I did finally scan additional documents from the challenge to the State Campaign Spending Commission by Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares, including the Attorney General’s motion, as well as motions for summary judgement by the commission and by the Tavares campaign. Here’s the link to the pdf file.

A disturbing article in today’s New York Times reports British military officers operating in Souther Afghanistan want American forces to leave the area because our country’s military tactics accept levels of civilian casualties that undermine efforts to win political support among local populations. It is quite an extraordinary indictment of the American military’s approach to this kind of war.

The story also quotes people living in the area. One man said “…he opposed the Taliban, but that after the bombing raid the villagers were so angered that most of the men who survived went off to join the insurgents.”

“The Americans are killing and destroying a village just in pursuit of one person,” said Mahmadullah, 24, referring to Osama bin Laden. “So now we have understood that the Americans are a curse on us, and they are here just to destroy Afghanistan. They can tell the difference between men and women, children and animals, but they are just killing everyone.”

A trained mullah from the village of Kutaizi, half an hour from Sangin, Mahmadullah reacted with sarcasm to the idea that reconstruction and assistance could change the minds of the people.

“First they kill me, and then they rebuild my house?” he said. “What is the point when I am dead and my son is dead? This is not of any worth to us.”

Moving on…

From retired Star-Bulletin editor Chuck Frankel:

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when occasionally I read real estate ads. This one is in an Advertiser supplement, selling a $1,195,000 home described as “expandable 4 bedroom, 3 bath starter home.” What a start.

–Chuck Frankel

Here’s a recent presentation by Bank of Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker that has lots of charts and graphs with useful perspective on the current crisis in housing affordability.

Finally, this in from blogger Dan Seto:

The story below is making the rounds of conservative sites because, they say, it confirms all their fears about diversity.

Although the study is a little more complicated than that, it struck me that perhaps this is descriptive of why our voter turnouts are so low.

But after thinking about it, weren’t we as diverse in the 1950s and 1960s, when, I think, we supposedly had higher rates? But then, I found this site that seems to say it is a myth that voter turnout rates have declined.

What’s a person to do?

Things to think about as we run up to the elections next year…

But this study is based on interviews in a number of American communities. I’ve got to wonder what happens when you compare diverse communities in the U.S. with those in other countries. Do similar patterns emerge there?