The Akaka State?

Wall Street Journal ^ | June 2, 2006 | Wall Street Journal

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The last time we wrote about the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, in July 2005, we called it secessionist, unconstitutional and un-American. And that was being kind.

Our view of the bill -- which, like Freddy Krueger, refuses to die -- hasn't changed. But now that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has promised to bring it to a cloture vote in the coming days, it's worth reminding readers what this ugly drama from the beautiful state is all about.

The Reorganization Act -- better known as the Akaka Bill, after its U.S. Senate sponsor, Democrat Daniel Akaka -- would create a sovereign government, similar to existing Indian tribes, for the roughly 400,000 people who identify themselves as "Native Hawaiians." At a minimum, such recognition would protect dozens of federally funded programs for native Hawaiians that in recent years have come under increasingly successful Constitutional challenges as violations of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

But it would probably do much worse. The Akaka Bill could also lead to discriminatory treatment of non-Native Hawaiians, who already are excluded from private schools run for the exclusive benefit of the Natives. Vast tracts of land (entire islands, perhaps) might also be set aside exclusively for Native use. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a state agency, acknowledges that the Akaka Bill allows for the "complete legal and territorial independence from the United States and the re-establishment of a Hawaiian nation-state." Years, if not decades, of litigation would follow its passage.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[KJC1]

I tried to read the whole article, but even bugmenot doesn't work since it's a pay site.

It's probably just as well, I'm trying to have a good day.

(And a ping)

[laotzu]

Vast tracts of land (entire islands, perhaps) might also be set aside

See Niihau. Its been set aside for years.

[upchuck]

All of this flash and thunder to "help" just 400K people?

Sounds like Alaska's Bridge To Nowhere!

[ThreeYearLurker]

Akakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka!

[OB1kNOb]

AKAKA!

[silverleaf]

I can see the casino operators (Chinese and Japanese mafia) licking their chops at getting their hands on "native Hawaiian" gambling franchises to replace the pineapple fields. And can't wait for tax-free cigarettes as a real revenue raising industry in the Islands.

Native American self-government has been so widely sucessful in lifting the culture, and all that/sarc

[Teflonic]

Hah, that's a ka ka bill.

[Menehune56]

Sounds like the deal has already been done between the Senate Democrats and the RINOs, sort of like immigration ''reform.'' Same set of characters. Gambling money has a very powerful influence when it's coupled with ethnic grievances.

As someone who grew up in the Territory of Hawaii I hate to see this happening. I'm still writing to my senators to urge them to oppose this travesty.

[KJC1]

There are a few letters to the editor in today's Honolulu Advertiser if anyone is interested. I think even excerpts of stuff from the Advertiser can't be posted here, so here's a link:http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/OPINION02/606020338/1108/LETTERS

(The letters concerning this issue are about halfway down the page.)

[EQAndyBuzz]

Thought it was the Popeye bill. Akakakakakakaka....

[fish hawk]

Niihau and Kahoolawe, perhaps. These are the only two islands that make sense as the Hawaiians already have the foot in the door on these.

[skeptoid]

"Sounds like Alaska's Bridge To Nowhere!"

The Bridge to Nowhere is actually worse. It's called the Gravina Access project, it would cost over $350 million and it would serve less than 15,000 people in Ketchikan, Alaska ... NO ONE ELSE CAN USE IT!

That's because it's from a remote island to an even more remote island.

It starts over 90 air miles from the continental road system and goes away from it.

The good news is that 'only' $110 million in Federal funds have been dedicated to it. Will the state cough up the remaining $250 million plus?

Stay tuned, FF's.

[kaehurowing]

"Sounds like the deal has already been done between the Senate Democrats and the RINOs, sort of like immigration ''reform.'' Same set of characters. Gambling money has a very powerful influence when it's coupled with ethnic grievances."


Sens. Akaka and Inouye obviously traded votes on Akaka in return for their repeatedly voting for drilling in ANWR, which is driving the enviros and fellow Dems nuts.

One of the tie-ins: Inouye is political allies with Alaska Senator Stevens (R). Both are on the Senate Indian Affairs committee. Stevens will always support efforts to make Hawaiians into Indians. In response, Inouye and Akaka support ANWR drilling, among other things.

Inouye and Akaka are also beholden to Stevens because as chair of the appropriations committee, Stevens controls the spigot to pork for Hawaii--As the primary reason for people voting to re-elect him, Inouye has always held himself forward as being the expert in getting federal pork barrel spending to prop up Hawaii's economy.

It's why, for example, we have "interstate freeways" between Pearl Harbor and the Kaneohe Marine Corps base (a distance of about 10 miles), and between Pearl Harbor and Schofield Barracks (ditto).