As Ian Lind notes, "Mainstream media haven't told us much about Chief Justice nominee's legal views" and "[t]he only thing I’ve seen about Leonard’s actual judicial performance and views was a review of Leonard’s decisions from the legal blog, Inversecondemnation.com." The only other coverage we've seen has been further references to our post by law blogger Charley Foster at Planet Kauai, and by alternative journos Hawaii Reporter and Hawaii Free Press. The only words we've heard from traditional media has been from the Star-Advertiser's Dave Shapiro, and then primarily via his Volcanic Ash blog.

Washington, DC — Congressman Charles K. Djou (HI-01) gave the following speech today from the floor of the U.S. House, advocating for a stronger and deeper relationship with the Republic of Korea...

Sen. John Cornyn,R-Texas – who co-sponsored MOVE – wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on July 26 saying he is concerned that the Department of Justice is allowing states to opt out of the new law. ...

"... according to recent information, the Department of Justice has expressed reluctance to protect the civil rights of military voters under the new law. All our men and women in uniform deserve a chance to vote this November, and the Obama administration bears responsibility for ensuring that they have it.

The Congressional Budget Office employs talented economists whose job it is to study every aspect of every bill and predict how much each will cost – or how much each will save – years into the future.

They are good, but they are not infallible soothsayers. Economic predictions that are off just a little in a year can become wildly inaccurate over the course of decades.... 

When costs are higher than or savings lower than predicted, the Truth in Spending Act creates a fast-track process to reduce excess costs through legislation.

HONOLULU - Lt. Governor Duke Aiona today issued the following statement regarding Mufi Hannemann's recent comments that his "opponents haven't spent one day in the private sector."

"Mufi Hannemann's comments are incorrect, and the record must be made clear on this matter. 

"I have not only worked in the private sector, but I have also owned my own business. ..."

“Hawai‘i’s Race to the Top application represents a collaborative effort among our Administration, the Hawai‘i Department of Education, non-profit organizations, legislators and community leaders."

“To stimulate the economy and help small businesses, I am proud to join my colleagues in co-sponsoring the Small Business Assistance and Relief Act. Whoever is in the majority—whether Democrats or Republicans—we need fiscal responsibility in Washington, D.C. and tax relief for every working family and small business to get our economy moving again.”

H.R. 5554, the Small Business Assistance and Relief Act, will help small businesses thrive by providing tax relief, reducing regulatory burden and boosting lending in the currently tight credit environment.

“After supporting a Democrat agenda that has buried Hawaii taxpayers under a mountain of reckless government spending and record-high debt, it looks like Colleen Hanabusa could once again support a job killing tax hike that would devastate the economy even further,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Small businesses are looking for some much-needed relief, but all they’re getting from Washington is the uncertainty that comes from the Democrats’ harmful agenda. If Hanabusa can’t finally stand up against the Democrats’ tax-hiking agenda, it will prove once and for all that her loyalties do not lie with Hawaii businesses and families.”

Based on Admission Act, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision announced yesterday upholds the State’s right to create OHA.  The use of the Admission Act to support this decision undermines the argument that an Indian tribe must be created to protect Hawaiian programs against discrimination complaints.  In this regard it is similar to the US Supreme Court decision in the Ceded Lands case.

Thursday July 29 and Friday July 30 -- four events on three islands.

“Raising $3.8 trillion in new taxes at any time is a bad idea. Raising these taxes in the middle of an economic downturn is a terrible idea. The current majority in Congress has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to try and turn around the economy with the so-called ‘stimulus’ package. It has utterly failed.”

During the most recent legislative session, the Republicans in the State Legislature introduced bills calling for a periodic comprehensive review of the DOE. Despite the groundswell of support from parents, students, and teachers for the Republican bills, the Democrat Majority in the Legislature allowed these bills to expire in committee without any explanation. What are they afraid an independent auditor will find? As Lieutenant Governor I will support Duke Aiona's goal for an independent audit of the DOE. An independent audit has not been conducted since 1973. The audit must be comprehensive, and include examining financial and management practices, and personnel administration. I will fight to make sure the audit is released to the public.

In 2009 the US House Energy and Commerce Committee nailed Sandwich Isles as one of the nation’s “10 worst abusers” of Universal Service Fund (USF) tax dollars—which every telephone customer pays with their monthly phone bill.

SIC’s cables run to Hawaiian Homelands properties-most of which are unoccupied and are not going to be occupied anytime soon.  The cost per actual user of broadband services is estimated at $278,000 per customer.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today appointed Caroline S. Wong to the Board of Education to fill the seat vacated by Breene Harimoto, who resigned last month.  Wong will serve on a temporary basis until a new member is elected in the November General Election to serve out the remaining two years of Harimoto’s term.  Her appointment takes effect immediately.

The legislation penalizes entities that assist Iran in importing refined petroleum or in maintaining or expanding Iran’s domestic refining capacity. These sanctions penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, aid Iran’s nuclear program or support Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism. I was proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in supporting these sanctions.  

The bill that I co-sponsored has now become law, signed by the President on July 1, 2010.  

The DoE is paying millions of dollars to contractors for software when equal or superior alternatives are available elsewhere at lower cost--often free of charge. This wasteful spending is the direct result of the cozy, revolving door relationship between the contractors and the DoE officials who direct business their way.

We've done an informal survey of the 2010 output of the ICA (and the Supreme Court in reviewing the ICA's work) to pick out those cases in which Judge Leonard authored the opinion, or served on the panel in an interesting case. We tried to focus on published opinions, but there were several unpublished opinions which also caught our attention. Here are the results, in reverse chronological order:

The SPEECH Act will guard American authors and publishers from frivolous foreign libel suits, filed in countries that do not have our strong free speech protections....

Each legislator has been scored based on his or her performance in the 2010 legislative session. Scores indicate the percentage of votes in which legislators voted in favor of limited government and greater individual liberty. While a few legislators seized the shortfall as an opportunity to make tough spending decisions, the vast majority voted to continue for the status quo-excessive spending and even higher taxes for the people of Hawaii.

Hawaii’s natural advantages continue to mask its political failings.