http://peoplesdialectic.com Creating Change Through Discourse Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:49:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I received an email a while back from my stepfather with an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune. The basic thrust of the piece was that the President, and public at large, were pointing the finger of blame for the financial meltdown in the wrong direction. Instead of pointing them ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2010/02/22/whos-to-blame/ Some time before the indefinite deferral of HB444 SD1, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a devastating ruling on corporate financing of campaigns. The ruling confers rights to corporations under the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2010/02/12/from-a-demoralized-activist-part-2/ Friday Hawaii saw the cowardly defeat of House Bill 444, which would have provided equal benefits to same-sex couples. Aside from the crushing and demoralizing defeat by a procedural voice-vote (House members couldn't even bring themselves to take a roll-call vote on the motion), there is a sad irony in ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2010/01/31/from-a-demoralized-activist-part-1/ President Obama, in his address accepting his Nobel Peace Price, referred to the notion of 'just war.' Early in his remarks, he says: The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when certain conditions were met: if it is waged as a last resort or in ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/12/15/afghanistan-a-just-war/ This week the U.S. Congress moved one step closer to expanding Hate Crimes Legislation to include protections against crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation. There is no doubt that this is a huge step forward in the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation. What's more,  President Obama again pledged ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/10/10/congressional-hypocrisy/ In the spirit of full-disclosure, I should say right up front  that I do not and will not support Ed Case in his bid for Hawaii's 1st Congressional seat in 2010. I didn't support him when he ran against Senator Akaka in 2006 and I in fact worked on Akaka's ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/10/02/hawaiis-1st-congressional-race/ I came across an article today that one which I feel the need to comment. Bill Maher, talk show host and progressive guest blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, put to words much better than I could, the things I've been thinking and feeling at least since the health care debate started heating ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/09/13/strong-well-crafted-words-from-bill-maher/ An article came to my attention yesterday on which I would like to comment. In this year's fall issue of the Intelligence Report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) there is an article titled 'Prejudice in Paradise,'  which discusses racism against whites by Native Hawaiians. It refers to and ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/09/02/prejudice-in-paradise/ I've always been impressed with the quality of events Kanu Hawaii puts on to help the community and raise awareness about important issues. The Eat Local Challenge is no exception. In fact, it strikes at the heart of possibly one of the most immediate and important questions for our islands. Eating ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/08/30/development-and-local-awareness/ This is an absolutely brilliant term for the outspoken and occasionally violent movement that's begun to spring up in opposition to health care reform. It, of course, refers to 'grassroots' activists by making a conscious distinction between the organized tea parties, angry mobs at town hall meetings (astroturf organizing), and ... http://peoplesdialectic.com/2009/08/10/astroturf-activists/