Ethics

With bin Laden's death, which came by way of a small, covert strike force, there will be an impulse to believe that this action validates that covert operations are a cheap and simple answer to the most vexing national security problems. They are not. They are just one tool in the tool box. Among those tools, too, is the strategic and lawful interrogation of detainees, including those at Guantanamo Bay.

... despite a few early skirmishes — including the one that cost the English explorer his life — the people who preceded the Europeans to the so-called "Sandwich Isles" by at least a thousand years generally had good relations with the British empire....

…And another immigration memo, from June 1964, records that Harvard officials were trying "to get rid of him" and "couldn't seem to figure out how many wives he had."….

An extremely high cost of living, coupled with a fairly high tax rate, give Hawaii the lowest adjusted-average income....

The IMF's assumption that our economy will be weak indefinitely is all too reasonable. China might run its economy into the ground, but we are running our economy into the ground. Reasonable people can sharply disagree over what to do, but what's killing U.S. leadership is obvious to the IMF and anyone looking at the global picture: our budget deficit.

...here in the United States, as we face a $14.3 trillion deficit, some are calling for increasing our government's ability to borrow even more money without any concern for spending reform....

Pacific Office Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PCE), a real estate investment trust owning interests in 45 office buildings primarily in Hawaii and California, reported today that it received notice from the NYSE Amex (the “Exchange”) indicating that the Company is not in compliance with the continued listing standards ....

Announcement from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour....

Believing that the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has gone too far in an assault on individual and states rights, a new, national, bipartisan legislative caucus is emerging to take action.

Traditional history courses were torn down in favor of “queer” studies, black studies, Asian studies, women’s studies; language was deconstructed in order to remove its capitalistic foundations; traditional sexual mores were torn asunder in the name of “tolerance.”  President Obama was the result.

Tony Santos, former resident of Hawaii, Farrington High School student, and past Mayor of the City of San Leandro, California, has been actively advising Hawaii lawmakers to kill off a proposal to establish Instant Runoff Voting on the county level.

...at the same time our society is becoming more pluralistic on questions of basic morality, the government continues to intrude more than ever in both public and private areas of social life....

The ERISA Federal law of 1974 clearly stated that if Hawaii changed its health insurance law in any substantive manner, such as what is being proposed in HB 1134, then the Federal law would take over and Hawaii's health care program would no longer be in effect.

Fiscal 2011 Spending Agreement - Vote Passed (260-167, 6 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill to fund the government through the end of the current fiscal year. Based on the agreement negotiated to prevent a government shutdown, the bill provides $1.055 trillion in federal spending. The Senate passed the bill later in the day, clearing it for the president. 

Rep. Mazie Hirono voted NO.....(Hirono alone voted for Federal Gov’t Shutdown.)

But it is a reflection of some of the concerns she’s voiced, and I think she’s supportive. The general concept, she’s for it.

From 2003 to 2008, the nation's general government debt varied between 2% and 5% of GDP....  In 2009, as the government increased spending to stimulate the economy, S&P said the U.S. debt load "ballooned" to more than 11% and has yet to come down….

More evidence that Birtherism is nothing but a scheme to help Obama get reelected....

 Seizure notice posted on Full Tilt Poker

In heart-stopping non-stop action, each of the four Hawaii teams competed with precision in the quarter final matches, but ultimately fell points short of playing in the semi-finals.

The man behind Donald Trump's possible 2012 presidential campaign is a registered Democrat who voted for Barack Obama in 2008....

the legislation would suspend the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals sole jurisdiction over federal employee whistleblower cases for a period of five years....

Hawaii’s VEX Robotics students will join more than 570 robotics teams representing 14 different nations to compete for the World Championship.

 In an effort to save their careers, two pro-life pharmacists have fought an extensive legal battle asking the state to respect their religious objections to providing Plan B, an abortifacient drug. Last Wednesday, a circuit court upheld the rights of the two professionals....

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan made the following statement after listening to the President’s speech on deficit reduction....

While much of this has been in the national news, what most journalists and commentators have overlooked is the decisive role a handful of pro-market think tanks and Tea Party activists played in putting these projects in the morgue.

The bill reduces funding for transit by a total of $991 million ....

Winston criticizes in particular the now-under-construction Dulles Airport rail line that will become a part of the Washington, D.C.–area transit system, noting that the route is not cost-effective. He characterizes cost overruns on the Dulles rail line and the soon-to-be-under-construction Honolulu rail line as “inevitable”....

This article is obviously planted in POLITICO by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to foster the illusion that Ed Case has it all wrapped up.

• Consolidated Theatres Kahala 8 4211 Waialae Avenue #3080, Honolulu, HI 96816
• Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 735 B Iwilei Road, Honolulu, HI 96817

This Congress was sent to Washington with a simple mandate from the American people: cut federal spending and get government under control.  Friday night's budget compromise to avert a government shutdown embraced these principles, but also left plenty of work to be done.

Romney-- "It is time that we put America back on a course of greatness, with a growing economy, good jobs and fiscal discipline in Washington"

• Senate: Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011
• Senate: To ban EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions
• House: Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011
• House: Net Neutrality Disapproval
• House: Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011

I would have thought this track record would have been enough to put an end to Case's political ambitions, but ambition is what defines Ed Case—ambition, and douchiness.

The last time Hawaii had a real conversation about reforming the civil service system was in 1999 lead by then Democrat Governor Ben Cayetano.

Obama declared the damage sustained from the March 11, 2011 tsunami a major disaster, which enables the State of Hawai'i to receive federal funding for repairs

Hanabusa, Hirono oppose House continuing resolution which keeps the federal government operating and ensures federal employees will receive a paycheck, including those of our military men and woman serving in harm’s way ....

With the prospect of a government shutdown looming, some in Congress have rightly devoted special attention to ensuring our military remains fully funded....  

 Later this afternoon, the House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from leaders in the armed forces on the impact of last year's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

It's time for action and leadership, not press conferences and finger pointing.

The HTA forecasts moderate growth in total scheduled nonstop air seats to Hawaii in the second quarter .....

There will be no formal hearing before the committee. In the past such testimony has given clues about divisions among the thieves attempting to steal the Hawaiian patrimony for themselves.

Hawaii Republican Party Chairman Jonah Kaauwai said, “Now that President Obama has announced that he will be seeking a second term, voters in Hawaii and across the Nation need to ask themselves if they are better off now than they were two and a half years ago."

No budget in decades has had the potential for so fundamentally improving the nation's prosperity and restoring its vast promise.

 Hawaii led the nation in the number of businesses owned by Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders in 2007, according to new findings from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners.

Ralph Nader had filed this case in 2004, challenging Hawaii law that requires an independent presidential candidate to submit approximately six times as many signatures as are needed for a ballot-qualified political party with its own primary.

"...because of an unresolved situation with my law firm, I have decided to withdraw my nomination to prevent any distraction for the Abercrombie Administration and disruption for my family.”