elections

While talking to my mom the other day, she mentioned this flyer that was left on her door. She wasn’t sure what it was about and asked me to look into it.

When taking a closer look at the flyer, the first thing I noticed was who paid for it. Americans for Prosperity (I refuse to link to their site). AFP, as anyone who pays attention knows, was founded and is funded by the Koch Brothers. AFP and the Kochs were some of the biggest supporters of Citizens United. The SCOTUS ruling which allowed virtually unlimited and dark money to infect our political processes.

David and Charles Koch are two of the biggest walking pieces of shit on the face of the planet. If I had looked no further into HCR 5014, this would be enough to oppose it.

Listen Up Kansas! Vote NO on HCR 5014!

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Term limits will do little to fix any of the problems with politics in Hawaii.

Term limits will do little to fix any of the problems with politics in Hawaii.

In recent months, there seems to be a growing chorus calling for term limits for state legislators in Hawaii. While term limits currently exist for the Governor, Lt. Governor, Mayors, and County Council members, the state legislative members (Representatives and Senators) are not bound the same way.

Scientific public polling has consistently shown that large majorities in the U.S. supported term limits for decades. This, however, shouldn’t be reason enough to implement such a reform. Far too many Americans believe, sadly, that majority rule should be (or is) the law of the land. For too long in this country, majority rule has allowed segregation, voting suppression, same-sex marriage bans, and more.

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Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today. Maybe, just maybe, if I had stayed in bed, it could all be a terrible dream. A vision of an alternate reality somewhat darker than our own. Alas, this is no dream and I am in no alternate reality. Today I am simultaneously heartbroken and outraged. Sickened.

I’ve never been one for feelings of patriotism. As I’ve gotten older (and wiser?) my disdain for my country of residence has only grown. Today is one of those when days I very much disavow it.

I don’t know what else to say.

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Taking a Break from the Democratic Party of Hawaii

I’ve been a member of the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) since 2006. And a member of the State Central Committee (SCC) since 2010.

In all that time, I’ve served in various positions along the DPH strata, from the precinct level to SCC Secretary. Save one, I’ve attended every convention in that time. I was fortunate to be a delegate to the National Convention in 2016.

I became active originally as a member of the now-defunct Progressive Democrats of Hawaii (PDH). An organization that I helped build and led for a time. I was largely welcomed and treated with kindness and respect. Many progressives who became active in the Party after me were not.

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