LEGISLATORS SHOULDN'T PANDER TO RELIGIONS

The declaration of a day devoted to Islam is just another example of how our legislators pander to religious interest groups, while ignoring the needs of the rest of society.

Saying that the declaration is not religious but cultural is disingenuous. The cultures of nations with majority-Islamic populations are extremely diverse, ranging from Indonesia to the Gulf Arab states to secular Turkey.

It is as if the legislators had declared a "Catholic culture" day, jumbling together countries as different as Italy, Ireland and Mexico.

I support a secular society, with separation of church and state, and do not want my tax dollars used to subsidize or promote anyone's religion.

If the Legislature really wants to promote respect for cultural diversity, they could declare a "Tolerance Day," or a "Secular Society Day." Better yet, they should meet the needs of all of our citizens for good schools, safe streets and decent living standards.

Mike DeWeert | Kailua

ANIMAL CRUELTY

PASSAGE OF BILLS VERY TIMELY

After a nice family dinner at a Kailua town restaurant Tuesday eve, we saw at the corner of Uluniu Street an unbelievable act of cruelty to an animal.

A short-haired tan dog, leashed and lying on its back, was being beaten on its underbelly by an adult male. The sound of his fists being driven into a defenseless animal was sickening to us.

I asked my husband to stop the car; he refrained, his concern being that if an adult male was unleashing his anger onto a defenseless dog, what would stop him from beating a defenseless senior citizen tutu?

On my nightly read of The Advertiser, I saw that two bills relating to animal cruelty had been passed. Timely.

Donna Wiecking | Kailua

ECONOMY

OBAMA'S IDEAS INSULT COMMON SENSE

The contradictions being offered by the Obama administration and Congress would be hilarious if they weren't so seriously destructive.

For example, the president says the national debt is "unsustainable" while proposing the largest expansion of that debt in U.S. history.

The president promises to save or create jobs while raising taxes on small and large businesses, a step that will reduce their competitiveness and ability to create jobs.

Mr. Obama insists that we have to bring down medical costs, while proposing to add 45 million people to a national healthcare program. Why should we believe the new program will save money when Medicare is already going broke?

Next, Mr. Obama bends bankruptcy law to hand Chrysler over to the UAW, the very source of its lack of competitiveness.

Finally, the president proposes an energy tax to protect the environment despite the fact that, without China and India participating, the impact will be minimal, except, of course, for the fact that the typical American family will pay thousands more for its yearly energy needs.

The president's proposals are an insult to common sense and fiscal responsibility.

Jeff Pace | Kapahulu

BIKE-FRIENDLINESS

KAPOLEI COMMONS EMBRACES BICYCLES

On behalf of Kapolei Commons, this letter is in response to the comments from D.M. Westcot on May 14 regarding Kapolei Commons being "bike-friendly."

Kapolei Commons was planned with the community needs in mind, including creating an environment that is bike-, pedestrian- and pet-friendly. In fact, our security guards patrol the center on bicycles.

Bike racks are currently installed in front of Sports Authority, Office Max and Petco and there is no policy against riding bicycles on property, provided riders stay within the areas that are open for business and not currently under construction.

For the safety of the community and residents, we do not allow BMX bicycles to ride in the dirt construction areas.

Kapolei Commons embraces the biking community and welcomes residents and visitors to ride their bikes to Kapolei Commons — whether it's for shopping, exercise or just for recreation and enjoying the open space lifestyle of Kapolei.

We have spoken with the security guards and reminded them of our biking policies to ensure a bike-friendly environment at Kapolei Commons.

Please come back, Mr. Westcot, and bring your friends. This center was built for the community and we hope you will become a regular shopper.

Laverne M. Livernoche | General manager, Kapolei Commons

NATUROPATHY

HELP BRING HAWAI'I INTO 21ST CENTURY

A long-overdue bill would allow Hawai'i's naturopathic physicians to practice according to their training as primary-care providers. It would give you access to the level of naturopathic care that has long been available to people in other states, where naturopathic physicians prescribe medication, perform minor surgery and do injections.

Hawai'i's naturopathic physicians receive standard medical-school training in the same basic sciences that are taught in conventional medical schools. They study numerous approaches to disease prevention, completing four years of study including nutrition sciences, pharmacology, cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology, neurology and endocrinology. They're trained to administer vitamin injections and prescribe certain drugs. They complete two years of training in outpatient settings before passing national board exams. Hawai'i licenses naturopathic doctors as primary care physicians who diagnose and treat disease.

So why wouldn't this bill pass? Gov. Lingle may not sign Senate Bill 420, despite unanimous support in both the House and Senate and several hundred supportive letters from the public, including M.D.s. The only opposing voice was the Hawaii Medical Association. Its testimony falsely claimed that naturopathic physicians cannot diagnose and treat disease and don't practice medicine.

Help bring us into the 21st century by asking Gov. Lingle to support SB 420: governor.lingle@hawaii.gov.

Dr. Laurie Steelsmith, N.D., L.Ac. | Honolulu