Spinning Wheels
Most new ideas aren't new. So when I heard someone was coming out with a six-wheeled car my thoughts went back to the 1970s and the Tyrrell P34 Formula 1 car. But as this site notes, there were others before that.
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April 30, 2004
In Your Eye
You may have heard about security devices that do retinal scans to determine who you are. But have you heard of a laser-projection device that projects an image directly on to your retina? In this case, the image is the shop manual for Honda vehicle mechanics. The system leaves the mechanics hands free to work on the vehicle while they "see" the repair instructions seemingly floating in front of their face.
This Must Stop
The AviationNow site has a story on someone by the name Dan O'Dowd who is saying Linux and all OpenSource applications are security threats to the U.S. Department of Defense. O'Dowd is quoted in the article saying:
If Linux is compromised, our defenses could be disabled, spied on or commandeered," O'Dowd said at an April 8 panel during the NetCentric Operations 2004 conference sponsored by the Association of Enterprise Integration and held in McLean, Va. "Every day, new code is added to Linux in Russia, China and elsewhere throughout the world. Every day, that code is incorporated into our command, control, communications and weapons system. This must stop.
It may not be a coincidence that O'Dowd works for a company that sells a proprietary operating systems supposedly designed for defense systems. But that is not to say people don't have to audit changes made to OpenSource initiatives for security concerns but, in my opinion, it's a long way to saying all OpenSource is less secure than his or any other proprietary offering.
Inspired Inspiron
Yesterday was a Good_Day(tm) at the Seto Shack. The Dell Inspiron 1150 came in as well as the Linksys WRT54GS wireless 802.11g router. You better believe I was up late playing with these toys last night.
Even though the Inspiron 1150 is a "cheap" laptop, it looks like it will do just fine for what I need it for. Namely, running spreadsheets and doing memos/reports. As noted earlier, the trade-off for cheap is that the 1150 weighs so much my shoulder was sore from carrying it after walking only two blocks to the parking garage.
The Linksys was also fun to play with. I have to make sure I understand how to secure the wireless network but so far it's up and running and I can't tell any difference in web surfing speed between being wired and wireless. Web sites come up just as fast as when I have a CAT-5 cable plugged in as when I have the Linksys card plugged in the card slot.
Anyway, this will be a good weekend for me...
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
April 29, 2004
Chance Meetings
When I was in high school, as was the custom then, the MorningNewspaper would list notable accomplishments of young people around the state. Mostly, it was listings of students who had gotten scholarships or won awards for various skills such as speech or math. But one day, I read the name of a fellow student who was in the Boy Scouts. It seems he had attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Scouting. This is indeed a high accomplishment as only about four percent of all Scouts ever reach this level and something, I would think, to be proud.
But, I guess, each person deals with life in different ways. Let me explain. I saw the student the day after his name was published in the paper and congratulated him on his attaining Eagle Scout status. His response sadden me. What he did was threaten me saying he did not want his friends to know that he was an Eagle Scout. I can only speculate as to why he would not want his friends to know what he had accomplished. Was he fearful that his friends would think less of him? I don't know but, if so, one wonders what kind of friends he had.
I was reminded of him in relation to the recent national controversy over whether photos of flag draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq should be published. It seems the current administration, for whatever reason, feels that no one should see such photos. In fact, someone who published some photos was fired from her job.
I think I can understand how the grieving family of some soldiers may not want any publicity about their son or daughter's casket coming home and I'm certainly not going to stand in judgment of them. But I think these people could perhaps take some comfort if they understood the depth of caring and grieving we all feel when one of our young men and women falls in battle. I wish they could understand that the these mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters do not stand alone. That a country proudly stands beside them, whether they support the war or not, and that the healing process can be easier when they can accept the love of others.
There is a posting from U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Strobl that is an account of escorting home the remains of one Lance Corporal Chance Phelps who died in Iraq recently. I don't know if the post is apocryphal or not, but even if it is, it doesn't matter. What matters is it tells the powerful truth of who we are. If you can read that post and not have a tear come to your eye then something is wrong with you.
I know the story is true, even if the details may not, because I have seen the respect and reverence paid to the returning remains of soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. To this day, when the unidentified remains, in those same flag draped caskets are brought to Hawai'i for identification at the Army Lab, there is a solemn ceremony, usually televised on local TV news.
I know the story is true because when my father-in-law was laid to rest, the Honolulu Police force turned out by the hundreds to honor him. They even shut down the main highway through town to give a clear road to his motorcade to the cemetery. Once at the grave site, a U.S. Marine Corps detachment provided full military honors to their fallen comrade.
I want every grieving parent to know that they don't stand alone in their sorrow. That "from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Aloha!
April 28, 2004
Watching and Waiting
As noted yesterday, things have kind of slowed down around here. I'm still waiting for the Legislature to drop the axe on the Judicial Salary Commission recommendations but other than that, nothing of importance is going on.
Aloha!
April 27, 2004
In Transit
Things have kind of slowed down here at the Seto Shack. But I have a couple of things on order that are "in transit" so I hope to be able to report on them when they come in. The first is a wireless network based on the Linksys WRT54GS 802.11g router with what they call "SpeedBooster" technology.
The second is something to work with the wireless network. Namely, a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop computer. Up to now, I've avoided getting a laptop because the cost just didn't justify the benefits. I mean what one paid for a middle-of-the-road laptop would buy a desktop speedster that would run rings around any laptop. Well, the future is here and the cost of the cheapest laptops have finally fallen into the range where I've decided to get one.
The Inspiron 1150 is a cheap laptop. If you understand what that means, you know what the tradeoffs are. For example, there's the weight. This one starts at 7.2 lbs. (~3.3kg). This is by no means a lightweight. Lugging 7 pounds, plus A/C adapter and nylon case around an airport will not be fun.
Second, this is not a speed demon. The CPU is an Intel 2.4GHz Celeron. While having such a processor a few years ago would lead to envy, now a 2.4 Celeron won't get you into bed with a Baywatch Babe (or able to watch her pr0n video).
Third, the screen is a 14.1-inch display rather than one of those snazzy 17-inch wide-screen jobs that everyone seems to be falling over themselves trying to snag.
But the bottom line is I got one for about $750, which is about what a cheap desktop goes for. So now I will be able to take the laptop to meetings and run spreadsheets or write minutes, as things happen. When SWMBO goes to the neighbor islands she can take it with her.
And lastly, when not used at work, I can use it at home to surf the net from the comfort of the living room sofa while watching those bouncing babes on Baywatch [ducking and taking cover].
Aloha!
April 26, 2004
Neither Here Nor There
So, the Hawai'i House Committee on Labor and Public Employment met and decided to amend the concurrent resolution that would reject the recommendations of the Judicial Salary Commission. The changes would allow the 14 percent increase for next year, but delete the incremental increases of 3.5 percent year for the following years.
Since this is different from the version the Senate recently passed (which rejects everything), the chances are there will be a conference committee, made up of members from the House and the Senate, to work out the differences.
Anzac Day
Anzac Day in New Zealand is held on 25 April each year to commemorate New Zealanders killed in war and to honour returned servicemen and women. The day has similar importance in Australia, New Zealand's partner in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. The ceremony itself has been continually adapted to the times, but has also steadily acquired extra layers of symbolism and meaning.
Anzac day is also commemorated here in Hawai'i through a solemn ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Hundreds attend the ceremony, including the press, which televised the ceremony on the news yesterday.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow
old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them. - Laurence Binyon's 'For the
Fallen'
Aloha!
April 23, 2004
The End is Near
I have a 8:30 hearing this morning at the Legislature. If the state House of Representatives adopts the concurrent resolution being heard, the recommendations of the Judicial Salary Commission will be rejected and the Commission will need to reconvene in November.
I'll let you know how things went on Monday.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
April 22, 2004
Wired In
Our office is in an uproar as as we get re-wired for CAT6 cables. Presently, I think, we have old CAT3 wires which worked fine for our 16MB token-ring network. Now that we are finally moving into the 20th century (yes, I know, we're in the 21st century) and Ethernet 100MB, we need better wiring. So I gotta go as the cable guys are here and are about to cover my desk and computer in plastic.
Aloha!
April 21, 2004
Hashshashin
Up to the Middle Ages and perhaps a bit beyond, it was possible to wage what I would call private wars. That is, a war started by a person and funded fully by that person. But as the cost and theater of war expanded, it became increasingly difficult, if not impossible for one person to afford it.
That is not to say private wars no longer exist. Even in the present, some local conflicts, such as those funded by the drug cartels, may fall under this definition.
But what seems to be emerging is a return to private wars in the sense that, through the use of terrorist techniques first developed in Arabic countries, one person can literally fund and execute a war against, for example, a country.
The logistics of a private war is made easier by several factors. We live in a global economy with global transportation systems. A lone terrorist can be in Baghdad today and Boston tomorrow. We also have the freedom to move around the country without being challenged.
We have global money systems in which funds in Nassau can be transferred, in an instant, to an account in New York.
We live in an open society in which information, such as what is needed to create a bomb is readily available on the Internet. Even the parts to cook such a lethal recipe is readily available in country.
All of these ingredients make it possible for one well financed person to wage war on a country.
Royal Australian Air Force Group Captain Peter Layton has written an essay that looks carefully at the rise of the hashshashin, from which we get the word assassin, and how they are characteristic of "The New Arab Way of War." While I don't necessarily agree with all his essay says, there is much to learn from it.
As an aside, he footnotes the word assassin thusly:
The word assassin seems particularly applicable to the foot soldiers of the modern Arab way of war. Assassin is used here as one who kills, or attempts to kill, by surprise or secret assault; or one who treacherously murders anyone unprepared for defense. The name comes from the Assassins of the East, followers of the Shaikh al-Jabal (Old Man of the Mountain). This was a Muslim order active in Persia and Syria about 1090-1272 whose members believed their religious duty was to harass and murder their enemies. The word derives from medieval Latin assassinus, which is derived from the Arabic hashshashin, and first appeared in English early in the 1600s.
Aloha!
April 20, 2004
My Heart Bleeds
Our Great Hawaii Senate Committee on Ways and Means, in apparent haste to pass a budget early enough to be in session should the Governor veto said budget, is finding that it may have made a few mistakes here and there. For example, deleting 23 vacant positions that are 100 percent federally funded. If you are looking to minimize costs to the state, you usually don't delete federally funded positions since no state funds are involved (and thus, you don't save any state money by deleting them). Further, the particular positions involved actually bring in to the state about $265 million in additional federal funds for vocational rehabilitation of the blind. Hence, rather than saving state taxes, you actually end up spending hundreds of millions more. This is called a lose-lose situation.
In a hearing in which the head of the department where the positions were cut asked the Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means why the positions were deleted, the Chair only responded by saying his "heart bleeds" for her problems. This is how our great legislative system, dominated by Democrats, seems to run now-a-days. His heart bleeds. Mr. Chair, forget about your bleeding heart and do a budget that makes sense and does what's right by the citizens of this state.
In other news, an attorney made famous by the hundreds of law suits he filed regarding alleged violations of the American with Disabilities Act, has been suspended from practicing law in Hawaii due to misappropriation of funds and several other violations of Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct. The suspension is to last a year and a day.
Aloha!
April 19, 2004
Now Hear This
I did my semi-annual reformat of my hard drive recently on my PC at home. As part of re-installing the latest versions of the programs I use I found that my CD-ripper, AudioGrabber has gone freeware! This was welcome news. While at their site I noticed the the FAQ said the fastest MP3 encoder was Xing's MP3encoder. Of course, it costs $19.95USD while many others are free but I do these things so you won't have to waste your money.
So I paid my money, downloaded the 1.8MB file, and ran the installation program. AudioGrabber uses the Xing encoder as an external program but has default parameters set for it so all you have to do is point AudioGrabber to where the encoder is installed and you're ready to rip.
I chose Diana Krall's rendition of "Let's Fall in Love" as a test file. This song is 4 minutes and 17 seconds long and creates a 43.8MB wav file when ripped in stereo at 128Kbits/sec. My test PC was a Dell OptiPlex GX260 with an Intel Pentium 4 running at 2.66GHz and 512MB of RAM. I ran three tests each for Xing, LameEnc 3.96, and Ogg Vorbis 1.0 and averaged the results in seconds and the resulting MP3 file size:
Xing 23 seconds 4,020kb
LAME 36 seconds 4,020kb
Ogg Vorbis 38 seconds 3,957kb
Clearly, Xing was indeed faster than the other two encoders and if you rip 60 minute long symphonic works perhaps the speed difference is worth it. But I will leave it up to you to decide whether the $19.95USD cost is equal to the 57 percent or 65 percent respective speed increase. YMMV.
Aloha!
April 16, 2004
The Real World
Sometimes it's interesting to imagine, no matter how bad things are now, how they could get a lot worse. For example, what if we got rid of all the lawyers and politicians. Okay, so may that's not a good example.[g] But think, for a second, about what would happen if we didn't have judges and because of this the doors of our courts were closed.
All murderers, rapists, and thieves caught by the police would have to be released because there would be no impartial court to adjudicate the matters. All real property in probate would go to the highest bidder or the person with the biggest gun, whichever came first. All people wanting to adopt children would not have a legal way of doing so. All divorces would be decided by a flip of a coin. If you were hit by someone driving under the influence he or she could just drive away, scot free. If your employer didn't pay your salary there would be nothing you could do. In other words, there would be no rule of law and hence, no justice.
I realize, for some people, this would be paradise. But for most of us, this would be anarchy. And yet, we seem to value the work of judges so lowly that sometimes I think they should form a union and go on strike - just so people could experience the lower quality of life we would all have.
But even worse, if that is possible, imagine if we had judges, but they were uniformly lacking in education, experience, good judicial temperament, and plain common sense. Imagine going before a judge who worried more about how to send his or her children to a good college than whether you got a fair trial. Imagine a judge who supplemented her income by taking a second job working for a large corporation. Then imagine trying to sue that corporation in her courtroom. Imagine coming before a judge that had flunked out of law school in Grenada and then is asked to judge whether you go to prison or pay huge fines. Imagine coming before a judge so full of rage and frustration that he routinely needs to take sedatives to get through the day.
We aren't anywhere near being that bad. Yet. In the years I've worked here in the Judiciary I have had nothing but respect and admiration for the high quality of men and women who serve as judges. But it won't always be this way if we aren't willing to pay them (Checkout the California university system. At one time, it was a model of what higher education can and should be. Now, due to decades of declining funding, the best and the brightest professors have left. The system is a shambles and will probably never reach the level it was before.)
There is no magic bullet. There is no "doing more with less" when what you have is already too little. Voodoo economics has not, does not, and will not work. The bottom line is, if you want excellence, you have to pay for it.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
April 15, 2004
Twisting the Knife
Sometimes getting all worked up about something helps me to write about it. But sometimes, I just get so worked up it's best that I cool down before putting fingers to keyboard. I'll let you decide which I should have done today [g].
Yesterday, the Hawaii Senate Committee on Ways and Means staged a theatrical release sometimes known as a public hearing. The hearing was on a concurrent resolution to reject the Judicial Salary Commission recommendations.
As I've stated before, the Judicial Salary Commission is an independent commission tasked with determining the salaries of judges in Hawaii. Four of of the five Commission members are picked by the Legislature (the fifth by the Governor). Hence, if there is an axe to grind, it's not the Judiciary that is doing it.
Part of the law authorizes the Commission to set salaries from July 1, 2004 through July 1, 2011. Now, I'd be the first to say that trying to project living conditions that far into the future is a daunting task. Nonetheless, unless the Commission decided to give judges a one-time raise, and then tell them that's all they would ever get for the next eight years, the Commissioners would have to do just such a projection.
So they did and what they come up with was 3.5 percent per year. This amount is in line with what other states have been giving their judges and more or less parallels the cost of living, as projected into the future.
Of all the things to object to, the Committee Chair objected to this. He said he could not accept the 3.5 percent per year increases because he didn't know what impact it would have in the future. News to Senator, the impact will be 3.5 percent per year.
Obviously, what he was objecting to wasn't the 3.5 percent. What he was objecting to was the Executive Salary Commission recommendations. Yes, I said Executive, not Judicial, salary recommendations. For you see, we have a Republican Governor and a Democratic party Legislature. In what has been described by the press as incredible pettiness, the Legislature doesn't want to give her, and her appointed Directors a raise (the last one being 14 years ago while the Legislature gave themselves a raise last year). So, in a tortured logic only politicians can understand, the Senate wants to kill the pay raise for judges also because, it is said, it would look bad to kill the Execute branch pay raise but let the Judiciary go forward.
Now you understand why I say the Legislature is involved in theater. What they say on stage is different from what they do. But, in the end, this play will be a tragedy because everyone looses. Including the Legislators.
On a related note, the Senate Committee also heard a
similar concurrent resolution to kill raises for the Hawaii
Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Their situation is a little
different but I wish we had the cajones could write
testimony like the people supporting OHA. One of the
testifiers, a woman lawyer from a law corporation dealing
with Hawaiian issues, told the legislators not to "twist the
knife stuck in the back of Hawaiians..." by passing their
resolution. Man, that is great imagery in writing.
If only we could be so direct and to the heart of the matter.
Aloha!
April 14, 2004
Wiki Wiki
This link leads to a list of suggested rules for a corporate Blog or Wiki. The rules are common sense things that should be adhered to by all corporate bloggers. But what I found interesting was a reference to where the word "wiki" comes from. I always figured it was some Scandinavian word. But according to the article, it comes from the Hawaiian word for fast (actually, the word is wiki wiki).
This seems to be confirmed by what fellow Daynoter Bo Leuf says is the first wiki, the Portland Pattern Repository and developer Ward Cunningham.
Small world. There are other Hawaiian words that have crept into the vernacular. Three other examples are lanai (a porch or veranda), lei (a garland of flowers), and kahuna (a wise man or shaman). No doubt there are others so if you know of any, let me know and I'll start a list. Note all of the definitions are from the Oxford English Dictionary so I figure if it's there, it must be generally known.
Daynote Doom
Speaking of fellow Daynoters, a new one has joined these hallowed ivy covered walls. Check out Rick Hellewell. According to his site, Mr. Hellewell "work[s] for a governmental agency in Sacramento as the Senior Information Security Officer." Hmmm, Sacramento, the capitol of California (or as Ahhnuld says, Kah-lee-for-nee-ah). A governmental agency? Which could it be? Read his site and find out, if you can.[g]
I have a 10:00 a.m. hearing at the Legislature, in the capitol city of Honolulu, Hawaii so I gotta go.
Aloha!
April 13, 2004
Panorama Panoply
Not much of interest going on right now so I'll leave you with this link to a digital images site that includes panorama shots made by combining several separate shots into one. I've shown one of his gigapixel images before but this link leads to his other works. Enjoy!
Aloha!
April 12, 2004
Smooth Running
For all you budding Steven Speilbergs out there take a look at this guy's instructions on how to build the equivalent (he says) of a $1,500 SteadiCam® for $15. As you videophiles out there already know, the SteadiCam® rig is a portable stabilization platform used to hold movie/video cameras while moving. The rig smoothes out the natural up and down motion that occurs when walking. But as the sample videos show, it doesn't seem to do anything for left and right motion. In any case, if you want that smooth motion unedited tracking shot like the opening sequence to Robert Altman's "The Player", but don't have the moola, check it out.
Last Action Hero
Speaking of Hollywood, it was like something out of a Hollywood movie. According to the story here, famed California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger was swimming off of Maui last week when he came upon a man on a Body Board who seemed to be in trouble. When the Governor asked the man if he needed assistance the man said yes as he had muscle cramps and could not swim in on his own. The Governor then towed the man in to shore perhaps saving his life.
The Governor's only comment was "I'll be bock", to Maui, that is.
April 08, 2004
Maui No Ka Oi
Some people describe life as being a journey rather than a destination. To the extent that is true, I think American Idol contestant Camile Velasco has had an interesting journey. The gentle soul from Maui made it past the tens of thousands of people who thought they had talent but didn't and made it down to the final nine.
In my heart, I knew she would not make it much farther because she didn't (yet) have the confidence in her self that is needed to be a good performer. From what I've read in the local papers, last week was the 10th time in her life that she had performed before an audience. It is no wonder then that her nerves betrayed her.
Having said that, I don't think a pop idol is where her path lays. She appears to be most comfortable in singing hip hop and perhaps if she concentrates on recording rather than singing live she can grow into herself and find the confidence she needs. Whichever path she takes, she has made Hawaii proud of her and I wish her the best in her future endeavors.
As to the others who remain in the show, I have to wonder how some of them are still around. Could it be, as two of the three judges said last night that voting is based on personality, or something as simple as where you are from rather than how well you sang the night before?
Given some of the remaining people I would say yes.
In any case, tomorrow is a state holiday (Good Friday) so I will be off. Have a Great Weekend Everyone and I'll see you, God willing and the 'crick don't rise, back here on Monday - Aloha!
April 07, 2004
Trust Me On This
Trust. Not having it causes more work for everyone.
The State House Committee on Labor and Public Employment met yesterday morning for decision making. Unfortunately, the decision they decided on was to "defer" decision making. That is, the two most important concurrent resolutions, whether to reject the salary recommendations for the Executive and Judicial Branches, are temporarily deferred. No word on when they will decide what to do.
Open, transparent government is critical to building trust. I've talked before on how important trust is in any relationship. Whether we're talking about business dealings, personal interactions, or government actions, having an open record that lets everyone see what is going on and why tends to build trust.
That doesn't mean you may agree with every decision, but at least you can see what the decision was based on and why it was chosen.
But turn that around and imagine a situation in which everything is done behind closed doors and nothing that you see has meaning. That Alice in Wonderland world is pretty much what the Legislature is doing in regards to these concurrent resolutions.
The committee chair said the concurrent resolutions were deferred while they "reviewed the Commissions' reports." One would think that the legislators would have read the report before co-offering concurrent resolutions to reject the recommendations found in these reports. But if it is true, as implied, that they have not "reviewed" the reports, then this leaves them open to the very charges of pettiness that they are so vehemently denying.
For why else would you co-offer a concurrent resolution to kill the recommendations, having never read the recommendations, if it weren't due to the fact that you want to somehow punish the Republican governor?
Indeed, operating the way the Legislature is doing leads to all kinds of scenarios. Hence, we are forced to track not only these concurrent resolutions, but also several bills that could be "gutted" and replaced with legislation to reverse the hard won reforms last year in what the State Attorney General called "an outbreak of good government."
I wish I could say I trusted the Legislature to do what's right by Hawaii's people, but if their actions so far is an indication of anything, I can't. So we all lose.
Aloha!
April 06, 2004
Be it Resolved
TESTIMONY ON
H.C.R. No. 189, RELATING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
2004 JUDICIAL SALARY COMMISSION
Although the Judicial Salary Commission is administratively attached to the Judicial Council, it is an independent body tasked with "determining the salaries of the justices and judges and appointed judiciary administrative officers..." (§608-1.5(b), HRS).
To ensure its independence, the Commission is composed of five citizens: two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two by the President of the Senate, and one by the Governor.
The Commissioners clearly took their charge seriously and met every two weeks since the middle of November through the end of last month. The Commission reviewed numerous materials, as reflected in its lengthy Report and Appendix, and came to the conclusion that judicial salaries in Hawaii were neither fair nor just and that the State could not afford not to adjust salaries.
The resolution to disapprove the Commission's salary recommendations indicates the following objections:
-
The salary recommendations would increase the Judiciary's total budget by "over one percent..."
-
The salary recommendations "represent a permanent increase..."
-
The Legislature "refuses to commit future legislature to the liability resulting from these annual 3.5 percent salary increases without knowing their full impact on future financial plans..."
Point number one places the salary increase within the context of the Judiciary's total budget. As such, the FY06 recommendation would increase the Judiciary's total budget by 1.11 percent. If this increase is divided over the period since the last increase, it would be about 1/5th of one percent (1.11 divided by 5), on average, per year.
Point number two indicates the recommendations would be permanent. While it is true that almost all operating appropriations, whether for the Legislative, Executive, or Judicial branches, are reoccurring, it is difficult to see what the relevance of this point is within the context of the central question: Is a modest increase of 1/5th of one percent per year justified? If it is justified, than the fact that the recommendation is reoccurring simply mirrors the fact that the judges are required now, and in the future.
Point number three seems to miss the fact that §608-1.5(c), HRS, specifically authorizes "incremental increases that take effect over the span of years occurring prior to the convening of the next salary commission." It appears that the current Salary Commission was simply observing the statutory requirement when it recommended incremental increases. It is unclear, then, how there can be an objection to their methodology.
As to the full impact of, for example, the $373,842 recommended for FY07 on the State's financial plan, one must remember the context in which this recommendation resides. To put this in perspective, the recommendation reflects an increase of about 1/200th of one percent of the combined Executive, Judicial, and Legislative appropriations for FY04.
Lastly, as the Commission Report states;
If we are to expect quality justice from our courts...then we must do more to ensure that we are...attracting and retaining the most highly qualified individuals in the State. If we should put off to the future, adequate judicial compensation, we run the clear and significant risk of jeopardizing the tradition of excellence established within our Judiciary. Judicial excellence cannot be preserved unless compensation levels are sufficient.
In conclusion, fundamental reforms in how judicial salaries are determined came to fruition with Act 123, SLH 2003. These reforms are vital steps toward securing the rule of law in the State of Hawaii. To reject the Judicial Salary Commission Report, and the salary recommendations therein, is to jeopardize these reforms which are at the foundation of our democracy.
For these reasons I respectfully urge you to hold H.C.R. No. 189 in Committee.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify.
Aloha!
April 05, 2004
Now Hear This
I hate legislative hearings. No, let me rephrase. I hate how most legislative hearings are run. At least, the ones I've seen.
Our hearing on increasing judicial salaries was among seven other resolutions scheduled for 10:15am on Friday. I got there a little before 10 and found there would be two other agendas before us, one scheduled at 9:45 and the other and 10:00. I walked into the hearing room and found that the 9:45 hearing had not yet started. Sigh. A little after 10:00, they started the 9:45 agenda. It was after 11:30 by the time they got around to hearing our resolution.
Everyone who testified was against the resolution killing the salary recommendations. At noon, the Committee adjourned - without finishing the agenda and rescheduled the hearing for 6:00 p.m. that evening with "decision making" on Tuesday. Big Sigh.
I know legislators are really busy people, and perhaps they did us a favor by going on as long before they adjourned (I would have had to return at 6:00 p.m. otherwise), but don't they care about their constituents? Don't they care that members of the public have to take time off from their jobs to come down and wait to testify? Forget me, I'm a government worker and get paid to wait around [where do I sign up? - ed.] but the public doesn't.
If I were John Q. Public, waiting for my Representative to hear what I have to say and got treated like this I might very well vote for someone else. Anyone else.
In any case, very few people actually believe that anything is decided in a hearing. Usually, the decisions have already been made long before the hearing is scheduled, much less held. It reminds me of the Japanese form of theater called Noh. In many respects, what's happening in front of the audience is boring and has very little relevance or importance to what is happening behind the scenes. Which reminds of another Japanese term: shibai. Shibai is also a kind of theater, but in local slang, it means a show performed to hide something else going on. That is, what you see in front of you has no meaning and is intended to fool you into thinking one thing when another is actually occurring.
Most legislative hearings look like shibai to me. But if it is, the reason it is shibai is that we, the citizens, don't make it anything else. We are responsible for the legislators in office. We voted them in. Perhaps it's time for a change.
The problem is, poll after poll says all politicians are corrupt. Except, that is, the one we vote for. And so the same people get returned into office. Year after year. And nothing changes. Well, it is your legislator that is the problem. Go to a hearing. Any hearing. Watch how they run it. Do they start on time? Do they run things efficiently, while at the same time giving everyone a chance to be heard? Note the testimony and track what their decision is. Is your legislator responsive to the public? Does he or she vote the way you would want them to? No, they don't have to vote the way you want every time, but do they do so the great majority of the time?
If they don't, perhaps it's time to find someone who will. It's up to you. You choose. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here. Aloha!
April 02, 2004
Oil Vey
I have a legislative hearing to go to this morning so I gotta go. Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
April 01, 2004
Here They Come
Google E-mail Service Launches April 1st. This
article
Long Arm of the Claw.
Woman Grows Extra Breasts.
Taco Bell to Buy Liberty Bell.
Rogue Bras Cause Electrical Nightmare.
says Google is launching an e-mail service called "Gmail."
Long Arm of the Claw.
UK motorists "squawked with rage last night as police revealed plans to fit speed cameras on HAWKS." That's right, "specially-trained birds in the new flying squad will prey on speeding drivers spotted by their cop handlers." See the story here.
Woman Grows Extra Breasts.
"A woman in central China who paid for breast enlargement surgery ended up with an unwanted bonus - two extra breasts." See the story here.
Taco Bell to Buy Liberty Bell.
In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country's most historic treasures. It will now be called the "Taco Liberty Bell" and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing. While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do their part to reduce the country's debt.
Rogue Bras Cause Electrical Nightmare.
Japanese engineers are reporting sporadic bouts of electrical interference which may be caused by a simple mistake. Apparently the support wire in certain women's underwire bras have been made out of a kind of copper originally designed for use in fire alarms. When this copper comes into contact with nylon and body heat, it produces static electricity which, in turn, is interfering with local television and radio broadcasts. Government officials will be releasing a announcement that all women must immediately remove their bras and to stop wearing them until further notice.
Happy looF lirpA Day - Aloha!