Posted on: Saturday, June 7, 2008
Pesky Hillary tough to shake
By David Shapiro
Barack Obama's win and the local political din top our weekly "flASHback" on Hawai'i's news that amused and confused:
Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination, and local supporters invited him home for some surf time before the national convention. He'd like to come, but he's afraid Hillary would follow and fight him for every wave.
The Institute for Human Services will charge homeless residents $90 a month if they stay longer than three months. You know it's a bad economy when the cost of poverty is going up.
Legislative Democrats and Gov. Linda Lingle bashed each other for withholding aid to the needy. Playing poor-mouth politics on the backs of the poor is such poor form.
House finance chairman Marcus Oshiro bemoaned lower state revenues, saying "the tough decisions just got tougher." All we're missing is tough decision-makers.
Property buyers, sellers and lenders were indicted for working together to carry out a scam. Maybe it's just as well the governor and Legislature can't work together.
Sen. Fred Hemmings says Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona will be the GOP candidate for governor in 2010 because "Duke is up to bat and he's paid his dues." If the senator mixes cocktails as well as metaphors, make me a frosty one with an umbrella in it.
Aiona recouped some dues he paid by charging well-wishers $100 each to celebrate his 53rd birthday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. For entertainment, the Legislature's minuscule GOP caucus put on clown suits and showed how they can all fit in a Volkswagen.
The City Council voted to give qualified O'ahu homeowners a $100 property tax credit, half of last year's. It's enough to buy a nice frame for the $1 state rebate the Legislature gave us.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann was in San Francisco speaking at a transit conference. He can teach plenty on how rail transports politicians on lots of free trips to nice cities.
The bankruptcy trustee for Aloha Airlines will auction off the right to sue Mesa Air Group Inc. for running Aloha out of business, explaining "a lawsuit is no different than a propeller." That's true, a lawyer can sashimi you with either.
And the quote of the week ... from Councilman Gary Okino, excusing colleague Rod Tam's "wetbacks" slur against undocumented Mexican workers: "I don't think his intention was to be derogatory in any way ... I think it was just ignorance."
Martin Luther King Jr. pegged this council when he said nothing is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Reach David Shapiro at dave@volcanicash.net.
