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Spring 2007

President's Message
Volunteers Needed for League Advocacy at Legislature (Jean Aoki)
McElrath to Address Women's Committee (Suzanne Meisenzahl)
Voter Service (Jean Aoki)
Gambling (HCALG) Report (Grace Furukawa)
League of the Future is Online (Stephen Trussel)
Education Committee (Mary Anne Raywid)
Lunch 'n' Learn the Law
LWV Maui Co-Chair Attends UN Human Rights Council (Joshua Cooper)
Modern Look of League (Jason Stein)
Chapter Reports - Hawaii (Marianna Scheffer)
Chapter Reports - Honolulu (Piilani Kaopuiki)
Chapter Reports - Maui (Joshua Cooper)

President's Message

The mid-term Presidential election is over and our nation has voted for change -- primarily in the direction we take in the war in Iraq. On their editorial page on November 20th, The Honolulu Advertiser stated, "Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Iraq war has been widely cited as the principal factor in the change of command triggered on Election Day. But not far below that on the scale of voter outrage was widespread disgust with the way lobbyists' campaign contributions have corrupted lawmakers." My year end hope is that our newly elected and re-elected leaders will listen to the will of the people on both issues.

Nationally, I think it will be extremely difficult for our nation to set a course that will lead to a more peaceful world in which our country has increased respect for, and from, all. However, voters have mandated that our leaders in Washington take bold measures to quell violence endangering the lives of Americans as well as the citizens of the Middle East. My year end wish is for peace in the Middle East in the coming year.

Locally, it should be much easier for our legislators to enact true campaign finance reform, which would go far to restore confidence in our elected officials. Several states are already providing candidates with meaningful public funding options and the number of candidates taking advantage of the public campaign finance option is growing. We do not need to reinvent the wheel to set up a good public campaign finance system. The Voter Owned Hawaii organization has been lobbying for excellent legislation for several years. The often hidden cost to taxpayers of our present system is bound to be greater than the cost of a transparent system supported by voters of our state.

As we look to 2007, I will be hoping for bipartisan progress toward peace and restoring respect for our leaders through meaningful changes in our campaign finance laws.

Sue Irvine

A LITTLE PATIENCE...

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt …

If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."

--Thomas Jefferson, 1798
after passage of the Sedition Act

People will accept your ideas much more readily
if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. --David H. Comins

Education is when you read the fine print.
Experience is what you get if you don’t. -- Pete Seeger

League of Women Voters of Hawaii

President - Sue Irvine
Vice-President - Pearl Johnson
Secretary - Carol Bain
Treasurer - Diana Cummings

Ka Leo Hana
Editor - Mary Anne Raywid
Layout - Stephen Trussel

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