Just three days after President Barack Obama's health plan was signed into law, AT&T announced that due to an obscure tax change in the bill, the nation's largest telephone company would take a $1 billion hit to its bottom line this quarter. According to health benefits analysts this tax law modification would shave as much as $14 billion from U.S. corporate profits. While it would have been better had these tax losses been made more public before Congress voted, at least these tax charges are transparent and easily quantifiable enough to get noticed by the American people. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the hundreds of new regulations that the federal government will enforce as it tries to implement Obama's redistributionist health agenda.

“I’m the only one who actually lives in the congressional district,” Djou says. “I have two opponents who are running insider themes. Case is running on his experience, his seniority, and [the fact that he] knows the corridors of Congress. Hanabusa is running on how she’s going to be a team player with Democrats in Congress. It’s clear that voting for Case or Hanabusa will not change Washington, D.C. My election will mean change, not just here, but if I win this race, we’re going to have a very big impact across the country.”

“I have never voted for a tax increase, and neither of my opponents can say that,” Djou says. “In five debates so far, both of them have repeated that they will not take a pledge to not raise taxes. They have both said they believe that there’s even an appropriate time to raise taxes, even in a recession.”

Concerned that momentum is shifting in favor of Charles Djou, the national Democrats are worried and want the powerful insiders in D.C. to pick Hawai'i's next congressional representative. 

The National Journal writes: "National Democrats are tempted to pick a favorite, sources say, and perhaps get the White House involved to avoid the embarrassment of losing in President Obama's hometown urban Honolulu congressional district."

But the Dan’s won’t let them pick Ed Case, so they are stuck with Larry Mehau associate Colleen Hanabusa.  The National Journal article points the finger at Inouye, while pretending to point the finger at Obama, who, perhaps retaliating for Inouye’s support of Clinton in the Primary, washes his hands of the mess caused by Inouye’s retaliation against Ed Case and Neil Abercrombie....

Meanwhile..."Democratic strategists sense a momentum shift for Djou."

Case led in the last public poll, but that was nearly three months ago. Privately, Democratic strategists sense a momentum shift for Djou.

"The onus is on the White House. ... Can you imagine how bad it would be messaging-wise if we lost Obama's home district after losing Massachusetts?" one strategist said.

White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Democrat congressional candidate Ed Case is attempting to portray himself as someone who is fiscally responsible.  A look at his record, however, uncovers the truth: While in Congress, Ed Case was a reliable vote for imposing higher taxes on middle-class families and small businesses....

Ed Case has been ranked as one of the most ineffective members of Congress: “Two members of Congress ranked as some of the least effective – Rep. Ed Case [D- Hawai'i] and Sen. Dan Akaka [D- Hawai'i] – are battling over who has the worse rating on a national political Web site.” (Richard Borreca, “Case to Akaka, Akaka to Case: You’re ineffective,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 08/29/06).

Have you seen more Republicans in the fall elections in office?

I do.  I think this is going to be a very good year to run for the State Legislature as a Republican, and I think it's because legislators have really ignored the major issue of the day, which is job creation, and we've given them a whole series of great proposals on how to stimulate the economy through job creation, and instead they have spent much too much time on things like cock fighting and marijuana stores and other issues that might be important to a small number of people.   It's not to say they are not important but a leader has to say, you know what, we're going through the worst fiscal crisis in state history, our economy needs to be rebuilt, we just can't take up cock fighting right now.

Today the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor and Statistics released its monthly jobs report showing that the nation's unemployment is 9.7% for the third month in a row. While the jobs report does indicate that 162,000 net jobs were created in March, almost 50,000 of those jobs were temporary government Census jobs that do not reflect any real economic progress. In total, the U.S. economy has now lost a total of 3.8 million jobs since President Barack Obama signed his $862 billion stimulus plan. We are 8.1 million jobs short of the 138.6 million he promised the American people.

...When private investment declines, taxpayers will be forced to step in and subsidize broadband Internet, with lots of strings attached. And regulations could eventually even restrict political speech online.

Honolulu – Thursday, April 1, 2010 "I'm very disappointed that the HSTA leadership, BOE, and DOE allow the general public, parents and classroom teachers to believe incorrect information," said Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan.

"I'm hearing that teachers are under the impression that front office staff, nurses, cafeteria workers, special education assistants, janitors and security are on the non-essential employees list. This is simply not true," stated Finnegan.

With the media picking up on this big story, maybe they will start asking Hanabusa about the firing of Margery Bronster, or her meeting with Larry Mehau, or the land deal with a member of the Pali Shooter’s gang, or the Honolulu Raceway deal. 

So if developing new energy sources that can create private sector jobs for Americans and new revenues for financially strapped states and the federal government is not the Obama administration's real goal, then what is? Well, President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who was at yesterday's announcement, has said, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." For reference purposes, when Secretary Chu said that, Europeans were paying $8 a gallon for gas at the pump.

While Hawaii’s school children are subjected to Furlough Fridays and the state faces a record shortfall, the 2010 Hawaii Pork Report reveals that bureaucrats continue to spend taxpayer dollars in questionable ways. Co-authored by Hideo Hikida, Frances Nuar, and Jamie Story, the second annual report reveals more than $300 million in waste, abuse, and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.

“This day will commemorate the life and accomplishments of Saint Damien, whose service and ministry has perpetuated the Spirit of Aloha and has offered hope and inspiration to past, present and future generations,” said Lt. Governor Aiona, who presented the legislation, signed into law today by Governor Linda Lingle as Act 10, at an event to celebrate the change in law.

Joseph de Veuster, who would later be known as Father Damien of Moloka‘i and Blessed Damien de Veuster, was a Roman Catholic missionary who sacrificed his life in service to those suffering from Hansen’s Disease in Kalaupapa on the Hawaiian island of Moloka‘i.

In Montana, 33% of all children are in foster care due to methamphetamine abuse.  Two years after launching the Meth Project in Montana, adult Meth use has declined by 72% and Meth-related crime has decreased 62%.  The state has seen a 63% decrease in teen meth use.  Now the same program is being tried in Hawaii.

In May 2004, FBI agents driving a black Suburban and wearing SWAT gear ran Evertson off the road near his mother's home in Wasilla, Alaska. When Evertson was face down on the pavement with automatic weapons trained on him, an FBI agent told him he was being arrested because he hadn't put a federally mandated sticker on a UPS package.

In the closing days of the Congressional health care debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the National Association of Counties: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." Today marks the end of just the first week of life under Obamacare and Speaker Pelosi has been proven right: we are just now finding out what is in it. This past Friday, AT&T, the biggest U.S. telephone company, announced that it would take a $1 billion charge against earnings thanks to tax changes buried in the 2,300+ page bill. $1 billion. That is a full third of AT&T's $3 billion earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009.

When the Advertiser in 2004 exposed business dealings between then-State Sheriff John Sousa and two convicted felons, Souza said he was considering resigning and acknowledged "The appearance is bad." Souza had extended $25,000 credit to organized crime figure Jonnaven Monalim as part of a deal to sell seven Makaha acres of former Hanabusa family property. Another convicted felon was managing Souza's Pueo Trucking company while Souza was Sheriff.

But just two years later, Hanabusa's husband Souza would form a close working relationship with one George Grace III.  Unlike Monalim, a search of the Hawaii criminal database indicates that George Grace III has never been convicted of a crime. But the controversial owner of porta-potty rental firm Paradise Lua has had a court-documented interest in stolen trucks going back to the 1990s.

In 1998, the State of Hawaii ... had this to say in a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court: ‘‘the tribal concept simply has no place in the context of Hawaiian history.’’

Senator Inouye ... had this to say (on January 25, 2005): ‘‘Because the Native Hawaiian government is not an Indian tribe, the body of Federal Indian law that would otherwise customarily apply when the United States extends Federal recognition to an Indian tribal group does not apply.’’

Senator Inouye went on to say: ‘‘. . . That is why concerns which are premised on the manner in which Federal Indian law provides for the respective governmental authorities of the state governments and Indian tribal governments simply don’t apply in Hawaii.’’