Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Musings: Lure of Green

A blanket of stars was replaced by a soft glow of blue, which gave way to striations of rose and gray when Koko and I went walking on this crisp, cool morning. The mountains were free of clouds and faint tendrils of mist snuggled up in the deepest recesses of the pasture. Along the road, the grass is turning brown, and not from Round-up, but lack of rain.

Flying into Kauai last evening after a day in Honolulu, I was struck by how yellow and dry it is around the airport and Hanamaulu, as well as Kalepa Ridge. It looked an awful lot like leeward Oahu, and that is not good, especially for late February, when everything should be lush and green.

Speaking of green, if you support decriminalizing marijuana, which would turn possession of less than an ounce into a civil, rather than criminal, offense and save the state about $6 million a year, SB 2450 will be heard by the Judiciary Committee at 11 a.m. on Thursday. You can send testimony to Judiciary Chair Sen. Brian Taniguchi at sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov.

And speaking of legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives did pass the Akaka Bill yesterday. As The Advertiser reported:

Democrats wanted to ensure that the bill passed before Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, leaves Congress at the end of this week to run for governor.

"It is the culmination of a legislative lifetime for me," Abercrombie told his colleagues as he urged their support for a bill he has worked on for more than a decade.


If this crappy bill represents “the culmination of a legislative lifetime,” it doesn’t say much for Abercrombie, who now has his eye on the governor’s seat. Not that Mufi would be any better…..

I found it interesting that neither The Advertiser nor the Star-Bulletin included any comments from any Hawaiians, save for the administrator of OHA, which has supported the Akaka bill because it positions it to assume the role of the governing entity. Surely their reporters have some contacts in the independence and sovereignty movements they could call.

Since they failed to provide any opposing point of view, I will. Here’s a comment from sovereignty activisit Andre Perez of Oahu:

Despite only 1 hearing on 1 island, 10 years ago where the majority of testimony was opposed 9 to 1 against the bill and whereafter all subsequent hearings were immediately canceled, the Akaka Bill has been pushed by a few powerful Hawaiian organizations and politicians and is supposed to represent self determination for Hawaiians. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today, about an hour ago, a new version of the Akaka Bill that was just introduced yesterday, passed in the house and will now go to the senate.

This is unprincipled, NO HEARINGS = NO SELF DETERMINATION. The Akaka Bill and self determination should never, ever be used in the same sentence.


And if you want to understand more about why some Hawaiians are opposed, check out this short, impassioned clip where Kaleikoa Kaeo lays it on the line quite clearly.

The good news is, the bill faces a tough fight in the Senate, but not because Republican opponents there view it as the sell out it is. Instead, they’re touting the line of Hawaiian-hater Kenneth Conklin, who claims it will be racist and discriminatory. Of course, Conklin also claims the U.S didn’t stage an illegal overthrow of the monarchy — something Congress admitted in the Apology Resolution — so that gives you an idea of where he’s coming from.

I’m wondering where John Hodge is coming from when he makes statements like the one reported in today’s The Garden Island:

“I think it’s really important for all of us to preserve any part of the Hawaiian Islands, the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, and the shoreline, but having the ability to preserve a part of Hanalei Bay, which is incredibly unique, would be fantastic,” Hodge said Monday. “My family and my girls and my wife would love to help do that.”

If that’s how he feels, why did he buy that 32,000-square-foot lot for $4 million to begin with? And why has he even now begun digging a foundation for a house there as he attempts to sell the lot at the magnanimously reduced price of $3 million to the Kauai Public Land Trust, which would buy it using state and county money?

One thing I found perplexing, aside from the push to acquire this overpriced parcel that flooded heavily in the last storm, and so should not be approved for a house in the first place, was the newspaper’s report that “$1.85 million in the county Open Space Fund has already been tapped,” which was followed later in the story by the comment:

Councilman Tim Bynum said Monday that he understands now is a difficult time to spend county money on land acquisition, but said both the Open Space Fund — which can be expended after recommendations from the Open Space Commission — and the Hanalei District Fund cannot be used for balancing the budget.

So how can the money in the open space fund already be "tapped" before the recommendations from the Open Space Commission are received, and presumably put out for some sort of public review and comment?

I was also intrigued by the comment from mayor’s assistant Beth Tokioka:

“Being that Hodge is one of several potential expansion parcels, it’s hard to say at this point what it will specifically be used for, however, the overall vision is to provide more and better parking, more recreational use area and to better manage and perhaps isolate commercial uses within the park,” Tokioka said. “The park is so popular and so heavily used that expansion is necessary in order for the public to truly enjoy it.”

Three million for a parking lot, or to manage commercial uses? Surely they’re not talking about the plate lunch truck, so perhaps the reference is to boating operations.

But at least the county recognizes the park is very heavy used. And perhaps that has just a little something to do with turning Hanalei into a resort by approving all those vacation rentals in town and along the bay.

Such is the lure of green, and not the kind that sprouts after rain.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joan says "The good news is, the bill faces a tough fight in the Senate, but not because Republican opponents there view it as the sell out it is. Instead, they’re touting the line of Hawaiian-hater Kenneth Conklin, who claims it will be racist and discriminatory."

Conklin would be pleased if Congress adopts his reasoning. But I assure you that Conklin is not a "Hawaiian-hater". It's always amusing to see leftist radicals engaging in personal attacks when they have nothing of real value to say. Conklin does very strongly oppose claims made by some Hawaiians that Hawaiians are entitled to racially exclusionary programs and even a racially exclusionary government. Someone who opposes racism is not a racist for doing it. You do a disservice with your libelous lie that he is a Hawaiian-hater. See Conklin's statement of fundamental principles at
http://tinyurl.com/2c49g

Anonymous said...

It seems very suspcious that no hearings have been held in Hawaii.

Anonymous said...

It seems very suspcious that no hearings have been held in Hawaii.

Nobody likes this dog except for a few politicians and insiders.

Anonymous said...

"sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov"

-- bet there are some real gems in that inbox


"I found it interesting that neither The Advertiser nor the Star-Bulletin included any comments from any Hawaiians"

-- almost seems deliberate


nice youtube video. one can see how that guy with the head tattoo communicates powerfully on this subject matter so as to freak out OHA people


dwps


ps - that conklin guy would do well to at least clearly admit the marines / navy impact was foreseeable. not doing so taints his other points. queen had no basis to think her ordering full blown street-side firefights against the "revolutionaries" would result in trained marines deliberately / accidentally open fire on non-revolutionaries? c'mon..

the US president at the time did not dislike all of this because he had a bad lunch

Anonymous said...

"If this crappy bill represents “the culmination of a legislative lifetime,” it doesn’t say much for Abercrombie, who now has his eye on the governor’s seat. Not that Mufi would be any better….."

Tweedle-de-dumb or Tweedle-de-dumber
You choose.
That's your democracy!
Now go home.
An shut up!
We got it from here citizen.

Puamana said...

How I feel about the Akaka bill. I do not want reservations. I do want the system of government that was in effect at the time of the Queen reinstated. That would include the Monarchial head, and a house of nobles and commons.

The Queen loved the English and European style of Government. We do have an acknowledged heir here, that would be Prince Quentin Kawananakoa, which makes Kauai the ruling house, and takes Oahu basicly out of the picture, dethroning once and for all the Kamehamehas. However, Prince Quentin is a died in the wool conservative Republican which poses a problem for me, as his rule would be rather conservative. However with a House of Nobles and Commons there can be clear checks and balances. I would consider Henry Noa to be the natural Prime Minister, and then each Island would elect its own regional over seers according to traditional Hawaiian values.

The problem with establishing or re-establishing the system that was in place prior to the illegal overthrow, is that this was an actual country, not a series of disjointed tribal affiliations. Reservations would never work for the Hawaiian people.

Further, not all Native Hawaiians currently live within the bounds of this state, with fully half of Native Hawaiians living outside of the State of Hawaii, mostly on the mainland. Then there is the enormous question of reparations, and who will be cutting those checks, and how will that wealth be redistributed.

The clear difference between Native Hawaiians and Native Americans is the fact that there was an entire country overthrown, which consisted of all races and nationalities. I feel that it would be the most logical to do the following:

Reparation checks based on blood quantum, and all lands returned back to the Native Hawaiian people and doled out according to blood quantum. I believe that blood quantum reparations should go no further than 1/4 blood quantum. Anything less than that should not qualify. A banking system set up to establish credit and home loans.

A Native Hawaiian government building built on each island, where the elected representatives will meet to discuss issues effecting the people, and a Native Hawaiian Court system, and law enforcement division established on each island.

This negates the need for reservations, and allows for freedom of movement, and freedom to establish a home wherever one chooses where the land is available, and allows access to governmental operations and law enforcement without the dreaded reservation effect. The people will vote in their house of commons, elect the house of nobles, and establish an order of Monarchial head of state. I see this as a win win for everyone.

Aloha

Anonymous said...

well you have certain thought it out a good bit and articulate much

im curious, as to "Reparation checks based on blood quantum, and all lands returned back to the Native Hawaiian people and doled out according to blood quantum"...i would imagine the checks would be based on, oh, say, things like "back rent" and other damages and injuries

and how would the infrastructure in hawaii paid for by the US fed gov be accounted for or dealt with? i ask as i would think that would amount to a heck of a lot of money

thanks


dwps

Anonymous said...

"Reparation checks based on blood quantum" - How is this fair as there were Kingdom citizens that had no native blood. Kingdom citizenship was not based upon race. All decedents of Kingdom citizens should receive equal treatment (meaning full restoration of the Kingdom and the rights of citizens) and yes a lot of money is owed.