How I'm Voting in Honolulu, HI

Since the election is only 8 days away, this week I'm going to tell you how I'm voting and why I'm voting that way. Feel free to disagree with me, but please tell me why. If I'm wrong, I want to figure it out before I vote.

I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. What has happened is partially my fault. I don't want to screw up like that again.

So here goes.

I live in Honolulu, Hawaii. I am a first time registrant in this state. I do not have a Hawaii driver's license yet, but I have received my "You are registered and you vote here" card in the mail (after spending 30 minutes on the phone with the City & County of Honolulu Elections Office). When I go to vote early on Thursday, I plan to bring every form of identification that has both my name and my Hawaii address on it along with my CA drivers' license and my passport. I will not accept a provisional ballot.

So far, I have good reason to believe my vote will be counted.

Since I think I'm covered as far as registration is concerned, I have turned my attention to how I'm going to vote. Let's start with The Big Show.

President of the United States: Barack Obama (D) or John McCain (R)

Barack Obama.



Duh. This choice is obvious in every way I can think of.

Con Con (Constitutional Convention)

The Bush administration changed the rules. That is the biggest crime they have committed against the United States. They got to start their wars by changing the rules with the Patriot Act. They got the Justice Department to ignore their crimes by making sure all the protectors of the rules were their guys. They made sure no one could ruin the war-profiteering bonanza in Iraq by granting blanket immunity and investigating themselves. They stole elections with an army of lawyers and a pocketed Supreme Court. They jacked even more of our money by legislating The Bailout (what they are planning to do with the money, we don’t yet know).

Con Con is the ballot measure that will let us decide whether or not to allow a constitutional convention to take place in the state of Hawaii. They want us to open the door for the state rules to be changed.

The supporters are the key to this one for me. Willie Lees, the chair of the Hawaii Republican Party, has written in favor of Con Con. Our Republican Governor Linda Lingle, who jumped at the chance to welcome George W. Bush and Dick Cheney into our state in 2004, is hopeful to have her "desires to be heard and lead to their possible incorporation into our constitution." James Aiona is the Lieutenant Governor and is in charge of our elections under Bush's new laws (we have no Secretary of State position which is the new election boss in most of the other states). He was appointed by George W. Bush in 2002 and he is excited about Con Con.

Giving any Bush partners the power to change the rules is a stupid thing to do.

I'm voting no.

Age Qualification for Governor
The proposal is to change the age requirement for who want to run for Governor of Hawaii. You currently have to be 30 years old. If we vote 'yes', we can change that to 25.

I'm all for it. I am 26. I'm educated with a bachelor's degree. My boyfriend has his masters. My classmates now have kids. Some of those kids are in school now. I pay more attention to the news than most older people I know.

I'm not qualified to run for Governor because I have very little understanding of what the position entails. But if that were my goal and had I been working towards it for the last 26 years, I think I'm old enough to have the knowledge to do the job well.

Plus, it's our futures that are withering away right now. We younger people need to grow up and start getting our country back on track. For every 25-29 year old voted in, that is one more baby boomer/serious geezer that steps aside. It's about time to tell the old folks who have been driving under the influence of Milton Friedman that their vision and reflexes are fading and they need to get used to the passenger seat. It's for everyone's safety.

The Rail


I don't have a car and I live in the middle of Waikiki. I really don't need a car because everything I need is within walking distance and there is a decent bus system. But the buses are often full, especially in the rush hours. They are also rarely on time because they get stuck in traffic just like the rest of the cars.

The proposal being frantically squawked about is an elevated light rail system that will run from basically the far side of Pearl Harbor to Diamondhead (when all phases are complete) if it is approved. It will reduce the number of cars on the road, create 11,000 construction jobs, reduce greenhouse gases, reduce our need for oil, and make getting around the biggest city in Hawaii a whole hell of a lot easier.

Of course I'm voting yes.

Honolulu Mayor: Ann Kobayashi or Mayor Mufi Hannemann

This one is still up in the air, but I'm leaning toward incumbent Mayor Mufi Hannemann. The candidates will debate tomorrow night and that is when I will make up my mind.

Mufi Hannemann has served in the Bush administration. That is always a bad thing to have on a resume when you are applying for a job with me. However, the rail is his pet project. He wants to make this city bike friendly. He has already gotten TheBus to start using hybrid buses. These moves are deal makers.

Ann Kobayashi, on the other hand, is against the rail, and I do not believe that she will move forward with it even if we voters overwhelming vote in favor.

Investing in green lifestyles and technology is our clearest path back towards greatness. It's important enough that I might be able to forgive Mufi Hannemann's Bush administration connection. I'll decide tomorrow, but unless Ann Kobayashi blows me a way, I think the current Mayor will have my vote.

House of Representatives: Neil Abercrombie (D) or Steven Tataii (R)


Neil Abercrombie is not a person I'm proud to call my Congressman. He voted for giving the Bush administration a stay out of jail free card with the FISA bill earlier this year. He voted recently for "the bailout". He refused to answer simple questions for Project Vote Smart. I'd like to have a better Congressman.

But Steven Tataii is a Republican. He wants to keep us in Iraq. He's into nuclear. He supports intervening in other countries' affairs all over the world. He supports the Bush doctrine of preemptive strikes. He wants more domestic spying. He wants to allow workplace discrimination of gays.

I got all of that from the survey he filled out for Project Vote Smart. Thank you, Steven Tataii for your candor and honesty, but I just can't vote for you.

Neil Abercrombie. You suck. But you are the least horrible option.

Congratulations.

And The Rest...



If there are any more items that will appear on the ballot here in Honolulu, I don't know about them. This is because we are not provided with sample ballots and I couldn't find one on the internet. That is stupid.

If, when I am in the polling booth, there are items on the ballot that I didn't research, I will be leaving those sections blank. I just won't know enough to be able to make a decision.

So that's how I'm voting.

8 more days.

Voter Registrations: Confirm Yours Now

This is a must watch clip from today's Rachel Maddow Show. This is the most important story of the year... and quite possibly the decade.



I just checked on my registration status. I mailed the registration forms to the Honolulu Office of Elections for myself and for my boyfriend three days before the deadline. I am not listed as registered. Neither is he.

Coffee Shortage

Sorry. No Monday Morning Coffee this week.

One of my dad's sayings was "if you have nothing to say, say nothing." That's kind of what went on this week.

This week I'm researching how I'm going to vote. I'll let you know next Monday.

Taxes: Obama's Plan vs. McCain's Plan

Here are the numbers. For the record, the election of Barack Obama would allow me to keep $774 in my pocket. What's your number?

	Obama	McCain
If you make...	you'd save...	you'd save...
less than $19,000	$567	$21
$19,000-$37,600	$892	$118
$37,600-$66,400	$1118	$325
$66,400-$111,600	$1264	$994
$111,600-$161,000	$2135	$2584
$161,000-$227,000	$2796	$4437
If you're in the top 5% of earners...	you'd pay an extra...	you'd save...
$227,000-$603,400	$121	$8159
$603,400-$2.87 million	$93,709	$48,862
more than $2.87 million	$542,882	$290,708

*These numbers were found on Parade's website and were put together by the Tax Policy Center, which is run by the non-partisan Urban Institute.

The United States Dictator

I think often about the societal signs that point towards fascism, but there is something about the comparison doesn't make sense. When looking at historical instances of democracies melting into fascism, some examples are Italy and Germany's fall leading up to WWII, Russia's post-war decline, and recently the destruction of democracy in Pakistan. In each of those examples, I can easily name the dictator - Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, and Musharraf.

So if we are currently being hurled towards a US style fascist police state, who is our dictator?

Is it George W. Bush?


Yes, the administration of George W. Bush devastated the Constitution, started an illegal imperialist war, and transferred our economy's wealth to the private hands of the super rich. But do any of us think that he was the architect of the overall plan?

Do we think George W. Bush personally crafted the Patriot Act? Do we think that he personally picked out the US Attorney's to fire? Do we think he personally worked out the details of the "bailout" heist?

I don't think so. George W. Bush brilliantly sold the bad products, but I don't think he's the store's owner.

I personally think Dick Cheney is the person in charge at the Bush administration. I don't think I'm alone.

So, is Dick Cheney the dictator?

I don't know. Is he planning on sticking around?

Let's assume the election is going to go forward and on January 20th a new President will be sworn in (because if this doesn't happen, we know the answer). After January 20th, Dick Cheney will no longer have influence in the White House if Barack Obama wins. But what about if John McCain wins? Will Dick Cheney be the head of the McCain administration?

John McCain and Dick Cheney have not consistently seen eye to eye. However, John McCain doesn't look healthy and he's already had cancer 4 times. There is a good chance that he will get sick and not finish his term. Sarah Palin is a likely President.

Sarah Palin and George W. Bush have a lot in common. They are both dead certain. They are both incredible liars. They both fit the casting call for "Most Popular" in high school. They both believe they are being guided by Jesus towards the rapture. They both have limited understanding of the world outside their states. Both don't care.

Seems to me that she fits the mold for the new front guy to take Georgie's place.

But front guy for who? Dick Cheney? Dick Cheney and John McCain have not exactly been partners (although McCain's recent Rove style behavior makes you raise an eyebrow). Would he really go through with a plan designed to keep Dick Cheney in power?

I don't know. John McCain seems pretty hungry to get the power of the President for himself.


So who is the dictator? John McCain? How do you explain the 2000 Republican primaries? Did he allow himself to be smeared by the Bush administration to get George W. Bush the presidency? Do we think his anger towards the Bush administration's lie that John McCain fathered an illegitimate black baby was all fake and he was actually guiding the Bush administration the whole time?

Highly unlikely.

So, who is it? Who is the person calling the shots?

We just don't know. The real leader is hiding behind the scenes.

It's a big piece of the fascism puzzle. Right now, it is still missing.

Monday Morning Coffee: Extreme Earth Makeover

I'm sick of the economy, and Sarah Palin, and the election, and the Bush administration, and the wars.

This week, I gave some thought to Earth.

Australian Solar Tower

That is a picture of the Solar Tower, a 200 MW power station, developed by EnviroMission for $35 million, which will provide power to approximately 200,000 Australian families and prevent over 900,000 tons of pollution from entering the air every year.

The Solar Tower was tested in a smaller scale project in Spain during the 1980's and was proved reliable and effective. The smaller model consistently provided 50kW of emission free power for seven years.

The Australian project is still in development, but they want to build the first one in Victoria, Australia.

Developing the technology for the Solar Tower, I want to repeat, cost $35 million. The construction and maintenance of the Solar Tower will create jobs for residents of Victoria, provide them cheap power, provide them cleaner air and less medical expenses, and will increase tourism to the area (because I, for one, want to see this thing).

Imagine what we could have done with $700 billion.

The Black Ocean of Indonesia

Negligence while drill, baby, drilling caused this:

Regulations at Work

The European Union has fined 10 oil corporations for screwing over the public, labeling the corporations a 'cartel'. They were fined a total of 676 millions Euros, which equals 946 million dollars.

The companies involved in the cartel, dubbed the 'paraffin mafia', exchanged sensitive commercial information and essentially manipulated European markets for paraffin wax between 1992 and 2005, according to the Commission. Meetings were regularly held in top hotels across Europe.

There is probably not a household or company in Europe that has not bought products affected by this 'paraffin mafia' cartel," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, referring to a market valued at nearly €500 million per year...

The companies involved and their respective fines are as follows (in millions of euros):

• Sasol (Germany) - €318
• Total (France) - €128
• Shell – fine set at €96 but reduced to €0 for cooperation
• ExxonMobil - €83
• RWE (Germany) - €37
• ENI (Italy) - €29
• Hansen & Rosenthal (Germany) - €24
• MOL (Hungary) - €23
• Repsol (Spain) - €19
• Tudapetrol (Germany) - €12

Check out the Wikipedia for 'paraffin' and look at the list of items paraffin is used for. I can think of at least a dozen things in my apartment that likely contain that product.

If European citizens have been swindled by these companies on such a scale, is it possible we have too?

On second thought, is it possible we haven't?

Ocean Oil Rigs ("Offshore Drilling")

A report by the US Energy Information Administration concluded that drilling for oil in the ocean off our shores, if allowed, wouldn't begin until 2017 and wouldn't impact the amount of oil available until 2030. Even then, this is a graphic illustration of that impact:

Nevada/California Water Supply

In May 2007, I went on a camping trip with four friends to Lake Mead, a popular vacationing spot about 45 minutes from Las Vegas, NV. We went to a campground that we read was located on the edge of the lake. In May, even though it is not the peak of summer, we knew the temperature at Lake Mead would be over 100 degrees every day. We weren't concerned though because we were looking forward to drinking beers all day while hanging out in the water. We even found some awesome inner tubes that had a cup holder on one side and a cooler for a six-pack on the other. A very exciting find at Longs.

But we never got to use those floaties. It turned out that the campground was no longer on the lake shore, but the the campground had not moved. The shore had. The lake's edge was now a brisk 15 minute walk away from the campsite because the lake was evaporating.

I assumed this was something that was happening over the course of decades. Turns out the lake was almost full while we were partying because it was 1999.

Now, finally, this has gotten the attention of someone with a video camera and an expense account.

The following is from one of my favorite channels/websites, Current TV:



Thank God we picked out a campsite with shade.

Rooftop Icebergs

If I understand this correctly, and I think I do, one of the big reasons climatologists are so afraid of the polar icecaps melting is because the polar icecaps reflect a lot of sunlight back into space. Without the icecaps, the theory is that more of the sun's heat would stay on Earth because it would be absorbed into the open oceans and it would make the planet heat up much faster than it already is.

That is why I think this bit of information is so fantastic.

Apparently, Spain has so many greenhouses with reflexive roofs that reflexive materials cover over 100 square miles of Spanish land. The area around these shiny greenhouses has seen the average local temperature decrease by 0.54 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since 1983, even though the rest of the country has seen its' temperatures rise.

And that makes sense, right?

If the rooftops are reflecting some of the heat back into the heavens (like the polar icecaps do), less heat is being absorbed into the land around the greenhouses. Less heat = less temperature.

I don't know, but that seems to make sense to me.

If you're with me on this, here's the great news:

According to the LA Times, roofs account for 25 percent of total surface area in most cities, and pavement accounts for around 35 percent. If 100 major cities covered that space with reflective materials, such as those used on the Spanish greenhouses, it could offset as much as 44 metric gigatons of heat-trapping gases. As Joe Biden would say, let me repeat that: 44 metric gigatons. "That is more than all the countries on Earth emit in a single year," the Times explained in a report on new climate change research last month. "And, with global climate negotiators focused on limiting a rapid increase in emissions, installing cool roofs and pavements would offset more than 10 years of emissions growth, even without slashing industrial pollution.

We don't even need to involve the federal government. We can do this ourselves.

Check out CoolRoofs.org. This could actually work.

The Bailout, Martial Law, & the End of Democracy

I'm going to confess. This week I feel like Chicken Little. This stuff is awkward to write about and even more awkward to talk about. But it happened and continuing to ignore/not know about this is a bad idea.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but lately that is just my role. Unfortunately, a lot of the things I tried to chalk up to my tin-foil hat are happening just as scripted by history. I wish it weren't true.

In late January of this year, I wrote a series of posts about the 10 Steps to Fascism as defined by an article and a book written by Naomi Wolf, a brilliant journalist who has studied the consistent patterns that emerged when democratic societies have been transformed into a police state. Think Italy and Germany in the 1920's and 1930's or Pakistan in the last 10 years. As a quick refresher, the steps she listed are:

1) Invoke a terrifying internal and external threat

2) Create a prison system outside the rule of law

3) Develop a group of thugs to terrorize citizens

4) An internal surveillance system is established.

5) Infiltrate and harass citizens groups

6) Create a list that subjects those listed to arbitrary detention and release

7) Threaten key individuals with their jobs, or worse, if they don't toe the line

8) Control the press

9) Cast dissent as "treason" and criticism as "espionage"

10) Suspend the rule of law

In the last few days, I have been looking into an interview Naomi Wolf gave on Saturday (October 4th). While I'm not surprised, the news she provided appears to be true.

The news is not good. Her timeline (which has been dead-on balls accurate as far as I can tell up until this point) indicates that our time to act ran out on October 1st. If we don't use this overtime period to arrest Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and other co-conspirators in the next few weeks, in order to get them to squeal on each other and restore the rule of law, we are going to lose our democracy.

The "bailout" has a lot to do with this.

At the end of this post is the interview with Naomi Wolf, but first I'm going to provide you some background on some key recent events that she mentions, because the interview is far more interesting if you know what she is talking about.

Plus, the pieces of evidence she gives are fascinating (and terrifying) all by themselves.

At the end of the interview, Naomi Wolf provides us with a road map to stop this, which is to get a District Attorney to arrest the President and Vice-President, but with the short amount of time we have left (apparently) I don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell this will happen. My goal is just to get some more people to know this is happening.

We can't overcome what we don't understand.

If you are concerned, spread the word.

'Terrorists' Updated


Here is a picture of 23 year old Monica Bicking and her boyfriend Eryn Trimmer. They live in Minnesota and opened up their home to travelers who wanted to go to St. Paul to protest at the Republican National Convention. On August 30, two days before any protests would take place, Monica's home and two others were raided by police and the FBI. After taking a bunch of her stuff, they arrested both Monica and Eryn for "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism".

Monica is now dealing with a quarter million dollars in legal fees as a result of her preemptive arrest.

Mass Arrests Have Started

200 people were arrested on a river bank while listening to a concert on Labor Day near the RNC convention. There does not seem to be any legal reason for the arrests. We know this because we have video.

Videos like this one were widely destroyed by police during the creepy four days that was the Republican National Convention, but the guy who took this particular video buried it in the ground before being arrested. Once he was released, he dug it up, cleaned it up, and released it to the internet media, which is how we have it now.

While watching this, keep an eye out for the National Guard. You'll figure out why in a minute.



"Immigration" Mass Arrests Were Bigger

From The New York Times on Tuesday, August 26;

LAUREL, Miss. - In another large-scale workplace immigration crackdown, federal officials raided a factory here on Monday, detaining at least 350 workers they said were in the country illegally...

As of late Monday afternoon, no criminal charges had been filed, said Barbara Gonzalez, an agency spokeswoman, but she said that dozens of workers had been "identified, fingerprinted, interviewed, photographed and processed for removal from the U.S."

The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained. That raid was a significant escalation of the Bush administration's enforcement practices because those detained were not simply deported, as in previous raids, but were imprisoned for months on criminal charges of using false documents...

She said no lawyers were present while the workers were being interrogated.

The President Gets $100 Billion from "The Bailout"

After months and years of constantly claiming that our economy was strong, The Club hyped up an economic crisis and rammed through a bill that would give them over $700 billion to spend at will. While we still don't have the text of the economic equivalent of the Patriot Act, known as "The Bailout", we do know that $100 billion of that money has been set aside to be used at the President's discretion, with no oversight at all.

$100 billion dollars.

The Club

Notice that I say "the President"and not "President Bush". It is not necessarily George W. Bush who is looking to permanently rule the United States, although his reign has been devastating in terms of speeding up the fascism process. Despite the extremely effective Bush administration, the momentum towards fascism has been building for a very long time. We honestly have no way to know exactly who is in on it. That's why I (and George Carlin) identify the perpetrators as The Club. It's the best we can do for now.



However, while we obviously can't pin-point everyone who is in The Club, we know that John McCain and George W. Bush are on the same team. If we get to have a real election on November 4th, there is no choice. John McCain must not win or our Constitution and freedoms are toast.

Congress Blackmailed With Threats of Martial Law

One of the ways the Bush administration was able to get cowardly Congressmen to vote for the "Bailout" bill was blackmail. They told our representatives that if they do not vote to give them over $700 billion right this second, then there will be martial law in the United States.

Don't take it from me. Here is Congressman Brad Sherman on the floor of the House of Representatives (it's only 48 seconds of C-SPAN):



October 1st - Army Deployed to the United States

Army Times reported this week that the first brigade of the 3rd Infantry division has been deployed onto the streets of the United States as of October 1st. I don't know if this means anything, but they will be operating out of their home post in Fort Stewart in Georgia (I just wanted to make sure they weren't coming too close to me). They report that while the brigades will rotate, they anticipate that this type of mission will become a permanent type of Army operation.

If you haven't done it yet, look up the Posse Comitatus Act. Be sure to scroll down and check out George W. Bush's signing statement on the related Defense Authorization Act.

If this goes down like I'm afraid it is going to, October 1, 2008 will eventually be considered an important date in United States history. It will be considered the date martial law began.

Americans Are Now Legally Enemy Combatants

A ruling by the fourth circuit appellate court in July has opened the legal door for The President to arrest and indefinitely detain any Americans simply by labeling them an "enemy combatant". Since the beginning of the "war on terror", this has happened only a few times and was illegal. Now, aided by another extreme right-wing court, this affront to the Constitution is law.

Glenn Greenwald, one of the best journalists I know of, explains the details better than I could.

Read his article.

The Warrior's Creed


United States soldiers used to carry a copy of the "Soldier's Creed" with them in their pockets. Donald Rumsfeld, the former head of George W. Bush's Department of Defense and Iraq War starter, changed the oath of office for the Army to the "Warrior Creed".

Robert Fisk, a British journalist, explains one of the ways we went from Glory to Full Metal Jacket:



Naomi Wolf's Warning

Here is the interview that pieces all this information together. If you see cause for concern, pass it on.

George W. Bush Wants Bailout To Pass

Associated Press headline from today:

Bush lobbies Congress to pass $700B bailout bill

What else do we need to know?

Shut it down.

Congress Still Working to Screw Us

This is an example of articles I've been running into all week (this one courtesy of Yahoo's front page)

12 members who might switch their vote
Daniel W. Reilly

The $700 billion rescue plan the House defeated Monday would have passed if just 12 more members of the House had voted the other way. Here’s a list of a dozen members who voted against the bill — and what it might take to turn their nays into yeas.

Excuse me, but we don't want the bailout. Remember the public outcry that everyone was talking about just a few days ago? Well, that still happened. The public, us non-insiders, don't want to give Wall Street's rich any more money.

Congress can stick their "oversight" promises up their asses.

Keep up the outcry. They are re-packaging this stinky fish.