Entries for 'Selected News Articles'

--REPUBLICAN TAKES VA: 982,095 McDonnell [R] 653,687 Deeds [D]
--NJ: 514,692 Christie [R] 460,120 Corzine [D] 58,825 Daggett [I]

Contending they were treated unfairly, Asmus and Coker have written to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They are accusing Inouye’s staff of unevenly applying earmark procedures by dispersing federal dollars to an institute honoring the late Massachusetts senator without giving their outfit, Humanitarian Air Logistics, what they consider a fair hearing....

Walt Kaneakua, an Inouye aide who Asmus and Coker say accused them of insulting Inouye by questioning his decision-making process, did not respond to a request for comment....

Ellis thinks one thing is a pretty sure bet: “They are virtually guaranteeing they will never get an earmark from Inouye.’’

"UNICEF has been a major financier of Palestinian 'summer camps' which encourage children to become suicide bombers. One such camp is named for Wafa Idris…"

"This would appear to leave the door open for Professor Osorio to bring a claim once there is state action under Act 176 to sell or otherwise transfer ceded lands."

Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission....  It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise. The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.

On October 7, Phelim McAleer joined the Society of Environmental Journalists. Three days later, he took advantage of his new membership to attend former Vice President Al Gore’s speech to the group in Madison, Wis., and to rush up to the microphone afterward to ask a question....The event’s organizers mobilized, cutting the sound on McAleer’s microphone as he continued to pose questions. Moderator Tim Wheeler called it a “Warholian moment,” implying that McAleer had wrought 15 short minutes of fame out of the encounter. He had a point. Within 48 hours, McAleer had appeared on “Fox and Friends,” “Your World With Neil Cavuto,” and “Lou Dobbs,” and video of the encounter had appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders hope to push Hawaii politics rightward, preparing an election-year effort in 2010 to organize their parishioners into voting blocks that can help elect like-minded candidates. And they are hoping to use the issue of civil unions to get them there.

The state Legislature next year is expected to reconsider a proposal to allow gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions. The measure, which is on hold in the state Senate, generated some of the largest rallies ever seen at the normally placid Capitol earlier this year.

 When the Nobel committee gave the prize to Obama, in spite of the fact that he has no accomplishment other than getting elected, it robbed Zimbabwean labor leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai became the Zim PM earlier this year after enduring over a decade of frame-up charges, beatings, assassination attempts, fraudulent elections--and the murder of hundreds of pro-democracy activists by the genocidal socialist Mugabe regime. 

The Nobel committee bypassed an opportunity to shine an international spotlight on the struggle of the Zimbabwean people against dictatorship and the socialist demolition of what was once one of the most prosperous countries in Africa.

• It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.
• Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.

One more thing: "In California, bag manufacturers successfully sued Oakland and Manhattan Beach after those cities banned plastic bags. The bag makers complained that officials didn't prepare a report detailing the environmental impact, such as the increased use of paper sacks."  

One can think of American Samoa's economy as a three-legged stool, with one leg being the tuna industry, one leg being the local government (which actually employs slightly more workers than the tuna industry) and the third leg being the anemic remainder of the private sector. The remainder of the private sector is supported primarily--directly or indirectly--by purchases from the tuna industry and from local government. The government is supported primarily by revenues generated by the tuna industry; it is also supported somewhat by revenues generated by the rest of the private sector, which in turn is heavily dependent upon the tuna industry.

If you remove the tuna industry leg, the stool comes tumbling down, like a piece of debris tossed about by this week's tsunami. American Samoa is already poorer than any state in America and any other territory. It is about to get poorer still.

The Parks Service had heard from Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa. Reynolds told a Yellowstone dispatch operator that four tsunami waves, each 15ft-20ft high, reaching half-mile to a mile inland on island of Tutuila, where Pago Pago is.

“The National Park of American Samoa visitor centre and its offices appear to be destroyed completely,” Bundock said. Mr Reynolds reported deaths but had no confirmation of numbers, she said. “He’s completely cut off from the rest of the island,” Bundock said.

The bill contains typically huge piles of pork - much of it not listed in the committee's list of earmarks - paid for by raiding the spending needed to support the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the usual atrocious funding mechanism the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees have employed for years - they use the Operation and Maintenance account of the bill as an "offset" to pay for the billions in pork added throughout the bill. Put simply, the parts of the bill that support training, spare parts, maintenance, food, fuel and much else the troops at war need the most are reduced to enable the money added for earmarks.

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from the House-Senate Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance. 

(This fee would be added to your federal taxes each year if you do not buy health insurance.  If you refuse or fail to pay this portion of your taxes, that would be misdemeanor tax evasion and here is what happens....)

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead.

Accused 1992 of sexual misconduct with St. Lawrence Seminary HS students. Reportedly fired in 1988 for similar allegations then rehired. Criminally charged 1/93 with enticing child for immoral purposes and intimidating victim. Judge dismissed case, but noted evidence that Gardipee had disrobed in front of boy. Lawsuit 4/93 cited sexual abuse, harassment, and stalking of teen; expanded 1994, accusing Capuchins of racketeering; dropped 1995 due to WI S.C. ruling Pritzlaff v. Arch. of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, WI.

UPDATE: If you needed help with your ... uh ... "business", the Hawaii ACORN office is was located at 949 Kapiolani in Honolulu right next to the offices of the leftist Hawaii People's Fund.  But you can't pull on your beaverskin fedora and hop in your '73 Coupe Deville and cruise on over--because they've abandoned their office.  But be sure to thank Mazie Hirono for her support anyway.

Many have wondered how ANYONE AS EXTREME AS Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones – a self-described “Communist” obsessed with racial conspiracy theories – could have been named to head a federal agency. David Horowitz described the radicalization of the Democratic Party as the appointment’s subtext. Closer to the fore, Jones owed his elevation to another new factor: the unparalleled influence of Valerie Jarrett.

To call Jarrett a presidential adviser, even a close adviser, is misleading. She is an alter ego, an inner conscience, a touchstone of clarity for both President Obama and first lady Michelle. In the frenzy of the presidency, she reminds both Obamas of their identity and deepest-held beliefs. In exchange, the president makes no decision without her and has said she can “speak for me.” Unfortunately, she is also a racially polarizing elitist.

RALLY: Photos, videos and news links....

Here are some news articles which--strung together--tell the story you won't be able to read anywhere else.  The story ends with a Governor, a Party Chair, a Congresswoman and more....

As for the legislation's promise of "reconciliation," we are wondering what or who exactly is in need of reconciliation. When Hawaii accepted statehood in 1959, a mind-bending 94.3 percent of Hawaii voters cast ballots in favor of joining the union. They did so because statehood brought great benefits, not burdens meriting reconciliation.

If the Van Jones resignation is blamed on his statements about Republicans and 9/11, a great lesson will have been lost. As we argued in a previous column, "It's the communism, stupid." If people don't recognize the dangers of having a communist in the White House, then the nature of the scandal will not have been understood. Blogger Trevor Loudon of New Zealand broke the story on April 6 and has some thoughts on what happened and where this story is heading.

“Allahu Akbar”! The tinny P.A. system tore asunder the pre-dawn peace and quiet.  I was jolted in my mind, almost like experiencing a car wreck, suddenly and without any warning. This totally incongruous sound intruded upon and encompassed everything, causing even the birds to rustle in the darkness.

With no known hate groups and a much-trumpeted spirit of aloha or tolerance, few people outside Hawaii realize the state has a racism issue. One reason: The tourism-dependent state barely acknowledges hate crimes.  Hawaii has collected hate crimes data since 2002 (most states began doing so a decade earlier). In the first six years, the state reported only 12 hate crimes, and half of those were in 2006. (All other things being equal, the state would be expected to have more than 800 such crimes annually, given the size of its population, according to a federal government study of hate crimes.)

LA Times: Glenn Beck goes after Color of Change co-founder Van Jones  (FOX Video)

Chicago Tribune: 'Color of Change' boycott leader says FOX host Beck "trying to change subject''

In the lead up to the 50th Anniversary Statehood Conference, Broken Trust co-author Randall Roth dissects the DoE and the historical roots of its boiling dysfunction....

Gramscian ideas are far advanced in America. You see them in "hate crimes" laws, in gender equity legislation, in forced corporate "sensitivity" training, in the menace of coerced "right thinking" in the universities. You feel the nuances of it in casual conversation. It's an attitude at a cocktail party.

A Web search shows Hawai'i is the only state that hasn't had the public town hall forums this month.... there have been none of the outbursts because there have been no town hall meetings in recent weeks as the health reform issue heated up.

"(The Department of Defense) is concerned about this -- we have enough on our plate," she said. "This could derail the buildup. That's how costly it's going to be. ... It's not going to sail."

There were 247 contributions from individuals and PACs. Of these 247 only 12 were for less than $1,000. 235 individuals and PACs donated more than $1,000 each. There were 33 contributions that were at the maximum of $6,000. There were numerous contributors who are in the same family that maxed out their contributions at $6,000 apiece.

The bill says that the government agents, "well-trained and competent staff," would "provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices," and "skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development."

(This applies to Indian Tribes as well, so if the Akaka Tribe is ever formed, Hawaiian families will find themselves inspected by US Government social workers with the power to remove children from the home.  "Sovereignty", eh?)

... if you want to know how state enterprises really feel about competition, take a look at Obama’s home state of Hawaii ....

 IMAGE: CAT 4 Hurricane Felicia takes aim at Hilo, but is projected to weaken before landfall.

(And here's what would happen if a CAT 4 hit Oahu....)

A powerful hurricane would shut down Hawaiian Electric's grid for 30 days. Streets as far inland as Beretania and the H-1 freeway would be flooded. Debris would block roads. And homes would be damaged across the island of Oahu, if a powerful hurricane struck Oahu, officials said.  The imagined scenario officials have been working with calls for a Category 4 hurricane -- meaning a storm with sustained winds over 130 mph -- to make landfall at Kapolei.

UH Manoa professor Farideh Farhi, an advisor to the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a group that lobbies for better relations with the Islamic Republic, challenged me a couple weeks ago...for a column questioning Iranian sincerity in diplomacy.... Today Tabnak (website of accused Buenos Aires bomber) suggests why: In the course of discussing the controversy, it mentions that Farhi worked some years for the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Indeed, her work at the Foreign Ministry coincided with Holocaust revisionist conferences.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers both sidestepped questions on Obama's intentions about taxes. Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the federal deficit; Summers said Obama's proposed health care overhaul needs funding from somewhere....

Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.

On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.

We at Hawai`i Free Press care about voter participation, so here is a convenient list of upcoming Neil Abercrombie Town Hall events.  Don't be shy... 

Republican and Democratic senators negotiating financial details of healthcare reform have made great progress and are on the verge of a deal, a key Republican senator said on Wednesday.

"We have made great progress. Every day we make some progress," Senator Charles Grassley, one of the three Republicans from Senate Finance Committee involved in the talks to overhaul the healthcare system, told NPR radio. "Will we get it done so we can get a bill to the other members by this weekend because there is a certain time you've got to give people to study it? We're on the edge, and almost there," he said in the interview.

Hawaii was the 50th state admitted to the union, but the first to implement a universal health- care scheme. Now, it did not go as lawmakers in the Aloha State had originally planned, and Griff Jenkins, he tells us the story why.

Lebanon?  Egypt?  No.....this is "Dearborn Arabfest 2009" June 21, 2009

(BTW thousands of Christian Arabs live in Michigan.  No rights for them to question Islam, eh?)

Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run. CBO estimates that in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the federal government will record its largest budget deficits as a share of GDP since shortly after World War II. As a result of those deficits, federal debt held by the public will soar from 41 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2008 to 60 percent at the end of fiscal year 2010.

Last year, instead of enacting a law stating that the Supreme Court was wrong, the Legislature adopted special legislation exempting the Superferry pending completion of an environmental impact statement. The Supreme Court’s recent decision correctly struck down that exemption as violating the Hawaii constitutional prohibition against legislative special treatment for special interests.

The governor and Legislature were then handed a second opportunity to make the law pono by saying what everyone believed. The Legislature could enact simple language, such as the following which I recommended to the legislative leadership in March 2009, making clear that our environmental laws do not extend to "secondary" impacts:

"Significant effect" does not include or require consideration of “secondary impacts” on the environment that may result from government action. This latter provision is retroactive to enactment of this chapter.

By doing so, the law would state what everyone always believed it meant and the Superferry would have been allowed to continue providing essential transportation to Hawaii's citizens and competition to interisland airlines.

On June 21, Walden was interviewed by Ben Barrack on right wing radio (KTEM, Temple City/Ft Hood, TX) and was joined later in the program by Birfistani lawyer and dentist, Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq. The argument got pretty hot pretty soon in.

Plus, Walden said to Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.: “Don’t patronize me, dentist!”

Yes, he did!

The vote postponement follows some written criticisms of the bill by prominent members of the Native Hawaiian legal community.

In a four-page analysis of the legislation sent to the Natural Resources Committee, the Native Hawaiian Bar Association voiced concern that some provisions would grant the federal government too much immunity against potential claims by Native Hawaiians, especially for land.

(They want the Akaka Tribe but they are unwilling to trade away the PASH decision and the opportunity to shake down future Hokulias.)

In response to the state’s financial woes, Djou has advocated curtailing expenditures by shrinking the state budget and scaling back government programs. He has been a vocal critic of Hannemann’s proposal of a 20-mile elevated rail line that would run throughout Honolulu. Hannemann has said the jobs needed to construct the rail system would stimulate the economy, while Djou has charged that the cost would outstrip the job-related benefits.

“Charles is trying to make it understood that you can’t solve all your problems by raising taxes,” said Jim Bryan, a spokesman for the Hawaii Republican Party. “It’s going to hurt people further who have already suffered from this economy.”

Richard Ianieri, the defense contractor charged today with accepting $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor, was president of a company that gave more money to Rep. John Murtha than any other lawmaker. That company, Coherent Systems International, received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha, and continued giving money to the Pennsylvania Democrat after Ianieri left Coherent and Argon ST bought it.

Honolulu AP: Several Hawaii churches are uniting to register tens of thousands of new voters in hopes of influencing 2010 elections for the Legislature and governor's office.  Hawaii Family Forum is leading the effort, which also includes several Protestant churches the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, and the Mormon Church.

Chart compares number of union members vs adult citizen church members.  Even in the 2nd most unionized US state, churches are 64% larger than unions.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin will resign her office in a few weeks, she said during a news conference at her Wasilla home Friday morning.  Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the Governor's Picnic at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks on Saturday, July 25, Palin said.

 No surprise here.  The unions shopped for Sakamoto amidst the Hawaii Judiciary's sea of plenty.  Here are some quick hits from the local media...more updates as they become available....

Inouye reported ownership of Central Pacific shares worth $350,000 to $700,000, some held by his wife, at the end of 2007 [5]. The shares represented at least two-thirds of Inouye's total reported assets. Inouye has requested a delay in filing his annual financial disclosure for 2008, which was due this spring, and he declined to provide the current value of his investment. Since the end of 2007, the bank's stock has lost 79 percent of its value.

Central Pacific was founded in 1954 by a group of World War II veterans including Inouye who were emerging leaders in Hawaii's Japanese American community.

Water vapour was responsible for 95 per cent of the greenhouse effect, an effect which was vital to keep the world warm, he explained.

Obama: "When a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car that's a problem."

McCain: "Today I and all America pays tribute to a brave young woman who was trying to exercise her fundamental human rights and was killed on the streets of Tehran.  All Americans are with her.  Our thoughts and our prayers are for her."