Your Views for December 4

‘Sophomoric’ cartoons

Day after day, I’m appalled by the sophomoric content of your daily cartoons. (Thursday’s) anti-abortion “cartoon” really achieved a new low.

If your publication wants to earn a modicum of class, I suggest you offer a more sophisticated standard of review from your editorial board.

Marilyn Scambos

Keaau

Board gone astray

Now that the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the Thirty Meter Telescope permit, maybe the Board of Land and Natural Resources can get back to doing the job of protecting our natural environment, rather than being the agency of protecting corporate interests on Mauna Kea.

Poachers have been raping our “protected” mountains and oceans since they started protecting TMT.

Kirk Puuohau-Pummill

Volcano

Knee-jerk opposition

I was disappointed to read Dana Milbank’s column, “President Oh-bummer” (Tribune-Herald, Nov. 27), in which he wishes Obama would just be more like George W. Bush.

He applauds Bush’s bellicosity and war-mongering, as if those were the good old days. Did he forget that rushing into the Iraq War on false pretenses was a root cause of the problems we now face? Or that “W” leading us into this war is one of the reasons “W” tops most lists for worst president of all time?

I applaud Obama’s reluctance to say “more war is unquestionably the answer,” and his measured, reasoned approach to complex problems, of which “W” was incapable.

I expect this from some columnists, but why does Milbank want to join the likes of Cal Thomas and Thomas Sewell in their knee-jerk opposition to anything Obama does or says? This is surprising from one who wants to be taken seriously.

Lastly, making fun of people’s names is surely one of the lowest forms of debate, and shows a childish, bullying mentality that has no place in the editorial section.

State. Sen. Russell Ruderman

Keaau