National News

...conservatives are against “big government,” so we must be for “small government,” right? Wrong. We’re for limited government. Here is the difference....

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As part of my teaching duties at West Point, I took cadets on a study tour of the World War II battlefields....

National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m. HST Memorial Day. 

... it’s false to say that Hawaiians support the Akaka Bill ....

...the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to penalize hospitals with "worse than expected" 30-day readmission rates....

On Tuesday, MarketWatch's Rex Nutting wrote that claims of Obama's big spending ways are overblown and that the "Obama spending binge never happened."

The story is the stuff that blockbuster movies are made of, but many of the details are largely a closely guarded secret. That was until the Obama White House granted extraordinary access and information to Hollywood filmmakers ....

"These ministries serve inner-city children, the elderly, deaf, developmentally disabled, HIV/AIDS patients, and homeless--among many others. Catholic outreach, like many other religious groups in America, seeks to serve those most in need."

He said he doesn’t see any differences between Native Hawaiians and Native Alaskans and American Indian tribes....

...create new types of visas, one allowing foreign students who obtained graduate degrees in math, science and other related fields to stay in the United States, and another for immigrant entrepreneurs who grow jobs and create companies here....

Article 82 requires the United States to forfeit royalties generated from oil and gas development on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles...many billions, if not trillions of dollars, would go to the International Seabed Authority, a new international bureaucracy created by the treaty and based in Jamaica....

“Obama” Budget Resolution - Vote Rejected (0-99, 1 Not Voting) ....

...they are suing the Obama administration for violating their freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution....

 More blowback from Dan Inouye's campaign supporter ....

...the Census counts human beings, regardless of their eligibility to vote....

On Saturday night, blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in Newark, N.J., after escaping seven years of persecution in China....

The Chinese government will almost certainly retaliate. A most likely target will be the American suppliers of crystalline silicon to Chinese PV manufacturers and semiconductor industries. If this happens this likely puts Hoku Scientific at risk ....

As someone who has served both as a Member of Congress and as a soldier under NATO command in Afghanistan, I have a unique perspective on NATO’s role and future....

 "On this day, we extend our sincere gratitude for their selfless dedication."

America's flying fortress, the Cold War-era B-52 bomber, has been in service for the last 50 years....

... the U.S. Senate voted 99-0 against President Barack Obama's budget ....

Reflecting on his two terms in office, President George W. Bush said in 2010, "You realize you're not it. You're a part of something bigger than yourself."  This is a sentiment President Barack Obama did not inherit from his successor ....

In its report on next year’s Pentagon budget, the House Armed Services Committee banned the Defense Department from making or buying an alternative fuel that costs more than a “traditional fossil fuel.” It’s a standard that may be almost impossible to meet ....

For a family of four, premiums on even one of the lower priced "silver" options could still cost more than $15,000 annually on the exchanges....

The lingering headline on the front pages this week is that JP Morgan Chase suffered a massive loss on a hedging strategy, costing them $2 billion....

Upcoming Congressional Bills

• Senate: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012
• Senate: Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012
• House: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012
• House: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

They sniff out bombs, patrol dangerous explosive zones, and put themselves in harm's way to protect our soldiers. Yet military working dogs are currently classified as "equipment" by the Pentagon and are sometimes left behind ....

"...we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted...."

The last time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) fulfilled his legal responsibility, Conan was still on NBC, Tea Parties hadn't come together and the iPad hadn't yet been introduced....

The largest tax hike in history is due to strike the United States on January 1, 2013. Known as "Taxmageddon," it would impose $494 billion in higher taxes on the American people in the first year....

Her latest missive is not surprising to the people of Hawaii, as it is simply the latest example of what the public knows already: Mazie puts partisan politics before people....

State grades were based on a rigorous examination of state law for adherence to guiding principles developed by national child welfare experts using a 100-point grading system....

Oregon investigators have traced an outbreak of norovirus to a reusable grocery bag that members of a Beaverton girls' soccer team passed around when they shared cookies....

...turbines frequently draw electricity from the grid to keep blades turning when the wind is not blowing....

Kachejian's story, which is continued in new book, "SUVs Suck In Combat," illustrates the human impact of an ill-equipped military....

"Like me, the U.S. Chamber recognizes that the time for partisan bickering is over. We must work together to establish bipartisan solutions that will help boost our economy" -- Linda Lingle

The Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the names of the Navy’s recently acquired high speed ferries (HSFs); the USNS Guam and the USNS Puerto Rico....

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This week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to finally set some limits on Washington's spending spree while also ensuring that the U.S. military has the resources it needs....

Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah all earned A+'s for their friendliness towards small businesses. In contrast, small business owners gave California, Hawaii, Vermont, and Rhode Island an F....

...public pensions nationwide are underfunded by a total of $4.4 trillion, despite efforts by many state governments to reform pension programs....

Last weekend, the people of France took a sharp turn to the left, and the rest of Europe may be on the brink of rebuking its recent tack toward fiscal responsibility....

Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious....

"As a Congressman and member of the Chickasaw Nation, Congressman Cole has made providing indigenous people, including native Hawaiians, the means for self-determination, self-governance and self-reliance a legislative priority," said Gov. Linda Lingle.

This 2012 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 21st year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers....

OPEIU represents nurses throughout the United States under the umbrella of the OPEIU Nurses Council and recently affiliated the 4,000-member Hawai'i Nurses Association (HNA)....

...production companies only remain in-state until tax conditions are made more favorable elsewhere....

...a faceless young American woman grows from birth to old age with the government at her side every step of the way....

Complicating matters, the Merrill executive who most-closely dealt with the fund reportedly fell overboard while fishing in waters off Hawaii last September, and has yet to be found.…