Letters To The Editor

Yes to chocolate!

What a difference an article can make! We truly appreciate MidWeek‘s cover story “Wow Cacao!” by Susan Sunderland, about the growing Hawaii cacao and chocolate industry. Thank you on behalf of future generations who will be able to reap the benefits of green space, job growth and revenue.

Your understanding is the encouragement that Hawaii needs to promote our cacao industry, and your kind gesture is valued greatly. I wish the staff of MidWeek a wonderful Year of the Dragon.

Corrine W.L. Ching
House of Representatives 27th District

Israel: 51st state

Regarding Patrick Buchanan’s column on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and how Israel and the U.S. are responding: The way many in Washington led by the war-mongering Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham (has there ever been a war they didn’t want to jump into?) treat Israel and its selfinterest, you’d think Israel is now the de facto 51st state.

In fact, Israel has spies in America. Let’s put U.S. interests first.

Charles Lee
Kaimuki

Views, not truths

Ah, another column by Mr. Coffee, another antiCoffee letter. I sometimes wonder if there is a list of those who will respond negatively to whatever Mr. Coffee writes, and Patricia Blair (Letters, Feb. 29) was the next name in line to do so. Our state is obviously left leaning, with the largest percentage of Democrats in the union. Hopefully this does not mean any right-leaning view is automatically trashed.

I have often found MidWeek to be far more fair than its readers. There are “views” on politics, seldom pure truths. One side is not necessarily more correct than the other, and surely not more compassionate than the other.

I commend Mr. Coffee for his thoughtful reporting, and look forward to all his columns.

Karyn Abe
Makiki

Scary cartoon

Roy Chang’s cartoon caricature about lawmakers in last week’s MidWeek was unfair to them. It reminded me of what Albert Einstein once said: “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” It does not take an Einstein to understand the financial costs and long-term human health harm and suffering created from tobacco.

Prevention programs have shown a 5-to-1 return on investment. The scare for our children will be if lawmakers fail to fund tobacco prevention.

J. Moncada
Hilo

Send your letters dchapman@midweek.com.