Satan's Luau

First off let me say this, Governor Linda Lingle's so-called New Beginning is a LOAD of crap

I feel very much lied to and mislead .... now mind you, I did not cast my vote for Lingle-Aiona as the majority of Hawaii voters did this past election

I do not endorse the PATENT MISLEADING of the people of the state of Hawaii with promises of open government and no heavy handed tactics

At work today, I discovered that Lingle's widely praised search for candidates to fill state employment, or directorships was a TOTAL AND COMPLETE FARCE

The vast majority, if not all of those who were appointed by the "far and wide job search " were LARGE monetary contributors to her campaign ... which makes all her talk about an open search for the best candidates such BULLSHIT that I think everyone who voted for her and felt that this was a new day should consider questioning the reasons why they were MISLEAD to believe that the nomination and appointment process was based on MERIT alone

The other aspect of which I am disappointed with Lingle's administration is the unmitigated gall of her senior policy advisor in using heavy handed tactics and political intimidation to attempt to get Senators to vote her way ... The methods are not persuasion and having the best idea prevail ... its more like I will campaign in your district and tell them how you stifled the New Beginning

Today the Senate of Hawaii voted down two of Lingle's appointees to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents ... and I am so wonderfully pleased as to why they did it

In my opinion, the Senate took very seriously its role in the advise and consent of political nominations for this board which is the policy board for the state university

The Republicans allege that this is pure partisanship and that these downed candidates were smeared for no good reason ... well, I think the reason is clear

They were not the best candidates for the job ... and it wasn't because of their party affiliations or contributions to the Republicans or Lingle's campaigns

These two candidates DID NOT take the confirmation process seriously nor show a good faith effort to demonstrate their knowledge of the UH or its future, nor did Lingle's administration show concern about representing the geographic areas of West Oahu and the Big Island

I do not often praise the politicians in this state because I view them personally as mostly clueless and unable to make the key strategic decisions to move this state forward in so many key areas of state policy

At the Luau, I salute: Senators Bunda, English, Espero, Fukunaga, Hanabusa, Hooser, Inouye, Kanno, Kawamoto, Kim, Kokubun, Sakamoto, Tsutsui ... and also recognize Taniguchi and Aduja who went down on at least one of the candidates

These Senators have shown a caring about the UH Board ... that candidates who are nominated for these positions should be prepared to answer questions as to critical issues and policy facing the University ....

And also that the Senate advise and consent process is not merely a rubberstamping of political patrons of the Governor so nominees should not treat their appointments as entitlements for their campaign support

Thank you Legislature, for the first time in a long time I feel well served by your public actions

PS: Should anyone need additional information on campaign spending and the gubernatorial cabinet, I would urge you to consult with the State's Campaign Spending website available on the Internet ... and let the truth set you free

Perhaps Konishiki wasn't saying: It's Time ... maybe he was saying It's Bribes ... that's how I feel after seeing political patrons of Lingle be appointed when publicly she was putting up a front to MISLEAD the public into thinking her cabinet selection was an open call for the best and the brightest .... it was again who opened their wallet

Shame on you Gov, you have done us a grave disservice