LIVEBLOG for tonight's KHON debate

[Kaunaloa]

TONITE -- Monday 10/13 -- 8 p.m. -- a debate on the ConCon ballot question -- tell your friends -- call or E-mail KHON to have your question submitted -- and log in here at 8 to discuss!

[Ronald Anderson]

To Whom It May Concern: 10/2/2008
Ronald Anderson Wrote -----
I'll say it again.
If you (Gov.) want the Public to back up what you are doing with the current financial crisis you must do the following:
CHANGE WALL STREET!
If you bailout the financials and Banks you must control Wall Street!!
CHANGE WALL STREET:
Legislate that Wall Street (An individual and an Institution) can no longer trade a stock (buy or sell) for one month after they make a sale or purchase of that stock.
You can make it one week but I think one month is better.
This will apply to all individuals and all institutions.
This will slow down and may shut down Wall Street for a while, but so what.
Wall Street has gone wild !!!.
A few years ago a 50 point spread during a day was wild. Then about 1 1/2 years ago it became a 100 point spread, then this year a 200 point spread. Now it is a 500+ point spread in one day.
THIS IS NUTS Wall Street has gone wild and must be slowed down or shut down to give time for the bailouts to work.
Legislate that Wall Street (The Stock Market) can no longer trade a stock (buy or sell) for one month after they make a sale or purchase of that stock.
This will certainly will slow Wall Street down.
This can be monitored because the stock you are buying or selling cannot accept your trade if you have traded this stock for one month prior.
You can make it one week but I think one month is better.
This will apply to individuals and institutions.
This may shut down Wall Street for a while,
Make it a law with severe penalties.
This will slow down Wall Street and put the day traders in their place, – maybe out of a job.
They caused the problem in the first place.
How about the single trader that caused oil to go up! This cost the public a fortune.
I am sure the public will accept this proposal.

It puts us back to what the markets were started for in the first place.

Ron Anderson


II ENERGY CRISIS:
There is something that seems to never get mentioned when the problem about the energy crisis is on TV.
I call this Small Scale Electrical Energy Generating.
I live in Hawaii and I realize we have abundant energy recourses, like average wing velocity of 12MPH compared to 7 MPH on the mainland, nevertheless, I have presented this to Hawaiian Electric in the past and I get nowhere.
(Wonder why?)
My proposal is to have (or require) every house and structure in America (or in the world),to generate most or at least 50% of it's own electrical energy needs.
It seems like all the gas companies and electric companies want to generate their own energy that they can sell to the public and make money. None of these firms will promote small scale power generation.
So someone needs to get the public or government involved in this to solve our energy crisis.
My thoughts are:
Use photovoltaic, windmills and sun power devices to run alternators that run small continuous duty 12V electrical air compressors. These can compress air to high pressure tanks either buried in the back yard of or around the structure.
The types of photovoltaic panels are readily available, (put the panels on all the empty roofs).
The windmills are the Darrieus (vertical axis) rotor type, which are unobtrusive.
I estimate the cost of these required devices at approx $ 20,000.00 per structure.
Then run a generator powered by a compressed air turbine or multiple air generators at the structure to produce electricity as needed. The bearings on the air turbine generator are a critical part they need to be as frictionless as possible. The turbine air generator will have to be started by electricity then run on compressed air. I estimate the cost for this air turbine generator at about $ 15,000.00 per structure
For the structure to stay off the electric grid, install an Onan (or other) Electric Generator to satisfy the electric needs to start the air turbine generator and to supply electricity if need when there is insufficient compressed air. This type of Onan ( or other) 85 KvA Generator can costs upward of about $ 12,000.00.
Along with the tranxfer switch.
Therefore You could have this system in almost every home for about $ 50,000 ea. (or less).
Why not spend the 700B. Bail out funds to help do this ?
It will save the world energy crisis and get us away from our dependence on foreign oil, get us out of Iraq, and not be dependant on oil period.
It is important to note that this system is environment friendly, (no Batteries for storage. It is extremely low maintence (automatic oilers for bearings etc.).
I have not yet developed this small scale power generation system for myself, but I intend to.
There are all kinds of magazines and internet info out about these items (Wind Power, Sun Power) etc. The electric companies and government should distribute this information to the Public, at least promote it and make it available.
I am also on my third Toyota Prius with a Hawaii license plate that says "60 MPG" and I hope Toyota sells 10 million Priuses. By the way I think you can develop a pure EV that you can charge with my small power electrical generating off the grid, thus no charge for fuel!! I think it has been done.
USA is just so slow! This is not about Politics it is about our entire way of life!!
Much better than bailing out companies like Countrywide, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman, AGI, Merrill, WaMu, Wachovia, GoldmanSachs, etc. who’s executives have run off with over 10 million each.
Come on show leadership please.
Sincerely
Ron Anderson ([e-mail]) _

[Kaunaloa]

how about "why are you so afraid of letting the voters choose to make a few structural changes to THEIR OWN state government?"

or "how do you have no problem spending $6BIL. on a rail system that will not solve a single transit issue but suddenly balk at spending around $16MIL. on an event that could very well systemically correct several problems?"

/I'm sure those could be worded less provocatively but you get the idea!
:-)

[Della Au Belatti]

Very impressive note-taking Kaunaloa. Knowing that you'll be doing the same thing with tomorrow's debate means I'll really be watching my "ums" and "ahs." :)

On a serious note, here's tomorrow's tentative format (this may change, so don't hold me to it):

1st Half:
Opening Statements (1 minute each panelist);
1 Direct Question to Each Panelist (1:00 to respond; 0:30 seconds for other panelist to respond)
Each Side Poses One Question to the Other (0:20 seconds to ask; 1:00 to answer per side)
Each Side Asked Email Question (0:30 seconds to respond)

2nd Half:
1 Direct Question to Each Panelist (1:00 to respond; 0:30 seconds for other panelist to respond)
Each Side Poses One Question to the Other (0:20 seconds to ask; 1:00 to answer per side)
Each Side Asked Email Question (0:30 seconds to respond)
Closing Statement (1 minute each panelist)

So, here's a question out to hawaiiconcon members...If you could ask one question of the con side, what would it be? Won't promise to use the question, but would be interesting to see what's on your minds.

[Kaunaloa]

Ed acknowledges the changes since statehood re: administrative power moving from Honolulu to the counties
Duke reinforces this and tosses out making West O'ahu a separate county -- and overruns his time for the first occasion tonight

Colleen highlights the differences between the policy items stemming from a concon and the administrative items that would be taken up by the leg.
Gary just goes off the rails with the budget -- babbling about "world markets in meltdown" [um, the nikei was up 10% earlier today!] and not really answering the question

Ed reiterates the fact that the concon would have to operate within the parameters that the LEG. would set for them.
Gary just flat out asserts that voters "must" vote no next month to "end this right here" [!!]
Duke points out that a concon is essentially the only way to remove the asinine "blank means no" provision

Duke crams about a dozen talking points into his closing statement -- mostly smaller government items as well as tightening environmental restrictions
Colleen claims that Duke's laundry list is best addressed by the leg. [!!] she then tries to obfuscate a concon with a leg. "super-session" as well as a mini 3 branches of govt. lesson -- and tosses in the "living document line at the end for good measure [sigh] ...

that's a wrap -- will be interesting to compare/contrast the statements and participant approaches with tomorrow's debate on kgmb! I'll put up another post for that one tomorrow!

[Kaunaloa]

Ed and Duke talk in general terms re: military personnel involvement with a concon

Colleen seizes the opportunity to insert her makua valley stump speech line [shrug]
Gary ties it back to budget cuts and his [imo] fallacy that the budget and cost of the concon is some sort of zero-sum pie

Duke uses the health care question as a lead-in to inject a plug tort reform [great idea, but lotsa luck getting that passed here and now]
Gary hits his one note budget horn re: healthcare
Ed uses the opportunity to refute the "concon must be 60 days" line from Gary and nicely points out that all of these viewer questions indicate that a goodly portion of the voters want to have these issues addressed because they are NOT being addressed today!!

[Kaunaloa]

Ed and Duke try to pitch the argument that a concon would actually assist the native Hawaiian rights case instead of leaving it "stuck" at the 1978 status

Colleen counters that the concon could serve to erode those rights which she claims have already suffered losses since '78
Gary tries to link the gop and a perennial attempt to eliminate oha [!]

Gary then immediately doubles down and claims moving away from 1 statewide school board is 'dismantling public education" [!!]
Duke immediately calls Gary out on the utilization of fear as argument re: education; highlights the restrictions on charter schools and tries to talk about school performance rather than strictly funding
Ed picks up on the funding vs. performance argument and why that makes it explicitly appropriate to be evaluated by a concon

[Kaunaloa]

Colleen and Gary try to out-pander to each of their various constituencies to justify the special interest money spent on "against" ads ...

Duke simply puts it out there that folks should ask WHY a mainland national union feels the need to toss $350k+ 1/2 way across the pacific ...

Ed gets the first "laugh" line [only Duke bites] by pointing out he has yet to get a dime for his advocacy of the concon ...

[Kaunaloa]

Colleen throws up the [imo] strawman that there is not, this very day, a designated meeting place for the concon [!]

[Kaunaloa]

Duke turns the cost question around by pointing out the people make this cost decision by making the choice on the concon in the first place ...

Ed convincingly makes the case that any cost is dwarfed by a $10BIL. annual budget, and that if we spend $20 mil. or whatever and save, say, $10 mil. annually doesn't that make a LOT of fiscal sense?
He then points out the leg. itself will control some of the cost and delegate parameters; Duke builds off of this and implicitly makes the case for a larger amount of delegates

[Kaunaloa]

Gary puts a $20M cost floor right off the bat ...