Thursday, August 6, 2009

Musings: Buried

The moon, which I saw rise last night, was still up when Koko and I went walking this morning, only now it was in the west, guarded by Jupiter, while the east had become Venus’ domain.

The heady fragrance of mock orange hung heavily in the air, and well before the sun peeked out from beneath its pink quilt, the moon was lost in the dark mass that also buried the summit of Waialeale.

Similarly, attempts by Councilmembers Lani Kawahara and Tim Bynum to change the Council’s rules were buried by a 4-3 vote at yesterday’s meeting, well before the bright light of openness and transparency shone upon that panel.

But who, really, besides the politically naïve, imagined that things would be significantly different after the recent brouhaha, or that “reform” was ever going to be an item on the Council’s agenda?

It brings to mind a conversation I had with a relative newcomer to the island who approached me on Tuesday saying, “Isn’t it great that the Council is going to be more open?” And that prompted me to reply, “I don’t think anything is really going to change,” to which he responded, grudgingly, “Well, maybe not, but at least it’s all out on the table.”

I’m generally a fan of getting it all out on the table, but his comment caused me to muse upon what good was served by that approach in this case, aside from turning the otherwise dreary Council proceedings into a Hoike docudrama. No one really came out looking good, what with the raised voices and tears, and yesterday’s shut down indicated that Lani and Tim have been rendered effectively impotent for the duration of their terms by their bold, if impolitic, move to challenge Chair Kaipo Asing’s leadership.

One longtime Council observer told me that Lani had come off as a fresh new face battling the status quo and the old boy’s network. Then he added, “Yeah, it reminded me of JoAnn Yukimura 30 years ago, and where did that get us?”

Perhaps the recent events will serve to more thoroughly inform some of the newbies of just how Kauai politics work, and how deeply entrenched the system is, so they can drop their dreamy-eyed vision that a) any one of them has a prayer of getting elected and b) any sort of meaningful change or progressive movement will come from that body, at least so long as the voting majority continues to elect the people they do.

I’ve been through five mayors, if I’m not forgetting anyone, and various incarnations of the County Council and Planning Commission. Yet through it all, things have remained pretty much the same: opaque and rife with cronyism.

In other news, 78-year-old Charles Vidinha has been indicted for shooting the pregnant monk seal at Pilaa in May. I was surprised by the vehement comments that followed The Advertiser’s story:

… you are right before a name came out " the person" who shot the seal was the most hated man on kauai.

Mmmm, that might be a bit of a stretch. Then there was this:

What kind of an animal from hell can shoot such an animal?

Like it or not, and this is not my opinion, but a simple fact, as evidenced by this case: Hawaii's got its fair share of really evil, deranged, sick mothersuckers. Like everywhere else. And this guy who shot this animal is one of them. Makes me puke. I'd really love to see this monster jailed for the rest of his life, not just fined.


I never can guess how people are going to respond to environmental stories. Sometimes they’re all for the animals, and other times it’s screw everything but the humans.

In this case, I found it interesting that the U.S. Attorney’s office, in issuing a press release on the indictment, included the line:

Charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


Perhaps they sensed the potential for backlash. I was also surprised to learn that the maximum penalty is a year in jail and $50,000 fine. Seems kind of light for killing the most endangered marine mammal on earth.

Two big questions, however, remain unanswered. Why? And was he the same guy who killed the other seal on the Westside?

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although Tim and Lani may be celebrated as pioneers for open government, they both are supporting bills that will compromise our shorelines as well as allow vacation rentals on ag land. Now come on, are they really serving the people of Kauai? I think not!!!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Furfaro will follow these two "pioneers" in the pursuit of environmental destruction. We'll see soon enough.

Ed Coll said...

Joan wrote:"Yet through it all, things have remained pretty much the same: opaque and rife with cronyism."

opaque+cronyism=corruption.

"the same old story with a new set of words About the good and the bad and the poor And the times keep on changin' So I'm keepin' on top Of every fat cat who walks through my door

I was born on this rock And I've been travelin' through space Since the moment I first realized What all you fast talkin' cats would do if you could You know, I'm ready for the final surprise

I see the show downs, slow downs, lost and found, turn arounds
The boys in the military shirts

All you back room schemers, small trip dreamers Better find something new to say Cause you're the same old story It's the same old crime And you got some heavy dues to pay." -Leo Sidran

Anonymous said...

kauai council and gov will probably only get better as the number of voting transplants increase


dwps

Anonymous said...

"kauai council and gov will probably only get better as the number of voting transplants increase"

I beg to differ. Kauai council and gov will probably only get better as the number of voting transplants return back home! Get real dwps.

Anonymous said...

Lani reminds your friend of Joann back in the seventies? Tim must remind him of Kaipo back in the day. What we need are new Kaipos and new Joanns, not some pale imitations.

Anonymous said...

"Lani reminds your friend of Joann back in the seventies? Tim must remind him of Kaipo back in the day. What we need are new Kaipos and new Joanns, not some pale imitations."

Neither of them worked out quite right so pale or swarthy we need people who believe in transparency, democracy, and that the collective intelligence of engaged citizens surpasses their own (although I'd keep an eye on whitey because as Micheal Moore says "White people scare the crap out of me." and he should know)!

Anonymous said...

"only get better as the number of voting transplants return back home! Get real dwps."

-- it was my honest best guess, but yes just based on observations and a few other things


dwps

Anonymous said...

Even before he was a politician, Kaipo was at the forefront of the battle against uncontrolled development. Same with Joann. Sadly, they ain't what they used to be, but it would be delusional to believe that Lani or Tim have the courage, wisdom or charisma to lead the charge.

Anonymous said...

"It would be delusional to believe that Lani or Tim have the courage, wisdom or charisma to lead the charge."

Premature judgment at this point. I am astounded they pushed it this far.

Anonymous said...

Hardly premature. Have you watched the council or tracked their positions? Having sat through the tumultuous hearings at the Planning Commission and council back in the seventies and eighties, I can assure that Tim and Lani don't come close to Kaipo and Joann in their heyday.

Anonymous said...

Hardly premature. Have you watched the council or tracked their positions? Having sat through the tumultuous hearings at the Planning Commission and council back in the seventies and eighties, I can assure that Tim and Lani don't come close to Kaipo and Joann in their heyday.

Anonymous said...

Have you met either Tim or Lani in person? Surely you don't consider them charismatic leaders.

Anonymous said...

"Having sat through the tumultuous hearings at the Planning Commission and council back in the seventies and eighties, I can assure that Tim and Lani don't come close to Kaipo and Joann in their heyday."

-- your comment strikes me as probably accurate; ill take that at face value, for now. but an interesting comment / perspective for sure. thanks for offering it


dwps

Anonymous said...

Joan said: "But who, really, besides the politically naïve, imagined that things would be significantly different after the recent brouhaha, or that “reform” was ever going to be an item on the Council’s agenda?"

Let's see. They got the Minutes on the website in OCR. They got two new email addresses with one for testimony and the other for email direct to all of the council members, so now they don't have to be printed out to hardcopy and then distributed inconsistently, incompletely, and untimely to the Council members. Incoming hardcopy mail for agenda items from departments and the public has now become available in a breakroom file to all members (not just some) on a timely basis which was not done before. Ordinance bill text will be available on www.kauaiinfo.org until they start showing up on www.kauai.gov. All Council members have now figured out how to use the "Communication" technique to get things on the agenda regardless of Kaipo's initials. And lastly, Kaipo promised yesterday that he will not be authoritarian and will establish an open policy to allow any member's items on the agenda. Two of Kaipo's supporting Council members said they will vote to allow other members items on the agenda. That's 5 (6 including Kaipo) who are on the record for an open agenda. The only thing they didn't do is pass the rule change to Rule 10(c), but if things go back to a closed agenda, you can bet there will be a citizen effort to address this again, and it won't be as nice the next time around...we promise you that.

"It brings to mind a conversation I had with a relative newcomer to the island who approached me on Tuesday saying, “Isn’t it great that the Council is going to be more open?” And that prompted me to reply, “I don’t think anything is really going to change,”..."

See above list of changes. While you were wallowing in your negativity, Joan, everything changed.

"I’m generally a fan of...turning the otherwise dreary Council proceedings into a Hoike docudrama."

I noticed that Joan. You rely on a few days old incomplete coverage from Hoike as a shortcut to try and follow what is happening with the Council. Kaipo is right on this point, you have to be there in the Chambers to know what is really going on there. There are things that don't show up on Hoike. And no reporter, not even the current diligent TGI reporters can report on everything that is going on there. If you just read their reporting and try to blog second hand on that, you won't get the story, Joan.

"...and yesterday’s shut down indicated that Lani and Tim have been rendered effectively impotent for the duration of their terms by their bold, if impolitic, move to challenge Chair Kaipo Asing’s leadership."

The truly politically astute would recognize that depending on how they handle it from here on out, they got everything they set out for. Only the rule change on the agenda was not done, but if you were paying attention, you'd see they don't need it anymore. They now have all the tools they need to get their issues onto the agenda.

"One longtime Council observer told me that Lani had come off as a fresh new face battling the status quo and the old boy’s network..."

Again, waiting for the Hoike tape, you would not know that Lani handled herself outstandingly, professionally and assertatively, yesterday. The same cannot be said for Tim. Right now Lani is already better than JoAnn. That would be clear to you if you saw JoAnn's testimony re: TVA's on ag land yesterday.

"Perhaps the recent events will serve to more thoroughly inform some of the newbies of just how Kauai politics work...so they can drop their dreamy-eyed vision..."

"Newbies" don't need to be informed by the old failed ways of narrow-minded, pessimistic, quitters. The world is changing very quickly, Joan. Some do not recognize it, but the crusaders do, and we will not stop until Kaua'i bridges the gap to real sustainability. You have not seen what we are going to do. You can count on it, Ms. Conrow.

Anonymous said...

I am not a fan of the 3 D's but after watching the meeting, the only one to bring any substance to the table was CM Kawakami. He basically dissected Cm Kawahara and CM Bynum's argument that the only way to get items on the agenda were through the Council Chair. He got Lani to confess that she has not introduced anything thus could not have possibly been blocked by Asing. She said she is helping Tim. He had CM Bynum looking foolish that he didn't even know that he had an alternative option. And to top it off, CM Bynum calls the County Attorney up for clarification and the CA states that Kawakami is indeed correct. How come no one else brought up the other way a CM can get an item on the agenda. I have to admit, I have posted some unfriendly comments toward CM Kawakami here before but I have followed the meetings and he may not speak as often as the others but when he does....he makes sense. In this meeting....he pretty much took over. Don't know why Jay ended up voting with Kawahara and Bynum....maybe he wasn't listening to the points being made which isn't a surprise since he is the original "I" man....I did this, I did that, I worked here, I introduced that

Anonymous said...

All Council members have now figured out how to use the "Communication" technique to get things on the agenda regardless of Kaipo's initials.

Yes they all know how to do it but it wasn't Lani who taught them. CM Kawakami was the one who brought it up. Keep up the good work Joan

Anonymous said...

The only thing they didn't do is pass the rule change to Rule 10(c), but if things go back to a closed agenda, you can bet there will be a citizen effort to address this again, and it won't be as nice the next time around...we promise you that.

Yep, you've been really civil in your comments about Kaipo. I've read the letters on Tim and Lani's website. Are you one of those who write so authoritatively after having lived here all of what, one, five, ten years? You have the luxury to sit through those hearings? Why not pick up rubbish or tutor some kids and make yourself useful for a change. Oh, I get it, posting here is the service that you provide since the Garden Island and Hoike fail to adequately convey what happened and you have the skill to do what no one else can. Sheesh, what an ego.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:37 PM said: "Yes they all know how to do it but it wasn't Lani who taught them. CM Kawakami was the one who brought it up..."

Wrong. Derek was talking about Rule 15. And yesterday was the first time he mentioned it which requires a 2/3rds supermajority to use...worthless. The "Communications" technique only requires a majority and it was JoAnn Yukimura who pointed it out to the players a number of weeks ago. Must I keep on correcting these type of comments?

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:26 PM said: "CM Kawakami. He basically dissected Cm Kawahara and CM Bynum's argument that the only way to get items on the agenda were through the Council Chair."

I like Derek, but he can't dissect diddly squat from a frog. They were talking about Rule 10 that requires no vote to get on the agenda. Derek was talking about Rule 15 that requires a supermajority to get on the agenda. A supermajority is 5 votes out of 7. They are totally unequal.

"He got Lani to confess that she has not introduced anything thus could not have possibly been blocked by Asing. She said she is helping Tim."

She later corrected herself on the record and pointed out that she co-introduced a number of bills with Tim. These were some of the bills that Tim could not get on the agenda going back to last Council. Lani first answered Derek the way she did because she was thinking he meant initiated, drafted, and sponsored the bill. Up until only a couple months ago the Council did not have staff attorney's to help them draft bills, do Lani has not been able to draft and introduce a bill until just recently. As a result, initially here, she was just helping Tim with some of the bills he already had drafted. She corrected this on the record a few minutes later.

"He had CM Bynum looking foolish that he didn't even know that he had an alternative option."

Tim knew about Rule 15, but it is not equal to Rule 10. Any reasonably astute legislator would not even compare the two.

"And to top it off, CM Bynum calls the County Attorney up for clarification and the CA states that Kawakami is indeed correct."

Actually, the CA said he would not answer that hypothetical question. The CA did not state Kawakami was correct. The CA did not answer a question about Rule 15, nor prior notice, nor the Sunshine Law at that point. The CA only said that he would make the general statement that Council members have opportunities to get items on the agenda within the existing Rules. That can mean just about anything.

"How come no one else brought up the other way a CM can get an item on the agenda."

They didn't bring it up because the Rule 15 supermajority is not equal to no vote at all to get on the agenda. Derek is becoming notorious for coming out of left field with a statement or question showing he's a little bit green and wet behind the ears.

I guess we shouldn't expect a high level of discernment here when the usual writing here doesn't require it.

Anonymous said...

It is quite obvious that the previous post was done by either Tim or Lani. My guess that it was Tim. Why don't you just post your name and be transparent? Don't hide behind "Anonymous" if you are an elected public figure.

Anonymous said...

Was the bill to let the planning dept enter into no enforcement agreements on vacation rentals on ag land introduced by Tim? This was Joann's bill and it didn't pass before, so they keep on tryin. Where do the people get to live? Who do they represent?Grow food, not resorts on Kauai's ag land.

Anonymous said...

Message to Lani, Break up with Tim, you have potential, he's a loser. Please vote independent, it's important you do,for your future.

Anonymous said...

It's true that Joan is stuck in a superior, judgmental attitude when covering non-kanaka maoli issues. I've noticed that. Living here for any number of decades does not give anyone license for such kama'aina arrogance. However, Joan's reporting on Hawaiian issues is unsurpassed.

Anonymous said...

To the person who posted on August 6, 2009 10:15 PM, you actually sat through that stuff? Are you the guy who always sits in line with the public speaker's chair so that you can be on TV? Or are you Glen Mickens or that other guy who always testifies? Whoever you are, I wish I had your free time.

Anonymous said...

It is very clear that Tim and Lani are the conduits for JoAnn's agenda. Lani can't think for herself because she has aligned herself with Tim. She hasnt even realized that she is being used by Tim for his personal agenda. Lani has a lot to offer. That is why I voted for her. I will never vote for Tim and if Lani continues to be his puppet, I will never vote for her either. I wish they could all take a step back and take an honest look at themselves. The kids on the playgrounds of elementary schools can resolve their issues much more diplomatically than this group of "leaders."

Anonymous said...

"but if things go back to a closed agenda, you can bet there will be a citizen effort to address this again, and it won't be as nice the next time around...we promise you that."

oh, what, you're going to show up with the pitchforks? get real. nothing substantial has changed and you will soon see it for yourself. or maybe not. either way, the political machine rolls on and face it you aren't part of it.

Anonymous said...

"To the person who posted on August 6, 2009 10:15 PM, you actually sat through that stuff? Are you the guy who always sits in line with the public speaker's chair so that you can be on TV?"

that's Maui Brad, posting anonymously.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:30 AM asked: "To the person who posted on August 6, 2009 10:15 PM, you actually sat through that stuff? Are you the guy who always sits in line with the public speaker's chair so that you can be on TV? Or are you Glen Mickens or that other guy who always testifies? Whoever you are, I wish I had your free time."

No, that's not me, actually I have been sitting where the cameras don't view. But, I won't be at every Council meeting, just the important ones toward our... Revolution. BTW, I make free time for this stuff.--Anon 10:15

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:34 AM asked: "It is quite obvious that the previous post was done by either Tim or Lani. My guess that it was Tim. Why don't you just post your name and be transparent? Don't hide behind "Anonymous" if you are an elected public figure."

No, I am not Tim or Lani. Actually Tim came across both Council meetings on this as whining too much and he was looking at the audience and TV instead of Council members entirely too often. I am not an elected official and never will be. We can accomplish more unelected than the elected can if we know what we are doing.--Anon 1:14 AM

whine --
v. whined, whin·ing, whines
v.intr.
1. To utter a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted sound, as in pain, fear, supplication, or complaint.
2. To complain or protest in a childish fashion.
v.tr.
To utter with a whine.
n.
1. The act of whining.
2. A whining sound.
[Middle English whinen, from Old English hwnan, to make a whizzing sound.]
whiner n.
whiny, whiney adj.

Anonymous said...

"But, I won't be at every Council meeting, just the important ones toward our... Revolution."

Using Council and Revolution in the same sentence shows how deluded you really are.

Anonymous said...

Deluded! It always a good day for a revolution. History is marked by a series of revolutions. Just when the fat cats get comfy sipping from their personal cream stream, pop goes the weasel.

Anonymous said...

"But, I won't be at every Council meeting, just the important ones toward our... Revolution"

I remember some of the hearings about Nukolii when there were so many more people involved and it seemed like a fight could break out at any time. The developer and the unions would bring in construction workers and hotel workers and the anti-development gang would be packed in the council chamber SRO. Back then, the issues pit friend against friend and family against family. It was heavy. Kaipo was right there in the mix - no worry, was long time ago and he no can get busted for that sh-t now. Not like the "civil" atmosphere now. The next "revolution" will be the haole newbies electing the Bynums and Kawaharas of the world. That's f-cking sad but that's life, eh.

Anonymous said...

"The next "revolution" will be the haole newbies electing the Bynums and Kawaharas of the world. That's f-cking sad but that's life, eh."

Maker sure you have strict immigration laws, that's where we screwed up - Native American saying.

Anonymous said...

Bynum is showing us what a flake he is. Too bad he can't spend as much time figuring out that this is after all.....politics, instead of whining.