It’s always dumbfounding to me how the pro-Akaka Bill crowd is always trying to place a clumsy thumb on the scale of public opinion.  If you didn’t know where to look, you’d think that Hawaii was largely in favor of the bill (rather than sharply divided over it).  Moreover, you’d be convinced that every single Native Hawaiian in the state was clamoring for its passage.  That’s certainly how it must look sometimes to the Washington beltway crowd.  (Who, let’s face it, have a long history of swinging back and forth between romanticizing the Aloha state and then totally disregarding it.)  The good news (and I do have some) is that there are groups out there (including groups of Native Hawaiians) who are opposed to the Akaka Bill and are working to let Washington know that there are more voices out here than those of the vote-counting politicians and OHA.  Not long ago, I posted a link to an online petition demanding public hearings on the Akaka Bill in Hawaii.  Well here, in its entirety, is the letter sent from Leon Siu (head of the Keoni Foundation, a coalition of Native Hawaiian groups) to every U.S. Senator, citing that very petition in a request that Senators vote against the Bill.  Enjoy:

HAWAIIANS DEMAND AKAKA BILL HEARINGS IN HAWAI`I
Petition Shows Broad Anti-Akaka Bill Sentiment

Aloha,

We are contacting you to make you aware of broad opposition to S.1011, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009, otherwise known as the Akaka bill, throughout Hawai`i and to ask for your vote AGAINST this bill.

Regardless of what Hawai`i Senators Akaka and Inouye have told your office, the people of Hawai`i, including Native Hawaiians, do not support the Akaka bill and are demanding public hearings be held in Hawai`i before any vote occurs in Congress.

Over the years, poll after poll has shown the citizens of Hawai`i, both native and non-native to be overwhelmingly opposed to this bill.

Moreover an online anti-Akaka bill petition has garnered hundreds of signers from all political points of view, both of natives and non-natives.

A copy, with over eight hundred signatures is attached to this email. The petition can also be seen online at http://StopAkakaPetition.com <http://StopAkakaPetition.com>

“We, the people of Hawai`i, declare our opposition to the 2010 version of the Akaka bill, and strongly object to being excluded from this legislative process,” stated Leon Siu representing the Koani Foundation, part of a coalition of Native Hawaiian groups.

“We have long been told that open, public debates in matters that affect the citizenry are part of the US democratic process. But it has not been so with the Akaka bill.”

“We, the people of Hawai`i, insist the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee hold public hearings on S.1011 in Hawai`i as soon as possible. We demand to be heard.”

The only time public hearings were held in Hawai`i on the bill was ten years ago.

At that hearing, people turned out in record numbers to oppose the legislation.

Since then, the only hearings held on the Akaka bill were in Washington, DC in the dead of winter, 5,000 miles from Hawai`i, and no opposing testimony from Hawaiians or anyone else was allowed.

For more information, contact Leon Siu at (808) 488-4669.

How about a little round-up of Hawaii-type news?  No?  Too bad, here we go . . .

Sadly, the bid to save the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (and the integrity of journalism in Hawaii) has failed.  Though the proposal put forth by Sam Slom and Malia Zimmerman was the “last bid standing,” it didn’t meet the undisclosed (and presumably ridiculously high) asking price demanded of the owner, Black Press of Canada.  (Is it me or is that a strangely ominous name for a news organization?  I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice, not gloomy and forbidding.)  This means a few things: 1.) A bunch of people in Hawaii just lost their jobs; 2.) Honolulu just became a one-newspaper town; and 3.) We’ll be depending more than ever on the good folks at Hawaii Reporter for an alternative source of news.

Stressed out budgets in Hawaii are about to see one more hit to their pocketbooks, as the “barrel tax”–possibly the worst outcome of an already abysmal legislative session–raised from $.05 to $1.05 a barrel of imported petroleum.  As is always the way, these legislative efforts to rake in revenue will hit the little guy the most.  Especially on an island where nearly ever single thing that we consume has to take a long trip just to get here.  The new tax means that we should be seeing a rise in gasoline, electricity, food, and delivery prices shortly.  In other words, nearly everything.  The Governor had vetoed this tax, but was overridden by the legislature.  Perhaps we should just be grateful that they haven’t figured out how to tax Aloha spirit.  Yet.

Things are still pressing forward on the $4billion Honolulu Rail project–one suspects the fell hand of Lyle Lanley.  (“What about us brain dead slobs?/You’ll be given cushy jobs/Monorail, Monorail, Monorail!”)  Of course, one hates to drag things like logic and feasibility studies into an ambitious government project, but there’s a first for everything, so why not give it a shot.  The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii sponsored an economic study of the plan, which demonstrated a drop in tax revenues.  It would be good to see the legislature push for a legitimate economic impact study.  It would be even better to see a study that took into account any pending legislation that would radically alter Hawaii’s social and economic structure–like, say . . . oh, I don’t know . . . the Akaka Bill.

Hey, as Hawaii marches on towards economic implosion, someone ought to be standing athwart history, yelling, “Ahem!  You guys! Are you really sure this is a good idea?  Guys?”

And as a closing note, for those who need a little remediation on today’s pop culture reference–and for those who are just annoyed that the Monorail Song is now stuck in their heads, here you go:

Our Lt. Governor, Duke Aiona has stated his support for the Akaka bill and urged its passage despite the many reservations held by others in the administration and among the people of Hawaii.

It’s not that we don’t understand the sentiment behind the support–we love Hawaii.  We recognize the richness of Hawaiian culture and sympathize with the desire to protect it and support Native Hawaiians.  But (as our grants database clearly shows) intentions are one thing . . . practice is another.  We’ve seen hundreds of millions of dollars spent to help Native Hawaiians–and evidently to little effect, from the picture painted by most Akaka supporters. Despite that, outreach to Native Hawaiians is practically its own industry in the Aloha State.

An even more interesting consideration . . . Lt. Governor Aiona (who is running for Governor, of course) could be part of the new Native Hawaiian tribe created by the Akaka Bill.  That means that he would be subject to different tax schemes, different justice–in essence, different law than the vast majority of his constituents.  (If he should win, that is.)  While Aiona is busy trumpeting his support for the Akaka bill, it would be good to for him to address the glaring questions of how his membership in an Akaka-based tribe would affect his governance.