GRASS IN REVIEW

GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII

Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society.

 WEEKLY GRASS IN REVIEW   -    March 5, 2008

LUVing Hawaii
A Message from Dick Rowland

The website http://www.LUV-Hawaii.org provides an opportunity to sign on to a petition that says there should be a vote on the Akaka Bill by the people of Hawaii before it could become law. There is also a place for comments.

Virtually every person that has signed on has also submitted remarks. Below is a sampling of them:

• “Every effort has been made on the part of Hawaii's congressional delegation to exclude the voice of the people from this process. This is both a willful abrogation of their duty as our elected representatives and an extremely foolhardy ploy to circumvent what can never be circumvented: the will and assent of all the people of Hawaii”

• “Dividing Americans into racial groups will destroy our Country. United we stand......”

• “The kingdom of Hawaii held lands for the benefit of all Hawaiian citizens regardless of race, and that passed into law when Hawaii joined the U.S. These are called ceded lands, but recent Hawaii Supreme Court decisions suggest that, potentially all of Hawaii might be put into that category, since it is not clear what is ceded land and which is not. This decision has put a cloud on all property titles in Hawaii. Hawaii is exceptionally corrupt, and the elites, who perpetrated the Bishop Trust scandal, at it again, and want to take the ceded lands, make them into private property for the benefit of only a small percentage of Hawaiians who are racially descended from Polynesians. This is unconstitutional, but if the Akaka bill passes, the new Hawaiian Government will not be bound by U.S. law. Hawaiians absolutely need to vote on this matter, because on the mainland, Indian tribes have claimed ownership of whole towns, all of Syracuse N.Y., and some areas, like Mashpee, Massachusetts. There are claims of ownership, unsettled for over thirty years, which has put a cloud of doubt over the validity of titles. There have been few takings of land by Indian tribes but many settlements of hundreds of millions of dollars. Conceivably, if the Akaka bill passes, every single landowner in Hawaii might be served a notice of taxation which could be significant, and in the case of particularly attractive properties, might even be subject to seizure by eminent domain for Hawaiian native cultural facilities. And, even worse, U.S. law would not apply, and like Exxon has found out in Venezuela, over 12 billion dollars in property was seized without a penny paid to Exxon. This could happen in Hawaii. This would absolutely destroy land values, stop development, and transfer billions of dollars to the corrupt politicians, and make those Hawaiians (even those whose families have been in Hawaii for many generations) into second class citizens. And, this does not require a vote of the citizens? Are Hawaiians so naive that they would put up with this? Already, the Hawaii Supreme Court is making decisions prejudicial to every landowner’s property rights – There should be mass demonstrations against this horrible situation.”

• “It is time for the "citizens" of the State of Hawai'i, including members of the Kingdom, to tell their State legislators, State Administration and US Congressional leaders what the majority wants for Hawai'i, rather than the other way around. What better way to end the "assumptions" once and for all by having civic-minded citizens of Hawai'i go to the polls and vote on the issue after a healthy discourse. Then, the correct perception can be represented within the State as well as in Washington and the debate can move on with clarity. What democratic a concept.”

• “Aloha.... and please consider those of us who have lived in the islands for many years and consider ourselves Hawaiians too !!! Not sure the changes coming in the Akaka Bill would harm us that much but another layer of government regulations and rules and hoops to jump through would not be in anyone's best interest. In the event the legislation would pass, and I am against that as unnecessary and unfair to us taxpaying homeowners here, please do let the state residents vote so that an up or down decision is possible. Financial benefits should not accrue at the expense of ALL people on the islands that are working so very hard to offset the huge cost of living that will be ever present in our state. Thank you,”

• “A house divided cannot stand! A nation within a nation is divisive and gives unequal treatment among neighbors. All citizens of Hawaii should have a vote on the Akaka Bill just like the vote to request Statehood.”

• “Passage of the Akaka Bill will mean the death of Aloha.”

Please visit the website http://www.LUV-Hawaii.org and share your thoughts. Your identity will not be revealed - as you can see above.

TRY OUR BLOGS
Use these links to access various topics.

Dash of Calabash>>>Blog Archives>>>Productivity and the Education Establishment

Dash of Calabash>>>Blog Archives>>>Guns Save Lives

The Mystery of Hawaiian History>>>Blog Archives>>>An economist’s view of the Akaka bill

Read what others have written or add your own thoughts by clicking here.

LIBERTY NETWORK

1. GRIH Board Member Dale Evans had an article published in Hawaii Reporter on 3/3/08: "Holding Mayor Hannemann Accountable.”

2. Last month Hawaii Pacific University Associate Economics Professor Ken Schoolland, who sits on GRIH's Board of Scholars, was awarded the Acton Foundation’s National Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education.  Read more in the 2/5/08 issue of Hawaii Reporter.

3. The www.LUV-Hawaii.org website was the subject of the main message of the January 16 Grass in Review. Since then, nearly 170 people have signed the petition and over 120 have posted comments. A few of the comments were published in Hawaii Reporter on 2/8/08, 2/23/08, and 3/1/08.  Please read them and sign the petition if you have not already done so. The comments are anonymous and cannot be viewed on the LUV-Hawaii website at this time.
   
   If you have not already signed the petition or gone to the website to learn more about it, please do so today.

4. Dick Rowland will be out of the office March 6-12 attending the Citizen's Equal Rights Alliance Conference in Washington, D.C.

5. Greg Rehmke of Economic Thinking returns to Honolulu March 12-18. He will offer two three-hour seminars for HPU students on "Energy and the Environment" and "Development Economics in Africa."  He will be attending the Christian Home School Conference March 14-15, presenting a one-hour workshop on "Common Sense Economics" on the 14th.  On Monday, March 17, Greg will hold a workshop for home school debaters on interventionist dynamics as it relates to campaign finance reform (the debate topic). Later that afternoon he will give a talk on "Environmental Economics" at the University of Hawaii, hosted by the Economics Club.

6. On March 14, Dick Rowland and Wendy Fujimoto will be out of the office for most of the day attending the Christian Home School Conference in Honolulu.  The conference continues through Saturday the 15th, with HPU Professor Ken Schoolland scheduled to present a one-hour workshop on "Teaching Economics with Jonathan Gullible Parables."

UPCOMING EVENTS

All of the Institute’s events, research publication dates and speaking engagements are available on our website.

1.  On March 27th, from 11:45 AM - 2:00 PM, Michael Quinn Sullivan, President and CEO of Empower Texans and its premier project, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, will speak at the Pacific Club on "Government Transparency in Texas: A Growing Success Story and Suggestions for Hawaii."  The event is $25 paid in advance and includes a Deli Luncheon Buffet.  More information can be found here. This event is by invitation only.  All those who wish to attend must reply to their personal e-mailed invitation (to be sent in the next week) or call the office.  Invitees may bring guests if the office is contacted in advance. No walk-ins will be allowed.

2.The 2008 Preserving the American Dream conference: "Preserving Freedom and Mobility"
May 16-18, 2008 in Houston, TX

GRIH will be co-sponsoring the sixth annual Preserving the American Dream Conference in Houston (Omni Hotel near Galleria District) on May 16-18, 2008. Registration is $249 regular or $175 student and low-income. There is an optional lunch and tour of Houston on Friday the 16th (8:30 am – 4:30 pm) for $25. Last year’s attendees really enjoyed the tour of San Jose.

For more information or to register, please visit the American Dream Coalition website.