As part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s comprehensive process of reviewing legislation passed this session by the Legislature, Governor Linda Lingle is encouraging the public to provide input and comments on 250 bills.  A list of these bills may be found here.

The Governor has until July 6 to sign, veto or allow the measures to become law without her signature.

Killed in the House, SB2646 would have designated two Hawaii surfing reserves, comprising surf breaks off Waikiki from Ala Wai to the War Memorial Natatorium and the north shore of Oahu from Alii beach in Haleiwa to Sunset beach.

MYTH: Ed Case said tonight he 'understood' DC and talked about his 'experience' representing Hawaii's other district. Case also attempted to defend his 148 missed votes, stating 148 was not that much.

FACT: Ed Case was rated one of the least effective members of Congress and missed numerous important votes:

“Two members of Congress ranked as some of the least effective – Rep. Ed Case [D-Hawaii] and Sen. Dan Akaka [D-Hawaii] – are battling over who has the worse rating on a national political Web site.” (Richard Borreca, “Case to Akaka, Akaka to Case: You’re ineffective,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 08/29/06)

The poll, conducted by the mainland Democrat polling firm Harstad Strategic Research, Inc., and paid for by the Democratic National Committee, shows amongst likely voters Djou actually does better than reported by the Honolulu Advertiser poll yesterday.  Among likely voters, the poll shows:

• Djou - 39%
• Case - 31%
• Hanabusa - 20%

See VIDEO clips from debate...

"Unlike my opponents, I am the only major candidate to live in the first Congressional district. Also unlike my opponents, I am not in this race for political gain; I am in this race to do what is best for the people of Hawaii.”

Last month the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tried to raise Djou's negatives by arguing that his signature on Americans for Tax Reform's pledge meant he'd honored a "special interest group" to protect tax breaks for evil corporations.  ATR punched back immediately and nonpartisan groups fact-checked the ad, finding it wanting.  (And I'm told that the many D.C. groups that try to get GOP candidates to sign their pledges are on notice to behave the same way when one of those candidates get hit.)

It's a simple story of the conservative base engaging while the Democratic base squabbles or sleeps.

The result of the special election is likely to be interpreted as a national referendum on the state of play in advance of the November midterm elections. But, remember that Democrats -- even if they lose later this month -- are likely to win the seat in the fall due to its strong lean toward their party and the fact that it will be a one on one race rather than a three-way battle….

(Obviously the Washington Post doesn't know what "1986" means.)

Also this weekend, the Honolulu Advertiser released a poll showing that Djou’s message of “lower taxes, limited government and fiscal responsibility is resonating” throughout the district.  Here is just a sampling of recent headlines on the race . . . 

HONOLULU - Students from 37 Hawai‘i schools participated in the Hawai‘i Regional Botball® Tournament this weekend at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. 

(Editor’s note: It’s amazing what they can do when DoE bureaucracy is not involved.)

Whether Saturday's failed attack turns out to be connected to Islamic radicalism or is the work of a lone wolf, there have now been 31 foiled terrorist attacks in the United States since 9/11, eleven in New York City alone. Yesterday's plot was foiled by sheer luck and quick-thinking civilians. But luck is not an adequate strategy for protecting a nation.

According to the Fed research, “states with greater economic freedom – defined as the protection of private property and private markets operating with minimal government interference – experienced greater rates of employment growth.”

The last public poll done for this race by a local newspaper was conducted January 8-10th by the Honolulu Star Bulletin.  Since that poll, Djou has increased his ballot share by 19 points, while Case has dropped 9 points and Hanabusa fell 3 points, clearly showing momentum is on the Djou campaign’s side.

According to retired Congressman Neil Abercrombie, long time advocate for gay marriage,  “moral authority” should be the exclusive realm of the gay minority and state legislature.  The general public is of little concern to him and their “religious” views make their opinions illegitimate anyway.

In a very rare visit to the press cabin of Air Force One yesterday, President Barack Obama told reporters that the White House will not be leading any immigration reform efforts in 2010. Obama said: "…I've been working Congress pretty hard. So I know, there may not be an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue." Obama went on to assert that energy taxes were a higher priority, and that the election in November would make tackling immigration tough.

Apparently, Majority Leader Harry Reid didn't heed the President's advice. Several hours later, Reid, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and their colleagues from the left introduced an immigration reform framework that on the surface is identical to the legislation America rejected in 2007. When you dig down, it may be worse.

With Charles Djou clearly positioned as the only Congressional candidate opposed to Gay Marriage and Gay Civil Unions, the CD1 Special Election will be voters' first opportunity to register their reaction to the Legislature's vote.  

I share valid concerns with the 2010 Akaka Bill, including its limited definition of whom qualifies to be recognized as a member of the Native Hawaiian community; its ill-defined relationship between the Native Hawaiian governing entity and local, state and federal government; and its immediate establishment of sovereignty prior to further negotiations that could address outstanding issues like public safety, healthcare and property rights.

To achieve the type of broad-based support that this landmark legislation deserves, the amendments contained within the 2010 Akaka Bill should be fully vetted and resolved in the community through open and inclusive public hearings.

As an attorney and former state judge, I recognize that opponents of the 2010 Akaka Bill have rightly pointed out that failure to properly address these issues beforehand will likely result in difficult negotiations and protracted litigation following passage.

While my preference is for Congressional leaders to work out these issues before passing the 2010 Akaka Bill, I will continue to support the bill with reservations and work immediately to address any outstanding issues if elected Governor.

Last year the legislature, overriding vetoes from Lingle, enacted higher taxes on income, property, and tobacco products. Hawaii pays the highest state income tax rate in the country and have the 5^th highest tax burden among states. To add insult to injury, Harry Reid and Pelosi have piled on with $670 billion in higher taxes in just the past year. If Hawaii Democrats can’t hold off of raising taxes in such an environment, they never will. While ATR is urging the legislature to sustain Lingle’s veto, the legislature’s track record leaves little room for optimism. Fortunately for Hawaii taxpayers, November is fast approaching. If there is any state house in the country that could use a makeover, it’s Hawaii’s.

"If the Legislature wanted to establish the equivalent of same-sex marriage, they should have put it on the ballot for the people to decide."

"Hawaii voters have spoken very clearly in support of traditional marriage.  I am very disappointed that Colleen Hanabusa and the Hawaii State Legislature have clearly and blatantly ignored the will of the people of Hawaii on this issue.  Unlike both Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa, my two major opponents in this congressional campaign, I will not ignore Hawaii voters and look forward to their judgment in our upcoming special election."

Hawaii GOP Chair Jonah Kaauwai: "The decision to override this veto is a conscious and deliberate choice by Democrats in the legislature to increase the financial burden on Hawai’i’s families.

“As Republicans we believe in fiscal accountability and that government has enough of the people’s hard-earned money.  Democrats have proved that they cannot be trusted by the people of Hawai’i to make the right decisions.  Hawai’i needs principled leadership that will do what is right rather than do what is easy.”

House passes civil unions 31 to 20.  (5:10pm)

HB444 will now go to the Governor for either a signature or a veto.  Governor Lingle has not indicated her position on the bill although Lt Governor Duke Aiona is strongly opposed to HB444.  To override a veto, the House would need 34 votes.

ROLL CALL for HB2421 barrel tax:

4/27/2010	H	Vetoed on 04-25-10 (Gov. Msg. No. 283).
4/28/2010	S	Vetoed on 04-25-10 - Returned from the Governor without approval (Gov. Msg. No. 531).
4/29/2010	H	Veto overridden by 2/3's vote with 42 Ayes; 9 Noes Representative(s) Brower, Ching, Finnegan, Har, Marumoto, Nishimoto, Pine, Wakai, Ward; and 0 Excused none.
4/29/2010	S	Veto overridden - 2/3's vote: Ayes, 19; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Espero . Noes, 6 (Senator(s) Baker, Fukunaga, Green, Hemmings, Ige, Slom). Excused, 0 (none).

I told Leon he was being extremely rude and that I'm a senior citizen whose tax dollars pay his salary.  Leon was in a state of rage and acting outrageously!  I felt very much at risk physically so I left and literally ran back to Room 441 where I just came from and where I felt I could be safe.  Leon followed quickly on my heels and entered that office with me.  I was yelling for help and he was yelling the Sergeant-At-Arms was on his way.  The whole scene was positively bizarre!  When Kevin came in, I was shaking and in a very frightened state due to the actions of Ms. Cabanilla's aide.  Kevin asked him to please leave and he proceeded to speak with me and told me no one is going to make you leave the building.  We went outside and continued our discussion in the hall.  A female staffer from Room 441 brought me a bottle of water after asking me if I needed it.

By targeting the Hawaii assets of foreign citizens as subject to seizure to satisfy the Death Tax, the State’s land grab takes on whole new dimensions.  How many residents of Japan, Canada, or other countries—owning Hawaii property--are aware of the details of American Estate law?  Probably not very many.  But starting this week, if the Governor’s veto is overridden, their assets could be subject to seizure to satisfy a 55% death tax.  Properties or businesses worth more than $3.5 million would be taxed.

You are correct about the Abercrombie sign being on the Mehau fence.  You may know that Mufi was endorsed for the Governor’s race by the ILWU.   Larry Mehau is friends with Yoshito Takamine, Bobo Lapena, and Takashi Domingo.  The three have ties to ILWU and do not like Mufi.  They asked Larry to put the Abercrombie sign up on his fence.  He consented.

While Larry and his family have not openly endorsed my candidacy, they have allowed me to put my sign on that same fence and I believe that they are supporting my candidacy, not Abercrombie’s.

State law (Chapter 90, Hawaii Revised Statues) allows individuals and organizations to volunteer their time and talents to help the public.   Many dedicated DOE employees already volunteer their time to help out before and after school and with many school-related activities outside of their normal teaching assignments.  These individuals give generously of their time and talents and we are thankful that they do so. 

While federal labor laws place limits on some hourly public workers that limit their ability to volunteer for work they perform in their normal paid capacity, the Department of Education could easily identify these individuals and process appropriate compensation for the additional hours they give back to allow children to return to the classroom.

Decisions can be made at each school to return on certain furlough days.

The American people just don't believe that Washington has any idea about why the financial crisis happened or how to regulate our financial system. According to Rasmussen Reports, 64% of Americans are not confident that policymakers in Washington know what they’re doing when addressing the current economic problems on Wall Street.

"All of modern thought," he adds, "can be reduced to mechanical denunciations of the West, emphasizing the latter's hypocrisy, violence, and abomination."

He exaggerates, but not by much....

Details on public hearing:

• Thursday April 29th 2010 
• 6:30 PM  
• 8th floor of the Kalana O Maui Building  
• 200 South High Street, Wailuku, HI 96793

Maui TEA Party will rally out front protesting the proposed tax increase.

TAKE ACTION NOW!  CALL, E-MAIL and VISIT THE OFFICES OF THE HOUSE MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. ASK OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.  Starting Monday, April 26, gather at the Capitol BY 11:30 AM to sit in on the House Sessions in the Gallery.

Under HB 2085 HD1 SD2, the Lingle-Aiona Administration, through the State Department of Human Services (DHS), would be prohibited from soliciting proposals for new QUEST contracts exceeding $100 million.  These contracts could only be put out to bid by the new DHS administration, which will not be in place until December 2010 at the earliest.

(In other words, the Leg wants to make sure the contracting process generates campaign contributions for them.)

The Obama Department of Justice has concluded its inquiry into anti-trust issues related to the purchase of the Honolulu Advertiser by owners of the Star-Bulletin.  The inquiry, which had been demanded April 20 by Senator Dan Inouye in a letter sent to the DoJ anti-trust division, found no reason for justice to block the sale.  Inouye had supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in the 2008 Hawaii Democrat caucuses.

Interestingly, Inouye’s demand came immediately after the Advertiser’s April 18 endorsement of Inouye nemesis Ed Case, facing off in the May 1-22 Congressional Special Election against Republican Charles Djou and Inouye's favorite, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.  Ed Case’s uncle, Grove Farm corporate attorney Dan H. Case, is among the Star-Bulletin minority owners participating in the takeover of the Advertiser. 

“I support the creation of local jobs for local residents,” Governor Linda Lingle said in message to legislators detailing her objections to the bill and her reasons for vetoing it.  “However, this measure does not create jobs because it does not incentivize any new economic activity.”

Numerous contractors and construction industry representatives oppose this measure, including the General Contractors Association, which represents 570 general contractors, subcontractors and construction-related firms.  Others opposing the bill include the Hawai‘i Developers Council, Building Industry Association, Associated Builders and Contractors – Hawai‘i Chapter, Project Plus and Royal Contracting Co.

“I am persuaded by the objections of these organizations and contracting companies because they are the job creators,” Governor Lingle explained.

Today President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will convene for the first time at the White House. Tasked with making recommendations to Congress that would put the budget in primary balance by 2015 and "meaningfully improve" our nation's long-term fiscal outlook, the commission meets a little over a month after Congress approved a new $2.5 trillion health care entitlement that the Obama administration now confirms will increase our nation's total health care spending.

There was a time when majorities in both parties (even if narrower among Democrats) endorsed the equal treatment of all Americans, without regard to race. Public opinion shifted heavily and quickly in the same direction, perhaps because the moral and rational case was compelling. As sociologist John Shelton Reed wrote, "During the three years 1963 to 1966, support for de jure segregation became a minority view among white Southerners. The percentage of white Southern parents who completely opposed public school desegregation, for example, dropped from 61 to 24." That was a dramatic shift in a short time. It was permanent, too, the death rattle of Jim Crow.

Sadly, however, the ascendancy of "colorblind" politics in the Democratic Party was fleeting. The Democrats were the masters of racial patronage; with hardly a hiccup, they took the game to another level. Where once they played on the fears and prejudices of whites, they found new "victim" constituencies to "protect" with pledges of government largesse and favoritism.

So, blacks and perhaps Hispanics, among others, became the new and increasingly dependent beneficiaries of racial preference. Other "peoples of color," such as Indians and Asians, perceived as intent on self-reliance, generally were not among the favored. Thus, the same old game resumed, with a cynical new arrangement of pieces on the playing board. Once again, the Democrats sought gain through divisive means, playing on fear and resentment.

The House Republicans will be voting in favor of taking money from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund when the bill comes to the House floor for a vote (SB2124). Throughout the session the Republicans suggested the bill be amended to borrow from the fund instead of raiding it. Earlier this month the House Republicans released their version of the budget.

"The House Republican's balanced budget and six year financial plan borrows funds from the Hurricane Relief Fund and pays it back in future years. That would be the responsible thing to do," stated Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan.

The conflict of interest of Hawaii print media is obvious.  Dan H. Case, the uncle of Democratic candidate Ed Case, is a minority owner of the Star-Bulletin and is now part of the group of investors buying the Advertiser. 

So, for the benefit of news-starved Hawaii readers, we at Hawai’i Free Press have assembled dozens of articles—including a few about the Hawaii gubernatorial race--from national media of all political persuasions for your reading pleasure. 

President Barack Obama's favorite rhetorical device is to lecture the American people about what are and are not "legitimate" public policy arguments. So throughout the health care debate, President Obama insisted that it was "not legitimate" to claim that "a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system." This despite the fact that Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Nobel Prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman were all caught on video explaining to single-payer advocates that the public option was exactly that.

Now the President is bringing the same audacity to the health care debate, telling a handpicked audience at New York's Cooper Union: "Now, there is a legitimate debate taking place about how best to ensure taxpayers are held harmless in this process. But what is not legitimate is to suggest that we're enabling or encouraging future taxpayer bailouts, as some have claimed. That may make for a good sound bite, but it's not factually accurate."

Even SoS/HEM have praised the governor’s plan.  And interestingly, there is not a peep from Sup’t Matyoshi....Notably, this comes immediately after the Leg voted to mandate a 180 day minimum DoE schedule--a move designed to break the ability of the HSTA/BoE/DoE to employ the "Washington Monument gambit" by shortening school schedules to extort money.

BoE Chair Toguchi and the HSTA may be left out in the cold--demanding that teachers and principals quit working.   Teachers, principals, Matayoshi and the DoE upper echelons, and even SoS/HEM have abandoned them.

Ed Case said: "I’ve never ruled out the Senate.  If there is that opportunity, I’m not going to sit here at the end of 2009 and say I’m not going to be a candidate.”

"The rhetoric has certainly ratcheted up," said Neal Milner, a University of Hawaii political scientist. He added, "the stakes are very high, higher than for a usual special election, because the national Democrats are petrified that a Republican will win this seat in (President Barack) Obama's home territory."

"Djou benefits from the latter and I think that is quite possible," Milner added. "The DCCC must be going nuts."

A highly funded, Washington, DC lobby organization, Food and Water Watch (FWW), is mounting a frontal attack on Hawaii State policy that supports open ocean mariculture. They have rallied a motley crew of rag tag environmental groups, and paid many of them to attack a growing sector of our economy that is on the verge of showing the world a way to produce seafood that is environmentally responsible.

Abercrombie's entire scheme hinges on a single line buried in paragraph 24: "Working collaboratively with public sector unions will result in contracts that serve our students first."

The House Republican Caucus today added $8.8 million for food and energy security initiatives to their budget proposal, which balances the state budget without raising taxes.

Cutting funding for the Office of Aerospace, however, could jeopardize the entire project.  In addition to millions of dollars of potential revenue lost, the cuts are seen as an embarrassment in the eyes of the federal government.  Although Hawaii has historically promoted the aerospace industry in the Islands, the recent budget cuts are sending a different message.

Some liberals in Congress want to pay for their massive new spending with a value-added tax, a sort of national sales tax on the price of goods at each stage of production. While popular in Europe, such a tax is a bad idea for the United States. And a significant number of lawmakers and even White House officials seem to agree.

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) led a brigade of 85 Senators in a vote denouncing a VAT in America. McCain's non-binding sense of the Senate resolution accurately stated that a VAT would "cripple families on fixed income and only further push back America's economic recovery."

Speaking to an audience of big business and big labor executives (including Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein, Bank of America's Bruce Thompson and SEIU's Andy Stern) at New York's Cooper Union, President Barack Obama noted "the furious efforts of industry lobbyists to shape" the financial regulation bill "to their special interests." Obama then admitted, "I am sure that many of those lobbyists work for some of you. But I am here today because I want to urge you to join us, instead of fighting us in this effort." Obama should have saved his breath. Wall Street and big labor lobbyists have already joined forces to make sure the current Senate legislation has become a Wall Street Bailout Bill.

Upon Governor Lingle's request, President George Bush sent White House Council on the Environment James Connaughton to Hawaii to travel with a Hawaii delegation, which I was privileged to be part of, to Midway Island. Being appropriately impressed, James Connaughton went back to the White House and worked on the preservation status. Jean-Michel Cousteau accompanied us on the trip and produced Voyage to Kure, a documentary.

I was privileged to go, along with the Governor and my wife, to the White House for a small dinner at which time this documentary was aired. In a conversation after dinner, I distinctly remember the President of the United States looking at James Connaughton and saying "let's get it done", referring to the marine reserve.

Within months we were once again in the White House for a huge ceremony in which First Lady Laura Bush announced the President's signing of a Declaration of Memorial Status for the northwest archipelago.

Back in the 70s, President Barack Obama's Director for Science and Technology Policy John Holdren even came up with a formula to measure capitalism's evil impact on the environment: I=PAT, which means that environmental impact is equal to population multiplied by affluence multiplied by technology. Thus according to the left, protecting the planet requires fewer people, less wealth and simpler technology. But this is just flat wrong. In fact, studies clearly show that important indicators of environmental quality actually improve as incomes and levels of consumption go up.