I simply don’t where to begin to express my heartfelt appreciation for your efforts to provide what Fox News has aptly labeled “fair and balanced” coverage of the political nonsense in Hawaii. I discovered your online news service through a link in Sam Slom’s Small Business Hawaii shortly after you opened for business and I have been an avid reader since.
I have also experienced the hacking of your site on numerous occasions and I wouldn’t put this tactic past some of the members of the current “regime.”
The technical department of the state Legislature denies “fire walling” the ”’Hawaii Reporter.”’ As a fairly knowledgeable computer type, I know that it doesn’t take much for someone to block access to selected Web sites. The Chicoms do it all the time here. People in China can still get into any Web site through links or aliases.
I am certain that you will not have the time to meticulously scan through all the congratulatory email that surely will be forthcoming but let me enclose a bit a what I expressed to Sam Slom in appreciation of his efforts to instill some modicum of accountability to the state legislature:
For your information, I have long been an observer of Hawaii politics ever since I relocated to Hong Kong some 10 years ago. One of the major reasons for my leaving is the shenanigans of the left-wing liberals.
I am not a businessman but even as a private citizen I surely felt increasingly uncomfortable with the tax and spend liberal politics of the Democrats in control of Hawaii.
Needless to say that I was ecstatic when I learned that Linda Lingle, a Republican, was elected. I was in such a euphoric mood that I contemplated returning to Hawaii. The euphoria did not last. Reality struck me with a vengeance. The Democrats are still in control of both houses of the Legislature and they are doing their damndest to thwart the governor’s efforts to bring some semblance of sanity in government.
I had forgotten that the Democrats have been in near total control of the state for the past 40 plus years. They have managed to stuff like minded bureaucrats in every nook and cranny in state government. In short, it’s going to take more than one term of a Republican governor to turn things around.
Proof of this uphill battle is SB 3233 and HB 2003, which mandate that businesses pay for the rehabilitation costs of any employee sacked for drug abuse.
These bill have their roots in the report by the “joint legislative committee,” which was headed by Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona. We are led to believe that participants of this group were selected for their standing in the community and unquestioned probity. The results of their efforts ring left-wing socialism.
Drug abusers are victims? Throw $21,000,000 at the problem and drug abuse will go away? The drug rehabilitation facilitators must be patting themselves on the back all the way to the bank. Extrapolate a little and you get SB 3233 and HB 2003. Drug abusers who have been sacked must be rehabilitated in programs paid for by the employer? Failure to do so will result in criminal penalties? Who the heck is the victim in this deal anyway?
Thanks to the ”’Hawaii Reporter”’ and Small Business Hawaii, I can now track the progress of these bills I also note that the liberals will have another go at passing legislation to finance nursing home benefits for the elderly.
These are but a few examples of what I see as another runaway choo-choo train legislature. The Republicans have an awesome uphill battle to fight in the coming years.
I will come home, if but briefly, to test the waters. If I don’t like what I see, it’s back to Hong Kong where I am permitted to be the best I can be with little or no government interference.
Kudos to you and your talented colleagues and my best wishes for continued success in your endeavors to disseminate the truth.
”’Jerry Chang can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:kjchang@netvigator.com
”’HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to”’ mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com