"Our elders are saying that these seals are not Hawaiian.  Our young people are calling these seals an invasive species brought in by government.  The seals are now the easy targets of blame for the many ills of our depleting fisheries." -- Walter Ritte

The Malulani Foundation continues to lay the groundwork for a new, people's hospital on Maui....

With this vote, the House rejected the Senate's two-month extension of the Social Security payroll tax reduction and requested a conference to consider a yearlong extension....

...this case begins with the original reclassification of 1,060 acres on the Big Island "agricultural" to "urban" use in 1989, subject to the condition that the original owner develop 60 percent of the proposed 2,760 housing units as "affordable" units....

The politics of resentment has characterized much of 2011. It's been fueled by an entitlement mentality that "threatens not only the spirit of Christmas but the very fabric of a just and prosperous society," Messmore says....

After determining that 9,000 of the eligible 24,000 school-age students in military families were not attending public schools, top military leaders commissioned Johns Hopkins University researchers to focus on attitudes and opinions about the Hawaii education system.

Never before have a team of climate ‘realists’ testified before any committee, in the Senate or the Commons. 

Where did this surplus come from? From Hawaii’s hard-working families and businesses who had to shoulder an estimated $600 million in additional taxes over these two years....

One of the most important intellectual and policy battles, which remains relevant today, is over how to defend both civil liberties and security in time of war....

Pity the much-maligned plastic bag....

Lingle's fundraising report is going to scare Democrats when it comes out in January....

... one thing here that might give Ms. Lingle hope, short of a meltdown in the Democratic primary, would be the governor. “How Abercrombie does will matter,” he said, “and affect the Senate race. And affect the future of the party.”....

"Litigation would be our next step" - IBEW

...without a revised contract, the State cannot fully implement many initiatives in its approved Race to the Top plans.... (Now you know why the HSTA has been stalling.)

SBH CPA, Natalie Iwasa, reminds us that the state legislature passed several bills earlier this year that may have an impact on you and your business. In addition, there are some changes in reporting requirements for credit cards, and the IRS mileage rate changed....

...the U.S. Senate is home for the holidays already, celebrating with family while Washington sits in a stalemate....

...most people on the left who use the word “progressive” are actually reactionaries....

Low Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are a key cause of HMC’s financial difficulties. Now it appears that Prime’s solution to the low reimbursement problem is simple—just cheat.

"Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy. That’s critical. There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy because it threatens U.S. interests."

PolitiFact debunked the Medicare charge in nine separate fact-checks rated False or Pants on Fire, most often in attacks leveled against Republican House members.  Now, PolitiFact has chosen the Democrats’ claim as the 2011 Lie of the Year….