Twigg-Smith opposes Akaka Bill
Thurston Twigg-Smith has a
letter
in the
Advertiser
opposing the Akaka bill for federal recognition of Hawaiians. He says "There has
never been a hearing in all these years that would allow ordinary folks to
express their opinions of the bill." Actually, there were a series of
hearings held on Oahu in August 2000 (originally planned for all
islands but moved due to Sen. Akaka's hip replacement), at which the bill was
roundly criticized and broadly opposed. (A bigger point is that the bill has
been changed substantially numerous times since with no further opportunity for
input from the people.) So he's not quite accurate about there being no
hearings, but he is right when he says "He would find many, including many
Hawaiians, who think the important thing about the bill is to see that it
doesn't pass." Those like Twigg-Smith who oppose Hawaii's independence and
those of us who support independence find unusual common ground in opposing
federal recognition, though for mostly different reasons.
Posted: Fri - June 11, 2004 at 07:10 AM