Ethics

"For nearly 50 years, Hawai‘i has been at the forefront of pioneering programs in astronomy, planetary geosciences, broadband satellite communications, space-based environmental monitoring, and deep-space surveillance," said Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr., who represents Hawai‘i as a vice chairman of the national Aerospace States Association. "This new agreement builds upon a dynamic partnership with NASA that over the next three years will substantially increase Hawai‘i's competitive advantages and help to enhance our long-term economic prosperity."

Last night, Politico reported that Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern is expected to resign and, according to The New York Times, the resignation is about to happen very soon. If Stern does resign, he will be doing so while at the top of his game. Stern told The Las Vegas Sun last year: "We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama - $60.7 million to be exact - and we're proud of it." President Obama is well aware of his huge debt to the SEIU. That is why he admits in his autobiography, "I owe those unions." And it also explains why Stern is the most frequent Obama White House visitor, according to official visitor logs.

A campaign banner touting Hannemann’s Democratic Primary opponent, former Congressman Neil Abercrombie, now hangs prominently from the front gate at the Honokaa ranch of Larry Mehau.  Mehau was a key figure in the 1990s “Broken Trust” scandal at Kamehameha Schools, collecting $40,000 a month for “security” at the Kamehameha campus and more for the “protection” of Big Island Kamehameha lands . . . .

“I understand that times are tough for Hawaii families right now and I promise to work tirelessly to ease the burden of heavy taxes and excessive government spending and control,” said Charles Djou. “The age of the spend-and-tax mentality are over, Hawaii families need a Representative that will fight to rebuild Hawaii’s economy and create jobs. I’ve never voted for a tax increase, because I understand that crippling taxes only hurt small businesses and stifle economic growth. I will open Hawaii’s doors to new markets, which will boost Hawaii’s tourism and trade and bring millions of dollars in revenue to our sluggish economy.”

President Obama's policy goals are just like President Reagan's. So why is anyone criticizing the White House's nuclear strategy? Because how we get to a nuke-free world matters.

Reagan knew that to eliminate the need for large nuclear arsenals, you must first start to eliminate the dependence -- both ours and others' -- on massive nuclear attack as the guarantor of security. That is why Reagan's first priority was to build up U.S. conventional forces and introduce missile defense. That allowed his negotiators to approach arms control agreements from a position of strength.

...to characterize Djou's opposition to raising taxes as protecting tax breaks that send jobs abroad is wrong. Any tax benefit can be eliminated and offset by a rate cut or by other benefits without raising taxes overall, and without violating the terms of that pledge. This attack ad is false.

Just hours before President Barack Obama unveiled his Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that the Kremlin maintained the right to withdraw from the new START agreement if the United States pursued its missile defense program....

"This outside intrusion into a Hawaii political campaign is unprecedented and unnecessary.  There should be no need for a mainland Democrat group to be involved unless they are afraid of how the people of Hawaii will vote.  My position on issues is there for all to see, and the votes that I have taken are clear, honorable and correct.  For the DCCC to attempt to sway public opinion in this manner by defaming my character is clearly wrong."

The source said the move was in part intended as a warning shot to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is considering an endorsement for Case.

Michelle Obama:  “You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii.”

The Hawaii General Excise Tax is the nation’s only “Value Added Tax”.  It crushes all independent productivity, leaving Hawaii with the highest utility rates, the highest fuel prices, and the least manufacturing of the 50 states.  But leading Obamabots have begun pushing for a “Value Added Tax” (VAT) to extract the wealth from Americans needed to pay for Obamacare and the rest of the spending which encompasses Obama’s corporate welfare state.  Now we know what Michelle meant.

...the DCCC should explain to voters why several current U.S. House and U.S. Senate Democrats, and numerous Democrats on the state level have already made the same commitment as Djou. The following Democrat members of Congress have signed the Pledge: Reps. Brad Ellsworth (IN-08), Rob Andrews (NJ-01), Gene Taylor (MS-04), Ben Chandler (KY-06) and Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Arlen Specter (PA). Interestingly, every single Democrat named has violated the Pledge on at least one occasion. Even more interesting is the fact that every House Democrat named has violated the Taxpayer Protection Pledge on multiple occasions.

In late 2008, Congressman Neil Abercrombie could not have been more clear in this letter to a Hawaii constituent, where he vowed to vote “no” on the $700 Billion bail out bill....Less than one week from the date of Abercrombie’s  reassuring assertions, he voted for the bailout anyway.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday he wouldn't rule out making an endorsement in the May special election in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District.

As two Democrats — former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa — compete against a single GOP candidate in the three-way election, Van Hollen didn't reject reports that the DCCC may swing behind Case's campaign.

To hear the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tell it, Republican Congressional candidate Charles Djou “signed a pledge that protects tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas” and “Djou still supports tax breaks for big corporations who would export our future.”

Starting tonight, the National Democrat commercials will run through the end of this week.  According to one Honolulu TV advertising sales exec interviewed by Hawai’i Free Press, the commercials will target Republican Congressional candidate Charles Djou.  Djou is the only Republican facing off against Democrats Colleen Hanabusa and Ed Case in the May 1 –22 mail in special election.  The same source tells Hawai’i Free Press the DCCC message will be anti-Djou—and will not make reference to either Ed Case or Colleen Hanabusa.

Determined to avert that result, the two sources said the DCCC is providing under-the-radar organizational support to former Rep. Ed Case against Democratic state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, including assistance from DCCC Western Regional Political Director Adam Sullivan.

Unfortunately for Americans, President Obama’s new strategy will have the exact opposite result of its intended effect. Instead of incentivizing countries to give up nuclear ambitions, it creates new incentives for them to maintain or develop their own nuclear programs.

Just three days after President Barack Obama's health plan was signed into law, AT&T announced that due to an obscure tax change in the bill, the nation's largest telephone company would take a $1 billion hit to its bottom line this quarter. According to health benefits analysts this tax law modification would shave as much as $14 billion from U.S. corporate profits. While it would have been better had these tax losses been made more public before Congress voted, at least these tax charges are transparent and easily quantifiable enough to get noticed by the American people. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the hundreds of new regulations that the federal government will enforce as it tries to implement Obama's redistributionist health agenda.

“I’m the only one who actually lives in the congressional district,” Djou says. “I have two opponents who are running insider themes. Case is running on his experience, his seniority, and [the fact that he] knows the corridors of Congress. Hanabusa is running on how she’s going to be a team player with Democrats in Congress. It’s clear that voting for Case or Hanabusa will not change Washington, D.C. My election will mean change, not just here, but if I win this race, we’re going to have a very big impact across the country.”

“I have never voted for a tax increase, and neither of my opponents can say that,” Djou says. “In five debates so far, both of them have repeated that they will not take a pledge to not raise taxes. They have both said they believe that there’s even an appropriate time to raise taxes, even in a recession.”

The National Journal writes: "National Democrats are tempted to pick a favorite, sources say, and perhaps get the White House involved to avoid the embarrassment of losing in President Obama's hometown urban Honolulu congressional district."

But the Dan’s won’t let them pick Ed Case, so they are stuck with Larry Mehau associate Colleen Hanabusa.  The National Journal article points the finger at Inouye, while pretending to point the finger at Obama, who, perhaps retaliating for Inouye’s support of Clinton in the Primary, washes his hands of the mess caused by Inouye’s retaliation against Ed Case and Neil Abercrombie....

Meanwhile..."Democratic strategists sense a momentum shift for Djou."

Case led in the last public poll, but that was nearly three months ago. Privately, Democratic strategists sense a momentum shift for Djou.

"The onus is on the White House. ... Can you imagine how bad it would be messaging-wise if we lost Obama's home district after losing Massachusetts?" one strategist said.

White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Ed Case has been ranked as one of the most ineffective members of Congress: “Two members of Congress ranked as some of the least effective – Rep. Ed Case [D- Hawai'i] and Sen. Dan Akaka [D- Hawai'i] – 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).

Today the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor and Statistics released its monthly jobs report showing that the nation's unemployment is 9.7% for the third month in a row. While the jobs report does indicate that 162,000 net jobs were created in March, almost 50,000 of those jobs were temporary government Census jobs that do not reflect any real economic progress. In total, the U.S. economy has now lost a total of 3.8 million jobs since President Barack Obama signed his $862 billion stimulus plan. We are 8.1 million jobs short of the 138.6 million he promised the American people.

...When private investment declines, taxpayers will be forced to step in and subsidize broadband Internet, with lots of strings attached. And regulations could eventually even restrict political speech online.

With the media picking up on this big story, maybe they will start asking Hanabusa about the firing of Margery Bronster, or her meeting with Larry Mehau, or the land deal with a member of the Pali Shooter’s gang, or the Honolulu Raceway deal. 

So if developing new energy sources that can create private sector jobs for Americans and new revenues for financially strapped states and the federal government is not the Obama administration's real goal, then what is? Well, President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who was at yesterday's announcement, has said, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." For reference purposes, when Secretary Chu said that, Europeans were paying $8 a gallon for gas at the pump.

In May 2004, FBI agents driving a black Suburban and wearing SWAT gear ran Evertson off the road near his mother's home in Wasilla, Alaska. When Evertson was face down on the pavement with automatic weapons trained on him, an FBI agent told him he was being arrested because he hadn't put a federally mandated sticker on a UPS package.

In the closing days of the Congressional health care debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the National Association of Counties: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." Today marks the end of just the first week of life under Obamacare and Speaker Pelosi has been proven right: we are just now finding out what is in it. This past Friday, AT&T, the biggest U.S. telephone company, announced that it would take a $1 billion charge against earnings thanks to tax changes buried in the 2,300+ page bill. $1 billion. That is a full third of AT&T's $3 billion earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009.

When the Advertiser in 2004 exposed business dealings between then-State Sheriff John Sousa and two convicted felons, Souza said he was considering resigning and acknowledged "The appearance is bad." Souza had extended $25,000 credit to organized crime figure Jonnaven Monalim as part of a deal to sell seven Makaha acres of former Hanabusa family property. Another convicted felon was managing Souza's Pueo Trucking company while Souza was Sheriff.

But just two years later, Hanabusa's husband Souza would form a close working relationship with one George Grace III.  Unlike Monalim, a search of the Hawaii criminal database indicates that George Grace III has never been convicted of a crime. But the controversial owner of porta-potty rental firm Paradise Lua has had a court-documented interest in stolen trucks going back to the 1990s.

In 1998, the State of Hawaii ... had this to say in a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court: ‘‘the tribal concept simply has no place in the context of Hawaiian history.’’

Senator Inouye ... had this to say (on January 25, 2005): ‘‘Because the Native Hawaiian government is not an Indian tribe, the body of Federal Indian law that would otherwise customarily apply when the United States extends Federal recognition to an Indian tribal group does not apply.’’

Senator Inouye went on to say: ‘‘. . . That is why concerns which are premised on the manner in which Federal Indian law provides for the respective governmental authorities of the state governments and Indian tribal governments simply don’t apply in Hawaii.’’

Congressman Abercrombie, the ultimate PAC Man, displayed an insatiable appetite for special interest money during his twenty years in Washington.....

Caterpillar was quick to inform the markets exactly what Obamacare meant for its bottom line. Caterpillar announced that Obamacare would raise its insurance costs by at least 20 percent - or more than $100 million - just in the first year of the health-care overhaul program. And Caterpillar was not alone. Other Fortune 500 firms quickly followed suit announcing Obamacare hits to their bottom line including: Deere & Co., $150 million; AK Steel, $31 million; 3M, $90 million; Valero Energy, $20 million; and AT&T, $1 billion.

Election 2010: Hawaii Governor

• Duke Aiona (R) 31%
• Neil Abercrombie (D) 54%
• Some other candidate 6%
• Not sure 9%

Even with Hawaii facing an $869 million budget deficit over the next three years, in 2008, state Senate President Hanabusa defended a 36 percent pay raise for the Hawaii State Legislature.  Hanabusa said “legislators work very hard and deserve the raise.”  As of December 2009, Hawaii pays the highest salary for part-time legislators.

An indication that our campaign is a threat to the status quo is the number of yard signs stolen on a regular basis.  We know that it happens in every election, but the rate that our signs are stolen surpasses anything we have ever seen before.  In some areas, we will put up a yard sign and the sign will be taken in a matter of hours.  One of our supporters reported last week that she was in her yard when a white van drove up to her house.  A man jumped out of the van and pulled her yard sign out from where it was planted in her yard.  When she asked him what he was doing, he said that he was from the Djou campaign and that the sign was needed in another location.  This was completely untrue - the campaign never relocates signs to "better" locations.  We value every single person willing to indicate their support for Charles with a yard sign.

A "fix" to the Cadillac tax that actually makes it worse, not better. Under current law the exemption amount is indexed to CPI plus 1 percent. That is not enough to keep up with medical costs. The reconciliation bill delays the start of the tax by five years, from 2013 to 2018, but it cuts the inflation adjustment to plain CPI. The lower inflation adjustment means that once the tax starts it will hit more people faster.

The New York Times reports: "Administration officials describing the draft treaty said its preamble recognized the relationship between offensive weapons and missile defense, but that the language was not binding." But the Times goes on to quote retired major general Vladimir Dvorkin who says Moscow will scrap the treaty if the U.S. pursues missile defense: "If, for example, the U.S. unilaterally deploys considerable amounts of missile defense, then Russia has the right to withdraw from the agreement because the spirit of the preamble has been violated."

Rumors of a possible Supreme Court retirement this summer have Washington buzzing with anticipation.  Adding to the intrigue is the controversial nomination of Goodwin Liu for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  Senate Republicans used a procedural move Wednesday to postpone Liu’s hearing....

But the leftist majorities in Congress just do not care what the American people think. Today, the Senate will press forward with work on the proposed "fix-it" bill through the reconciliation process. You may have thought it was impossible to make the policy and process of Obamacare even worse, but that is exactly what this reconciliation bill does . . .

It is difficult to imagine the Ninth Circuit as any more radically liberal than it already is. Despite a few stellar judges, the Court is full of liberal activists who have earned it the reputation of having the highest Supreme Court reversal rate of any court in the nation.  But, with his latest judicial nominee, President Obama just may do what seemed impossible.

There are many red flags in the judicial record of Ninth Circuit nominee Goodwin Liu, who is Associate Dean at the University of California Berkeley Law School.  Here are just a few highlights....

New information is emerging about President Barack Obama's federal appeals court nominee Goodwin Liu.  If the Seante approves Liu's appointment to the 9th Circuit Court, Liu will be among the judges ruling on appeals of cases originating from Federal District Court in Honolulu.

…In 2007, Liu joined 17 other professors and submitted a friend of the court brief to the California Supreme Court, arguing that California's definition of marriage between a man and a woman violated the state constitution.

Real health care reform is the thing we’ve fought for from the start.  It is desperately needed. But this bill falls short on many levels, and hurts many people more than it helps.

This is why opposition to this bill will only grow. Supporters of this bill argue that popular hostility will recede upon its passage. But, rather than cementing our descent into a European-style welfare state, last night’s passage of Obamacare is best seen as a historic turning point, a true catalyst for real change.

I write to reassure our supporters, the conservative movement, and the American people at large that The Heritage Foundation will do all within its power to keep this issue alive in the public square and make the intellectual case for the repeal of this act. We will bring all our resources to bear on behalf of those who believe America is and will always remain the Land of the Free.

This, rest assured, can be done. The American people are never permanently thwarted. President Obama's health care legislation can and will be repealed.

The top tax rates on interest and rental income would rise to as high as about 44 percent...Starting in 2013, Americans under 65 won’t be able to deduct medical expenses until they exceed 10 percent of income, up from 7.5 percent now...those who buy devices such as wheelchairs would pay a 2.3 percent excise tax. Drugmakers may pass on a $3 billion annual fee.

The Medicare taxes superseded an earlier Senate proposal to tax high-value employer-provided insurance coverage, dubbed “Cadillac plans.” That 40 percent excise tax was delayed until 2018, when it would begin to apply ....

First, he said, the mandate to buy insurance or pay a fine amounts to "a tax on living." Unlike auto insurance or payroll taxes, McCollum said, the new fees would apply to people for not doing anything, not triggered by any status or activity on a citizen's part.

Secondly, he said, the bill imposes spending requirements on the states --amounting to more than $1.6 billion for Florida. McCollum said Congress can't legally do that.

“Since the healthcare debate heated up in March, over 7,617 jobs were lost every day.  Not only did Congress fail to address the most important issues of the day—jobs and the economy—but they passed legislation that is guaranteed to hurt businesses and negatively impact jobs.  Hawai'i needs congressional representation that works for our concerns, for our jobs and most importantly, for our families.

“We have a unique opportunity here in Hawai'i come May.  We can, must and will elect Republican Charles Djou to Congress, gain a champion of fiscal accountability, individual responsibility for Hawai’i and return independent, effective leadership to Congress.”

“Congress should instead have enacted medical malpractice reform, allowed for the interstate sale of health insurance, and reformed the tax code to allow for an individual deduction on health insurance premiums.  We must continue to fight for responsible health care reform that lowers costs and offers greater access to affordable health care.”

Djou is the only major candidate in the Congressional race, who lives in the 1st Congressional District and the only major candidate who would have voted against this bill.  Ballots will be mailed out April 30.

Obama advisor Al Sharpton on Fox News tonight: “Americans voted for socialism when they elected Obama.”

GOP Chair Michael Steele: “We intend to do everything in out power to reverse this.”

Hawaii voters will be among the first to pass judgment--Honolulu Special Mail–in Congressional Election: May 1-22. 

Both Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa are pledged to support Obamacare.   Charles Djou has pledged to oppose it.

For months, Mazie Hirono pledged to vote against the Senate version of Obamacare.  For her, Senate Obamacare just wasn’t socialist enough.  Along with 56 other “progressive” members of Congress, she demanded a program with a public option and denounced the Senate bill as a multi-billion dollar giveaway to the insurance companies.

Hirono’s July 30, 2009 letter explained:

“Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates--not negotiated rates—is unacceptable…. (T)his agreement will result in the public, both as insurance purchasers and as taxpayers, paying ever higher rates to insurance companies.  We simply cannot vote for such a proposal.”

Hirono has maintained this position as recently as February 2, but at the last minute, barely noticed by her “progressive” base, Rep Mazie Hirono has changed her mind....

Now, more than ever, we need to bring balance to our nation’s capitol.  For too long, Hawaii residents have been underserved with only “one” viewpoint represented in Congress.  This out-of-balance system has failed our citizens and allowed for policies that have stifled our creativity and economic growth and burdened us with heavy taxes, wasteful, out of control government spending, and inefficient bureaucratic growth.

The people are speaking, but Washington isn’t listening.  That’s why we need new leaders who will listen and provide “common sense” approaches to get our country back on track.  Join me in the “good fight” and allow me the honor to represent you with “a strong voice and presence” in the halls of Congress.