September 30, 2006 - Saturday

Editor & Publisher is reporting on software problems that hit Gannett's network of newspaper web sites this week. Gannett was also in the news this week after the resignation of one of its directors who is associated with other companies now under investigation for using back-dated stock options.

The mini-scandal involving Oregon legislators traveling to Hawaii at the expense of lobbyists for the beer and wine distributors is spreading as more politicians disclose prior travel. One state senator has even threatened to sue a lobbyist who, he says, made the senator look bad by failing to provide financial information about the cost of the Hawaii trip. As a result, the senator says, he was unable to disclose those expenses as required by law. An innovative approach, for sure.

I missed this one earlier--a story about a national trade group currying favor with folks in Congress by hosting their campaign fundraisers on the organization's yacht, among other maritime adventures. If you read all the way to the end of the story, you'll find Rep. Ed Case listed among those lawmakers who took advantage of the group's generosity.

September 29, 2006 - Friday

There were several news stories earlier this month based on documents showing Kauai County officials blocked a 1997 investigation of apparently illegal grading work being done at the dam that gave way during this year's March rain. I had also received a copy of the set of county documents, but did not have time to follow-up to confirm their authenticity. In any case, now that the work has been done by others, I went ahead and scanned the county documents. Just click here to examine them.

Three Oregon legislators who flew to Hawaii for a conference of the Oregon Beer and Wine Distributors Association and treated the trip as a campaign fundraising event are getting roasted by the media back home. Two of them accepted campaign contributions and turned around and used them to pay for their island travel, according to published accounts. Now that's creative accounting!

Reuters reports that "Kona" was the code-name used for the Hewlett-Packard investigation of leaks by members of the board of directors that went so badly wrong. Says ousted board chair Patricia Dunn: ""The name 'Kona' will never mean the same thing to me again."

Here's an interesting use of the Internet in support of last-minute Senate candidate Cynthia Thielen.

This is a bit of yesterday's sunrise in Kaaawa. I didn't get around to a fresh feline photo for the day, so the dawn will just have to suffice. Sorry, cats. Wally did finally catch the mouse that Annie deposited in the kitchen a couple of nights ago. It's apparently been under our refrigerator for days, sicne Wally's been vigiling in front of the frig for most of that time. Last night she ran in from outside, took up her position, and within seconds had the mouse firmly in her jaws. I picked them both up and deposited them outside on the deck. Should I confess giving the little creature a running start for freedom?

September 28, 2006 - Thursday

One must have priorities. For political candidates, the priority is typically the campaign. Not so, apparently, for Republican Nolan Kido, who is running for the House in the 18th District (Kahala to Niu Valley).

While other candidates were out walking their districts, Kido's campaign web site (www.nolankido.com) disappeared, and Kido took $15,000 out of his campaign fund (repaying personal funds used to jump start the campaign just months earlier) and headed for Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles as one of 458 entrants in the Legends of Poker tournament.

That will probably play well with a certain demographic in the district, but I've got to wonder how many of those Republican voters share the priority?

Disclosure--If you don't recall, I worked as a staffer for Kido's opponent, Rep. Lyla Berg, during the legislative session this year. Although I haven't talked to Rep. Berg about Kido's campaign, I probably wouldn't have noticed the demise of his web site and gotten curious if I hadn't worked in her office.

Former neighbor Bob, now living in Kaimuki, sent along a link to an article on media literacy and propaganda, along with his musings, which are worth sharing:

this article reminded me of two events
which i let go of

before the election
it seemed to me
that most people at the airport
were 9 to 1 against bush
so the result surprised me

but my mind let it go
perhaps
i lacked any real sense of politics
or the electorate
perhaps these people were the ones who did not vote
security guards, retail clerks, airline ground
personnel, federal civil servants, sky caps, janitors
cafeteria workers, Fed-Ex and UPS employees, cargo
pilots
... all these people who i casually converse with

second
i was quite surprised last november (2005)
when my mother told me on her visit here
in her senior building in Saranac Lake N.Y.
all the seniors thought the election was stolen
perhaps more than 200 people
these are 60, 70, 80 year old residents
from many different places

then i read this article this morning

it makes me wonder
about how we form our own "consensus reality"
with "trusted" sources of information

we determined we could trust these ourselves
then we begin to subconsciously discount alternate
conclusions

because to accept them
we are crazy

to accept them
we begin to believe what no one believes

then comes the most natural reaction
we forget we ever came to that alternate conclusion
and we go on with our lives

things like that don't happen in America

September 27, 2006 - Wednesday

It's raining again this morning, although it is still early and it could clear up as it gets light. Yesterday was different. The thunder storm never got as far as Kaaawa, but we ran into heavy rain in Kaneohe while driving into town and there was a series of spectacular waterfalls coming off the cliffs between the two tunnels. But it was blue sky and sunny on the Honolulu side of the Pali tunnel.

A reader had this comment regarding Gov. Lingle's ongoing fundraising efforts:

She def has enough -- to win for gov. However, you never have enough for what she may want to do -- run for Senate or bankroll a slew of other repubs later on. She hasn't done it yet but I imagine she will after she wins for gov. Thoughts?

Lingle might want to bankroll other candidates, but state law prohibits such things.

According to state election law:

Lingle's campaign cannot spend money on things that are not directly related to her own campaign, except as specified by law.

The campaign can contribute up to $25,000 to the Republican Party.

They can buy up to two tickets each for events sponsored by other candidates or party committees.

After the election, leftover funds can be used for ordinary and necessary expenses of holding office, or to sponsor other political activities other than supporting candidates.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of wiggle room, although the statute has been amended piecemeal over the decade and I'm sure there are loopholes begging to be exploited.

But the reader then queried: "I believe the Inouye PAC gave big bucks to Akaka. No? So what if money goes not to a candidate but to a PAC?"

Inouye's campaign did donate $300,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which contributed the maximum allowed to Senator Akaka ($37,300 on June 13, 2006 ) but also spent separately in ways that benefited Akaka, according to the committee's reports to the Federal Election Commission. Here are DSCC "coordinated expenditures" for Akaka as reported to the FEC:

But Inouye's contribution was done under federal campaign law because Akaka was running in a federal race. Lingle's campaign fund is governed by state law, which doesn't appear to provide a comparable mechanism for shifting such a large sum of money.

September 26, 2006 - Tuesday

5:25 a.m. and loud claps of thunder have the cats on edge. It's raining, but not hard, and the thunder sounds like it's just on the other side of the mountains, with the wind coming from south, meaning the weather is probably coming this way. We'll see very shortly, I suppose. Ah, a quick check of the traffic cams shows that it's already very wet on the other side of the island. You can use that link to satisfy yourself that, yes, we do get less than perfect weather from time to time.

I was surprised to open my laptop downtown yesterday and discover it was picking up commercial wireless networks from RoadRunner SpeedZone (never heard of this before, but it's apparently available to all Roadrunner subscribers if you can recall your original account ID and password), T-Mobile, and Skywave (which I can use because I've got a related DSL account at my office), meaning I could access two of the three. I still don't have any idea the extent of the coverage downtown for the three networks, or whether there are other public networks I didn't bump into. It's certainly a greater degree of available connectivity than I expected.

Folks at the new Citizens Against Noise have prepared a flyer that can be distributed to groups or posted in condominiums or public spaces. Click here for a copy.

So what's up with Gov. Lingle's campaign? She reported $2.45 million in the bank as of September 3 and faces only an ill-funded third-tier Democratic opponent. She's had seven fundraising events already this year, including a pair of fundraisers in August with seats going for $2,500 and $3,500 per person. Now she's got Sen. John McCain coming on Oct. 3 for a pair of fundraisers, a lunch on Maui set at $1,000 per person and a reception and dinner in Honolulu, where I understand the reception and photo op is going for $3,000 while seats at the large dinner event will be $250 each.

One reader asks: "What? She doesn't have enough money already?"

Did I mention that the cats are also a bit restless because of the mouse? This time it was Ms. Annie who showed up while we were eating dinner last night, walked in with this chubby mouse, let it go in order to play a bit, and then quickly lost interest while the mouse ran for cover. Since getting up this morning there have been a few flurries if cat activity, which I presume are signs of sightings. So far, though, I don't believe the mousie has been finally dispatched.

For some reason, I had relatively slim pickings for last week's "Picture a Week" selection, and ended up with this shot of Mister Piko. He's among the most photogenic of the current cohort of Kaaawa morning dogs, and he looks good in B&W as well as in color.

So it goes on a wet Tuesday morning.

September 25, 2006 - Monday

Oops. Slept in again this morning until 5:25 a.m., then had to feed cats, check on Silverman downstairs, and prep the coffee. Little time for daily comments. Perhaps I can add some later in the morning? Or is that cheating?

It is wet this morning with heavy clouds that also keep it dark. The walk will be a bit of an adventure.

My vote for the best election night comment goes to KGMB's Keahi Tucker. They were chattering to fill air time while waiting for the first printout on Saturday evening, hyping it as the point where some will move on to the general election and some will be finished.

His comment: "Just like the ultimate reality TV show." Hey, reality is almost as good as, well, a reality show! I shouldn't put it down, though, since he's probably in touch with the audience a lot more than I am.

Speaking of reality, I get up every morning and check on my sister and her husband, Ray Stevens, via her (almost) daily blog, "Life with Cancer". It's been a dramatically up-and-down story for months and months. Days of feeling good and seeing friends followed by days of anguish. Yesterday was their anniversary, but Ray has been in intensive care for days, not due to further spread of his cancer but due to an infection during treatment. It reminds that there is much going on beyond the realm of daily news and politics. Please send your best thoughts their way, and then take a bit of time to pay special attention to those closest to you.

In the midst of the weekend's hospital drama, Bonnie took time to add this observation on Carey Miller's orchids:

Not only did she devote significant time to her miniature orchids, she also played with chemistry and pottery to create pots and glazes to match or otherwise enhance the display of the blossoms themselves. Yes, she blended the glazes herself, using her knowledge of chemistry gleaned over years in food science, to create just the right color for her hand-made pots. That was the part of her orchid raising that always fascinated me! 

A reader asked recently about Mr. Romeo, so this latest batch of cat pics includes several of Romeo. He's doing a little better as flea season winds down, and fur is growing back in the bald spots he had carefully created on his rear end. Just click. Really.

September 24, 2006 - Sunday

That was quite an election. The latest official results are posted at the Office of Elections web site.

Akaka won convincingly, but I have to say that I was surprised and impressed by Ed Case's election day demeanor, which swung from surly to mellow, almost gracious. Perhaps by yesterday he knew it was a losing battle and decided to lose with class. Whatever. He ended the campaign, which had turned bitter, on a positive note and deserves credit for that. It shows he can count and is still looking to the future.

On the Republican side, how about that Bob Hogue? He was outspent slightly more than 8-1 through the last reporting period (ending Sept 3), but appears to have ended up the victor by less than 200 votes.

And Mazie Hirono won by a slightly larger margin in the 2nd Congressional District against a very strong challenge by Colleen Hanabusa. It will be interesting to look at the precinct results to see where that race was won and lost.

Overall, turnout was still only 42.2 percent of registered voters. Nearly three out of five registered voters didn't bother to cast a vote, even with the extended voting period now offered by the walk-in absentee system, which ended up accounting for about 37 percent of all votes cast.

This was the view from Swanzy Beach Park at sunrise yeserday. Calm, cloudy, with quite a high tide. We did have to rely on our umbrellas briefly, but it wasn't too bad. Just click for a larger version of the photo.