Issues

Statement on the Call for Fiscal Notes by the House Minority Caucus

Miscellaneous January 19, 2011

by Frances Nuar “Honolulu, Hawaii—The Grassroot Institute applauds the House Minority Caucus for including fiscal note legislation in its 2011 legislative package. “House minority leader Gene Ward said the Republicans would ‘be the watchdogs for fiscal discipline and controlling government spending’ and ‘insist on a more open and accountable government, especially when

Akaka Bill Poll Findings Released

Malia Hill January 15, 2011

HAWAII VOTERS OPPOSED TO THE AKAKA BILL Zogby International poll confirms majority opposition to race-based government December 15, 2009–A new poll of registered Hawaii voters, conducted by Zogby International, has found that a majority of those surveyed oppose the Akaka Bill, while 76 percent oppose higher taxes to pay for

Sheriff Mack, the 17th Amendment, and Liberty

Miscellaneous January 6, 2011

by James Wagoner On December 30, 2010 the Maui Tea Party and Maui Calabash group joined together and hosted an event featuring Sheriff Richard Mack of Graham County, Arizona. His presentation was about the eroding powers of individual states and local governments. It was the individual states that formed the federal

Expanding Online Education in Hawaii

Miscellaneous December 22, 2010

by Melissa Short Schools nationwide are taking advantage of virtual learning to improve education and expand course offerings. The most successful programs provide students unrestricted access to online programs, allowing them to enroll in high quality courses regardless of geographic location. Yet, online education programs in Hawaii lag behind some

The Dangers of Mail-In Ballots

Miscellaneous December 22, 2010

by Cliff Slater In the November General Election, 124,000 Hawaii voters chose to mail in their ballots. That was a third of all ballots cast and more than double the percentage of those mail-in votes cast in the 2008 election. More importantly, mail-in votes were far greater than the typical difference

Hawaii Spending Transparency Site Make Its Debut

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii November 30, 2010

Honolulu, Hawaii – Today the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) announced the launch of HawaiiSunshine.org, a new web site that promises to revolutionize government accountability in Hawaii by revealing waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars at the state and local level. The site exposes details for more than $12

Introducing HawaiiSunshine.org

Malia Hill November 18, 2010

This is the welcome and orientation video for HawaiiSunshine.org, a new project of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. HawaiiSunshine.org allows you to take a close look into how Hawaii’s state government is spending your tax dollars. Hosted by Jamie Story, president of the Grassroot Institute.

What are the ‘Returned Lands’ of Hawaii?

Miscellaneous November 17, 2010

by Jere Krischel In an article titled “What are the ‘Ceded Lands’ of Hawaii?” written for Honolulu Civil Beat on 11/08/2010, Professor Van Dyke makes some critical errors in his assessment of both the history and the law. While acknowledging the Supreme Court’s rejection of the “Apology Resolution,” he still

E Pluribus— What?

Miscellaneous November 1, 2010

by Jere Krischel E pluribus unum. Present on the Great Seal of the United States since 1782, its meaning is both simple and profound – “Out of many, one.” Originally it may have been but a literal acknowledgment of the Union of the thirteen colonies, but as the years have

Akaka bill: Three questions

Richard Rowland October 29, 2010

by Richard Rowland It is noticed that virtually every political talker who says they support the Akaka bill likes to say, in response to the “why” question, something like: “I am in favor of the Akaka bill because it will be good for all of the people of Hawaii” Duke