CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT, Iraq - Nearly 1,000 Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters will arrive in Hawaii from mid-October into early November after a year-long deployment to northern Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After years of pretending to be concerned about Hawaii's worst-in-the-nation voter participation, today the Honolulu Star-Bulletin has shown its true colors.

In an editorial titled "Religion risky for GOP", SB editors condemn a church-based statewide voter registration drive.  They complain bitterly that, "...the goal is to convince 80 percent of Christian churchgoers to register to vote and then persuade 80 percent of those who register to vote...."

This contrasts sharply with the Star-Bulletin July 21, 2009 which cried, "Hawaii dead last in voter turnout." 

In order to game the CBO scoring system (explained by former CBO Director Donald Marron here), Democrats have packed ten years of taxing, but only six years of spending, into the CBO’s ten-year budgeting window.  So what happens to the deficit in those years after the CBO budget window?  Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), a member of the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition explains: “Every year, you lose ground. It’s likely after 10 years, we fall off a cliff.”

Crossroads will develop a comprehensive assessment of Maui’s present and anticipated healthcare needs, a comprehensive financial feasibility study and business planning for the proposed medical development at a site in Kihei.

For a family of four making $69,480 (300% above poverty) the Baucus bill mandates annual health insurance premiums of $8,338, which would be worth the equivalent of over ten months of food, four months of housing or almost two years of utilities.

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.

First they come so subtly as to barely elicit notice; bundled in thick layers of effusive praise for Hawaii’s newly canonized Saint Damien.

According to protesters organized by 9-11 truther Jim Abertini's mis-named "Malu-Aina Peace center", US Marines training at Pohakuloa on the Big Island are unwanted "Dirty Bumbs."

On May 10, 1873, Damien arrived in Kalaupapa to meet the spiritual needs of the 600 residents. He soon realized that his presence provided much needed comfort to those suffering from Hansen’s Disease, and he served in different capacities, including doctor, carpenter, legal advocate and grave digger. He also organized religious associations, a children’s band and a choir. Through his work, Damien instilled pride and dignity in the residents of Kalaupapa, restoring the faith of the forgotten.

The homecoming ceremony will take place Sunday at 5:25 p.m. at Wheeler Army Airfield. Family and friends wishing to welcome the Soldiers home are encouraged check the 25ID Web site, www.25idl.army.mil, for the latest ceremony updates.

In spite of widespread anger by public school parents, few legislators have joined the call by former tax cheat and Lt Gov candidate Gary Hooser for a special session.  But that is not the only game in town. While the mayors stall for time, the UHPA has rejected the UH system’s contract offer--unsurprising since Dan Inouye's handpicked UH system President is a poster girl for profligacy.  UHPA boss AJ Musto, now calls for the legislature to return to session and enact tax increases.  They will head to arbitration.  The UPW is refusing to engage in serious negotiations, also insisting on arbitration—a strategy designed to bring a December arbitration ruling which will deliver the problem to the next legislative session in January. 

Every bit of this game is about next year’s gubernatorial election. 

 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.

This past Monday on Charlie Rose, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said a new value-added tax (VAT) is “on the table”.  A VAT is a type of national sales tax. However, instead of being collected at the cash register, it is imposed on manufacturers at each “value added” stage of the production process. Since everybody buys stuff, including families making less than $250,000 a year, any VAT would necessarily break Obama’s no tax hike promise. Worse, a VAT would expand the size of government, inadvertently increase income tax rates, and destroy jobs.

• 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."  

The New York Times awarded Baucus with the headline that the White House has been searching for since the debate first began: “Health Care Bill Gets Green Light in Cost Analysis.”  But this headline and the accompanying article are fundamentally dishonest.  As the Politico reported yesterday: “While the media and lawmakers often shorthand a CBO letter as a “score” or “cost estimate,” today’s CBO letter is neither. Because the bill is still in “conceptual,” or layman’s terms, CBO’s letter today was a “preliminary analysis.” For it to be an official cost estimate, the bill has to be translated into legislative language.”

Ellen Bellerose rushed to Maui Memorial Medical Center's emergency room at her cardiologist's direction after she felt severe pain and pressure in her neck, chest and arms. As the pain intensified over the next two hours, she walked up to the counter three times to report difficulty breathing. She was told there were no beds available. "I was becoming terrified that I could die, unattended, in the emergency room." Although registered as a patient for 27 hours, she never entered the main hospital that February 7, 2006, but was billed as if she had.

Every version of Obamacare waiting to be merged into one bill on Capitol Hill cuts billions of dollars from the Medicare Advantage program.... The better option would be to move Medicare towards a true “premium support” system where the government would make direct contributions to all beneficiaries who could then control how to spend their own health care dollars. This would be the same model as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) which provides health insurance to Members of Congress.

However more than ever, the Hawaii Christian Coalition will be heavily involved in the upcoming elections in 2010. We are presently opening chapters on Maui and Kauai, and ask that you stand with us as we continue to be a strong to protect Hawaii's families against rising taxes,and insuring that our Keiki's receive quality education in our school system. We will also be strong advocates for traditional marriage and protection of the innocent child in the womb.

...much of the environmental movement blames Norman Borlaug for preventing the massive famines that would have solved the “population problem” quickly in the 1960s—with starvation.  But the starving would have raped the wildlife habitat before they allowed their children to die. Today, we’ve solved the population problem with affluence....

New chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) requested 46 earmarks worth $330.8 million and received 35 earmarks worth $206.5 million in the final bill. Inouye has received $173,000 in campaign contributions since 2007 from the companies he requested earmarks for. The biggest donor among them is Lockheed Martin, which operates a major facility in Hawaii and donated $61,300.

the Hawai'i Republican Party is teaming up with the American Red Cross to raise money for relief efforts in American Samoa and the Philippines.  Please join us TOMORROW:

• When: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
• Where: Downtown Honolulu, intersection of King St. and Bishop St.
• Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm

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.

Another month, another 263,000 jobs lost under the Obama administration. According to Bureau of Labor and Statistics data released this morning, the United States economy has lost 3.6 million net jobs since President Barack Obama was sworn into office and the unemployment rate has risen from 7.6 % to 9.8%. It was not supposed to be this way. The experts in the Obama administration promised the American people that the President’s $787 billion stimulus package would create 4 million jobs by the end of 2010.

Last week, upon arriving in Copenhagen for his failed mission to secure the 2016 Olympic Games for Chicago, President Barack Obama met face-to-face with U.S. and NATO Forces Commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Air Force One. The meeting was just the second conversation between the two since Gen. McChrystal assumed command of what President Obama used to call the “central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism.” Just days before, while responding to questions about his recommendation for 40,000 more troops, Gen. McChrystal told the International Institute for Strategic Studies, “Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, nor will public support.”

Through a price guarantee, or feed-in tariff, for electricity produced by sun, wind, and hydroelectric sources, Hawaiian Electric Companies will now pay a set rate for renewable energy fed into the grid. This incentive will draw additional investment into Hawai‘i’s renewable energy developments and signify to the rest of the nation and global community that Hawai'i is a model for clean energy initiatives.

While having no qualms with voting to take money from taxpayers in one of the worst recessions in history, Colleen Hanabusa somehow feels entitled to give herself and fellow legislators a pay raise.

Baisa's motion is not mere symbolism.  Section Nine of the proposed ordinance reads:

"The transition of the County of Maui from the jurisdiction of the United States to the reinstated Kingdom of Hawaii will occur over a term of four years, having commenced on February 1, 2009.  All county officials and employees shall retain their positions during this transition period."

"I welcome Colleen Hanabusa to the race.  Like Ed Case, Colleen has run for the 2nd Congressional District multiple times before and I respect that she will be an experienced candidate for this race in the 1st District. If Colleen wins her contested nomination, I look forward to debating her on the issues," stated Djou.

If you or others you know are interested in running as Republicans, please email us at youlikerun@gophawaii.com.

Multiple sources on the Hill have told The Foundry that as early as next week, the Senate could be debating Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Reid has stated an intention to take the HELP Committee product and merge it with the Senate Finance Committee markup that is expected to be over by this Thursday or Friday. Their plan is to proceed to a House passed non-health care bill to provide a shell of legislation to give Obamacare a ride to the House and then straight to the President’s desk.

Hodges is asking the state and the unions to waive contract terms and regulations that may prohibit furloughed teachers from returning to work under private contract and to streamline approval processes so community volunteers can be mobilized quickly and effectively.

The discrepancies were due to errors in the recording of tax revenues collected in FY08 and FY09.  In FY09, $44 million was collected by the Department of Taxation as part of its Delinquent Tax Program.  This amount was incorrectly recorded when the Department of Accounting and General Services prepared its FAMIS reports.  A similar recording error of $800,000 also occurred for FY08.

Edward H. Kubo, Jr. – Current position: outgoing U.S. Attorney, District of Hawai‘i.  Prior experience: assistant U.S. attorney, District of Hawai‘i; deputy prosecuting attorney, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Honolulu; associate trial attorney, Carlsmith and Dwyer; law clerk, Kobayashi and Watanabe.

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.

DETAILS: The 25th Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion (25STB) begins returning home, Tuesday, after serving as the command headquarters for Multi-National Division North (MDN-North) in Iraq, since December 2008.

Tuesday's flight of 150 Soldiers paves the way for the remaining 700 headquarters Soldiers returning before the Thanksgiving holiday. A homecoming ceremony will take place at Wheeler Army Airfield, Tuesday, at 1:35 p.m.

Hawai`i’s teachers and students are pawns in a larger game of political power and control.  The discussion today should be about the DOE’s massive waste and ways to trim it instead of what our children will be doing for the 17 days off.

According to President Obama, victory against the Taliban in Afghanistan is not only essential for the security of the United States, but for “the safety of people around the world.” We couldn’t agree more, which is why it is so alarming to learn that President Obama is considering a different strategy advocated by Vice President Joe Biden. Just as Biden opposed the successful surge in Iraq, Biden now opposes a surge in Afghanistan, instead favoring withdrawing most U.S. troops leaving only special forces and predator drones to strike al Qaeda cells. Biden was wrong about Iraq and he is wrong about Afghanistan.

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.

Hooser prefers that we hold hearings and community discussions to debate the type and size of government we should have. Lawmakers can hold such hearings during the next legislative session, or even schedule them now while the Legislature is on its break. Frankly, the Legislature should have held such discussions three or four years ago, when the State had money to invest in our long-term future.

While Hooser is busy debating options, the Administration is facing up to our fiscal responsibility and obligation to the people of Hawai‘i by taking immediate steps to address the current financial crisis. Many of the decisions that are being made are not ones that we want to make, but we are doing what needs to done in order to ensure the State government does not run out of money, which will happen if we wait as Hooser suggests.

Watada implicitly calls for the United States Armed Forces to impose its will on the elected civilian leadership of the nation saying, "If soldiers realized this war is contrary to what the Constitution extols – if they stood up and threw their weapons down – no president could ever initiate a war of choice again."

Watada closes by calling on soldiers to stop "allowing" the U.S. government this liberty.  "Those who called for war prior to the invasion compared diplomacy with Saddam to the compromises made with Hitler. I say, we compromise now by allowing a government that uses war as the first option instead of the last to act with impunity."

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.

Its late in the game, but Hakim Ouansafi, head of the Muslim Association of Hawaii has yet another excuse for steering the Legislature to celebrate Islam Day on September 24, 2009--a day which just happens to correspond to September 11, 2009 in the old Julian calendar.  Talking to the Honolulu Advertiser, Ouansafi says: "Yesterday was selected because it marked the end of Ramadan...." 

But a quick glance at an Islamic calendar shows that Ramadan ended on September 19, 2009.  The next day, Eid al-Fitr, September 20 is an important annual Islamic feast day.  There is nothing significant about September 24.

Read between the lines of Sen. Hooser’s commentary and you will see the only idea he has is to increase taxes on Hawai'i’s already overtaxed citizens.  We need elected officials who can make difficult decisions and solve complicated problems, not hope someone else will find a solution.

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.

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i 50^th Anniversary of Statehood Commission is proud to announce that its successful conference, “New Horizons for the Next 50 Years,” will be broadcast on ‘Olelo channels 49 and 52 throughout October and November. The one-day conference, which took place on August 21, drew more than 2,200 attendees to look back at Hawai‘i’s history and accomplishments and discuss the direction of the state for the next 50 years. 

Attorney and "main organizer" of “Islam on Capitol Hill”, Hassen Ibn Abdellah is President of the Elizabeth, New Jersey Dar ul-Islam, Inc.  Abdellah was, described October 25, 1993 by the New York Times, as the “most aggressively combative of the lawyers” representing the terrorists who staged the 1993 World Trade Center attacks.  His client, the Egyptian-born Mahmud Abouhalima, was convicted of helping to manufacture and transport the bomb detonated in the 1993 attack and is now incarcerated in the Federal "Supermax" prison at Florence, Colorado.

HONOLULU – Almost 1,000 women and men from across the state were drawn to the sixth annual International Women’s Leadership Conference on Tuesday, September 22 to hear women leaders from eight nations share their stories of success. The majority of the event is now viewable online....

The United States elected 43 presidents before the current occupant graced the office with his presence. We fought, and won, two world wars, liberated millions of people worldwide from tyranny, and worked cooperatively with other sovereign nations to rebuild entire continents. Some might even say the character of our nation is well established considering we have been a democracy for just over 230 years now.

Not President Barack Obama, who told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, “For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months.” 230 years versus just nine months. No wonder, the New York Times reports, were UN delegates not only applauding Obama, but snapping photos of their hero like tourists.

“The Department of Education, Board of Education and the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, along with the overwhelming majority of teachers who ratified this contract have demonstrated leadership in dealing with the current financial crisis.  They understand that everyone must make a shared sacrifice to help our state get through this difficult period and for State government to live within its means."