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In This Issue: Memorial Day 2009, DOE Funding, School Choice, Liberty News, Family Brain Gain, and more!
Remembering
The History and Legacy of Memorial Day
By Daniel de Gracia and Sarah Ann Hunt
Denis Edward O’Brien was attending seminary at St. John’s in Little Rock, Arkansas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The events of December 7, 1941 moved him to join the Marine Corps at the tender age of 18. As he would later write, “It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the organizer who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”
(To read more, click here.)
GRASSROOT PERSPECTIVE
Day In, Day Out
An Ode to the Majority in our State Legislature
By President Emeritus Dick Rowland
 They spend all day
Then when they run out of whey
They pick winners and losers in play
The taxpayers have no say
While they make all that hay
But we pay and pay and pay
This makes them happy and gay
And anxious to return for a long stay
Auwe!!
To see what your legislator did or didn't do in the just completed session, please visit our new HawaiiVotes web site: http://www.hawaiivotes.org!
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FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii created the Fresh Perspective column exclusively to publish the work of high school and college students, as well as Grassroot interns. In addition to work appearing on GRIH’s Web site, their work is also submitted to Hawaii Reporter and Townhall.com. Submissions are welcome from any interested young adult. For earlier Fresh Perspectives please click here. Please contact tom@grassrootinstitute.org for more info.
A Culture of Indifference?
The DOE Deserves No New Funding
By Ben Farkash
The Honolulu Advertiser recently reported that the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) may receive federal stimulus monies after all. Governor Lingle has previously said she planned to use those funds to balance looming budget deficits, in lieu of less appealing options such as raising taxes. Education is rightly one of the highest priorities of modern society. Our collective future depends on the youth of today receiving an education that will prepare them to be good stewards of tomorrow. Consequently, the state legislature wishes to use the federal stimulus funds to supplement Hawaii's education budget, rather than free up state funds that would have gone to the DOE .
Alleviating budget shortfalls in other areas of state government is good public policy. However, the audit of the Department of Education released in February of this year raises serious questions about the competence of the DOE to manage the funds already under its control, much less wisely administer a federal windfall.
(To read more, click here.)
GRASSROOT TV
Please check out the NEW videos we have at GTV, including speeches from the 2009 Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party!
http://www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootHawaii
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'GRASSROOT INSIGHT' AUDIOCASTS
Interviews with VIPs, community leaders, and special guests from the liberty and freedom movement are available FREE for download to your portable listening device or for listening via the Internet.
This time Policy Analyst Pearl Hahn discusses the new GRIH Policy Brief, "Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act and Far-Reaching Costs".
For the interview with Policy Analyst Hahn, please click here!
Please check out our recent podcasts:
• State Senator Sam Slom of Smart Business Hawaii talks about the Hawaii State Legislature and the business climate in Hawaii
• Author and community education reform activist Laura Brown discusses what the Hawaii Department of Education can do to improve the cost effectiveness and quality of schools in our state
• Hawaii attorney and activist Bill Burgess talks about the status of the legal fight to keep Hawaii free and equal
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LIBERTY EVENTS
Information on the Institute’s upcoming events, research publication dates and speaking engagements is always available and updated via our website. The Grassroot Institute has regular meetings on Oahu, Maui, The Big Island, and Kauai. Please contact our office for more details.
• Family Brain Gain Seminars
The Family Brain Gain Youth Leadership Program for June 19 is not to be missed! We will be focusing on the proposed Akaka Bill and what questions should be asked by the public and answered by proponents and critics. There will be video clips followed by discussion from some of the most knowledgeable people about the measure, which has been re-introduced in the U.S. Congress. In addition, GRIH Founder and Youth Program Director Dick Rowland will moderate a panel including attorney Bill Burgess from Aloha For All; Dr. Ken Conklin, author of the book Hawaiian Apartheid -- Racial Separatism and Ethnic Nationalism in the Aloha State; Jimmy Kuroiwa, who will discuss the social and local aspects of the bill; and Andy Blom of the organization Hawaiian Values, who will discuss the political aspects of the Akaka Bill.
Friday, June 19, 2009, 7 PM
Trinity Presbyterian Church and School
875 Auloa Rd in Kailua just off the Pali Highway.
You are welcome to invite friends and family. Please RSVP since space may be limited. Reservations: Please email Lora Burbage at LLburbage@yahoo.com. If you have any questions, call Lora at 772-0787 or Dick at 864-1776. Donations to help defer expenses will be gratefully accepted. Mahalo nui loa to Trinity Presbyterian Church and School for their support!
• The Foolish Things Idea Exchange
Date: Sunday, June 7, 2009
Time: 6 pm - 8 pm
Speakers/Topic: Former State Senator and Gubernatorial, Congressional and U.S. Senate candidate John Carroll will address Hawaii's shipping monopoly through the Jones Act and its negative effect on the economy, with discussion to follow.
Cost: $5 monthly (or $40 annual) membership donation. Heavy pupus.
Location: The Schoollands', 94-1072 Alelo St., Waipahu, HI
RSVP to 808-676-0825 or Li.Schoolland@gmail.com
• Freedom Fest 2009
July 9-11, 2009
Bally's Las Vegas, Nevada
PH:1-866-266-5101
www.freedomfest.com
Freedom Fest Producer Dr. Mark Skousen is a award-winning economist and author of the bestseller Econopower. He was part of the Grassroot Institute's 2008 Speaker Series.
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LIBERTY NEWS
A Better Way?
Teachers Hindered in Public School Environment
 Private school teachers have higher job satisfaction, greater autonomy, and more support than their public school counterparts, according to a new study released recently by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
"Free to Teach: What America’s Teachers Say About Teaching in Public and Private Schools" presents data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, a major national survey of teachers conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The report breaks down the data for public and private school teachers, comparing what teachers have to say about their work in each of the two school sectors. The findings reveal that private school teachers are much more likely to have a great deal of control over selection of textbooks and instructional materials (53 percent vs. 32 percent) and content, topics, and skills to be taught (60 percent vs. 36 percent). Disturbingly, the survey found that nearly one in five public school teachers has been physically threatened by a student, compared to only one in twenty private school teachers (18 percent vs. 5 percent) and nearly one in ten public school teachers has been physically attacked by a student, three times the rate in private schools (9 percent vs. 3 percent).
“Documenting existing teacher working conditions is a first step in helping the nation’s educational system – both private and public schools – improve working conditions and the overall profession,” said Robert Enlow, President and CEO of the Friedman Foundation. The full report can be accessed here.
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Kapuna Speaks
Akaka Bill Filled With Problems
Activist Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson addressed Hawaiian sovereignty and the implications of the Akaka Bill at a recent meeting of Li Zhao's The Foolish Things Idea Exchange. Johnson is a Native Hawaiian scholar who established the Hawaiian Studies program at the University of Hawaii. She was named a “Living Treasure of Hawaii” for her work in translating early Hawaiian-language documents. Anyone interested in educating themselves about the Akaka Bill, which has recently been re-introduced in the US Congress, should view the 8-part video series here.
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Econ 101 Made Simple
New Online Tool
Overwhelmed by the seemingly endless stream of federal tax and spending figures appearing in today's news? Fed up by false claims of fiscal responsibility? Get all the facts with The Heritage Foundation's new "2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts". With new innovative features you can learn about issues such as:
• How the Federal budget will affect the national debt
• Bailout spending vs. unfunded obligations of Social Security and Medicare
• How stimulus spending affects the already bloated federal budget
This new online section at Heritage.org is a product of the Entitlements Initiative of the Heritage Foundation's Leadership for America Campaign and has a number of new tools. For example, an interactive flash graphic illustrates our income tax system, and new charts illustrate the nation's new debt levels and the state-by-state effects of the Alternative Minimum Tax. There are also links to Heritage's blog "The Foundry" discussing budget and tax issues. For more information please click here.
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Grassroot Media Hits
• GRIH President Jamie Story was featured in the May 17 Honolulu Advertiser article, "Hawaii governor, Legislature began session on high note, ended in a 'mess' of contention".
• GRIH Intern Ben Farkash had a Letter to the Editor about the Department of Education published in the third largest newspaper in the state, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
• Dick Rowland felt the muse and wrote a little ditty about the Hawaii State Legislature which was picked up by HawaiiReporter.com.
• Hawaii's independent news source HawaiiReporter.com regularly republishes articles from the Grassroot Institute.
• The nationally recognized and popular site Townhall.com has recently picked up and distributed many of the articles you read in Grassroot in Review.
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FAVORITE GRASSROOT BLOGS AND WEBSITES
Join the conversation and express your views! Use these links to access these interactive sites.
• Check out HawaiiVotes for the latest on the Hawaii State Legislature.
http://www.hawaiivotes.org
and the HawaiiVotes Blog at
http://www.hawaiivotes.org/forum/blogs/
• Hawaii Sunshine government transparency website
http://www.hawaiisunshine.org/
• The Mystery of Hawaiian History
http://historymystery.grassrootinstitute.org
• Aloha For All
http://www.aloha4all.org
Read what others have written and add your own thoughts. See you there!
-GIR-
NEED A GOOD SPEAKER?
From taxation to education and health care to transportation, the Institute’s staff is excited to address your group regarding the
important policy issues facing all citizens of Hawaii. Call (808) 591-9193 to check availability and make arrangements, or e-mail us at tom@grassrootinstitute.org.
-GIR-
SUPPORT GOOD PUBLIC POLICY IN HAWAII!
Please help us continue to provide independent research on issues important to Hawaii! The Grassroot Institute operates only through the generous donations of friends and benefactors from around Hawaii and the United States, and even the smallest of donations can be used to accomplish great things for the future of our beloved state.
Will you please consider becoming a supporter today? Donations are tax deductible and it's quick, easy and secure. Click here!
-GIR-
Grassroot Institute is a proud member of the State Policy Network, Townhall.com,
Americans for Tax Reform,
The Sam Adams Alliance and more.
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