The Mystery of Hawaiian History

By Wall Street Journal, 12/28/2007 10:52:33 AM Imagine the media outrage if a Republican Congress reduced funding for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Yet that’s exactly what Democrats did in the omnibus spending bill that President Bush signed yesterday. Not that we’re complaining. The commission, which does fact-finding and issues reports but has no enforcement power, marks its 50th anniversary next month. Needless to say, the country has made enormous racial progress since the Eisenhower Administration. And the federal government already handles discrimination allegations through the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, among other agencies.

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Public Comment and Testimony offered by:

Mrs. Barbara M. Lindsay on behalf of the membership of One Nation United (ONU) to the Hawaii State Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

August 31, 2007

Aloha!

My name is Barb Lindsay. I am National Director and Spokesperson for One Nation United. I’m writing to you on behalf of the Board and Membership of One Nation United to oppose the Akaka bill because of the severe harm it threatens to do to property owners throughout America. I’m also writing to you to warn you of the severe damage the Akaka bill would cause to the civil liberties and constitutional rights of most Native Hawaiians - - based upon the experience of thousands of tribal members who currently suffer under the “plenary power” of Congress over tribal property and the experience of thousands more individual Native Americans who have suffered greatly under the unchecked political power of tribal government leaders over the lives of individual enrolled members.

One Nation United (ONU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)4 public educational umbrella group dedicated to the defense of private property rights, our free enterprise system, and the rule of law - - ALL of which are seriously threatened by the Akaka bill. Read the rest of this entry »

Public Comment and Testimony offered by:

Mr. Richard O. Rowland for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) to the
Hawaii State Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights September 11, 2007

I am Dick Rowland, President of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a non-partisan, non-profit public policy analysis and educational institution based in Honolulu. Thank you for this opportunity to address this panel. It is understood that there have been several verbal attacks on Grassroot Institute of Hawaii before this panel in the last few days. I have come to clear the air by giving you the five key concerns we have regarding the proposed Akaka bill.
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The Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has been holding hearings regarding the Akaka bill.

The best testimony on September 5 was presented by Mr. Jere Krischel. His remarkable, compelling arguments in opposition to the Akaka bill are available at

http://tinyurl.com/ypa63y

A roundup of all major testimony is at

http://tinyurl.com/2bbfy6

by Ken Conklin

The newly reconstituted Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is scheduling public hearings focused on the Akaka bill. Testimony can be submitted anytime during August by e-mail to

bdelaviez@usccr.gov

Written testimony can also be sent by old-fashioned mail, or can be hand-delivered at the hearings (although speaking time will be very short).

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In response to the damning USCCR report, two commissioners wrote formal dissents.  Filled with inaccuracies, we present to you their correction:

Arlan D. Melendez 

Michael J. Yaki 

Here is a link to the U.C. Civil Rights Commission Draft Report that recommends the Senate reject passage of the Akaka bill, which the Commission then endorsed.

The document has several interesting observations, including:

In the words of one commenter, the legislation would “enshrine racial discrimination into law.” Some of these commenters stressed their own ethnic heritage, including Native Hawaiian ancestry, and argued that the legislation would be an affront both to their own personal identities and to those of their family members who lack Native Hawaiian blood.

Another commenter said:

Throughout the history of the Kingdom, the Republic, the Territory and the State of Hawaii, we have been a multi-racial and multi-cultural society. To separate out only those who had ancestors pre-1778, and take away from them their history of racial equality, their history of civil rights, and demand that they must govern themselves separately because of race, is an insult to the history of all the peoples of the islands of Hawaii.

These are people who have as much or more Hawaiian blood as those who are seeking to impose a government from above downward, as opposed to one generated from the people upward.

This is a document that should be read by anyone who is concerned with this issue.

http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/060504NatHawBriefReport.pdf

Hat Tip: Ken Conklin