Abercrombie to resign from Congress to run for governor

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie dropped an early Christmas bombshell on Hawaii: He is leaving Congress to fire up his campaign for governor full time.

In a message to supporters on the Internet yesterday, Abercrombie said he was returning to Hawaii to campaign and will resign from Congress.

The longtime Hawaii political leader said the announcement makes him "all in for Hawaii."

"We will present ambitious, achievable plans for job creation, economic recovery, educational reform, food and energy independence, public health and safety, and government efficiency," Abercrombie said.

Leaving his office of nearly 20 years gives him more time to campaign but immediately opens the door for criticism.

U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye was first to rebuke Abercrombie, saying Hawaii was losing valuable political clout.

"It leaves us a vote shy in the House at a time when major policy changes like health care reform, a war spending measure, the Akaka Bill and others are shaping up for debate and passage," Inouye said in an e-mail.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Abercrombie's expected opponent in the 2010 Democratic primary, agreed.

"He is leaving the state in a lurch. He has become a very influential member of Congress. I think he put a lot of people in a difficult situation, including the city," Hannemann said yesterday during an interview.

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[4/14/09, posted 12/31/09] With the impatience of someone who at 70 has finally decided what he wants to do in life, Neil Abercrombie sits in his Kakaako campaign office anxious to get on with what he considers the most important campaign of his political life.

U.S. Rep. Abercrombie is leaving a 20-year career in Washington politics at the time when his Democratic Party controls Congress and when he is close enough to President Barack Obama to have been in the tight crowd along with Oprah Winfrey to celebrate the inauguration upstairs at the White House.

The battle is for governor of Hawaii, a goal more than 18 months away but one Abercrombie is already fighting.

For Abercrombie, who came to Hawaii in 1959 as a graduate student and first ran for office in 1970, the governor's race is to be his last quest.

"I have a renewed sense of energy and joy. This is my 50th anniversary of coming to Hawaii. It is as if this incredible gift has been given to me.

"Everything I have learned about Hawaii makes me who I am today, and I want to bring a culmination in this run and I feel joyous about it.

"I will be able to say I gave every bit of energy and all of my sense of aloha to this campaign, and I will be content," Abercrombie said last week in an interview with the Star-Bulletin.

Abercrombie went from being a left-wing campus orator and graduate student to serving in the state House and Senate and the Honolulu City Council before winning an office in Congress.

"He has name recognition and a well-tested political operation," said Neal Milner, University of Hawaii political scientist and ombudsman. "He is formidable."

Hannemann would be Abercrombie's strongest rival, said Milner, because the Honolulu mayor also brings a skillful campaign style and the ability to raise campaign cash to the race.

"With Abercrombie," Milner said, "you have someone who is already tested. It is not like you are suddenly going to find out something about him."

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[3/6/09, posted 12/31/09] U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie has ended political speculation by telling Washington leaders he will run for governor of Hawaii next year.

The 70-year-old Democrat has also discussed it with political supporters in Honolulu, but has not officially announced.

In November, Abercrombie told the Star-Bulletin that he had reached the “zenith” of his power in Washington, D.C., but stopped short of declaring for governor.

Since then key supporters have been meeting regularly in Honolulu to map out strategy for a possible campaign.

This morning the Associated Press in Washington reported Abercrombie told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of his intentions last night. The AP said the information came from an official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Abercrombie’s announcement is to be made via an Internet video Sunday, according to the AP.

Obama defends war

Newly enshrined among the world's great peacemakers, President Barack Obama offered a striking defense of war.

Evil must be vigorously opposed, he declared as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday. At the same time, he made an impassioned case for building a "just and lasting peace."

"I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people," Obama told his audience in Oslo's soaring City Hall. "For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world."

He lauded previous Nobel winners Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., preachers of nonviolent action. But he added, "A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms."

"To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history."

The president laid out circumstances in which war is justified — in self-defense, to come to the aid of an invaded nation, on humanitarian grounds such as when civilians are slaughtered by their own government.

At the same time, he also stressed a need to fight war according to "rules of conduct" that reject torture, the murder of innocents and other atrocities.

"We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend," he said. "And we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it's easy, but when it is hard."

He emphasized a need to exhaust alternatives to violence, including worldwide sanctions with teeth to confront nations such as Iran or North Korea that defy international demands. He pushed himself away from George W. Bush in defending diplomatic outreach that engages even enemies. He defined peace as civil rights, free speech and economic opportunity, not just the absence of conflict.

"Let us reach for the world that ought to be," Obama said. "We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace."

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Doonesbury 12/22/09
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Hawaii news 2009

HONOLULU (AP) — The hard economic times brought on by the global recession continued to plague Hawaii during 2009.

Each week seemed to bring more bad news about layoffs, cutbacks, cancellations, unemployment and foreclosures. Drops in tourist numbers were reflected in falling tax revenues.

Hundreds of state workers lost their jobs as officials slashed payroll in order to cope with a nearly billion-dollar budget shortfall. Furlough Fridays entered the vernacular, with public school teachers and other state workers forced to stay home without pay.

But 2009 also had its uplifting moments that made headlines across the world.

Hawaii marked its 50th anniversary of statehood in August, and Pope Benedict XVI elevated Molokai's own Father Damien to sainthood in October.

The year began with President-elect Barack Obama and his family ending their Hawaiian vacation and returning to Washington, where the Honolulu native was sworn in as president.

January also saw Hawaii become the first state in the nation to switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts.

In February, the Pearl Harbor-based USS Port Royal ran aground on a reef off Honolulu International Airport. It took four tries over as many days to refloat the $1 billion warship that destroyed centuries-old coral colonies.

February's Pro Bowl ended a 30-year run at Aloha Stadium, with the 2010 game set for Miami. But in March, the Hawaii Tourism Authority accepted the NFL's offer to return the Pro Bowl to Aloha Stadium in 2011 and 2012.

Also in March, the state Senate rejected an effort to force a vote on same-sex civil unions, even though most senators claimed they supported such unions. And the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government's apology for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom didn't strip the state's right to sell or transfer 1.2 acres of former monarchy land.

In April, the University of Hawaii announced Jim Bolla was out as women's basketball coach. He had been under investigation for allegations of kicking one of his players in practice. The same month, UH men's volleyball head coach Mike Wilton coached his final match after 17 years.

In May, state officials announced Hawaii's first three cases of swine flu had been confirmed. Meanwhile, a military helicopter crashed at Wheeler Army Airfield during a test flight, killing both soldiers aboard.

Hawaii Superferry filed for bankruptcy in May, two months after a state Supreme Court ruling effectively shut it down. Meanwhile, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King denied Mesa Air Group's attempt to acquire and use the name of Aloha Airlines for its interisland subsidiary go! airlines because of what he said was Mesa's role in Aloha's demise in 2008.

A consortium of U.S. and Canadian universities announced in July that it had decided to build the world's largest telescope in Hawaii. Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corp. picked Mauna Kea over Chile's Cerro Armazones mountain.

July also saw Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou visiting Hawaii. Later that month, Warriors football coach Greg McMackin received a 30-day suspension for making a homosexual slur while describing a Notre Dame chant.

M.R.C. Greenwood succeeded David McClain as the president of the University of Hawaii in August. And Hurricane Felicia threw a scare into Hawaii residents, but wound up reaching the state as a lowly tropical depression.

Public school teachers voted in September to accept furlough days as part of the state's plan to balance its budget. The first furlough Friday came Oct. 23.

Also in October, University of Hawaii women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji became just the second coach in NCAA history to attain 1,000 victories. The Rainbow Wahine went on to make it to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Penn State, which would claim its third straight national title.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. announced in November that it would cease pineapple operations by the end of the year. Also in November, Hawaii's Michelle Wie recorded her first LPGA Tour victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

In December, waves grew so large along Oahu's North Shore that the big wave surfing contest called "The Eddie" was held for the first time in five years. Former Hawaii coach June Jones returned to the islands, guiding SMU to the Hawaii Bowl, its first postseason game in 25 years.

The year is ending with now-President Barack Obama bringing his family back home to Hawaii for their Christmas vacation.

Meanwhile, 2009 saw the passing of former Lt. Gov. and Congressman Tom Gill; former state lawmakers Henry Takitani, Ted Mina and Stanley Hara; former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Herman Lum; former state Adjutant General Alexis Lum; Honolulu City Council members Barbara Marshall and Duke Bainum; University of Hawaii political science professor and a founder of the Green Party of Hawaii Ira Rohter; Merrie Monarch Festival co-founder George Naope; director, performer and choreographer Jim Hutchison; former state schools superintendent and former University of Hawaii women's athletic director Donnis Thompson; Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorial cartoonist Corky Trinidad; former Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter and editor Phil Mayer; and a trio of well-known TV personalities — "Hawaii Five-0" cast member Harry Endo, "Fishing Tales" host Mike Sakamoto and legendary sportscaster Les Keiter.

European health care

European health care is universal, but contrary to popular perception, it is not all nationalized. Facing rapidly aging populations, many European countries have gone much further than the United States in using market forces to control costs. At the same time, regulations are stronger and often more sophisticated.

Most of Europe spends about 10 percent of its national income on health care and covers everyone. The United States will spend 18 percent this year and leave 47 million people uninsured.

Europe has more doctors, more hospital beds and more patient visits than the United States. Take Switzerland: 4.9 doctors per thousand residents compared with 2.4 in the United States. And cost? The average cost for a hospital stay is $9,398 in relatively high-cost Switzerland and $17,206 in the United States.

"In Switzerland, rich or poor, they all buy the same health insurance," said Regina Herzlinger, chairwoman of business administration at Harvard University and a leading advocate of the Swiss system. "The government gives the poor as much money as the average Swiss has to buy health insurance."

The Swiss and Dutch buy their own coverage from competing private insurers. Both systems address market failures that pervade U.S. health care: Insurance companies must provide a core benefit package and everyone must buy coverage. Consumers can shop for value and pocket the savings, as opposed to U.S. patients who hand the bill to someone else. Switzerland does not have a public program like Medicare or Medicaid.

Far from leading to poor quality and rationing, both countries and Germany, where government has a much larger role in health care, outperform the United States on many quality measures. These are not just broad measures such as life expectancy that could reflect higher U.S. poverty or obesity.

health care debate deja vu

... these same arguments we hear today against health reform were used even earlier, to attack President Franklin Roosevelt’s call for Social Security. It was denounced as a socialist program that would compete with private insurers and add to Americans’ tax burden so as to kill jobs.

Daniel Reed, a Republican representative from New York, predicted that with Social Security, Americans would come to feel “the lash of the dictator.” Senator Daniel Hastings, a Delaware Republican, declared that Social Security would “end the progress of a great country.”

John Taber, a Republican representative from New York, went further and said of Social Security: “Never in the history of the world has any measure been brought here so insidiously designed as to prevent business recovery, to enslave workers.”

-- Nicholas D. Kristof

Obama's strategy in Afghanistan

President Obama said Tuesday that the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan is part of a strategy to reverse the Taliban's momentum and stabilize the country's government.

"There is no imminent threat of the government being overthrown, but the Taliban has gained momentum," Obama said at the U.S. Military Academy. "Al Qaeda has not re-emerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before 9/11, but they retain their safe-havens along the border.

"And our forces lack the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan security forces and better secure the population. ... In short, the status quo is not sustainable."

Obama said he'd begin sending the additional troops "at the fastest pace possible" starting in early 2010 "with a goal of starting to withdraw forces from the country in July 2011."

The president said additional U.S. forces bolstered by NATO troops "will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces."

Senior administration officials said Tuesday that Obama has a goal of withdrawing most U.S. forces by the end of his current term, which ends in January 2013.

In his speech Tuesday, Obama said his strategy had three objectives:

• Deny al Qaeda a safe haven

• Reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow Afghanistan's government

• Strengthen Afghanistan's security forces and government

The additional troops was one way to achieve these, he said. Other strategies will include holding Afghan government leaders accountable for corruption, focus assistance on areas that could help the lives of Afghans, and securing the country's border with Pakistan.

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[12/3/09] President gets elected, moves in and drinks the water — and becomes a clone of the previous occupant, pursuing the same disastrous policies.

President Barack Obama is a case in point. The announcement of his plan to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and to escalate the war there — in the name of supposedly ending it sooner — is double-speak and doubly wrong.

Obama, in explaining his decision, has apparently decided to continue the misguided and illegal Bush doctrine of preemptive war by asserting the U.S. has the right to make war anywhere to prevent a possible future "terrorist" threat.

Where is the change we voted for — and that Obama promised? His decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan will waste billions more and continue the cycle of death, hatred and destruction. This will become Obama's war and will doom the possibility of any real change. We need to speak out and mobilize to bring the senseless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to an earlier end than is envisioned by Obama, his misadvisers and the Pentagon brass.

John Witeck
Honolulu