Bad news for Hawaii taxpayers
WHT’s front page news follows:
• May 3: “Lawmakers had a $2 billion general fund surplus this year instead of a massive revenue shortfall.”
• May 4: “Tax relief unlikely: There will be no property tax credit for homeowners this year.”
• May 5: “No gas tax relief: Council kills 10-cent discount.”
Why? Guess it’s time for me to move out of Hawaii after faithfully paying taxes for 26 years
Ray Mears
Kailua-Kona
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Conservative outrage
The Conservative Justice John Roberts, along with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and conservative opinion writer George Will are all outraged that Samuel Alito’s draft opinion to overturn a half-century of legal precedent was leaked. Moral outrage and criminality they exclaim.
Why are they not concerned that Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett made statements supporting “stare decisis” respect for legal precedent in a manner meant to deceive congress in order to gain appointment to the Supreme Court. Their purpose is painfully obvious now.
Roberts is certainly of the same ilk as all six conservative justices support the Mississippi abortion laws. It is reported that 60% to 70% of Americans support Roe v. Wade. So it seems plain that this is an authoritarian Roberts court. Let us not forget that it is the Roberts court that opened the flood gates of dark money into our politics in Citizens United, another anti-democracy discussion has twice destroyed the democratic protection of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Clearly, the Supreme Court is anti-democracy and has us headed toward being an authoritarian government, not a democracy.
Leslie Iijima
Waikoloa
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Odious vs. heroic
Trust a so called “conservative” to defend secrecy. This “liberal,” which means freedom, look it up, views secrecy as un-American. The issue is freedom, period. Some would define right and wrong, and they are free to do so, for themselves. But to curtail anther’s freedom, is again, un-American.
George Will, in his article, talks about the odious stench the leaker left in the Supreme Court building. I would say the odious stench in the Supreme Court is to believe the bench can be packed with conservatives, in order to defy freedom. Freedom is the right deeply rooted in the the nations concept.
The conservative belief would condemn Daniel Ellsburg, for releasing the Pentagon Papers. Yet Mr. Ellsburg stands as a true American hero. This “leaker” stands with him as a hero. One who values truth and openness over secrecy. One who understands the core ethos of America, over institutionalized castles, and the conservative palace guard, which defends them.
One Oshen
Ocean View
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