Ethics

...Since September 11, 2001, at least 40 Islamist-inspired terror plots aimed at the United States have been thwarted....

Lucrative state and federal contracts funded by American taxpayer dollars should not be awarded to companies doing business with a regime that is aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons program, training and supplying weapons to terrorists who are killing U.S. troops, and engaging in egregious human rights abuses inside its own borders.

While the U.S. is dumping billions of dollars into wind farms and onshore and offshore wind turbines, this energy source is being cast aside as a failure elsewhere in the world.

As the effects of the storm continue with "epic" flooding being reported in Vermont, pundits and politicians alike are already calculating its implications on government policy....

The Battleship Missouri Memorial will commemorate the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II with a free ceremony on Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, from 8 to 9 a.m., on the Mighty Mo’s forward main deck. 

Nearly one of every 10 midsized or big employers expects to stop offering health coverage to workers after insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014 as part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul....

A religious-discrimination lawsuit involving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is taking a giant step forward this week, with a federal judge demanding a response from the Obama administration....

One quick fix being touted by the administration to create the jobs America needs and so desperately wants is a continuance of the employment tax holiday....

Cheating on tests is paying off big for the Hawaii Department of Education. The DoE has admitted--touted even--its effort to organize a cadre of part-time teachers to provide test answers to students statewide.

How conservative are Hawaii’s Senators and Congresswomen?

“We have a comprehensive housing policy in Hawai'i that includes repairing and building public housing units where people feel safe in their community and proud of their home,” Governor Abercrombie said.

Washington, D.C., led the nation in economic confidence during the first half of 2011 with the only positive Economic Confidence Index score (+11) in the U.S....

A new report from the Department of Energy ... shows that "renewable" energy firms are heavily dependent on government support....

Myths about the dire effects of genetically modified foods on health and the environment abound, but they have not held up to scientific scrutiny. These crop modification methods are not dangerous.

The energy from hydrofracking can transform the U.S. energy outlook for a century. Let's not allow groundless fears to destroy our future....

...Americans' confidence in the economy is sitting at its lowest point since March 2009, and in every state in the country, a vast majority of Americans see the economy as getting worse. Meanwhile, the number of people claiming new jobless benefits rose again last week....

the U.S. Senate presents an unusual opportunity ... This decision is ... not a sacrifice....

Just 25% of Hawaii employers are adding jobs, another 15% are laying off ....

Military programs...have already been targeted for a minimum of $350 billion in cuts over 10 years, with the possibility of $600 billion more if the Super Committee fails to agree on other areas to cut — a strong possibility given Washington’s well-known gridlock.

...the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is becoming distracted by responding to routine natural disasters instead of preparing for catastrophic natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions....

As the only qualified offeror, SCOA’s decision not to appeal should in no way be interpreted as loss of interest. To the contrary, SCOA will remain ready to fulfill its commitments should the City not be able to proceed with Ansaldo due to any problems that might prevent them from fulfilling their offer.

Horizon Lines Inc. (HRZ), the shipper negotiating a debt restructuring with its lenders, missed an Aug. 15 interest payment on its $330 million of convertible notes....

On Friday, the NY Times printed a harsh assessment of the state of the "green" economy—including a conclusion that the President's promise to create five million green jobs over 10 years has proven to be nothing more than "a pipe dream"....

Janney Capital Markets analyst Tony Wible is concerned that Disney's losing its magical touch with a Hawaiian timeshare resort where projected operating costs are spiraling out of control....

Last week the developer and the County of Hawaii filed their joint Brief in Opposition in C & J Coupe Family Limited Partnership v. County of Hawaii....

Palin's campaign would mark the first serious national effort by any conservative to come back from a post-modern Gramscian deconstruction attack. If successful, a Palin victory would signify a serious weakening to the ablilty of Gramscians to control the popular mind.

The Administration’s short-sighted effort to score a quick and easy military victory over Qadhafi’s regime failed to end the threat to civilians in “days not weeks,” as President Barack Obama promised. The administration now must scramble to develop and implement a long term strategy for a post-Qadhafi Libya.

Americans in Hawaii continued to set the national standard in wellbeing in the first half of 2011, followed closely by North Dakota....

What does a worn out and debunked fraud scheme do when it has exhausted its welcome around the world? It comes to Hawaii, of course.

Ghaddafi is/was the fourth-largest shareholder of Honolulu Rail contractor Ansaldo.  It appears that Ghaddafi's Libyan Investment Authority is undergoing a change in management ....

 It will now be up to the “super” commission to come up with a strategy or game plan that will set a course for the financial affairs of the nation.

She voted against a...proposal to mandate he inscription of a religious message at the Capitol Visitor Center....  A non-practicing Buddhist, Mazie would be the first non-theist to serve in the Senate.

...as NASA sends its shuttles to museums, China is making great strides in its space program—with preparations under way for the launch of a Chinese spacelab in the next few weeks....

After being a territory for so long, achieving statehood represented a “coming of age” for Hawaii to many. To others, statehood also represented less positive aspects.

The states most dependent on federal spending could also see their credit ratings fall in the wake of a major deficit reduction deal if they fail to adapt accordingly.

“This contract will be the largest installation of photovoltaic solar energy facilities in Hawaii’s history....”

We must remember how we stood as a nation with a shared purpose and intensity on September 12, 2001 and in the days following. That collective and eternal vigilance is still essential. Never quit.

 At stake is whether our children will find good jobs, whether our families will be able to stay in Hawai‘i, whether we will have the resources to protect our environment and provide the social services we pledged to provide.

The 22nd annual KIDS COUNT Data Book profiles the status of children on a national and state-by-state basis and ranks states on 10 measures of well-being.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta held a joint press event in Washington in which they cautioned that U.S. debt is jeopardizing America's ability to ensure national security and preserve its interests abroad.

Djou: “Hawaii, in particular, has become exceptionally isolated and vulnerable in Washington D.C because of the lack of a bipartisan congressional delegation...."

I will not run for Congress in 2012.... When the time is right, I will decide whether to run for Governor in 2014.

Speaker Gingrich will be on Maui this Saturday, August 20th. The event begins at 5:30pm at the Door of Faith Church, 432 Waiehu Beach Rd, Wailuku....

The President's tour began yesterday in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, where in one breath he pointed his finger at Washington's broken politics and in the next he blamed "a string of bad luck ... "

Financial issues with a new Walt Disney Co. resort scheduled to open this month in Hawaii prompted the company to suspend all time-share sales for the project and force out three executives, including the president of its Celebration-based time-share business...

Every year, Americans for Tax Reform Foundation publishes its Cost of Government Day report, which calculates the day on the calendar year until which the average American must work to pay for the full costs of government spending and regulation....

With its ruling, the court affirmed the principle that the Constitution means what it says—Congress does not have unfettered power to force the American people to comply with any and all dictates it creates.

While we may benefit from those generous federal dollars and programs, if spending is not reined in now, the situation will get even worse. If political leaders don’t have the courage to rein in spending, then perhaps voters should find elected officials who will make those tough decisions.

Michele Bachmann has been named the winner of the Iowa straw poll, taking 4,823 votes out of nearly 17,000 cast. Ron Paul was a close runner-up, taking 4,671 votes and trailing Bachmann by less than 200 ballots. In a distant third place was former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who took 2,293 votes after investing heavily in the event.

Widely panned by local political commentators, the DSCC screed bizarrely tagged Lingle as a “hyper partisan…Republican bomb thrower.”

But there is a ticking time-bomb buried at the bottom of their rambling diatribe.....