Ethics

Will Hawaii be saddled with the second-rate already failed ACO/Medical Home scheme promoted by Gov Abercrombie? The Washington Post is already debunking this failure before we start:

Growing evidence from both sides of the Atlantic indicates that performance models based on wind data often promise levels of generation substantially above actual wind power output.

 Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has acquired two missile warheads capable of being armed with a nuclear weapon. And a recently leaked U.N. report described suspected ballistic missile technology exchanges between North Korea and Iran....

In November of 2011, MMNA will launch the battery-powered electric vehicle Mitsubishi i ....

Leon Panetta, President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Defense, will go before the Senate tomorrow for questioning on how he would shepherd the department into the future. The American taxpayers deserve some answers from Panetta....

The economic news keeps getting worse for America. Last month, the unemployment rate went up to 9.1 percent, the economy added only 54,000 jobs, and the average length of unemployment rose to more than nine months, the longest since the Labor Department started keeping track in 1948.

In anticipation of the CIO’s arrival, OIMT has begun an assessment intended to provide an overview of technology across the state. OIMT selected Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to lead this assessment.

See the announcement . . .

The American Medical Group Association said a survey of its members found that 93 percent wouldn't enroll as ACOs in the main proposed Medicare program.

You irresponsibly abuse the public’s trust in your organization and their concern for the health of their loved ones by falsely claiming that USEPA has not set a standard for Cr VI in the drinking water and demanding that it do so. This is a blatant lie. ...  Any high school student with access to the internet could have determined this. Given that EWG has been working on this issue for years, I can’t believe that your staff is incompetent enough not to know this.

Ours is the greatest country. Not just our founding principles, but our history and our continued promise. Our freedoms, balance of majority rule and minority rights, inclusion of new peoples. It’s not always easy being an American. We make mistakes, get out of balance, rarely take a straight path to a better future. But our foundations are sound, we self-correct, and we have bettered our world at great sacrifice. By staying true to our principles and heritage in a changing world, we will prevail.

Freedom Rankings for Hawaii

• #47 Overall
• #46 Economic
• #43 Personal

 Recent Congressional Votes

• House: Debt Limit Increase
• House: Homeland Security Appropriations, FY 2012
• House: Use of Ground Forces in Libya
• House: Libya Troop Withdrawal

“Where we are required to do sampling and have found that of those in our sample who can be identified, roughly 7% to 10% of them are not eligible. In an additional large number of cases, we are unable to receive information to make a determination. So it could be much greater.”

  Lets invite Al Gore to go skiing....

This mission was a great success for the unit as well as for the Soldiers. Within battalion, more than two dozen Soldiers decided on continued service in the Army as they reenlisted and seven non-commissioned from the battalion were inducted into the highly esteemed Sergeant Audie Murphy Club for outstanding leadership achievements.

The Democrat-controlled Illinois redistricting commission has apparently re-drawn the Illinois 8th Congressional District especially to include the home of Tammy Duckworth.

...Last month we were worrying that the always ambitious, always reactionary corporate shill, Ed Case, would get a free ride for the Senate seat he once tried to steal from Dan Akaka, a progressive who is now retiring....

...President Barack Obama is holding a victory party today at a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, trumpeting the only jobs he can manage to create—those bought and paid for directly by the U.S. taxpayer....

Hanabusa supported Speaker John Boehner’s resolution demanding that Obama seek approval of the war under the War Powers Act within 14 days.  Hanabusa also supported a resolution offered by Rep Dennis Kucinich demanding US withdrawal from Libya within 15 days.

Hirono opposed both resolutions, essentially agreeing that the President may go to war without Congressional approval. This position differs sharply with her loud opposition to the Iraq war under President Bush.

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii Military Affairs Council and The Hawaii Institute For Public Affairs hosted a $35-a-ticket-event for the report co-sponsored by defense contractor BAE Systems yesterday.

• Ranked 1 for cleanest metropolitan areas in the country for Ozone
• Ranked 1 for cleanest metropolitan areas in the country for 24-hour particle pollution
• Ranked 4 for cleanest metropolitan areas in the country for annual particle pollution  

... the rating outlook will depend on the outcome of negotiations on deficit reduction. A credible agreement on substantial deficit reduction would support a continued stable outlook; lack of such an agreement could prompt Moody's to change its outlook to negative on the Aaa rating....

Last night, House Republican leadership postponed a vote on a measure to withdraw troops from Libya within 15 days. While many agree that entering the war was unwise, they are also fearful of making another rash move that could harm our national interest or leave our allies stranded.

The legislators state that..."all ten members of the nationally recognized Physician Group Practice (PGP) CMS demonstration project" have expressed reservations over the regulation ...(and)... a recent report from American Hospital Association estimated that ACO startup costs would be at least 10 times higher than costs cited in the proposed rule.

You’re hearing a lot of Democratic criticism about the Medicare budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives.

What you need to hear more about are the changes to Medicare already enacted as part of the Obama health care law.

Well, President Obama asked for it. And last night he got it in grand fashion—a “clean vote” on raising the nation’s debt limit, free of any of the desperately needed spending cuts that Americans are demanding, conservatives support, but liberals abhor.

DoD expenditures in Hawaii during FY 2007–2009 averaged $6.5 billion per year in 2009 dollars — $4.1 billion for personnel and $2.4 billion for procurement. These expenditures were associated with $12.2 billion worth of Hawaii's output — 18 percent of Hawaii's 2009 GDP — and 101,000 jobs.

After being hounded for years by charges of sexual harassment leveled against him by a former aide in a 2006 EEOC complaint, former Big Isle Council Chair and Mayoral candidate Stacy Higa has been named Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps programs in Hawaii.

Congresswomen Hirono and Hanabusa are clearly part of the problem in Washington and have offered no solutions other than spending more money. This vote alone is a good reason why Congresswoman Hirono does not deserve or belong in the U.S. Senate.

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: FY2012 House Budget Resolution
• Senate: President’s FY2012 Budget Resolution
• Senate: Patriot Act Extensions
• House: National Defense Authorization Act, FY2012
• House: Patriot Act Extensions

...revised data released last week that shows the economy’s growth stuck at 1.8 percent, slow consumer spending, stagnant wages, higher prices for gas and food, the poor housing market, flagging consumer confidence and a recent Labor Department report showing a higher-than-expected rise in claims for jobless benefits.....

For every child currently waiting to be adopted, there are 500 married households and three religious congregations in America.

Just six months ago, the settled view was that Americans were putting social issues on the back burner.... As a New York Times headline in March 2010 put it: “Tea Party Avoids Divisive Social Issues."  Some avoidance. Since the beginning of this year, according to a count published by the liberal Alan Guttmacher Institute, state legislatures have introduced nearly 500 pro-life measures. Most alarming to the institute and its allies, an unprecedented number of such measures are being passed, many by wide margins, and made law. 

This spring, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, we will again create a festive environment to commemorate Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel's Independence Day....

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies CONDEMNS the attempt by Maui authorities to force this disclosure, and SUPPORTS the right of Maui Time and Tommy Russo to oppose this subpoena and CALLS ON the district attorney of Maui to immediately withdraw this subpoena and cease all efforts to chill the free speech rights of Maui Time readers.

...legal issues that the rail project will involve, include eminent domain, environmental questions, and the relationship with the newly-created Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART), an agency within city government to oversee the project....

Hawaii is 50th
Average Score 73.0%
32% of Hawaii drivers failed the National Drivers Test

in the first quarter of the year, government agencies in Hawaii spent more money lobbying in Washington, D.C. than private business did....  Hawaii state and local government spent about $185,000 on D.C. lobbying, compared to about $122,500 from Hawaii's private businesses over the same period.... the biggest state spenders were the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (which continues to push for the Akaka Bill) and InfraConsult, Inc. (which lobbies on behalf of Honolulu's rapid transit project). 

This scam is tied to several well-known sovereignty activists—which perhaps explains why the Advertiser’s two recent articles have included so little information about the alleged perpetrators.

Even steeper rises in the cost of private insurance are possible, due to Obamacare’s reductions in Medicare payment rates and its expansion of the Medicaid program.

Myth #5: The House budget balances the budget on the backs of seniors.

Fact: Current and near-retirees are exempt from reforms.

Instead of offering solutions, the left is resorting to smear tactics. The prime example this week surrounds a special congressional election in western New York, where Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Jane Corwin, who supported Ryan's budget. Hochul attacked the plan, falsely claiming that it was an attempt to end Medicare.

Hawaiians were the least likely in the United States in 2010 to say they felt stressed for much of the previous day, at 30.2%. Residents of Utah were the most likely to report experiencing stress, at 45.1%, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The American Medical Group Association, representing medical groups that provide care for roughly 1 in 3 Americans, said that 90% of its members would not participate in the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model the Obama administration wants to impose on Medicare providers.  

The Governor’s Administration played a pivotal role in developing the Race to the Top public education program that was awarded $75 million in Federal funds and won praise from President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan....  Hirono either purposely failed to acknowledge Governor Lingle’s landmark, community-based effort known as the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), or she has been away from Hawaii so long she is out of touch with the progress that has been made in this critical area. President Obama’s Dept. of Energy has lauded the HCEI as a model for other states.

Senate: Motion to Proceed; Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act
Senate: Motion to Proceed; Offshore Production and Safety Act of 2011
Senate: Cloture Motion; Nomination of Goodwin Liu to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit

“We need a President who understands our problems are deep and has the courage to face them. President Obama doesn’t. I do.”

Phoning it in from a black-tie event in Washington, DC, Rep Mazie Hirono blessedly informed Hawaii that she will not be a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District in 2012.

POLL Daily Kos March 22: Aiona 42% – Hannemann 42%