Hawaii is justly admired as an integrated, racially blended, multi-cultural society. Some would call it a model for the rest of the country, and perhaps for the world. The qualities of respect for others and open-hearted kindness, without regard to race or origin or station in life, are common traits among all of Hawaii
Fighting for Good – Fighting for Freedom
A young American soldier deployed in Kuwait just across the border from Iraq recently spoke to his mom and dad back home in Alabama.
Though he is on the front line, he attempted to calm his parent’s fears and give them the peace that he feels. He said that he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else than where he is right now. He feels he is right where he supposed to be
A Conservative Perspective: March 21, 2003-Why the Hawaii 'Queer-Left' Insists on Censoring Gay Conservative Republicans; Yes in the Name of Self-Esteem: When Protest Becomes a Form of Therapy; Emergency! Emergency! But Don't Despair! Hawaii's 'Queer' Left to the Rescue!; Campaign Training for Gay Candidates Announced; Victimist Egalitopians of the Left; Give the Gift of Aloha to Hawaii's Military Families
”Why the Hawaii ‘Queer-Left’ Insists on Censoring Gay Conservative Republicans”
“When people get the opportunity to meet you, their stereotypes and prejudices are replaced by their individual feelings toward you.” San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Republican, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 22. Dumanis is believed to be America’s only openly gay D.A.
This is what the Hawaii conceited queer-left fears more than anything, especially when the acceptance comes from conservatives. Do you want to make the Hawaii gay liberals mad? Hug a conservative gay Republican today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And so on. We’ll waive the charges.
”Yes in the Name of Self-Esteem: When Protest Becomes a Form of Therapy”
How many of you saw the Thursday evening Honolulu Star-Bulletin about the protests? See:
https://starbulletin.com/2003/03/20/news/index6.html
We were stunned by the naivete of some of those quoted in this piece. “What can we win if we bomb Baghdad?”
A Conservative Perspective: March 21, 2003-Why the Hawaii ‘Queer-Left’ Insists on Censoring Gay Conservative Republicans; Yes in the Name of Self-Esteem: When Protest Becomes a Form of Therapy; Emergency! Emergency! But Don’t Despair! Hawaii’s ‘Queer’ Left to the Rescue!; Campaign Training for Gay Candidates Announced; Victimist Egalitopians of the Left; Give the Gift of Aloha to Hawaii’s Military Families
”Why the Hawaii ‘Queer-Left’ Insists on Censoring Gay Conservative Republicans”
“When people get the opportunity to meet you, their stereotypes and prejudices are replaced by their individual feelings toward you.” San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Republican, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 22. Dumanis is believed to be America’s only openly gay D.A.
This is what the Hawaii conceited queer-left fears more than anything, especially when the acceptance comes from conservatives. Do you want to make the Hawaii gay liberals mad? Hug a conservative gay Republican today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And so on. We’ll waive the charges.
”Yes in the Name of Self-Esteem: When Protest Becomes a Form of Therapy”
How many of you saw the Thursday evening Honolulu Star-Bulletin about the protests? See:
https://starbulletin.com/2003/03/20/news/index6.html
We were stunned by the naivete of some of those quoted in this piece. “What can we win if we bomb Baghdad?”
Grassroot Perspective – March 21, 2003-Covering America: Real Remedies for the Uninsured, Volume 2; Health Insurance Tax Credits: Will They Work for Women?; Lasting Solutions Often the Hardest
“Dick Rowland Image”
”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”
– Covering America: Real Remedies for the Uninsured, Volume 2
By Tom Miller; David B. Kendall, Jeff Lemieux, and S. Robert Levine; James A. Morone
Economic and Social Research Institute, 12/02
Covering America promotes serious consideration of a diverse range of comprehensive proposals to provide affordable health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans.
Tom Miller of the Cato Institute proposes a reformed health care system that would promote efficiency and economy by redesigning market incentives, especially for individual consumers, as well as using tax credits and safety net reform to remove financial barriers to getting care. “Market-based reform begins with more neutral tax treatment of health insurance purchasing options, emphasis on protection against major risks, and deregulation of health care suppliers,” writes Miller.
David Kendall, Jeff Lemieux, and S. Robert Levine, of the Progressive Policy Institute, offer an option that builds on the present system, but provides substantial tax credits to make coverage more affordable. This plan includes performance-based grants to states linked to improvements in coverage rates, access to care, health care quality, outcomes, public health, and protection from financial hardship.
Full text: https://www.esresearch.org/publications.php
– Health Insurance Tax Credits: Will They Work for Women?
By Sara R. Collins, Stephanie B. Berkson, and Deirdre A. Downey
The Commonwealth Fund, 12/02
A new study by The Commonwealth Fund reports researchers searched the Internet in 25 cities to find low-deductible, comprehensive health insurance for $1,000 to $1,500 a year. Not surprisingly, they found a wide range of options: $1,000 would buy a 35-year-old woman a policy in Nashville, Tennessee with a $5,000 deductible. In California, the same person could buy a policy with a $500 deductible — primarily revealing the distortions in the individual market caused by state regulation and mandates.
The apparent intent of the study is to discredit tax credits by showing they would be useless in helping low-income women afford coverage. But buried in the study is an admission that the tax credit would cover half the cost of the premium for a comprehensive, low-deductible policy in many of the cities studied.
Professor Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School has produced studies showing providing a tax credit worth half the value of a decent health insurance policy would encourage half of those eligible for the credit to obtain insurance. If purchasers tolerated higher deductibles, even more could purchase coverage.
It is important to pay attention to the needs of the poorest and sickest uninsured. Studies like this one, which focus only on worst-case scenarios, distort the debate and could deny millions of people–many of them women–the opportunity to have the security of insurance coverage for themselves and their families.
Full text (pdf): https://www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/collins_creditswomen_589.pdf
Above articles are quoted from Heartland Institute Health Care News February 2003 The Galen Report https://www.heartland.org
”Root (Food for Thought)”
– Lasting Solutions Often the Hardest
By Paul T. Mero
What makes good public policy? The motivations of its authors, their objectives, the policy’s practicability, its broad support. Actually, the true measure of good public policy is all of these factors plus one — a lasting solution.
All of politics is typically governed by one primary objective: winning. A candidate runs for office to win, not lose. A legislator pushes a bill with an eye to passage, not defeat. A lobbyist is hired to get his client what he wants, not what his opponents want. And so on.
But make our primary policy objective to find a lasting solution to community problems and the whole dynamic of political interaction changes. The zero sum game disappears. Now the only “enemies” we have are those people who do not want a lasting solution. All of us still have our preferred opinions about specific policies and issues, only now an enlightened objective permits us to engage in real civil discourse.
This dichotomy between the political approach of winning and the civil approach of a lasting solution always appears most clearly during a legislative session. This session is no different, especially as it pertains to education and financial institutions. How do we find a lasting solution to our educational woes? Where is a lasting solution to the bitter fight between banks and credit unions?
Let’s look first at education. Currently on the table are several proposals intended to improve the quality of education in Utah. Clearly, all of these proposals are debatable and, in fact, are being hotly debated at this very moment. So, in determining good public policy, we ask: what are the motivations of its authors, what are their objectives, what is the policy’s practicability, and does it have broad public support? Now, a negative answer to any one of these questions does not, in and of itself, disqualify a proposal. After all, in the world of politics, opponents will go out of their way to create negative opinion (isn’t that a part of winning?).
But are any of these education proposals a lasting solution? Do any of them cut to the heart of disagreement and misunderstanding and attempt to find social unity on principle? For instance, do any of these education proposals address the fundamental question of educational authority? Who has the last say about how children are educated? Parents? The state? Business? Teachers unions? A lasting solution will first require us to answer these questions. Once answered, good public policy will flow easily.
On another front, the war between banks and credit unions provides an excellent opportunity to implement a lasting solution and achieve good public policy. It seems that at the heart of this conflict lies questions over motivations and objectives. Banks, it is projected, hate credit unions and vice versa. Actually, these industries are competitors – the marketplace does not recognize “hate.” People hate. And on that note, the personal hatred that exists in the hearts of individual participants can easily disappear overnight if they desire.
This nastiness is actually the least of our real problems in finding a lasting solution to their conflict. We are fortunate in this case that the combatants do not finalize solutions; they simply recommend and our legislature handles the rest. But we, too, can make recommendations.
The best lasting solution to the conflict between banks and credit unions is to abolish the corporate income tax. Not only would such a move disarm both sides of this fight it would also remove a burden that should not exist in the first place in a free society. We often hear the tax mantra of “simple, fair, and easy to collect.” This translates mostly into “it’s easy, the fair thing is to simply collect taxes from the other guy – especially if the ‘other guy’ isn’t even a guy, but an inanimate business.”
Abolishing the corporate income tax is based on two principles that people pay taxes and, more importantly in a representative democracy, people are the only ones who should pay taxes. Several negative effects and disincentives are created by the corporate income tax as highlighted in the bank/credit union dispute.
First, businesses begin to use resources to avoid paying taxes instead of building their businesses and creating jobs to benefit people. Second, in the effort to avoid paying taxes, the game of politics intensifies and government begins to grow. Third, market processes become less and less effective under these conditions and real people – working people – begin to get hurt. Fourth, corruption increases by leaps and bounds as businesses and government trade favors.
That public education depends on the corporate income tax in this state is a secondary issue and an issue that can be addressed separately by answering the central questions of educational authority and our budget priorities. Many ideologues who will insist that “corporate America pay its fair share to society,” whatever that means, might consider alternative ways for businesses to do that. Interestingly, many financial institutions are currently required to reinvest a certain amount of capital into city infrastructures in behalf of low-and moderate-income individuals. Why not ask more in this respect?
Lasting solutions to community problems do not come easy because they require us to settle on unifying principles of community and how we live together peaceably with our neighbors. Politics as usual is always easier – spend lots of money, call someone lots of names, spin lots of tales, and win, win, win at any cost!
Paul T. Mero is President of The Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based public policy research institute.
Above article is quoted from Sutherland Institute “To The Point” February 2003 https://www.sutherlandinstitute.org
”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”
“Strategy and operations, therefore, go hand in hand; they are opposite sides of the same coin. Daily choices actually create a de facto vision.” — Harry E. Teasley, Jr., Chairman, Reason Foundation
”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. He can be reached at (808) 487-4959 or by email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’For more information, see its Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/
From Parenting Disputes to Wanting to Learn
“Suzanne Gelb Image”
”Parenting Dispute – Who is Right?”
Dear Dr. Gelb:
I have two young children and I am careful about how I behave around them because they’re so impressionable. My husband puts me down for this. He says they’re too young to understand, and so he even sometimes cusses in front of them. Is he right that I’m being overprotective or am I on the right track?
Loving Mother
Dr. Gelb Says . . .
A: Dear Mother:
I couldn’t agree with you more. I believe that from the moment of birth caregivers assume the responsibility and privilege of being healthy role-models for their children. In this respect, I thought I’d share with you an excerpt from my article, “How to Teach a Child Positive Behavior,” published in the February/March 2003 issue of Hawaii Parent, The Magazine For Families, pp. 82-87.
“Positive Influences. With opportunities available to teach a child positive behavior, one may wonder why there are so many ill-mannered youth in today’s society. As Millie, a concerned mother of 3-year-old Tommy comments, “I try to conform to socially acceptable behavior and teach this to Tommy; so, as a parent I don’t understand why our youth are so rebellious. Is this how Tommy will turn out?” Millie appears to be aware that behavior does not just occur; it is learned. Many parents however, do not teach their child positive behavior. They do not provide needed attention and discipline. As a result, the child tends to be susceptible to undesirable influences such as peer pressure. Role models, mentors, or anyone who has influence over a child must be knowledgeable about healthy behavior because a young mind is so easily influenced.”
Good luck with raising your children. Keep them safe and teach them well.
”Learning – What Does it Take to Get Hooked?”
Dear Dr. Gelb:
I am a regular reader of your column and I wanted to tell you how much benefit I am getting out of doing the supplemental reading that you recommend in YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN. I already had a copy of this book and while I had read parts of it before I am finding the concepts to be very easy to understand when they are linked to the answers you give to your reader’s questions.
In the beginning it took a little extra effort to pull the book out and read the recommended pages, but now I’m hooked because I am learning so much.
I don’t know how many people own this book, but I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in learning about himself or herself to check out YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN.
Avid Reader
Dr. Gelb Says . . .
A: Dear Avid Reader:
Thank you for taking the time to share the wonderful feedback. This truly makes it worth my while. I hope to hear from others like yourself. It certainly offers me direction with my answers in this column.
”’Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., J.D. authors this daily column, Dr. Gelb Says, which answers questions about daily living and behavior issues. Dr. Gelb is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Honolulu. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Human Services. Dr. Gelb is also a published author of a book on Overcoming Addictions and a book on Relationships.”’
”’This column is intended for entertainment use only and is not intended for the purpose of psychological diagnosis, treatment or personalized advice. For more about the column’s purpose, see”’ “An Online Intro to Dr. Gelb Says”
”’Email your questions to mailto:DrGelbSays@hawaiireporter.com More information on Dr. Gelb’s services and related resources available at”’ https://www.DrGelbSays.com
Legislative Hearing Notices – March 21, 2003
The following hearing notices, which are subject to change, were sorted and taken from the Hawaii State Capitol Web site. Please check that site for updates and/or changes to the schedule at
“Hawaii State Legislature Sidebar”
Go there and click on the Hearing Date to view the Hearing Notice.
Hearings notices for both House and Senate measures in all committees:
Hearing
”Date Time Bill Number Measure Title Committee”
3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR108 REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE CONTINUATION OF SERVICES AFTER THE PLANNED CLOSING OF THE CASEY FAMILY FOUNDATION OFFICES IN HAWAII. HSH
3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR121 URGING THE GOVERNOR TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO ADDRESS THE CONTINUAL NEED AND UNMET DEMAND FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FACILITIES ON OAHU. HSH
3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR131 REQUESTING A MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF HAWAII
Right of Self Defense Belongs to People, Not Government
In response to the article by John Orendt on the war in Iraq, where he wrote “Government is the agency that holds a monopoly on the legal use of physical force.”
I thought that right of self defense was reserved to the people and that the purpose of the second amendment included that right and others, exclusive of governments physical powers.
”’Dr. Rik Cederstrom can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:dr_rik_dc@juno.com
Oil to be Bedrock of Post-War Iraq Growth
WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) — As U.S. troops brace for war, several Middle East analysts held a briefing Wednesday on how a new government could rebuild itself financially.
And Iraqi oil reserves will be at the crux of any effort to get the country on a path to growth, regardless of who may be at the government’s helm.
“Iraq’s (gross domestic product growth rate) will be five times as much as it was in 2003,” said Salah Al-Shaikhly, a member of the Iraqi National Accord Leadership, emphasizing that the country’s oil output is expected to surge once sanctions are lifted against a new Iraqi government. Last year, GDP actually shrank by 7.5 percent as the country struggled under growing debt burdens amid ever-increasing isolation from the international community.
Certainly, the economic sanctions against the country that has the second-largest oil reserves in the world have prevented Iraq from investing in building up its oil processing facilities for the past decade. Analysts are hoping that a regime change will not only encourage private companies to start investing in the country, particularly in the oil sector, but also that the new government will start pumping in money into developing public infrastructure.
“We expect imports to go up…and government expenditure as well,” Al-Shaikhly added, pointing out that increased oil revenue will allow the new regime to invest more in its own people, and to play an active part in the world economy. Currently, the bulk of the country’s imports are food under the United Nations’ food-for-oil program, while 95 percent of its exports are crude oil and petroleum products.
In 1998, the latest available figure, France was the single biggest supplier to Iraq providing 21 percent of all goods to Iraq. Australia ranked in second with 16 percent, while the United States was third, with 9 percent.
Still, there are concerns about Iraq’s debt levels accumulated over more than 20 years of war and isolation. There are no reliable figures from any international organization on how much debt the country has amassed over the years under Saddam Hussein, but it is clear that the country is burdened with considerable civilian as well as military debts.
“We would want at least the civilian debts to be forgiven,” said Rubar Sandi, president of the U.S.-Iraq Business Council and chairman of the Corporate Bank Business Group. He stressed that military expenditure accumulated under Saddam Hussein’s regime had nothing to do with the people of Iraq, and thus they should not be held accountable for those debts.
He did, however, acknowledge that Iraqis would have to be responsible for debts accumulated by civilians. But Sandi said that even those liabilities should be restructured and “at least frozen and renegotiated…to ease the burden.”
While no policy has been publicly unveiled by the Bush administration on how to deal with Iraq’s debt burden, the White House has made clear that the reconstruction of Iraq could be paid for in large part by tapping into the country’s vast oil reserves. Still, it is still not clear how exactly the oil reserves will be tapped, both between the private and public sectors, and between a new Iraq and other interested countries.
Regardless of how the oil revenues are spent and taxed, it is clear that the country’s petroleum reserves will be crucial to getting the Iraqi economy back on its feet and allowing the country to ease back into the international community. Together with securing jobs for people and ensuring that the Iraqis will quickly see the benefits of a regime change, the United States and other nations engaged in the reconstruction of Iraq will be facing a number of issues to ensure the swift rebuilding of a country that has been squeezed under a dictatorship. And the issue of tapping into the oil reserves will be only one of the many challenges.
Operation Liberate Iraq: Update of the Impact on Hawaii, the Nation and the World
”America, Allied Forces Launch Attack on Iraq, Ground Forces Move In”
American and allied forces waged a strike early this morning in Iraq, targeting top Iraqi officials who reportedly were gathering in an obscure residence. American officials would not identify the targets of the strike, but the strategic strike marked the opening salvo of the U.S.-led war against Iraq that Pres. Bush warned “could be longer and more difficult than some predict.”
Shortly after, U.S. Marines crossed from Kuwait into Iraq in the start of the ground war against Saddam Hussein, while to the north in Baghdad, a series of massive explosions from an aerial bombardment rocked the city.
United Press International reporter Richard Tomkins, crossing the Iraqi border with the Marines, reported U.S. forces encountered Iraqi troops using Soviet-made tanks and small arms soon after entering southern Iraq. U.S. military officials confirmed that oil wells were burning near the Kuwaiti border.
Tomkins reported the Marines entered Iraq in armored vehicles equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers. All the Marines wore full-body suits to provide protection against possible Iraqi use of chemical or biological weapons.
In Baghdad, CNN reported smoke rising from three locations after large blasts. Intense anti-aircraft fire erupted from across the city. Shortly before the Marines went in, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned that a massive attack to disarm Saddam Hussein and remove the Iraqi leader’s regime was imminent.
Rumsfeld said the coalition against Saddam includes more than 35 nations, and the White House said it includes wide representation around the world.
“The coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. “The focus is on disarmament.”
In separate briefings, Fleischer and Rumsfeld said they had received reports of three or four oil wells being set ablaze in southern Iraq — a tactic Saddam used in the 1991 Gulf War.
In other developments Thursday, the Turkish parliament approved a measure giving U.S. planes the right to fly over the country — but it did not grant rights to base U.S. troops in Turkey for use against Iraq.
“We appreciate Turkey acting as they have,” Fleischer said.
Early Thursday Iraq time, the U.S. launched 40 cruise missiles from two cruisers, two destroyers and two submarines operating in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Two F-117A stealth fighters also took part, attacking with 2,000-pound precision bombs.
The attack, directed at Iraqi leadership, hit a residential area south of Baghdad and several other areas with some 40 cruise missiles and precision bombs.
Saddam later appeared on state-run television with a statement he began with Thursday’s date, but even then it was unclear when the tape had been made — and the White House said it was unsure the speaker was Saddam.
Rumsfeld reiterated a message delivered by millions of leaflets dropped near Iraqi forces, suggesting the Iraqis lay down their arms or be killed “protecting a doomed regime.”
Rumsfeld said the next wave of bombings — the so-called shock and awe attack — would be of a “force and scope and scale beyond anything that has been seen before.” The coalition forces included 240,000 American, 45,000 British and 2,000 Australian troops. He also said that the coalition the Bush administration had fashioned for the battle was broader than the one the president’s father gathered for the 1991 Gulf War to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
”Bush Addresses the Nation After War Began”
“My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.
“On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support — from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.
*Why We Know Iraq is Lying
*What Does Disarmament Look Like?
*U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council
“To all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed.
“The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military — a final atrocity against his people.
“I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.
“We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.
“I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.
“Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly — yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.
“Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory.
“My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.
“May God bless our country and all who defend her.”
”Hawaii’s Terrorist Alert Level Raised, Elected Officials Offer Strategies to Keep Hawaii Safe, Economically Afloat”
Coordinating with Pres. George W. Bush’s 48 hour warning to Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein to leave or be removed from office, Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday beginning at 3 p.m., raised Hawaii’s terrorism alert level from “blue” to “yellow.” The raise in alert status won’t have consequences easily visible to the average Hawaii citizen, she says, but those who work or do business with refineries or utility companies or state facilities will likely encounter more security and possibly delays when trying to enter these facilities. There also will be more scrutiny of deliveries to the state Capitol and other government buildings.
The governor, speaking to the guests at the opening of the First Hawaiian Auto Show last night, also said she talked with the Office of Homeland Security after Bush addressed the nation to tell the public war had begun. Earlier she met with Hawaii’s four county mayors to discuss additional security, police presence and emergency response procedures