"Democratic" Party Theme for 2006:

"Everybody stay in their place!

When we die, you can have it all."

District 21, 22, 23 Meeting reminder (Diamond Head to Kakaako, Waikiki to Moiliili-Pawaa)

District caucus on Thursday, January 26, 2006, 6pm, at Hawaiian Republican Headquarters, 725 Kapiolani Blvd. This is the big annual organizational meeting for the districts at which we elect officers for the coming year and certify delegates for the State Convention to be held May 26-28, 2006, at the Waikiki Sheraton. It's particularly exciting this year because of the Governor's race -- and also because there seems to be a lot change and movement on the Democratic side, that are a response to what the Republicans are thinking and doing.

So for those who have been involved in the past, we want to reinvite your involvement in today's totally different political game -- in which literally everybody can play -- as principals and not just as foot soldiers. That's the reality of the political scene now because they killed off the old one -- until nobody came anymore. We soon forget and some want you to forget, that in 1998, Hawaii was in the depths of despair and hopelessness. It was then that I returned myself after being on the Mainland for 30 years because I was actually cheaper to live in Hawaii then it was to live in just any other place which was booming. Hawaii was the exception -- and didn't have a clue.

But even on the Mainland, there was word that a young upstart from Maui was going to change things -- as Maui was the exception to the general statewide malaise. A lot of ex-Islanders were on the Mainland waiting for change because the status quo would never let them get ahead in the Islands. They had to wait their turn and pay their dues -- with the slim hope that one day, somebody would die and everybody else could inch up. That mentality took the fight out of everybody -- until they no longer cared; it just wears you down. That was the only game in town.

It wasn't a model of anything that was working anywhere else in the world -- but actually a sure prescription for cultural and societal genocide -- that it drove out its best and its brightest, so that the entrenched status quo would never be threatened. But once there is a disruption to that line of succession, a remarkable thing happens: there really is no serious challenge to return to those failing old ways. But along the way, many who were active in bringing about those changes, are no longer around -- many because they've dropped out and said, "There is no hope; things will never change."

One of the things that has changed, the Republican meetings have become a lot more interesting than meetings used to be -- with the sense that we're no longer the outsiders but have become the prime movers. Nationally, as well s locally, the other guys just didn't have any new ideas to offer -- except the ones that seem to work in the days of their success in the '60s and '70s -- but they did not evolve beyond that and insisted instead that we should all remain content with that status quo. But time, culture, consciousness does march on -- with a great advantage to those who embrace those changes and even lead the way in them. All those who show up and participate, have appointed themselves leaders in the community. It's that easy.

Primary Rules!

Since I usually work the polls during the elections, our biggest problem has always been “Spoiled ballets*,” which this coming year, we can anticipate to be a huge problem -- because of the many crossover votes, when one party has many choices for a single office and the other is uncontested. So in the interest of not having to explain this a zillion times in the coming year, as a public service to all our beleaguered and chronically short staffed poll workers and voters:

The primary ballots work like this: Hawaii law does not require a prior declaration of party affiliation so the ballot will contain the choices for all the parties -- but once a single partisan (party) vote has been cast, all other subsequent selections must similarly be within that party, as delineated by the different colored blocs. That means that one cannot necessarily vote for all their favorite candidates -- if their favorite candidates are from different parties (including Libertarian, Green, Socialist, Democrat, Republican, etc) -- in the PRIMARY ELECTION.

With that dilemma in mind, a voter who wants to make the greatest difference and ensure that their votes are counted -- must first determine the ONE race of their highest priority and significance they wish their vote to be recorded in, which may limit their subsequent choices for the other offices, to only those within that bloc. Those are the rules -- no ifs, ands and buts. Failure to comply will disqualify all one’s selections.

This manner of voting allows for Democrats to vote for Republicans, and Republicans to vote for Democrats -- but not both, or all the parties! One is limited to a single party in the PRIMARY ELECTION. In the GENERAL ELECTION, one is free to vote for the candidate regardless of party. Many people do not understand this distinction, which is the source of much confusion and frustration at the polling places -- particularly during the Primary election.

The General Elections usually run a whole lot smoother even though more people turn out for the General Elections -- thinking that is the one that really matters. However, when there are hotly contested primary races, you may not get to vote for your favorite candidate in the general election because they have not won the primary election -- that allows them to run in the general election. In most years, that doesn’t make a difference because most incumbencies are uncontested. When an incumbent is challenged within their own party, the primary election may actually be the more important election, making the difference.

Democrats do not necessarily have to vote only as Democrats -- and Republican only for Republicans; they should vote for those who best represent the future of Hawaii -- with the greatest impact and capacity to rise to those new challenges in an ever-changing world -- with fairness and representation for all.

Another question frequently asked by voters, and clogs up the voting booths, are those asking, "I have no idea what this proposition is about or who these candidates are -- what should I do?" I advise under those circumstances not to exercise a vote because by "guessing" in that way, they're cancelling out somebeody's well-informed and hard-earned vote -- and the intelligent and responsible thing to do is not to exercise a vote. One is allowed to vote on those matters they wish to vote on -- but not required to vote on every issue or office -- and especially on those for which they have no idea what they are voting on.

"No" should mean no, and "Yes" should mean yes, and no vote, leaves that choice to those who are well-informed on that issue -- rather than that it should be decided randomly, and often manipulatively by the wording that often deliberately confuses the issue.

* "Spoiled ballots" will always be detected by the ballot counter -- when the voter places them in -- whereupon the voter is given a chance to obtain another ballot, at the head of the line, which of course, annoys some people who wonder why others seem to be given preferential treatment in obtaining their ballots. That procedure will be repeated until the voter gets it right -- so no votes are invalidated for that reason.

Where Have I Seen This Story Before?

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/JohnStossel/2006/01/18/182750.html

Myth: School don't have enough money
Jan 18, 2006by John Stossel ( bio archive )

"Stossel is an idiot who should be fired from ABC and sent back to elementary school to learn journalism." "Stossel is a right-wing extremist ideologue."

The hate mail is coming in to ABC over a TV special I did Friday (1/13). I suggested that public schools had plenty of money but were squandering it, because that's what government monopolies do.

Many such comments came in after the National Education Association (NEA) informed its members about the special and claimed that I have a "documented history of blatant antagonism toward public schools."

The NEA says public schools need more money. That's the refrain heard in politicians' speeches, ballot initiatives and maybe even in your child's own classroom. At a union demonstration, teachers carried signs that said schools will only improve "when the schools have all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber."

Not enough money for education? It's a myth.

The truth is, public schools are rolling in money. If you divide the U.S. Department of Education's figure for total spending on K-12 education by the department's count of K-12 students, it works out to about $10,000 per student.

Think about that! For a class of 25 kids, that's $250,000 per classroom. This doesn't include capital costs. Couldn't you do much better than government schools with $250,000? You could hire several good teachers; I doubt you'd hire many bureaucrats. Government schools, like most monopolies, squander money.

America spends more on schooling than the vast majority of countries that outscore us on the international tests. But the bureaucrats still blame school failure on lack of funds, and demand more money.

In 1985, some of them got their wish. Kansas City, Mo., judge Russell Clark said the city's predominately black schools were not "halfway decent," and he ordered the government to spend billions more. Did the billions improve test scores? Did they hire better teachers, provide better books? Did the students learn anything?

Well, they learned how to waste lots of money.

The bureaucrats renovated school buildings, adding enormous gyms, an Olympic swimming pool, a robotics lab, TV studios, a zoo, a planetarium, and a wildlife sanctuary. They added intense instruction in foreign languages. They spent so much money that when they decided to bring more white kids to the city's schools, they didn't have to resort to busing. Instead, they paid for 120 taxis. Taxis!

What did spending billions more accomplish? The schools got worse. In 2000, five years and $2 billion later, the Kansas City school district failed 11 performance standards and lost its academic accreditation for the first time in the district's history.

A study by two professors at the Hoover Institution a few years ago compared public and Catholic schools in three of New York City's five boroughs. Parochial education outperformed the nation's largest school system "in every instance," they found -- and it did it at less than half the cost per student.

"Everyone has been conned -- you can give public schools all the money in America, and it will not be enough," says Ben Chavis, a former public school principal who now runs the American Indian Charter School in Oakland, Calif. His school spends thousands less per student than Oakland's government-run schools spend.

Chavis saves money by having students help clean the grounds and set up for lunch. "We don't have a full-time janitor," he told me. "We don't have security guards. We don't have computers. We don't have a cafeteria staff." Since Chavis took over four years ago, his school has gone from being among the worst middle schools in Oakland to the one where the kids get the best test scores. "I see my school as a business," he said. "And my students are the shareholders. And the families are the shareholders. I have to provide them with something."

Award-winning news correspondent John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News "20/20" and author of "Give Me a Break."

But What Does It Mean?

History and culture are not merely rituals repeated every year to keep the memories of dead people and traditions alive -- but is our daily living being created anew each and every day. And that should be the significance of the King Day beyond the remembrance of the particulars that tend to grow irrelevant in time -- as they well should. Every moment that’s ever been, has been the summation of all that has gone before -- and is not merely the old being made to seem fresh and new. Those moments, had their own unique place and time in history -- but because of that, changed the world, and that is the significance of each and every life, each and every moment. That should be the significance in observing that “every man is king day.”

So these “holidays” should remind us most importantly not of what took place at a distant place and time long ago, but of the significance of the present moment in which that same drama is being replayed in a slightly different context. Without getting bogged down by the personalities, the question remains, are there still those in our society relegated to “the back of the bus” regardless of their color, creed and national origin -- in other words, is it still all right to discriminate prejudicially against some?

Some, and especially those in the “mainstream media,” seem to think it is quite all right to be biased -- as long as they are biased “liberally,” which means theirs is a good prejudice -- rather than understanding that it is prejudice, bias, hate and bigotry that is the evil. Such corrupted people of course think their thoughts, deeds, prejudices, hatred are noble and worthy, while those of others, are not well-intentioned, as presumably and unquestionably theirs are. That is the very nature of prejudice, hatred and bigotry -- that some people delude themselves is all right because they call themselves “liberals” or “democrats,” or “national socialists (Nazis).” They think that the word is the thing itself -- but their words mean nothing but the attempt to prejudice one’s thinking that they are high-minded, noble, well-intentioned folks -- unlike everybody else.

So in this manner, the self-designated privileged position of a few who feel entitled always to ride at the front of the bus, or on top in society as their entitlement, is just a little more cleverly disguised. It is important to keep this in mind because in today’s world, the perpetrators of hate and bigotry are likely to defend that they are unbiased because they did not discriminate based on skin color, while allowing all other manner of malice and bigotry that they think they can get away with. Obviously, they have no understanding of the significance of their bias, hatred and bigotry -- even though their targets are now the new, "politically correct" ones.

District 21/22/23 Newsletter (Waikiki-Kapahulu/Moiliili-Pawaa/ Waikiki-Kakaako

Following is an announcement and request for participants for the Hawaii Republican Party contingent in the Martin Luther King parade -- on Monday, January 16, leaving Ala Moana Park at 9 am. If you haven't participated in a parade in a while, or just do one a year, this is the one you want to do -- because we don't do drills, dance routines, or carry heavy loads. They just want you representing the face of diversity in the Hawaii Republican Party. Your presence alone is greatly appreciated. The beauty of the King parade is its simplicity; no fancy floats, not too many marching bands, no horse manure to dodge -- it's just people power doing a pretty straight shot from Ala Moana to Kapiolani Park. One of the differences between the Democrat and Republican contingent is that they usually have a trolley for those "having trouble" making that walk.

Then on Thursday, January 26 at 6pm, Districts 21, 22, 23 will be having their annual meeting (district caucus) at the Hawaii Republican Party Headquarters at 725 Kapiolani Blvd., parking entrance off of Cooke. That's the big meeting at the start of the year at which we elect officers and certify delegates for the State Convention to be held at the Waikiki Sheraton, May 26-28. Those are the two major events for which we try to get as much participation as we can -- and identify all those presumably working together for a better Hawaii the Republican way -- which is mostly a meeting of independent minds and core shared values. But beyond that, Republicans are the symbol and manifestation of change in Hawaii -- against the entrenched status quo of the old boy network. Mostly they keep control because nobody else bothers to show up. So that's what we have to do minimally -- is just show up and create a presence so they can't just run on and do whatever they want to do. It's pretty much that simple. Just the fact that we show up, intimidates them.

They try to do their best to discourage us from showing up -- by making public forums as boring as possible and calling on the lobbyists to speak first -- as though they weren't getting their press releases and other communications daily. So those in the community who persist are really heroes. Many do it as their passion, but what is most impressive is the occasional new face that shows up, with fresh insight that startles by seeing the obvious. And that is the role of every citizen -- regardless of party affiliation. The Republican Party of Hawaii just wants you to know that they want you on their side -- as that clear and thoughtful voice representing the best and the brightest of the citizens of Hawaii. The Republican Party is You.

That's what most people in Hawaii have problems with -- recognizing that the Party and the power is themselves, and that is the simplicity of what it means to be a Republican. It is not an ideology of "Political correctness" handed down from on high by a few self-chosen few, who decide that for everybody else and tells them what to chant for Party unity (coercion) while calling that democracy. "Democracy" is not just the tyranny of the majority, or that "the majority rules!" and nothing else. Republicans feel that all must be represented -- and not just the dominating clique. "They" don't want you to know about that -- that there can be other visions than their own, which you have no choice but to accept.

A lot of that conditioning begins in our public schools, where as youngsters, we were first exposed to the injustices in the world -- that bullies could demand that we do what they wanted us to do, rather than our deciding for ourselves what we thought was right. Oftentimes, it was the teacher herself who was that bully -- and so justified that tactic and became a model for the others. "Might made right," because she was the teacher, and that meant total and arbitrary control -- knowing the kids would not know better to protest. If one dared to, he was met with the tactic of those in authority sticking together, even though a few could recognize the injustice that they would not admit to. That is the culture and experience we share growing up in Hawaii -- which has caused many to be disillusioned and disabused of the notion that the individual, and not the state and collective, is the ultimate authority.

That's why it is very important to be recognized as an ally working within the Republican Party in Hawaii; there's is a supportive culture and tradition of being the "outsider" -- thinking that he can only work alone, in silence, futilely, in isolation against the Establishment. That Establishment largely exists because good people don't make their presence known. There is another way -- and that is the Hawaii Republican Party -- a merry band of independent thinking people in Hawaii, waiting and welcoming your participation and leadership.

-- Mike Hu, District 21 Chair

Subj:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade January 16th
Date:
1/4/2006 9:07:27 AM Hawaiian Standard Time
From:
chairman@gophawaii.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade

Aloha Everyone,

Happy New Year! 2006 is going to be our year and we wanted to start things off with a bang! We want to have a large contingent of Republicans to represent our party in honoring and commemorating the inspirational life of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. by marching in the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade.

What: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
Where: Meet @Magic Island (Ala Moana Beach Park).
Parade route will go from Magic Island to Kapiolani Park
When: Monday, January 16, 2006 at 9:00 am to 11:00am
Who: All Republican Party Members, Supporters Volunteers and Families

If you can volunteer and will walk with us or have any questions, please feel free to contact Keith Nakano at party Headquarters at 593-8180 or James Hardway at 282-7859. We will contact all who sign up to get your t-shirt size and give exact location

Mahalo,
Keith Nakano
Executive Director

Paid for by the Hawaii Republican Party: Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee
725 Kapionlani Blvd C-105, Honolulu, HI 96813, Headquarters@gophawaii.com, Ph:(808)593-8180, Fax:(808)593-7742http://m1e.net/c?33337606-OqFrDwHqFCIXE%401366526-WP2fgCAA6eF42

Understanding Change

Not surprisingly, defenders of the status quo will try to convince us that humans, human nature, and nothing can ever change -- rather than that change is the first order of business for all life and living things, what life is all about -- and to try to deny that, resist that, is the deteriorating force of life, in trying to maintain an unvarying permanence in the swiftly flowing river of life.

The basic unit of change is not even slow, steady, linear change along a continuum of predictability -- but rather, the quantum leap. That is the instantaneous moment of change that releases tremendous energy, power and momentum -- which is the language of change, movement, dynamism. Change is movement -- which the metaphors of sports, conditioning and exercise, lend themselves so readily to -- with the central organizing purpose of success and improvement being the easily understood objectives and measurement.

Those ends have to change in order for there to be significant talk of “change,” and not the rationalization that the more things change, the more they stay the same, which is the mantra of the defeatism of the status quo. They’ll agree to any change -- as long as everything stays the same, which is of course, no change. This kind of self-delusion makes one vulnerable to all manner of deceptions -- because if one buys into the notion that change means no change, or should take much time before it can be detected, then it is quite possible and easy, to convince them that something that does no good, is very good indeed, and maybe the best that ever has been and is possible!

In such a culture of deception, it’s always been that way and always will be that way -- and that is why we have to do it that way, with the predictable no change, and no success or improvement. That is the language and culture of the dead, dying and despair -- and not the living, and so “culture” are the rituals of the past reaffirmed by the present -- rather than a living culture of successful, evolving adaptations being created and shared momentarily as the living.

One sees these cultures in every organization and activity in human society. These people just mindlessly go through the motions hoping for a different result -- and not realizing that the results, are in some way connected to what they are doing, or not doing. This is the prescientific consciousness of the world -- that exists in pockets of subcultures alongside prevailing cultures and actions that actually make a difference, are vital, evolving, really progressing.

Most people experience dead culture as the popular culture of common notions, myths and fallacies -- propagated by the rearguard institutions of the media, schools and universities.. Meanwhile, on the leading edge of these deceptions, common notions and ignorance, individuals are discovering and testing what actually works, not simply satisfied with more elaborate and convoluted explanations of why things aren’t working -- as though that was some kind of knowledge worth knowing.