Nowhere else do no-shows get paid
The County of Hawaii writes checks to council members. They are employees of the county. Would the county pay any other employee who refuses to come to work and do their job? I think not. And the public sector certainly would not. Any employee who refused to come to work would be fired. So why is Ruggles still collecting a paycheck for not doing her job? For not showing up?
Ruggles took an oath to uphold the constitutions of both the U.S. and the state of Hawaii when she took office. Now she claims she cannot vote because Hawaii should not be a state. Well, which is it?
In my opinion, her constituents should be filing a class action suit against her, as they are not being represented.
Cindy Whitehawk
South Kona
Ruggles is only one asking hard questions on complex subject
Council member Jen Ruggles did her due diligence in educating herself on the legal status of Hawaii and is asking a legitimate question that deserves a legitimate answer.
The Corporation Counsel failed to provide councilwoman Ruggles legitimate legal assurance that she is not committing war crimes in Hawaii by legislating. Corporation Counsel also did not dispute that Hawaii is illegally occupied or in violation of protected persons’ rights.
Jen Ruggles is a whistleblower and articles like this that talk about her pay are a tactic of retaliation and an attempt to distract away from the fact the U.S. is violating its own Constitution.
Councilwoman Ruggles is doing her job as mandated by her oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution that says treaties are the “supreme law of the land.” These treaties include the U.S. ratified Hague and Geneva conventions that specify the laws of the occupied territory must remain in force. In this case, those laws would be the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom. To legislate United States law would break those treaties, violate the U.S. Constitution, and commit, what Title 18 of U.S. law defines as “war crimes.”
According to the U.S. ratified treaties, as a council member, Ruggles must “go through the greatest pains” to “ensure respect for the conventions in all circumstances” and advocate for the rights of protected persons. This is exactly what she is doing as her job mandates. She is diligently following what is required of her as a council member.
Reporter Tom Callis wrote that Hawaii and Texas were annexed by resolution. Texas was not annexed by resolution. Texas was annexed by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo with the Republic of Mexico.
The U.S. has acquired all of its territories via treaty. There is no such treaty with the Hawaiian Kingdom. There is no U.S. law or international law that says one country can take another country by passing a resolution through their legislature. If this was true, then the U.S. could pass a resolution annexing the entire world. In the very basics of common sense, one must understand that legislation does not have an effect beyond its own territory.
We are in difficult times because of the U.S.’s illegal occupation and Jen Ruggles is the only public official taking it seriously, asking the hard questions and not continuing to stick her head in the sand.
It is unfortunate the Hawaii Tribune-Herald chose to mischaracterize my motivation and ignore what I said in August.
It speaks volumes that no other council members have defended my right to take this stand and urged Corporation Counsel to do his job, even if they do not believe what I am doing is right. How much courage and leadership is there?
Theodora “Cookie” Akau Gaspar
Honokaa