Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 1

Special points of interest:

A recap of TPM’s Panel Discussion

on Page 3.

Have you heard about the Maui

Liberty Network? Check out info on their first episode on Page 4.

New information on Global

Warming on Page 7

In This Issue:

TPM Happenings Pg. 3

Local Issues Pg. 6

National Issues Pg. 7

Community Commentary Pg. 9

S e p t e m b e r - O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3

The voice of The TEA

Party Maui In

Support of a

Fiscally Responsible,

Constitutionally

Limited Government

& a Free Market

Economy

V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 6

by Valerie Sisneros

Thanks to the Maui Chamber of Commerce, a few of us from TEA Party

Maui were able to learn more about the Patient Protection and Affordable

Care Act (PPACA, also known as “Obamacare”) here on Maui. On

September 17th, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and

HMAA sponsored a forum at the Maui Beach Hotel for interested

business owners and citizens. This forum was over 3 hours long, so the

following is just an overview of information covered. The panel consisted

of members from HMAA, HMSA, HWMG, Kaiser, and the Hawaii Health

Connector. In plain English, these were representatives from the

Insurance Companies, the Administrators, and the Patient Navigators.

They all gave us quite a bit of information and took time to answer

questions from the audience.

As many of us already know, the law itself is over 2,000 pages and the

“subsequent clarifying language and guidance” has exceeded 20,000

pages thus far. We were told the PPACA was not really intended to be

passed as law; it just worked out that way due to politics when the

Democrat-controlled Congress they had finally had enough votes to pass

the law. Paul Kaiser, COO and CPA for HWMG, which is a third party

administrator for HMAA, told us that the only constant in this bill is

change. It was very clear that the information presented was subject to

change, and to change often. This was not very comforting information.

Paul told us that initially there was to be a penalty assessed on

employers who did not properly inform their employees about the new

health care law; however, this penalty has been eliminated. Perhaps

they realized that if the administrators themselves are struggling to

understand the sheer bulk of this disastrous bill, how then, could the

business owners possibly be asked to pass on accurate information?

This law has already been in existence for three and a half years, with

the actual policies, many provisions, and rates going into effect January

2014. The law is to be phased in over the span of 8 years. Any law that

takes 8 years to implement cannot be good for America.

The choice as to whether an employee must insure dependents of

employees up to age 26, is up to the employee, and not mandated. Fifty

or less employees is defined as a Small Employer and fifty plus is a

Large Employer. In 2016, that number will go up to 100. Over-the-

counter medicines that were previously tax-free, will now be taxed. Paul

stated that there will be fewer doctors available, but the hope is that

there will be greater transparency in medical costs and consumers will

be more sensible in how they utilize their health care. Joan Daniely from

(Continued on page 2)

Obamacare Comes to Maui

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 2

Kaiser Permanente reminded us that

Hawaii has had its version of the

PPACA since 1975. Because of

Hawaii’s HPHCA (Hawaii Prepaid

Health Care Act), Hawaii still ranks

as one of the states with lowest

number of uninsured persons in the

nation. She said the coverage

mandated by Hawaii’s existing

health care plan is actually far

better than the coverage mandated

by the PPACA. One new addition

however, is the Individual Mandate,

and of course, as we know, there

are billions of dollars in new taxes

to be levied, and all of the

additional “fees” on top of that.

The list of new taxes is too lengthy

for this article. Joan said there was

no requirement to use the new

insurance “Exchanges” and she

stated that the subsidies available

to those who qualify could be quite

substantial. I noticed that

subsidies are clearly encouraged

on the website and in the

brochures. I used the Subsidy

Calculator on the website to input

my income and the subsidy amount

is quite generous. It would be a

sizeable bill for the American

taxpayer and when multiplied by

the millions who will take

advantage of it, devastating to the

economy!!

At this time, there are only two

insurance carriers participating in the

PPACA Exchange. Those two

carriers are HMAA for Business

plans and Kaiser for Individual plans.

The reason given for the lack of

participation by other insurance

carriers, was the time and expense

required to get onto the Exchange.

More carriers may come on board as

time goes on. Rick Budar, the Chief

Marketing Officer for the Hawaii

Health Connector, said that they

have been working twenty hours a

day to get ready for the rollout of the

PPACA. The Hawaii Health

Connector is the outreach operation

slated to be the main source for

information about the PPACA. On

October 1st, 2013 there are 34 local

organizations that will be sent out to

educate the public and assist in

navigating the new health care law.

They can come to your home and

help you “raise your health literacy”.

There will also be a local Call Center.

There will be considerable

differences in the premium rates

based on age and tobacco use, with

rates being more than 50 percent

higher than non-tobacco users. The

three age categories are from 0 to

20, with a single rate, from 21 to 64,

where rates will vary incrementally,

and 65 and up with a single rate.

There will be a 3 to 1 ratio, meaning

that the rates for the 64 year old

cannot total more than 3 times the

rate of the 21 year old. This means

that every person in your business

and your household will be paying

different rates. There are definite

possibilities that there may be

lawsuits filed for age discrimination in

the workplace. We were told that the

basic objectives for the PPACA is to

make health care available to all,

provide good healthcare, encourage

personal responsibility, and lower

the cost of healthcare, thereby

changing and reforming healthcare

in America. (Of course, we informed

citizens know that good healthcare

has always been available, in the

free market),

I asked the question: Who is exempt

at this time? The answer: The

Individual Mandate does not apply to

illegal aliens, prisoners and those

with religious objections (already

being denied). A big problem the

insurance companies foresee is that

people will enroll only when they

have an immediate need. At this

time, the Individual Mandate, the tax

penalty in 2014 for not having

insurance for more than 3 months, is

$95 or 1% of income, with penalties

going to $650 or 2.5% of income by

2016. Open enrollment will be yearly

from October through December.

Small Business tax credits and

subsidies will only be available to

those purchasing from the

Exchanges, which are the Federal

and State run programs.

The website to enroll in a plan and

get information on the PPACA is

HawaiiHealthConnector.com. You

can even apply for a job as a

navigator on this site. Although in

checking this website, there really is

very little information available, I

guess you need to invite one of

these navigators into your home so

you can find out more. This writer

will be opting out of that interview, as

I value what little privacy and

personal liberty I have remaining. As

a small government advocate, I, like

many others, see this new

mandated healthcare plan as

further erosion of our liberty by this

government now forcing its citizens

to purchase a product whether they

want it or not. All in the continuing

quest by this federal government to

create their leftist utopia.

(Obamacare Comes to Maui, Continued from page 1)

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 3

by Peggy Tillinghast and Kristin Mack

Myles Kawakami spoke at our TPM General Meeting

in July with the message that the most important goal

for conservatives was to win elections, and that we

must form coalitions to accomplish that goal. Because

it takes only 18% of eligible voters in Hawaii to win an

election, by reaching only a small percentage more of

the population we could win seats. As a follow up of

that event, TPM held a Panel Discussion in August

addressing the state of conservatism in Hawaii and

also the topic of how, and if, conservatives can win

elections in Hawaii. Panel members were Myles Ka-

wakami, Pastor Robb Finberg, Tim Means, Joe Kent,

Shereen Seibert, Tim Means, and Kay Ghean. All

panelists identified themselves as fiscal conservatives

who strongly support the three core principles of TEA

Party Maui.

On the topic “Can we win elections?” the discussion

turned to how it seems the natural place for conserva-

tives is in the Republican Party, however some ex-

pressed concern that republicans had a tough time

winning elections in Hawaii, even if they are the better

candidate. It will be a long term effort to educate and

change minds. In the shorter term, we can pressure

those already in office to vote conservative.

Some other important take home points that came

from the panel discussion:

FIND COMMON GROUND and stay away from

dividing issues. We need to avoid labeling people

and instead focus on an issue and get behind it.

Find an issue that resonates with most people.

Politics is complicated but we need to explain

complicated ideas in simple terms. The other

side uses social issues to divide us and we can’t

allow them to be successful. An example was giv-

en of the TEA Party Maui’s founding issue of the

bailouts, which many people could unite in oppo-

sition of.

BE VISIBLE, get involved. Find issues that “set

people’s hair on fire” Pick issues that affect peo-

ple even if they don’t know they are affected yet.

People are only apathetic when they aren’t in pain

so show them they are in pain (their life is less

than it could be). It may be scary to share opinion

in a liberal environment but don’t be afraid of me-

dia, such as local radio and TV.

THINK OF THE TEA PARTY AS A BUSINESS.

Make a business plan with goals and timelines.

Think marketing, advertising, performance as-

sessment and recruitment. Focus on a direction,

plan an activity or step and do it. Focus on a long

term goal so as not to burn out; push a conserva-

tive agenda but find common ground.

CONNECT WITH OTHER TEA PARTIES AND

COALITION GROUPS. Be part of a strong nation-

al movement that can pressure those already in

office to do the right thing. Politicians are not lead-

ers or courageous, they are fearful, always afraid

of losing votes. Look strong, be formidable. The

TEA Party is alive and well and controlling the

message. We need to counter the feeling that

politics is distasteful.

ACTIVISM was emphasized throughout the dis-

cussion. Many in attendance said people used to

be more engaged as activists in the Tea Party.

People like to look back to the re-enactment of

the 1773 Tea Party as a good example. They

stressed not being afraid of discussion with liber-

als or to show up at public meetings and speak

up.

ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUAL ACTION AND HELP

THOSE WHO SHOW INITIATIVE, BOTH INTER-

NAL AND EXTERNAL. Good examples are the

new Liberty Network (page 4) and the Pono

Press. We need to fully support these efforts with

our time and resources.

Overall, TEA Party Maui was satisfied with discussion

generated by the first Panel and look forward to hold-

ing more events in the future to bring conservatives

together to talk about the issues. Thank you to our

willing panelists for stepping up to take a stand and

express their opinions.

TPM Holds an Important

TPM HAPPENINGS

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 4

Valerie Sisneros and Joe Kent are the masterminds

behind a new television show called the “Maui Liberty

Network”. The idea is to create a top ten show about

liberty topics, with a panel of guests. Our first show

is titled, “Top 10 Laws that Hurt Business”. We

researched for a month, talking to business folks all

over Maui about the laws, rules, regulations, and

agencies that make it difficult to survive on our island

home. We then combined our research together to

create an ultimate top 10 list.

The most difficult part about creating a television

show is finding people to be on camera. It takes a lot

of bravery to sit in front of a television camera and

share your opinion, especially when it's about the

government. Many business owners can talk

endlessly about all the government intrusion in their

lives; but those same people will never go on

camera for fear of harming their business. There are

liberty- minded individuals all over the island, but it's

kind of like a secret society.

Luckily, Patrick Brock, and Phil Heath of the

Libertarian party stepped up to the plate, and joined

us on camera for our very first episode on Saturday,

September 28th, 2013, at Kalama Heights in Kihei.

Bill Seaton was gracious enough to operate the video

equipment, and Marylyn Holland thankfully pitched in

at the last minute with scenery and lighting

equipment. Kax from Blastard Studios helped with

the audio equipment and some helpful direction.

“Hello and welcome to the Maui Liberty Network” Joe

Kent began, introducing the program. “Today we're

counting down the top 10 worst laws that hurt

business on Maui . . .” Filming the video took about

three hours, from set up to tear down. We covered

everything from building permits to Obamacare. Phil

Heath did a masterful job at defending the free

market, and Valerie Sisneros provided excellent

research into some valuable topics. In true form, Pat

Brock continued to advocate the Libertarian position

on many issues, and Joe Kent played a balanced, yet

opinionated moderator.

People tuning in will find a high quality show, with

extremely relevant topics. The countdown format will

keep viewers hooked, and the professional lighting,

cameras, sound, and special effects will help ensure

that islanders take our message seriously. Future

episodes are in the planning stages, but we need

your support. It takes quite a lot more time and

money than we first thought to put together a quality

show – and quality is important.

The hope with the “Maui Liberty Network” is to bring

people together from all walks of life to a common

discussion about liberty. Former host of “Take

Liberty” Lawrence Carnicelli is interested in helping

out with the show, along with many other

independents. Valerie spoke to many small business

owners off camera to give us much needed

information and stories. TEA Partiers provide the

passion and constitutional values that help to round

out the program, and Libertarians contribute their

strong economic principles to defend the liberty

message.

America is the place where great ideas prosper, and

there is no greater idea than liberty and free choice.

Whenever people risk their reputations to defend

liberty, Americans rise up to help. Watching the crew

work together on the TV show was amazing. It was a

full crew of TEA Partiers, Libertarians, and

Independents, and it reminded me of the idea that

liberty brings people together.

Want to find out what else was on the list? Maybe

you would like to donate to our cause? Perhaps

you'd just like to watch the show? Well, you can do

all of this at: www.mauilibertynetwork.com

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 5

Do you consider yourself “TEA Party”? Would you like to be more involved in the inner workings

of TEA Party Maui? Would you like to see some of your ideas implemented to spread the word

about smaller government, individual liberty, and free markets? We are looking for a few good

TEA Party men and women to join as leaders in the fight for freedom and positive change. TEA

Party Maui is holding an important election for the TPM BOD (Board of Directors). You are in-

volved with TPM because you care about the future of our nation and know that Hawaii is one of

the most challenging places in the country to voice our core principles. Nevertheless, in the

words of Andrew Breitbart we must "Walk into the Fire"! Having an energetic, engaged, and ac-

tive Board of Directors is imperative to finding strategies for keeping our TPM community ener-

getic and focused, and the public more involved.

The following positions will be open on the TPM BOD, with the new term beginning January

2014: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Member-at-Large. Nominations for candidates

are now open. There is a one year commitment of service, and to be eligible as a candidate you

must agree with the Core Principles and Mission Statement of TPM (found on our website

www.teapartymaui.com), and have attended at least four TPM monthly meetings. TPM BOD

members meet just once a month for a couple of hours to plan and organize the business and ini-

tiatives of the group.

We have pivotal national and state elections coming up and a continuing challenge to make a dif-

ference. Please consider throwing your hat in the ring and volunteer to be on the TPM BOD. Nom-

inations are open starting immediately in September and a decision will be made in December.

We are all aware of the problems; won't you consider taking a more active role in being part of

the solution by being on the TPM BOD? You can help make 2014 TEA Party Maui’s most effective

year yet.

If you are interested or have any questions, please e-mail Valerie Sisneros at

808val@hawaii.rr.com, or speak with any current BOD member at the general meeting.

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”

Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915)

WISE WORDS

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 6

LOCAL ISSUES

Submit your writing to TEA

Party Maui’s newsletter, The

Pono Press!

Calling all Citizen Journalists and

Activists.

The Pono Press needs YOUR

submissions:

Opinions on current local or

national events written by YOU

Interesting facts and figures on

important local and national issues

Your Letters to the Editor

Interesting tales of Maui’s history

Book and movie reviews

Recaps and observations of local

meetings you have attended

Cartoons

Great quotes for our Wise Words

sections

Info about upcoming meetings and

events or other action items for the

TPM community

Please ensure the submission relates to

our core principles of Fiscal

Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited

Government, and Free Markets. If

possible, please limit your submissions to

about 250 words or less.

Email your submissions to

ponopress@teapartymaui.com by

Wednesday, September 25th for

inclusion in the September/October 2013

issue.

Take a little time to contribute and help

us keep the Pono Press interesting and

informative, and see your work in print!

MAHALO from your Pono Press staff

TEA Party Maui is looking forward to hearing Councilmember

Mike White speak on October 10th at our General Meeting

(6:30 pm at Kalama Heights). Mike White is a sixth-generation

kamaāina, born and raised on Oahu. He spent his career in the

travel industry and has been the General Manager of the

Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel for the past 27 years. Mike represented

the seventh district in the State House of Representatives from

1993 to 1998. In 2010, he won a two-year term on the Maui

County Council, serving the residents of Makawao, Ha‘ikū and

Pā‘ia and was re-elected in 2012. He serves as the Chair of

the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, which deals with

all matters relating to County revenues and expenditures.

Mr. White will speak to TPM about pending County issues such

as:

The Old Wailuku Post Office and the proposed Launiupoko Land Acquisition

State of County Finances & Budget Overview

Fiscal challenges facing Maui County

Mike White to Speak at October TPM

Meeting

Debra Greene, creator of StopSmartMetersHawaii.com will

educate TPM about the problems, health hazards, and

invasion of our privacy arising from Smart Meters and the

proposed Smart Grid here on Maui. This is another “Green” and

“Sustainable” initiative that has a direct effect on our liberty and

our pocketbooks. Standing together to stop the spread of this

dangerous idea is something TPM can be involved in and

actually make a difference, before it’s too late.

Debra has been very proactive in raising awareness on this

issue and has been on many panels, additionally she has given

speeches, engaged in interviews, and has authored many

papers on this important subject.

Please join us to hear Debra speak on Thursday, November

14th at 6:30 pm for our next General Meeting at Kalama

Heights, 101 Kanani Road in Kihei.

Debra Greene to speak in November

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 7

by Jim Wagoner

Within the past week, global warming has received

credit for numerous societal ills. Last week there was

a picture of Oahu’s Kailua Beach in the Star

Advertiser after they had lost much of their sand –

because of global warming. The following day there

was a letter in the Maui News from someone who

was shrill in his contention that global warming is

already here and we need to do something

immediately to quell its coming devastation. And of

course, there is always President Obama ready and

willing to promote on a daily basis the breakdown of

the most successful and prosperous economy ever

devised. The President also understands that global

warming is possibly the biggest fraud ever

perpetrated on mankind.

RELAX! The underlying science of Anthropogenic

Global Warming (AGW) via man made CO2

emissions has been completely destroyed. After

more than 22 years the Global Warming Movement

has provided no supporting evidence for their own

hypothesis – not one scientific fact. The promoters of

AGW are little more than a self-appointed group of 5

to 6 dozen unscientific bullies attempting to provide

scientific acceptability to one of the most dangerous

energy policies devised by the greens, leftists,

progressives, or a frightening anti-energy American

Administration.

Our civic duties are to understand the flawed nature

of these people, their theories, their causes, and

agendas, and see to it that these individuals do not

involve themselves with science at all. Instead, they

are involved with national and international leftist

politics in their most dangerous form.

Harold Lewis is:

Emeritus of Physics, University of California at

Santa Barbara and former Chairman

Former member Defense Science Board

Chairman of Technology Panel

Chairman of DSB study on Nuclear Winter,

Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards

Former member Presidents Nuclear Safety

Oversight Committee

Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor Safety

Chairman Risk Assessment Review Group

Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON

Former member of USAF Scientific Advisory

Board, and served in the U.S. Navy in WW II.

Professor Lewis resigned from The American

Physical Society on October 6, 2010. I plead that

you will read a few of his comments found below in

his farewell letter:

“When I first joined the American Physical Society 67

years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as

yet uncorrupted by the money flood. How different it

is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the

money flood has become the raison d’etre of much

physics research, the vital sustenance of much more,

and it provides the support for untold numbers of

professional jobs.”

“It is of course, the global warming scam, with the

(literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has

corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS

before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and

most successful pseudo-scientific fraud I have seen

in my long life as a physicist.”

“Your own physics Department would lose millions a

year if the global warming bubble burst. When Penn

State absolved Mike Mann of wrongdoing, and the

University of East Anglia did the same for Phil Jones,

they cannot have been unaware of the financial

penalty for doing otherwise.”

(Continued on page 8)

NATIONAL ISSUES

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 8

“I’m not going to explore at just which point

enlightened self-interest crosses the line

into corruption, but a careful reading of the

Climate Gate releases makes it clear that

this is not an academic question. I want no

part of it, so please accept my

resignation. American Physical Society no

longer represents me.”

America is approaching $17 trillion dollars

of accumulated national debt. A good

guess would be that $5 trillion of that debt

can be traced to energy programs of

substitution and accommodation for hydro-

carbon fuels-- starting with ethanol

followed by greenhouse gases CO2,

methane, and nitrous oxide. As candidate,

President Obama promised, energy prices

“will naturally skyrocket” and we are now

paying ever higher prices for fuels and

electricity at a great cost to We the

People.

(Global Warming, New Information, Continued from page 7)

“There is no way to rule innocent men.

The only power government has is the

power to crack down on criminals. When

there aren’t enough criminals, one makes

them. One declares so many things to be

a crime that it becomes impossible for

men to live without breaking laws.”

Ayn Rand

WISE WORDS

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 9

I put my civic responsibili-

ties in the same order as

Andrew Wilkow of Sirius

XM, The BlazeTV, and

"The Wilkow Majority". I

consider myself a Patriot

first, a Conservative sec-

ond and a Republican third and

the Republican part is provisional

(more on that later).

As someone born at the tail end of

the baby boomer generation, I

grew up believing in American ex-

ceptionalism. My Father and older

Brothers served in the military so

even as the youngest child, when I

came of age I was expected to

serve as well.

I enjoyed my commitment to our

great nation in the United States

Air Force serving most of my en-

listment during peacetime.

Though I pledged to protect our

nation from all enemies foreign

and domestic at the time of my en-

listment, there were no active wars

during my service and I was never

deployed to a hostile environment.

I considered myself fortunate for

that, nevertheless I took that oath

seriously.

As a native of The Bay State I also

inherited great pride in hailing from

the birthplace of the American

Revolution. We took school field

trips to places like The Lexington

Green (site of the ‘shot heard

around the world’), The Bunker Hill

Monument and Beacon Hill (the

site of the original tea party, the

seat of Massachusetts government

and one time British colony). We

walked the Freedom Trail and

knew with certainty that our gov-

ernment had limits, checks and

balances and was designed by

great men (and women) who val-

ued liberty and naturally distrusted

government. The American Revo-

lution, the Declaration of Inde-

pendence and the US Constitution

were taught thoroughly when I

went to elementary school.

I knew I would vote - it was my civ-

ic duty after all - yet when it came

time to register I was uneasy about

choosing a party. My family mem-

bers all enrolled as Democrats but

since I turned eighteen while serv-

ing in the United States Air Force

with Jimmy Carter as my Com-

mander-in-Chief, choosing Demo-

crat seemed unnatural. Politics

was not terribly interesting to me at

the time so I checked 'un-enrolled'

in the party affiliation section of the

new voter registration card. I re-

mained so for many years.

That is the backdrop to my recent-

ly found activism. By the time my

life had wound through military

service, marriage, children and

career, civic complacency had set

in. As my children grew I face-

tiously imparted Gwen's Axiom to

them: 'In any given general popu-

lation, 90% of people present are

either: not very smart, not terribly

educated or simply not engaged'. I

freely admitted that the axiom was

contrived. I plucked it out of thin

air. In addition to the un-

intended consequence of

unfortunately propagating

some my own cynicism, it

was my attempt at chal-

lenging my children to be

active participants in the

world around them. When a line of

people were marching toward the

door, we were the few who noticed

the second door and headed for it.

Cynical but pragmatic. The think-

ers run the show.

After the events of September 11,

2001 and by the time Massachu-

setts Senator Edward Kennedy

passed away in August of 2009,

my contempt for the irresponsibility

of our elected officials had reached

a turning point as a patriot and a

citizen. Having visited the site of

the original tea party many times,

taken a constitutional oath and

having worked my tail off most of

my life as a responsible parent, I

could no longer remain compla-

cent. I decided it was time for ac-

tion. I joined the Twin City TEA

Party, The Worcester TEA Party

and yes, The Boston TEA Party.

Then I joined the Republican Par-

ty. Initially the thought of joining

either of the major political parties

left a sour taste in my mouth since

BOTH parties have failed us badly

over the years but I knew it was

time to stand up and be counted.

Responsible citizens can no longer

just vote. I was compelled to act.

As a new activist, I held signs,

made phone calls, became a poll

watcher, and lobbied politicians on

(Continued on page 10)

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 10

Beacon Hill about issues important

to me and my family. I joined multi-

ple political campaigns, managed

three websites and volunteered to

chair my local ward committee. I

learned a lot. A lot about politics, a

lot (more) about people, and a lot

about frustration. When Scott

Brown won the special election for

'the Kennedy Senate Seat' I was

ecstatic. It really did seem individu-

als could participate in and influ-

ence government and it seemed

the whole country recognized it. It

really seemed to work! Wow, I be-

came the Pied Piper of activism. I

“friended' everyone on Facebook,

preached in line at the grocery

store, and tried to recruit many of

my friends. Thankfully, most of my

friends are kind, wonderful, indul-

gent and understanding folks and

remain my friends today. Needless

to say the 'pink cloud' has worn off

and the reality of our America today

is plainly in sight. The election of

BHO (twice!!) and concurrent de-

feats of my state's candidates

brought home the reality of just how

unresponsive and corrupt our politi-

cal system has become.

I have seen the Democrat Party

pour millions of dollars and ship

BUS LOADS of out-of-state activ-

ists into Massachusetts (more than

once) to canvas neighborhoods in

successful bids to get the likes of

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey

elected to the US Senate thwarting

the will of the people.

Prior to the 2012 presidential elec-

tion, as a voting republican caucus

member in Massachusetts, I voted

for new Republicans to be dele-

gates to the national convention,

then watched as they were quietly

nullified (on technicalities) and re-

placed by party regulars behind

closed doors. I nearly quit the par-

ty. I was furious that GOP leaders

pulled those shenanigans despite

claiming to welcome new conserva-

tives into the 'big tent' of the new

republican party. But I didn't quit.

Instead, I insisted that the Leomin-

ster Republican City Committee -

MY COMMITTEE - formally de-

nounce the GOP leaderships ac-

tions in writing. I also continued in

the party and vociferously incited

party attendees to call for two re-

votes when it came time to elect a

new GOP President in Massachu-

setts. The grassroots candidate

that many of us supported still did

not prevail but THEY HEARD US

and now he is part of the GOP

leadership coalition in Boston and

the GOP in Massachusetts is listen-

ing acutely to the new folks in the

tent...

Now I find myself on Maui following

my heart, my soul, and opportunity.

I am very pleased to be a recent,

permanent, transplant to Hawaii.

As such, logically of course, I knew

I must seek out like-minded patriots

and plug in. After all, as a New

England Patriot (never thought I

would use that phrase in a sen-

tence - especially referring to my-

self) in Maui my civic duty has not

changed, has it?

Imagine my pleasure on attending

my first TEA Party Maui meeting on

July 11 where Myles Kawakami

happened to be the guest speaker

and talked of coalition building. He

clearly elucidated what I agree is

the reality that most Americans are

not progressive left wing extrem-

ists. He spoke of finding overlap

between the various factions of

those right-of-center groups that

have been effectively demagogued

by the left and a collusive media.

His premise, that a majority of

Americans are patriotic but have

not yet found the catalyst to come

together in an effective way, and

that the left has become ever-more

effective and adept at dema-

goguing and manipulating low infor-

mation voters is something we all,

as patriots, must believe and take

to heart.

Mr. Kawakami is right when he as-

serts that the best vehicle for coali-

tion building among those right of

center is the Republican Party. My

reasoning when I joined the party

was that there are only two viable

parties and anyone hoping to affect

change would necessarily need to

affiliate with one or the other. I am

still uneasy saying I am a Republi-

can. I am a Patriot first and ulti-

mately libertarian. Both parties are

bloated and corrupt but now the

Republican Party is MY PARTY

and I am taking it back! We all

need to take it back - together. We

must all become thinkers. We must

all REMAIN engaged. We must all

believe that most Americans still

share more traditional values than

the special interests that have been

used to divide us as a people. We

must all continue to clarify common

values amongst ourselves, foster

activism, support new leaders, and

hold current officials accountable.

Being in Hawaii is a new experi-

ence for me. Patriotism here has a

different flavor. There are other

sensitivities. Ultimately, however, if

the sensitivities of any group are to

be addressed we must first reclaim

our Republic. Party affiliation is

also ultimately irrelevant. After all

the life of our identity as Americans

must also be perpetuated in right-

eousness. We must all be Pono.

We must all be Patriots first…..

(My Patriot Story, Continued from page 9)

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 11

by Kurt Hanson

The Liberty Amendments by best-selling author and

radio talk show host Mark Levin could not have come

at a more critical time. As the circle of liberty shrinks

under an ever-expanding Federal leviathan, this pres-

cient book offers 11 Amendments aimed at restoring

the American Republic. The book spells out in plain

English the rationale for each proposed amendment

backed by constitutional history.

His proposed amendments will:

Establish term limits for members of Congress

and Supreme Court Justices

Repeal Amendment 17, which established direct

election of United States Senators by popular

vote and took the states out of the decision-

making process in Washington.

Allow a Congressional supermajority to override

Supreme Court decisions

Strengthen private property rights

Grant states the power to override a federal stat-

ute by a three-fifths vote.

Grant states authority to directly amend the Con-

stitution

Limit federal spending and taxation

Protect the vote

In the words of Levin, we are “unmoored” from the

Constitution, but the framers, those great men of vi-

sion, knew this day would come and have thrown us

a lifeline from two centuries ago in the form of Article

5 of the Constitution. It provides two methods to

amend the Constitution, and the one championed by

Levin is the state convention process:

“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses

shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments

to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legis-

latures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a

convention for proposing amendments, which, in ei-

ther case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes,

as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legis-

latures of three fourths of the several states, or by

conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the

other mode of ratification may be proposed by the

Congress; provided that no amendment which may

be made prior to the year one thousand eight hun-

dred and eight shall in

any manner affect the first

and fourth clauses in the

ninth section of the first arti-

cle; and that no state, without

its consent, shall be deprived

of its equal suffrage in the

Senate.”

Contrary to belief, the state

amendment process does not

allow an overhaul of the Con-

stitution by some out-of-

control convention. As Levin

writes in the first chapter, “I was originally skeptical of

amending the Constitution by the state convention

process. I fretted it could turn into a runaway caucus.

As an ardent defender of the Constitution who re-

veres the brilliance of the Framers, I assumed this

would play disastrously into the hands of the Statists.

However, today I am a confident and enthusiastic ad-

vocate for the process. The text of Article V makes

clear that there is a serious check in place. Whether

the product of Congress or a convention, a proposed

amendment has no effect at all unless “ratified by the

Legislatures of three fourths of the several States or

by Conventions in three fourths thereof. . . .” This

should extinguish anxiety that the state convention

process could hijack the Constitution.”

Of all Levin’s proposed amendments, the one on

term limits I feel would stand the best chance of ratifi-

cation. This is one proposal that would cut across

party and ideological lines and appeal to all Ameri-

cans - accept those in power. What better way to

start the process to restore the Republic than dimin-

ishing the power of the ruling class?

Levin has penned a revolutionary blueprint, but it is

We, the People, who now need to reclaim what is

ours, the Constitution. Resources:

www.marklevinshow.com

Mark Levin "The Liberty Amendments" - Sean Hannity Special

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJdwc3q5s0o

The first chapter of The Liberty Amendments

http://citadelcc.vo.llnwd.net/o29/network/Levin/hosted_files/

LibertyAmendmentsCh1.pdf

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 12

In the movie “Lean On Me”, Principal Joe Clark

said, “Forget about the way it used to be. This is not

a democracy. We are in a state of emergency, and

my word is law!”

It certainly was. He fired teachers and expelled kids.

He was the ultimate, tough principal. But in the end,

East Side High School was much better for it.

If I were a

principal of a

school, I would

be the toughest

principal around.

Just like Joe

Clark, I'd carry a

baseball bat

with me wherever I went. When the teachers

showed up on the first day, I would give them a

speech.

“Look, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job.

I'm not going to waste your time with boring meetings

and tell you all the rules and regulations. All I'm

going to do is watch you teach. And if you teach

well, then you'll get a raise. But if you teach poorly,

then you'll be fired. Now get to work!”

Obviously, any principal that did this today would be

thrown in jail. Principals have their hands tied behind

their back. They have to make us teachers sit in

boring meetings. They have to waste time worrying

about all the hundreds of new regulations that the

state comes up with, year after year. And they are

not allowed to fire anyone without going through an

exhausting nest of government rules.

Today, education reform is from the top down, with

the higher-ups always trying to control what the lower

-downs are doing. The big wigs spend enormous

resources conjuring up a thousand rules, and

teachers have to memorize it all. Rules to make sure

a teacher doesn't just sleep on the job. Or abuse

kids. Or teach the wrong material. And all these

rules do is slow us down.

But a good teacher knows they shouldn't sleep on

the job. Good teachers already know how to make a

safe learning environment. They know how to teach

the best material, and make students feel welcome.

Good teachers work their butt off, and good

principals do everything they can to keep those

teachers.

This year, there is a big reform going on in Hawaii.

Every teacher will get observed two times a year by

the principal. Lots of teachers are worried. “We're

used to being observed once every five years. This

is too much!”

But, I don't think it's enough. If I were a principal, I

would try to observe every teacher, every day. It

wouldn't be that hard to just walk around to every

classroom, one by one, and watch them teach for a

while. You could

get to every

classroom in a

day or two.

The reason it

takes principals

so long to

observe is

because they need to let each teacher know they're

coming weeks in advance. This gives the teacher

lots of time to prepare a really good lesson, and to

tell the kids, “Be really good tomorrow!” Then, when

the principal comes, he needs to fill out his

observation

on a special

government

approved

form, and

input it into a

special

website.

And then sit

in on a pre-

observation interview, and a post-observation

interview, with the teacher. It takes forever!

But is it really so far fetched to imagine a principal

with more power? Maybe he could stop in a

classroom without telling the teacher, and just jot

down some notes for himself? Perhaps there was

something about the lesson that didn't really fit on a

form. Maybe it was the energy, or the magic that the

teacher had, or the enthusiasm that the kids had, or

the progress they made, or something, I don't even

know how to describe it, but it sure as heck could

never fit on a government mandated form. And what

if the principal just jotted down “Give this teacher a

raise, before the school down the street does”?

Of course, there are all sorts of objections to this.

Principals with power? Then they'll run mad with

power! The principal could just lower everyone's pay

(Continued on page 13)

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 13

to $1 an hour! Or they could just fire everyone!

But, so what? So what if a principal went crazy and

fired everyone? So what if a school failed? When

bad schools fail, that's a good thing. But today, bad

schools never fail. They just go on forever.

When principals are powerless, as they are today,

then they have to act very nice. They have to smile a

lot and be friends with the teachers. They need to be

very persuasive and try to convince teachers to

perform well through their own charisma. Teachers

love these kinds of principals. But I feel sorry for

them. Even the most charismatic principal could

never fix education without the power to hire and fire

at the drop of a hat.

Many people blame teachers when it comes to our

failing education. But I don't think teachers are the

enemy. I don't even think principals are the problem.

The real problem is the lack of freedom for teachers

to do what they want, and principals to do what they

want. A free market approach to education seems

scary, because we're so nostalgic about the way we

were raised. But when we were raised, principals

had more power. Today, they're nearly powerless.

Give the power to rule their school back to the

principals. Some teachers will fail and others will

succeed. A really great teacher might be worth

double what a mediocre teacher is paid. Good

schools could be worth lots of money and provide

scholarships to poorer students who aimed for better

grades. Teachers could try innovative ideas that

didn't fit within the government model. Parents could

chose the schools they like best. Bullies would cost

more money, so schools and parents would crack

down on them. There are all sorts of benefits that

could come from the free market of education.

Principals with power. Teachers with freedom.

Parents with choices. And students with a brighter

future.

(Power to the Principal, Continued from page 12)

Pono Press, September-October 2013, Page 14

For more info, please see our

website:

www.teapartymaui.com

Or give us a call:

(808) 214-2859

To contact the editor email:

ponopress@teapartymaui.com

Pono Press

TEA Party

Maui

TEA Party Maui is

an active grassroots

organization based

on the island of Maui,

Hawaii.

Our mission is to

attract, educate,

organize, and

mobilize our fellow

citizens to secure

public policy

consistent with our

three core values:

Fiscal Responsibility,

Constitutionally

Limited Government,

and Free Markets.

Upcoming TEA Party Events October Monthly General Meeting: Thursday, October 10th at 6:30 pm at

Kalama Heights Garden Room. Located at 101 Kanani Road in Kihei. Coun-

cilmember Mike White will be speaking about local budget issues.

November Monthly General Meeting: Thursday, November 14th at 6:30 pm

at Kalama Heights Garden Room. Located at 101 Kanani Road in Kihei. Debra

Greene will be speaking about Smart Meters.

October Freedom Friday is October 25 @ 6:30 pm. Saeng’s

Thai Cuisine in Wailuku Town, 2141 West Vineyard Street

More events will be coming for 2013! Please check out the

website www.teapartymaui.com to get involved or call us at (808) 214-2859.

Community Meetings We encourage you to stay on the pulse of the issues by attending Community

Meetings listed on the Maui County website: www.co.maui.hi.us

For information on contacting your Congressmen and Congresswomen; order

your U.S. Congressional Directory from www.c-span.org

Another way to be informed about upcoming legislation and to follow proposed

bills through the process is to go to the Hawai'i Public Access Room through

the following link: http://hawaii.gov/lrb/par/

Pono Press Staff Editor: Kristin Mack

Assistant Editor: Valerie Sisneros

Proofreaders: Lee and Rosemary Aldridge

News and Contributing Writers: Joe Kent, Jim Wagoner, Gwen Meunier, Kurt Hanson, Valerie

Sisneros, Peggy Tillinghast, Kristin Mack

TPM Logo Design: Maui Custom T-shirts

The articles, links and opinions contained in this newsletter belong to the owners and

writers and do not necessarily express the opinions of the TEA Party Maui. Although

every effort is made to publish only researched information, we cannot certify accuracy

of all material published.

The TEA Party Maui is organized as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the

State of Hawaii and is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization under Section 501(c)4 of

the Federal Internal Revenue Code. Donations to support our mission are not tax de-

ductible.

The Pono Press is a voluntary effort to spread information about TPM

happenings and also to educate the public about our core principles. We strive to

explore, and help bring to light, newsworthy items of local and national interest

which relate to these principles. With the help of our outstanding contributors,

we are able to offer insight and perspective on these issues. If you have

knowledge of, or interest in, any particular subject area or issue (local or

national) and would like to help us educate others, please contact us at:

ponopress@teapartymaui.com. At this time we are looking for submissions

about education, county and state budgets, the Second Amendment, land use,

and transportation. We appreciate all of our contributors. Mahalo!