First Amendment

... May 3 Adjournment Sine Die ....

...Worried about “maintaining a favorable political and social environment” legislators have approved two bills and one resolution designed to force union members to keep paying dues....

...during oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Dec. 5, 2017, Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor questioned the commission’s hostility....

...attorneys filed complaint over violations of federal conscience protections....

...Bills that would have (1) established a task force to reduce suicides in Hawaii by 25% (HB2278 HD1), (2) designate September as Suicide Prevention Month (HB1703) and (3) create an application for smartphones designed to provide resources to Hawaii's youth (HB1704) all perished....

...Mayor names communications director and welcomes new public information officer....

......HB1768 would disclose salary information about government workers in the form of ranges, as opposed to exact compensation....

...UH Manoa catches up to UH Hilo....

...The assisted suicide bill passed 4-1 unamended by the Senate Judiciary Committee....

The U.S. Supreme Court heard a First Amendment challenge Tuesday to a California law requiring pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to post information about state-funded abortions.... Hawaii and Illinois have similar laws....

...against a Minnesota couple who claim they should not be forced to make wedding videos for gay couples....

...Will Hawaii’s public unions lose power if their membership dues become voluntary under a pending Supreme Court ruling in the case known as Janus v. AFSCME?....

...“This is unacceptable in a progressive coalition or any political coalition. Antisemitism has no place in American society. We must reject this, left right and center,” Schatz wrote on Twitter....

...Mallory received backlash for attending Farrakhan's annual Saviours' Day address, an event where the Nation of Islam leader attacked "that Satanic Jew," called Jews "the mother and father of apartheid," and proclaimed that "when you want something in this world, the Jew holds the door...."

...Chinese Communist 'Confucius Institute' a Threat to Academic Freedom at UH Manoa....

...Panelists included: Tony Gill, partner at Gill Zukeran & Sgan Robert Alt, president of the Buckeye Institute....

...The immense political influence of public sector unions appeared imperiled Monday, as several justices of the U.S. Supreme Court grilled labor lawyers over the constitutionality of mandatory union dues....

...Supreme Court to hear Trump v Hawaii April 25, 2018....

...the court held they could be held liable, even though it is their home, first concluding that renting out a room in your home qualifies as offering a public accommodation, even though it is your residence....

...politicians striking a fashionable pose against corporations and business, fearmongering by special interest groups with an agenda....

...Mounting concerns Confucius Institutes limit discussion on issues sensitive to Chinese government....

...When the anti-GMO activists started up on the social media back in 2013, something in me drove me into action....

...in recent years, OIP’s average time for review quadrupled, it is deciding fewer matters per year on average, and its backlog is trending upward despite a downward trend in new filings....

... Ige this week signed an executive order that most likely will discourage competition and innovation among internet service providers ....

...Local ISPs: Net Neutrality is a Fake Issue....

...The IRS intimidation definitely had a negative effect on our local group, squelching participation....

...a decision by the court’s nine justices that state employees can't be required to pay union dues could lead to some interesting outcomes in Hawaii....

...Spectrum is channel slamming ‘Ōlelo – displacing channels 49, 53, 54, and 55, including Video On Demand channels 50 and 52....

...Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin joined 22 state attorneys general today in filing a multistate lawsuit to block the Federal Communications Commission’s 'illegal'rollback of net neutrality....

...Gabbard’s consultant, Chris Cooper, is allegedly one of seven identified as being at the center of illegal Russian lobbying efforts reaching into the Trump campaign and Congress....

...Full-time internships (10 weeks at 40 hours/week) with a $4,040 pay....

...Santa is an enthusiastic devotee of the surveillance state....

...Native American student group accuses Polynesian dance group of ‘appropriating Hawaiian and Tahitian culture’....

...the Legislature's Public Access Room (PAR) is offering "Your Voice," a free, one-hour workshop at several locations on Oahu....

Krishna Consciousness is when you know the Krishnas did it....

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh in on a California law that forces pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry....

...“We got a few hundred subscribers, but nothing really earth shattering,” Epler says...Civil Beat has an annual budget of roughly $3 million and a staff of about 22 to 24 people....

...58% Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share....

...The brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission....

...publisher Dennis Francis of OPI, owned by Canada-based Black Press Ltd., is insisting on slashing wages and benefits for the remaining journalists....

...The Obama administration winnowed the definition of religious freedom down to the narrow idea of “freedom of worship.” This was rebutted in the first line of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ memorandum....

Hawaii has enacted such a law and it is under challenge in federal district court. ...

“This is an important case because Hawaii goes even further than California did, and they are clearly singling out pregnancy centers....” 

“No one should be forced to provide free advertising for the abortion industry"

...Ironically, the Memo itself was not posted on the Governor’s news feed nor is it linked by any Hawaii.gov website....

...federal law does not allow states that receive federal funding to force pro-life healthcare professionals to act against their conscience or religious beliefs....

...“Are you or have you ever been …. ”

...the center's "planning committee will work to develop practice spaces focused on creating new narratives and new relationships while naming and honoring the ongoing pain and trauma wrought by belief in racial hierarchy, structural racism, and white privilege."....

...The recent images from Charlottesville, VA-marches by torchlight, Nazi salutes, armed militia, angry mobs engaged in violent confrontation-are scary for adults to encounter, let alone children....

...Non-profit organizations wanting to create a display on the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center grounds during the annual Honolulu City Lights exhibition must apply by September 1, 2017....