelters in Kaka'ako and tent cities on the Wai'anae Coast.

SADDAM HUSSEIN

EXECUTION FOOTAGE UNNECESSARY, VIOLENT

I found it disturbing that The Honolulu Advertiser, among the other news agencies of the U.S. and internationally, doesn't exhibit better discretion and taste when considering to show the footage regarding Saddam Hussein's execution.

It is completely unnecessary and violent. Why would I want to be exposed to this level of graphic detail?

IRAQ STRATEGY

SENATOR FAILED TO OFFER FACTS IN COMMENTARY

Joseph Lieberman's column (Commentary, Jan. 2) does nothing except emphasize his fear of the consequences of failure in Iraq.

He seems to feel there still is reason to hope for victory, but he does not cite any objective facts in support. He talks about sending more troops to Iraq. My understanding is that there are really no more troops to send. We can only extend the tours of servicemembers already there and accelerate the return of those who just got back.

For Mr. Lieberman to have credibility in his argument for an increase in U.S. troops in Iraq, he must use facts to support his optimism. He needs to commit to objective measurements to determine if those troops are effective.

If we call in 10,000 additional troops to Baghdad and six months later we have not significantly decreased the rate of attacks or the number of deaths there, would Mr. Lieberman agree that this strategy was a failure and let those troops (as well as others) come home?

We face a very difficult decision in Iraq. But no matter how afraid we are of losing, a true leader will make the decision to accumulate more troops in Iraq (or bring them home) rationally, not emotionally.

PREGNANCY

AMNIO WOULD HELP WITH DECISIONS ON CARE

As a mom with a young child with Down syndrome, I am often approached by pregnant women who ask me if I knew my son had Down syndrome before he was born.

I did not. Six years ago when I was 34, I chose not to have the invasive test amniocentesis because of a risk due to my RH factor in addition to the small risk of a miscarriage. Nor did I have the other tests available at that time that would have shown I might have a child with Down syndrome. Only an amnio would have confirmed that likelihood.

The Sunday Advertiser article (Dec. 31) about a recommendation that all pregnant women get a Down syndrome test describes the new "first-trimester screening that combines blood tests with a simple ultrasound exam, called a 'nuchal translucency test.'"

I now know that a baby with Down syndrome might need specialized care at birth and that knowing ahead of time would have been beneficial. My son had to be transferred to another hospital for intensive care the day he was born.

That is the reason for all women to opt for prenatal tests but not for deciding to have an abortion.

Each life is precious.

HECO BLACKOUT

LOAD PROCEDURES NOT ADDRESSED IN REPORT

When an electrical generating system does not have enough capacity to serve all of its customers, one option is to shed load, or disconnect some customers so that at least part of the system will continue to have power.

One of the questions that arose after the Oct. 15 blackout was why Hawaiian Electric Co. operators did not, or could not, shed load fast enough to prevent the entire grid from being shut down.

One would have expected that the recently released investigative report by POWER Engineers Inc. would address this issue. But according to the executive summary posted on HECO's Web site, it does not.

The report summary makes no judgment about whether the load-shedding guidelines or the load-shedding equipment were adequate (and apparently they were not) and it makes no recommendations as to any future changes in load-shedding procedure.

This seems a very serious omission in a supposedly comprehensive $64,000 independent report.