U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Vote

[kimo wires]

Surprised no one has started a thread on this.

So what happens now?

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/break...ction.html

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I suggest while attorneys argue, we build the outside shell of the TMT observatory and store all the uncounted Native Hawaiian election votes inside. It's a way both sides can come together.

[kalakoa]

I don't understand why non-Hawaiians should be allowed to vote on whether the Hawaiians seek to create a government -- shouldn't the non-Hawaiians later vote "their side" of the issue, in deciding whether the US accepts government-to-government relations?

In any case ... if the Hawaiian government has enough sovereignty to open a casino, the real fight begins, and it will be very very very well-funded.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

if the Hawaiian government has enough sovereignty to open a casino, the real fight begins

The industry standard for casinos is a 92% income retention for the house, and 8% paid in winnings to their players. That coincidentally, is the same tax payment to tax benefit ratio I'd estimate I pay and receive with my Hawaii Excise, State, and Real Property Taxes. The House always wins.

Maybe the Hawaiian Nation aligning itself with the casinos is more honest and transparent than what we have now. At least with the casinos, you can count on them treating the premises and protecting their customers from dengue.

[kalakoa]

At least with the casinos, you can count on them treating the premises and protecting their customers from dengue.

Touche'.

The usual scenario ("incumbent casinos fight against competition from newly sovereign casinos") would be interesting here, since there aren't any incumbent casinos.

[Chunkster]

For Justice Kennedy to block the vote counting is very significant. He is generally considered the "swing" vote between the liberal and conservative blocs on the Supreme Court. If he has found flaws in the constitutional underpinnings of the election that merit fuller consideration, it might all be over for the whole race based process. The district court that heard the original case and the 9th Circuit (which refused to stop the election pending) appeal are generally considered sympathetic toward the defendants.

[pahoated]

This might become a big can of worms for the US Supreme Court because it may result in having to go back to the overthrow as a legal issue.

The guy behind the lawsuit is also one of the major Kingdom pushers. Why does he do this? Because he claims to be a bloodline heir to the Kingdom. Against bloodline but supported by bloodline?

Unfortunately, the Department of the Interior chose the word "tribes" to describe the nations the U.S. has conquered over its history. The default recognition is 50% blood quantum, by the US government. The "tribes" have varying blood quantum recognition requirements. So, if Kennedy is questioning blood quantum as a qualifier, he ends up with a witches brew in his hands.
https://www.doi.gov/tribes/enrollment

Adding to the confusion, the US Census number of "native Hawaiians" is over 500,000. This is because they took the census with the question, "Are you a native Pacific Islander or born in Hawaii?". That number means there are over 500,000 people claiming they were born in Hawaii,--locals--, but may not be descended from those calling themselves kanaka maoli (50% blood quantum 2nd wave Tahitian-Hawaiians). The rough estimate is about 15,000 100% blood quantum 2nd wave Tahitian-Hawaiians left, from the roughly 50,000 hand counted after the measles epidemic of 1848.

Whoever is throwing around that 500,000+ number of native Hawaiians is covering up the number of over 100% blood quantum Native Hawaiians has been steadily declining since 1778, from 100% to 3%.

"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"

[Chunkster]

The primary contention of the lawsuit has nothing to do with blood quantum or even tribal status. The suit contends that the election is race based and therefore illegally funded by the state through DHHL and OHA. DHHL says that they gave the money to a third party foundation who in turn gave it to the organization holding the election. The district court bought that rather dubious argument, but Justice Kennedy apparently did not. Another point is that the election forced voters to state that they supported a Hawaiian government in order to participate. Thus a potentially large group of Hawaiians who might want NO sovereign Hawaiian entity were arbitrarily excluded. It will be interesting.

[ironyak]

Interesting indeed, given that the SCOTUS is also reviewing Fisher vs Uni. Of Texas (affirmative action in higher ed) for a second time. Race-based programs appear to be under strict scrutiny by this court and the findings may implicate other race based programs (OHA? DHHL? DOI definition of Hawaiian people as political group (but w/ blood requirements)?. Justice Kennedy apparently has never voted to uphold an affirmative action program but other justices may find compelling reasons to allow Nai Aupuni's process to proceed.

[Johnd]

quote:

---

Originally posted by kalakoa

I don't understand why non-Hawaiians should be allowed to vote on whether the Hawaiians seek to create a government -- shouldn't the non-Hawaiians later vote "their side" of the issue, in deciding whether the US accepts government-to-government relations?

In any case ... if the Hawaiian government has enough sovereignty to open a casino, the real fight begins, and it will be very very very well-funded.

---

Because we do live in a democracy, and most of us in Hawaii have genetically intermingled with the rest of the world! If you think about it, even the so called blood quantum is a racist tool...anything but 100% should be the standard for race classification. All the others with foreign last names should certainly be excluded, regardless. We, American citizens, are protected from discrimination under the Constitution; besides, Hawaiians thrived with multiculturalism, and allowed foreign participation in their politics.

A tiny fraction of the discontent should not be allowed to make such profound changes in our society, unless there is a consensus among all those who live here.

What have reservations done for themselves? ....very little! Except the Navajo Nation with the omnipresent sense of entitlement. If a tourist is accidentally ill on " their land", he or she would get emergency treatment only. If a Navajo gets ill in Tucson, Arizona, we all pay for their full recovery and MORE. While the Navajo nation brings in tons of cash from exploiting natural resources, the rest of us pay the piper for their environmental degradation. This kind of "exclusivity" has no room in a rapidly growing modern world, we are all dependent of each other and racial boundaries are less than helpful in the face of such reality, wouldn't you say? We really need more cooperation than conflict. Besides, the Hopi Indians do have a a hatchet to grind with the Navajo "land expansion", ask them what it feels to have their land "robbed" by the Navajos. Exclusivity, in a world poised to have 8 billion people by 2050, is an incongruity.