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Letters to the Editor

America is about to have its pockets picked

Am I a paranoid old fool, or a wise and prescient elder who sees something no once else seems to have noticed? Trump will soon have access the U.S. Treasury, control of the Justice Department and the ability to gut the EPA. Won’t this allow him to make the biggest score in history, without ever being prosecuted for it, by doing what he loves, building things?

His companies can build a “Great Wall of the U.S.,” plus luxury hotels in prime locations, such as in national parks or other conservation lands, not to mention tap into a historic construction boom as America finally rebuilds its infrastructure (now that Republicans can take credit).

No one need ever be aware of his conflicts of interest, because there is no law (and never will be while he’s in charge) that says he must make public his tax returns. Besides, he can hide behind his family, since they are going to take over his businesses, both visible and hidden, right? He’s already selected a team uniquely suited to facilitating this scam. They will all profit too.

Of course, he will have to go through Congress, but he’s already demonstrated his ability to bully and manipulate those powermongers by appealing to and/or threatening their egos and self-interest, hasn’t he? America is about to have its pockets picked.

Richard “Ole” Olson

Haiku

*****

New members on County Council off to poor start

A Jan. 8 letter writer’s comments toward the new County Council spoke volumes and really hit home. The tactics of the new members seem to focus on chaos rather than coalition, relying on theatrics and preaching to their own choir. As elected officials you are here to serve all the people of Maui, not only those who have voted for you.

So now you need to have an X amount of  public testimony to discuss internal organization that you members can’t do on your own? Not off to a good start. Please get out of campaign mode, stop the grandstanding speeches and get to work.

Joni McGinnis

Wailuku

*****

New Year’s resolution: Pick up after your pups

Members of the Pukalani Community Association have requested that we all make a New Year’s resolution to pick up after our pups.

There seems to be a belief out in the community that there is no need to pick up dog feces as they are natural and will disappear in time. While that is true, there is also a law of nature, it seems, that someone will step in it before the disappearance happens. No fun! Please pick up after your pups.

Donna J. Clayton

Pukalani

*****

Telescope can give us a clearer view

As a child of the 1960s, I had expected at the least to be vacationing on the moon by now or perhaps in an orbiting station lifted to the stars in a Pan Am shuttle. But the reality of governments and earthly strife had placed a damper on stepping off this planet with both feet. Instead, we wound up simply placing a toe in the pond of space.

Instead, we placed the magnificent Hubble Space Telescope into orbit which unlocked so many answers and started the path toward new questions. Our ground-based telescopes using new technologies are able to pierce the earthly cloak and reveal sharper and more beautiful images and data to further our understanding of our universe and our place in it.

I was dumbfounded when I heard about the Native Hawaiians who protested the creation of a new telescope. As probably the best navigators on the planet, one would think having a clearer view of the stars to help guide your course is something to be desired and proud of.

The sky was used to guide humans along an ocean in the dark to life anew. The sky will always be needed to guide us to our destination and we will always need navigators to read those charts. One small piece of land is meaningless in the vastness of our shared universe.

Watch youtube/GoW8Tf7hTGA with open eyes and open hearts. One small piece of land is meaningless in the vastness of our shared universe.

Alan Rosenfeld

Kihei

*****

Trump’s affair with Putin no secret

It should not take 17 U.S. intelligence agencies to come to a finding that our 45th president has an uncommon relationship with the Russians. That became clear during the election.

The red flags should have gone up when the president-elect started trashing NATO and defending Russian aggression. He gave Putin what he wanted and Putin reciprocated. Who knew that the red color identifying the Republican Party was meant to describe their relationship with Russia?

We now will have a president who probably could not qualify for a top secret security clearance if he was not just elected president.

Dave DeLeon

Haiku

* The Maui News welcomes letters on subjects of general interest. Letters must not exceed 250 words, and all letters are subject to editing. Handwritten letters are not accepted. Writers are limited to two published letters per month. Letters may be submitted via the Virtual Newsroom on The Maui News website (www.mauinews.com), or via email (opinions@mauinews.com). Letters must include the writer’s name, community and a telephone number where the writer can be reached.

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