Sunset's Majestic Colors

Sunset's Majestic Colors, originally uploaded by macprohawaii.

It was a perfect day to shoot sunset pictures in Honolulu this past Thursday as the high clouds filtered the late afternoon light as the sun set below the horizon. Nature painted this series of colorful photos which I and many others shot that day. Enjoy!

Photos by Mel taken with Canon Powershot S5 iS camera. Kaka'ako Waterfront Park, Honolulu, Hawaii. Nov. 15, 2012.

These any many other photos are on my Flickr photostream.

Darkness Looms

After yesterday's election the only thing I can say is that it is a Dark Day for Honolulu, a Dark Day for Hawaii and most certainly a Dark Day for America. Our freedom is in jeopardy. America is leaning too, too far to the left. It is very sad indeed. God Bless America.

Hawaii Political Platter: Election is on November 6

The mudslinging TV commercials will be over soon. Most if not all of the mailers have been sent out and stuffed into your mailbox days ago. Email spam is and will be delivered by candidates and their supporters up to the very last minute on election day. Facebook and Twitter posts will continue up to and past election day with pontifications, declarations, news, vote counts, critiques and more.

Yes, the 2012 General Election weighs heavily on the nation, the state and most awfully our freedoms and pocketbooks. If the wrong candidates get in we will lose more freedom and more of our personal income.

Vote correctly.

Here is my rough and dirty list of who'd I recommend in this year's election.

President of the United States - The ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is highly recommended if you want to return to an America that is deeply rooted in our tradition, freedom and the United States Constitution. Anyone who watched the debates and especially the movie "2016 Obama's America" will know why.

U.S. Senate - Former Governor Linda Lingle is my choice for U.S. Senate. Even though she let the GE Tax bill for rail sail through without her signature in 2005, when compared to current U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, Lingle is by far the more intelligent choice in this race. If you watched any of the TV debates between these 2 women, you'll know why.

U.S. House 1 -  Charles Djou most definitely. A moderate Republican he is definitely the better choice over rail supporter Colleen Hanabusa.

U.S. House 2 - If I voted in this district, I'd definitely go with Kawika Crowley. Washington needs a true fiscal conservative and another voice from Hawaii who is also against rail. His opponent, the highly favored Tulsi Gabbard could someday become a scary player (like Obama) on the national stage. We need to stop this from happening.

State Senate - Quickly in the following districts I'd vote for the all of the following (if I could):

8th - Senator Sam Slom - Continues to vote against every and all tax increases. Opposes rail.

11th - Liz Larson - A new kid on the block, she'd be a welcome addition to the State Senate, except she needs to voice a stronger stance against rail and the related TODs.

23rd - Colleen Meyer - She is a true conservative and I think many Democrats who will never publicly support her, hope she wins this seat. A lot of people would like to get rid of the incumbent, Senate Judicial chairman Clayton Hee.

25th - Senator Fred Hemmings is a moderate Republican but is way better than Laura Thielen.

State House - I'll lump all of these people together because I either know them, or they oppose rail or have demonstrated some capacity to be conservative. All are Republicans - Jeremy Low (18th); Julia Allen (20th); Carole Kaapu (28th); Marissa Capelouto (42nd) and Lauren Cheape (45th).

Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu - Ben Cayetano has vowed to STOP RAIL. That's all that matters in this race.

Honolulu City Council - Vote for anyone opposing rail. That would include Councilmembers Ann Kobayashi (she opposed the steel on steel rail) and Tom Berg. A vote for Sam Aiona will also help. There are too many rail supporters on the city council.

Honolulu City Prosecutor - I did not vote for Keith Kaneshiro. Time for him to retire. I'm willing to give Kevin Takata a chance... hopefully he'll do a good job and putting criminals behind bars.

State Constitutional Amendments - Vote NO on all of them. Let retired judges enjoy their retirement. We also don't need to fund private dam owners to upkeep their dams.

Honolulu City Charter Amendments - Vote NO on all of them. They want to authorize special funds? Not a good idea. The State Legislature frequently raids special funds. What's not to stop the City Council from doing this? Not a good idea especially with rail hanging on our shoulders.... The 2nd one dealing with grants in aid for non-profits? Um... not in these tough economic times.

I already voted absentee.... and actually voted for those candidates that were on my ballot. The others will hopefully gain your support.

Hawaii Political Platter - The Ruling on Rail

Yesterday Federal Judge Wallace Teshima issued his 45 page ruling on the rail project from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court.

The Ben Cayetano for Mayor Campaign released the following statement:

"Today, Federal Judge Wallace Tashima sided with Ben and the other 3 plaintiffs who had sued the City saying that the rail project violated federal law. Ben said to KITV: "We are pleased with the ruling. The Court ruled that on 3 different issues, the City had violated the law."

It is not a matter of the number of favorable rulings for one side or another. The lawsuit was about doing the Environmental Impact Study properly - which the City will now have to do.

To KHON, Ben said: "I think this is going to cause them a big delay." In an interview with KITV, Panos Prevedouros explained that the lawsuit was about addressing the rail project's flaws and "the court found significant flaws." The revisions that will need to be made, including costly re-engineering, could mean an end to the project's contingency fund. The 2 articles below have the details about the 3 victories in the ruling:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/176887081.html?id=176887081 

http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/11/01/17541-federal-judge-issues-split-decision-on-honolulu-rail-environmental-suit/

Mel's Commentary - While I expected a more sweeping ruling, I have to force myself to remain somewhat optimistic that one of the 3 counts in favor of the plaintiffs will be enough to bury rail. Parties in the case will be meeting in Federal Court again sometime in December, most likely the 12th.

To assure that this rail project never takes off and that it dies, one must elect Governor Cayetano to be Honolulu's next mayor. Support with a positive vote is also needed for City Councilpersons Tom Berg and Ann Kobayashi, who both oppose the current rail project. A vote in the 6th council district for Sam Aiona will also be a prudent thing to do.

In the long run, a vote for Linda Lingle for U.S. Senate could help as she has come out in opposition of this fixed rail project. The federal funding for rail is still pending and it will take an act of Congress in conjunction with whomever is President of the United States to pass the funding through. It is hopeful that if the funding from the Feds is not approved, that it will put the final nail in rail's coffin.

Additional Article Links

Honolulu's Controversial Rail Project is Derailed in Federal Court
Honolulu Rail Gets Mixed Ruling From Federal Judge
Honolulu Rail Up in the Air Again


Photo by Panos Prevedouros, Ph.D.

Video Links

To come.