Friday, Sept 30, 2022
Dear Associate Justice Alito:
There’s an old adage about having one’s cake and eating it, too, that seems to describe your current position about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy. The real question, it seems, is exactly who has “crossed the line” in the debate?
You are the one who has crossed the line. The legitimacy of the Court was not in question until you and your four colleagues in the current majority decided to run roughshod over decades of established law and practice. That was an exercise of raw political power and not true lawful authority, and it reduced the idea of legal reasoning to a mere counting of votes, votes that could easily change with new personnel. Your gleeful sneering at those who called you out doesn’t change reality.
Folks legitimately disagree about legal doctrine and Supreme Court outcomes, and precedent can indeed be overturned. Yet the major changes in course over our lifetimes have mirrored more than just the appointments of one president or narrow majorities. Brown was unanimous. Roe was seven-to-two. Consensus matters, even if public opinion is not always the basis for legal decisions.
You and your “conservative” colleagues have indeed called into question the Court’s legitimacy, its claim to be above temporal partisan politics, and you seem poised to continue the erosion of its reputation.
I would ask just one question about your hearing, for example, the “independent state legislature” cases this coming term: would your decision be the same if it were Democrats who controlled these legislative bodies? If the answer is “no”—and I am afraid that’s the honest answer—your search for legitimacy is a lost cause.
Power is not enough.
Sadly,
Judge James Dannenberg (Ret.)
Fri, Jan 28, 2022 at 5:05 PM
Aloha Think Tech Hawaii
I have been working in Waikiki tourism since we were a Territory. I started out as a tour car driver for Tropic Tours in 58’ while attending the UH. One of my routes was picking up passengers from the Matsonia and Lurline and taking them to the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel now the Hilton.
Recently there has been a drive by some folks in our community and in our State (HTA) to reduce the size and the impact of tourism in Hawaii. Because I have a major concern for these negative and misguided attempts to slow or even stop tourism, I have sent the following letter to you and the media.
Aloha,
Bob Hampton
Chairman
Waikiki Beach Activities
(808) 479-9947
Aloha Think Tech Hawaii
Oahu’s residents still express a great deal of satisfaction with tourism, despite the extra three Million visitors that were brought into our residential communities by illegal vacation rentals in 2019. Most local tourism companies abide by all of Hawaii’s laws, including the city’s zoning laws. Please do not confuse local tourism companies with the illegal vacation rentals. The illegal vacation rentals are the ones who break the zoning laws, and they cause the problems of community discontent, not professional tourism providers.
Waikiki Beach Activities is an example of a law-abiding local tourism company. Since its beginning in 1990 WBA has always conducted all tourist activities only in the areas designated and zoned by the city for tourism activities. You will never, ever see WBA’s visitor activities in any residential neighborhoods.
Plus, WBA is 99% carbon neutral. Over the past 31 years WBA has accomplished its goal to have a zero impact on the residential communities and to avoid any environmental damage to Hawaii as well. All of WBA’s activities are either surf powered (surf and SUP boards), wind powered (catamaran), or human powered (pedal boats, SUP, kayaks, and beach activities), The only carbon footprint is the catamaran’s auxiliary engine which must be used to bring the boat in and out of the dock.
For instance, in 1989 WBA joined forces with Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel to introduce a leading edge, 149-passenger completely solar powered catamaran, which was to be called the “HAWAIIAN RAINBOW. Rudy Choy, the famous catamaran designer, and builder was selected to build this first Solar Powered Catamaran. After a year of development and over one million dollars invested in the catamaran’s construction, WBA concluded that the technology needed was not yet perfected, so it elected to stay with a more conventional auxiliary sailing vessel until such time as the solar systems had matured.
WBA provides well-paying jobs and full benefits for its work force mostly comprised of Hawaii residents. And as a good corporate citizen, WBA pays its taxes (local, state, and federal) in full and on time, every time.
WBA is a good neighbor too. In fact it was awarded the honor of “Corporate Volunteer of the Year” by the Waikiki Community Center for WBA’s service to the Waikiki Community.
WBA lives up to its belief that all tourism companies should strive to create a “Sense of Place.” For instance, in honor of Duke Kahanamoku, WBA spent four years and significant expense to rename Dewey Road to Kahanamoku Street, which is now viewed by the millions of visitors who enter Waikiki along Ala Moana Blvd.
Mahalo for your understanding, and of why we are proud to work in tourism in Hawaii.
Aloha,
Bob Hampton
Chairman
Waikiki Beach Activities, Ltd.