Senator Akaka has announced that he will not be running for reelection at the end of his current term. For his years of service to the Islands, we thank him and bid him a fond farewell. However (and you knew this was coming, didn’t you?), the fact that Senator Akaka is a nice old guy [...]
So much of the argument for the Akaka Bill is couched in Civil Rights terms–we are given to understand that to oppose it is to somehow oppose the rights and privileges of Native Hawaiians. In fact, one of the most pernicious historical fallacies surrounding the former Kingdom of Hawaii as it relates to the argument [...]
Yesterday there was much talk in Washington, DC that Senator Inouye was planning to attach the Akaka bill (presumably the latest version after major changes) to the Senate Omnibus Spending bill later in December. That would mean that would mean that it would pass without hearings or any other vetting. Indicating that the possibility was [...]
The American Bar Association is currently lobbying in favor of the Akaka Bill, having sent a letter this week to every US Senator in favor of its passage. This is much less impressive than it sounds. Much like The Simpsons or David Lee Roth, the ABA is a shadow of its former self, living off [...]
As I’ve mentioned before, there are Native Hawaiians who are opposed to the Akaka Bill. This is not such an incredible notion. After all, there’s no requirement that one must close one’s eyes to the problems in the Bill just because of one’s ethnic heritage. And it is equally obvious that OHA supports the Akaka [...]
Today, we continue with the third part of our guest series on the development of Indian casino gaming in California, by Jim Marino. (This series originally ran in the Santa Ynez Valley Journal.) Sometimes it seems as though the issue of gaming is an unspoken controversy that advocates of the Akaka Bill are desperately trying [...]
I am not a Native Hawaiian, nor do I play one on TV. But, let’s say for the sake of argument that there was a proposal to create a new tribal government for us Hapa Filipinos. There’s one or two of us in the islands, right? And now, let’s say that there was a substantial [...]
It is, I confess, too easy to mock and criticize politicians. Maybe it’s the endless weighing of polls and legacies and that finger held constantly to the wind. Or maybe it’s the obfuscations, the justifications, and the ill-considered legislation. But politicians do have to think about a lot of things that most of us never [...]
When you’re Hapa, you get used to people playing, “guess the ethnicity” with you. Especially on the mainland. (In Hawaii, the game is generally much shorter. In part because one of your cousins will inevitably walk by and put an end to things.) I actually don’t mind it though. I’ve always liked the way that [...]
E Pluribus–What?
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 acknowledgement of the Union of the thirteen colonies, but as the years have gone by it has become a philosophical premise which [...]