Blast 'em

SCREWED AGAIN AT THE PUMP

2006-06-14T16:00:00.000-10:00

The following opinion piece is copied from the June 13th issue of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. It shows just how Hawaii consumers are once again being screwed by the Oil Industry and this time it is being done with the concurrence of our Governor, Linda Lingle. By saying she would never reinstate the Gas Cap she has given the oil companies her blessing to steal our money at the gas pump.In case

5 MILLION $ FOR ONE CHECK PER MONTH?

2006-06-13T12:04:00.000-10:00

It was bound to happen; the 2005 legislature passed a so-called transit tax. They increased the General Excise Tax (GET) from 4% to 4.5%, supposedly to pay for a mass transit system. This increase will raise billions of dollars over a ten year period. Naturally, they raised the tax while having no idea what kind of mass transit system would be built or how much it would cost initially or

HERKES=THE BEST GOV'T MONEY CAN BUY!

2006-05-25T12:36:00.000-10:00

Remember the last posting regarding the ethics and IRS complaints against Bob Herkes? WeLl here is the reason these things continue to happen at the legislature, The return on investment for a political contribution is better than any other investment a corporation might make. BOB HERKES CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION SNAPSHOTRepresentative Herkes receives many thousands of dollars from numerous special

IS THIS A BLAST OR WHAT?

2006-05-25T12:04:00.000-10:00

I have mentioned in prior postings that Representative Bev Harbin is one of the Good Guys in the State House of Representatives. Below you will find copies of letters of complaint she sent to the State Ethics Commission and the IRS< plus a response to House Leader Marcus Oshiro after he was quoted in the Honolulu Advertiser as saying she has a political agenda. In my opinion these letters show

THE GAS CAP - ANOTHER LOOK

2006-05-25T10:25:00.000-10:00

The following is a speech given to The Lion’s Club by Richard Miller, Professor Emeritus and once Dean of the U of H Law School. Dick has actively worked in the public interest at the legislature for at least the past ten years. SPEECH – THE GAS CAP To the Lion’s ClubCarl Miura and Distinguished Members,I’m delighted to be here to talk to

WHO'S IN CHARGE?

2006-05-18T11:02:00.000-10:00

In yesterday’s posting we saw a letter from the U.S. Dept. of Education to Pat Hamamoto pointing out the lack of compliance by the Hawaii DOE “under the standards and assessment requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).” Being out of compliance, our super DOE received two extensions for a total of 4½ years. As the

IT'S WORSE THAN YOU THOUGHT!

2006-05-17T13:56:00.000-10:00

State of Hawaii Board of Education Member Paul Vierling accidentally discovered the letter (printed below) sent to superintendent Hamamoto and who had apparently only shared the letter with BOE Chair Randall YEE. The U.S. Department of Education placed the letter on its website which is where I made the copy below.The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed into law in 1965 as a

COULDN'T SAY IT BETTER MYSELF

2006-05-13T17:16:00.000-10:00

I wrote in a previous post that I would revisit the Death With Dignity issue. This article from the London times explains it very well.The Sunday Times - Comment May 14, 2006An acceptable way to arrange our deathMinette Marrin Last Friday the House of Lords voted, to my great disappointment, to wreck Lord Joffe’s private member’s bill on assisted dying for the terminally ill. The peers who oppose

IS PUBLIC EDUCATION, EDUCATION?

2006-05-11T12:16:00.000-10:00

A few days ago, my neighbor, a locally born, raised, and educated lady; stopped at a super market for a small purchase. When she checked out her purchase came to $ 19.79. She gave the cashier a twenty dollar bill and as she did so the cash register went down. The cashier picked up a pad and pencil and wrote 20.00. Under that she wrote 19.97, drew a line under the numbers, and crossed out the

GAS CAP PAU?

2006-05-07T10:26:00.000-10:00

The Oil Industry has done a great marketing job against the Gas Cap. We have been constantly hammered by Letters-To-The-Editor complaining about the Cap and how it doesn’t work. Those of us who understand marketing see this as a concerted effort. Meanwhile, the Honolulu Advertiser has said all along that they are against the gasoline price cap. Have they been printing mostly “Letters” against

TIME WILL TELL

2006-05-05T17:21:00.000-10:00

The following allegation was widely distributed yesterday at the State Capitol. This allegation was not news to a number of persons who chose to ignore it.Green Flash News May 4, 2006 “Representative Calvin Say violates state residency lawsGreen Flash editor Jack Kelly today filed a complaint today alleging that Representative Calvin Say is not living in the district that he represents.In the

GRASS ROOTS EFFORT ROCKS

2006-05-05T17:18:00.000-10:00

On another matter, the grass roots effort which defeated SB 2922 was led by Voter Owned Elections (also known as HICLEAN). VOE has had Campaign Spending Bills before the legislature for the past seven years. Early on, the House would vote unanimously to pass the Bill knowing full well that Cal Kawamoto would kill it in the senate. After Cal lost an election the House would kill the Bill always

OVER? NOT QUITE!

2006-05-05T12:56:00.000-10:00

Yesterday was the final day of the 2006 Legislative session, a very exciting day as Bills were passed or killed and strategies were played out. Deals and double deals were rumored. For instance, why did the House pass the Senate Gas Cap Amendment after all the Conferees testify at length against passage? Then virtually the entire House rose one at a time to express their reservations. At that

Oops? Not!

2006-05-03T14:32:00.000-10:00

During the 2005 legislative session, a Bill was passed into law which limits corporate political contributions to $1,000. This session SB 2922 calls for overturning the law. The justification being spouted by proponents is that the law was passed by accident. They must really be desperate because admitting to a mistake is definitely not their style. However, Conference Committee Report No. 185

YO BOB-BEE

2006-05-01T13:17:00.000-10:00

Here’s looking at you, again Bob-bee. In a previous posting we exposed the use of s corporate CEO as an intern by Bob “the Villain” Herkes. This intern is CEO of the HMSA Foundation. If you remember an amendment appeared magically out of Bob’s office and was inserted into a Bill after the public hearing. This amendment appears again in Conference Committee and Bob “the villain” jams it down the

House Ldrshp Says "Keep 'Em Dumb"

2006-04-29T13:43:00.000-10:00

For the third year, the legislature came very close to funding a program to provide internet webcasts of legislative proceedings held in state capitol conference rooms and legislative chambers. But late last night (April 28) SB 906 died in a conference committee. Conference committees in 1999 and 2005 also fell short of providing the most funding amounts needed. This session, conference committee

Gas Cap Proponents Win!

2006-04-29T01:16:00.000-10:00

The Gas Cap Conference Committee reconvened at 3:30 this afternoon just long enough to say they are both studying the other side’s proposals and would meet again at 4:00 p.m.At the 4:00 0’clock meeting the discussion was heated after Senator Menor read two letters from Consultant Tim Hamilton, a California consumer advocate specializing in Oil Industry pricing. His main contention was that

What's up With The Gas Cap Conference?

2006-04-28T08:38:00.000-10:00

Last evening’s Gas Cap Conference Committee Hearing was interesting even though no agreement was reached. Those of us who pay attention to these proceedings got a strong impression that something was going on behind the scene just out of our reach. For instance, no news channels showed up but a young man from Senator Hemmings’ office did and he brought a large easel with a display panel with him.

MORE THIRD WORLD ACTIONS

2006-04-27T14:42:00.000-10:00

One of the great things about the United States of America is Freedom of the Press. Freedom of the press sets apart from just about every country on earth. It is who we are! Unfortunately, there are those in this country who think they have the right to limit this special freedom. Specifically, the State House of Representatives, under the direction of Speaker Calvin Say believe they have the

Gas Cap Update

2006-04-27T10:19:00.000-10:00

Yesterday’s Gas Cap Conference Committee hearing was interesting from my point of view. Before the hearing began House Speaker Calvin Say and Senate President Bobby Bunda came in a sat close to the front table. This is an unusual event and told me that a compromise was in the wind and they could take credit for solving the impasse. Didn’t happen. We are no closer to a meeting of the minds between

TOBACCO $$$$$ PROBLEM & SOLUTION

2006-04-26T08:53:00.000-10:00

Submission by Ira Rohter, PHDLet’s Talk Straight About How Tobacco Industry Influences Hawaii’s GovernmentWhy is it that given all we know about the killing impact of smoking, editorials in both major newspapers and pleas by noted figures (Larry Price in Midweek, Jimmy Borges in the Advertiser) have to ask our legislators to pass Senate Bill 3262 (the “Healthy Air and Workplace Act”)? Each year

LEGAL BLACKMAIL

2006-04-25T18:30:00.000-10:00

Twenty-seven (27) legislators held fund-raisers during the 2005 legislative session. Why did they do that? It’s just like when a reporter asked Willie Sutton, the famous bank robber; “why he robbed banks”? He answered “that’s where the money is”! That’s why committee chairs hold fund-raisers during the session; it’s when they can raise the most money. In reality, it’s legal bribery!Lobbyists,

The Salary Commission Trick

2006-04-22T10:39:00.000-10:00

It seems the city officials need another pay raise. The justification is the same as last time: “some employees are making more than their bosses”.I received the following Email, Thursday at 10:00 p.m.:WE NEED LETTERS TO THE EDITORTHIS IS AN OUTRAGEWHILE PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS; SOME PEOLE ARE WORKING THREE JOBS JUAT TO LIVE; MORE THAN 70,000 HERE ARE WORKING FOR MINIMUM WAGE AND PROPERTY TAXES

The Beat Goes On

2006-04-20T11:39:00.000-10:00

According to an article in yesterday’s USA Today, the Abramoff scandal has caused ethics reform bills to sweep across the country. What it didn’t say is “except Hawaii”. Here in paradise, Rep. Sylvia Luke still has Senate Bill 1061 tied up in her committee. This Bill would prevent any legislator from holding a fund-raiser during the session. Not a great hindrance, but any hint of reform is

Rep. Bob "the villain" Herkes

2006-04-19T10:52:00.000-10:00

Representative Bob Herkes, Chair of the Consumer Rejection and Commerce Committee. In a prior posting we saw Rep. Herkes amending a Bill after the Bill was heard in his committee with only industry insiders being privy to the wording of the amendment and the public being ignored. Today’s posting will discuss more antics of our favorite (at the moment) villain. We all thought we could smell HMSA’s