Apparently, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle–fresh off the John McCain campaign trail, where she made a name for herself ridiculing Barack Obama's Hawaii roots–is also taking an interest in Hawaiian Telcom's troubles: "Our Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Consumer Advocate and the Public Utilities Commission has been closely monitoring the company's financial circumstances and … Continue reading HT still not OK
Category: blog
HT not OK
Been reading about Hawaiian Telcom's filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning. Not that it really affects me–I haven't had a land-line in years, which is probably part of HT's problem. Certainly, the trend towards cell-phones, Skype and cable phone service is certainly causing problems for Hawaiian Telcom (to the tune of $425 million in losses … Continue reading HT not OK
Dissing the ‘commanders in the field’
Today the Honolulu Advertiser editorial page heartily approves of President-elect Barack Obama's "apparent" choice to keep Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. "That's a smart move," the unsigned editorial puffs. "With the nation's economic turmoil rightly Obama's top priority, Gates' understanding and proven leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan will help us continue to chart the right … Continue reading Dissing the ‘commanders in the field’
WaMu BS
Just saw a commercial for Washington Mutual bank advertising how it's great that they're now "part of [JP Morgan] Chase" because customers have just gained access to "14,000 ATMs." For some reason, WaMu failed to mention in its ad that getting bought by Chase (a recipient of $25 billion in federal bailout money, which the … Continue reading WaMu BS
Top 10 words and phrases I don’t want to hear anymore
10. Skillset 9. Empower 8. Gated community 7. Cut and run 6. Evil-doer 5. Touch base 4. Privatize 3. Drinkability 2. Enhanced Interrogation Techniques 1. Keanu Reeves
Parsing Wayne Nishiki
I just read with great interest Wayne Nishiki's Viewpoint article on his election disclosure troubles in Thursday's Maui News. As is now well-known on Maui, ex-Maui County Council member Wayne Nishiki barely defeated former County Planning Department Deputy Director Don Couch in the race for the South Maui seat on the County Council–a race that … Continue reading Parsing Wayne Nishiki
Sometimes I hate it when I’m right
I usually feel good when I find that a certified smart person thinks the same way I do about politics. But in the case of Noam Chomsky's recent 7,700-word take on the election of Barack Obama in Znet, not so much. I've been watching a lot of my left-leaning friends take serious satisfaction in Obama's victory … Continue reading Sometimes I hate it when I’m right
Is it Thanksgiving already?
Laughing over the latest e-mail newsletter from Hawaii Lt. Governor James "Duke" Aiona. He's a busy man, you know, traveling to Asia, opposing teen smoking in all its forms and doing photo-ops with Disney officials building a big resort in West Oahu. Scanning the newsletter, it's painfully obvious that Duke–one of the few elected Republicans … Continue reading Is it Thanksgiving already?
‘People’ vs. ‘Bad Guys’
Watching a rerun of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill right now. Though vivid and compelling in its portrayal of an elite U.S. Marine Corps unit that fought in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as well as surprisingly loyal to its source material–in this case, an outstanding 2004 book of the same name by Rolling Stone … Continue reading ‘People’ vs. ‘Bad Guys’
$8 Trillion!
U.S. taxpayers are now officially on the hook for an astonishing, mind-numbing, ludicrously intolerable $8 trillion in financial sector bailouts. Woohoo! Eight trillion bucks! That's gotta be some kind of record! USA! USA! USA! And now on a more serious note, we're screwed. It's all but impossible to describe that number in a way that's … Continue reading $8 Trillion!
Anthony Pignataro 