Even the hardest core Obama loyalist is having trouble holding on to his/her idealism these days. I mean so many things have gone wrong with the Obama presidency and many folks postulate that it is because of some of the inner circle that advise him. Rahm Emanuel, for example appears everywhere as the dog folks love to hate. Read the excerpt and go to the link for the whole story.
Just over a year into his tenure, America’s 44th president governs a bitterly divided nation, a world increasingly hard to manage and an America that seems more disillusioned than ever with Washington’s ways. What went wrong?
Pundits, Democratic lawmakers and opinion pollsters offer a smorgasbord of reasons – from Mr Obama’s decision to devote his first year in office to healthcare reform, to the president’s inability to convince voters he can “feel their [economic] pain”, to the apparent ungovernability of today’s Washington. All may indeed have contributed to the quandary in which Mr Obama finds himself. But those around him have a more specific diagnosis – and one that is striking in its uniformity. The Obama White House is geared for campaigning rather than governing, they say.
In dozens of interviews with his closest allies and friends in Washington – most of them given unattributably in order to protect their access to the Oval Office – each observes that the president draws on the advice of a very tight circle. The inner core consists of just four people – Rahm Emanuel, the pugnacious chief of staff; David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, his senior advisers; and Robert Gibbs, his communications chief.
The entirely pointless G7 meeting this weekend only served to underline the fact that Europe is again entering a serious economic crisis.
At the end of the meeting yesterday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told reporters, “I just want to underscore they made it clear to us, they the European authorities, that they will manage this [the Greek debt crisis] with great care.”
But the Europeans are not being careful – and it’s not just about Greece any more. Worries about government debt and associated public sector liabilities (e.g., because banking systems are in deep trouble) have spread through the eurozone to Spain and Portugal. Ireland and Italy are next up for hostile reconsideration by the markets, and the UK may not be far behind.
What are the stronger European countries, specifically Germany and France, doing to contain the self-fulfilling fear that weaker eurozone countries may not be able to pay their debt – this panic that pushes up interest rates and makes it harder for beleaguered governments to actually pay?
And this:As this pressure mounts, we’ll see cracks appear also in the private sector. Significant banks and large hedge funds have been selling insurance against default by European sovereigns. As countries lose creditworthiness – and, under sufficient pressure, very few government credit ratings will hold up – these financial institutions will need to come up with cash to post increasing amounts of collateral against their derivative obligations (yes, the same credit default swaps that triggered the collapse last time).
Hawaiian Holdings Inc. posted net income in the quarter of $35 million, or 66 cents a share, to end the year with a profit of $116.7 million, or $2.22 cents a share. In 2008 Hawaiian had a fourth-quarter loss of $11.9 million, or 23 cents a share, finishing the year with a gain of $28.6 million, or 57 cents a share.
Dr. Mark Q. Martindale, director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory and professor in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, has been awarded the Alexander Kowalevsky Medal for Comparative Embryology for his contributions to the field of evolutionary developmental biology.
Hawaii moves toward election integrity and security
Good News for Hawaii!! State Senator Gary Hooser and others have introduced three outstanding Senate Bills which will increase the integrity of the Hawaii election system.
SB 2415- Establishes elections-by-mail as the only voting system in Hawaii. Makes necessary changes to chapters 11, 16 and 19, HRS.
SB 2445- Requires the auditor to conduct an audit of every statewide primary and general election and to report to the legislature. ($)
SB 2446- Prohibits electronic voting systems from being connected to the Internet, electronically receiving or transmitting election data through telephone system, or receiving or transmitting wireless communications or data transfers.
Please click on the numbers to see the text, referrals, and current status of the bills.
Other excellent election bills have also been introduced in both the House and Senate.
The State Capitol website (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/) is an excellent tool to get the most up to date information. You can find information on the website that will inform you of hearing dates and guide you in submission of testimony on any proposal that might interest you.
If your bill has not been scheduled yet, you may want to do the following:
It is widely acknowledged that greenhouse gas emission-fueled climate change is having a profound and negative impact on fresh water systems around the world. Warmer weather causes more rapid evaporation of lakes and rivers, reduced snow and ice cover on open water systems, and melting glaciers.
What is less understood is that our collective abuse and displacement of fresh water is also a serious cause of climate change and global warming. If we are to successfully address climate change, it is time to include an analysis of how our abuse of water is an additional factor in the creation of global warming as well as solutions that protect water and watersheds.
On Tuesday night’s Daily Show, bailout watchdog and financial reform advocate Elizabeth Warren told Jon Stewart that “this is really the moment” that will determine the future of America’s middle class — the system must be fixed or “the game really is over.”
Warren, who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel created to monitor TARP, said: “It is simple. This is America’s middle class. We’ve hacked at it and chipped at it and pulled on it for 30 years now. And now there’s no more to do. Either we fix this problem going forward or the game really is over.”
TheGardenIsland.com > News > Kauai News > Minimum term doubled for man who burned wife
LIHU‘E — A convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison in 2001 after dousing his wife in cleaning fluid and lighting her on fire had his parole minimum doubled to 120 years following a recent hearing that forced family members to relive the traumatic episode.
Lihu‘e Town Core Plan amended
LIHU‘E — The long-term plan that could one day turn downtown Lihu‘e into a pedestrian paradise has taken a significant step forward in recent weeks.
Hana’s bamboo pavilion to get national attention -The Maui News
The project got the attention of producers of "Renovation Nation," a TV program on the Discovery Network's Planet Green. Steve Thomas, the former host of Public Broadcasting Service's "This Old House," visited the Hana building program's founder and coordinator Rick Rutiz and his students in January and worked with them to build the program's offices and workshop with bamboo in two days.
02/20/09 - DLNR TO BEGIN DEMOLITION, REMOVAL OF CATWALK AT KAUNAKAKAI HARBOR — Department of Land and Natural Resources
DLNR TO BEGIN DEMOLITION, REMOVAL OF CATWALK AT KAUNAKAKAI HARBOR:KAUNAKAKAI, MOLOKAI – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will begin demolition and removal of the collapsed cement catwalk adjoining the boat ramp at Kaunakakai Harbor on Tuesday, February 24.
During the demolition the Kaunakakai boat ramp will be closed for public safety due to the heavy equipment and trucks that will be working in the area.
Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii > Local News
Wailea harvest expected in about a year
WAILEA -- In a clearing about a half-mile off Chin Chuck Road, on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, a radical agricultural experiment is taking place.
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