# guest commentaries (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover guest commentaries. Page: Feed: --- ## [Clean Energy Schizophrenia](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/clean-energy-schizophrenia/) _2026-08-18 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ This week, I wanted to give some additional context in depth to a commentary by new Civil Beat columnist Olin Lagon entitled “A Subsidy Is a Statement About Who Matters.” Our state does a lot of giving and taking when it comes to energy use. We currently give tax credits for clean energy use and \[…\] The post Clean Energy Schizophrenia appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [It’s the Power, Stupid: Dancing in the Dark, Part 4](https://washingtonspectator.org/its-the-power-stupid-dancing-in-the-dark-part-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-the-power-stupid-dancing-in-the-dark-part-4) _2026-08-17 · Mark Medish and Joel McCleary · Washington Spectator_ The principle \[of emergency power\] lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need. —Justice Robert H. Jackson, dissenting in Korematsu v. United States (1944) The president will do it. The predicate is being laid perfectly” \[referring to President Trump’s \[…\] ## [The San Francisco Police Department Posts Videos on Catching Crooks–HPD should do the same](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-san-francisco-police-department-posts-videos-on-catching-crooks-hpd-should-do-the-same/) _2026-08-12 · Robert Kay · Hawaii Reporter_ Police departments don’t always do a particularly good job of showing the public what police officers actually do. The San Francisco Police Department has found one very effective way to change that: show people. SFPD regularly posts short videos that take viewers behind the scenes of actual police operations—from identifying and tracking suspects with surveillance \[…\] The post The San Francisco… ## [Honolulu Special Funds](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/honolulu-special-funds/) _2026-08-10 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ This week we will be discussing some of the proposals on the ballot in Honolulu that have been put forward by the Honolulu Charter Commission. (If you are in another county, don’t click the Close button just yet, because this issue may be coming to your island soon.). This year, the Charter Commission has \[…\] The post Honolulu Special Funds appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [Trump’s Two Oil Mysteries: Freedom Fuel and Venezuelan Crude](https://washingtonspectator.org/trumps-two-oil-mysteries-freedom-fuel-and-venezuelan-crude/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trumps-two-oil-mysteries-freedom-fuel-and-venezuelan-crude) _2026-08-10 · Jonathan Winer · Washington Spectator_ Gasoline prices are rising again, adding to voter concerns about the cost of living. Yet in the Philadelphia region, a new company, Freedom Fuel, is suddenly selling gasoline substantially below its competitors at more than two dozen stations. President Trump has personally promoted Freedom Fuel, and the White House has presented it as evidence that \[…\] ## [The Wrecking Ball Comes For the Midterms](https://washingtonspectator.org/the-wrecking-ball-comes-for-the-midterms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-wrecking-ball-comes-for-the-midterms) _2026-08-04 · Jonathan Winer · Washington Spectator_ Last October, I wrote in The Washington Spectator that the Trump administration was constructing an integrated system to constrain voting and criminalize political opposition. Claims of election fraud, domestic terrorism, foreign financing and organized political violence were being used broadly to recast the lawful administration of elections, political fundraising, protest against government… ## [Taxation of Envy](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/taxation-of-envy/) _2026-08-03 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ This week, I wanted to share some inspiration I found in Aloha State Daily columnist Sterling Higa’s “Hawai‘I Millionaire Tax: Why the New 13% Bracket Won’t Be the Last.” Countless people and organizations have implored lawmakers to make “the wealthy” pay their “fair share.” Of course, neither “the wealthy” nor “fair share” are defined. Only \[…\] The post Taxation of Envy appeared first on Hawaii… ## [The One Dollar Solution](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-one-dollar-solution/) _2026-07-27 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ The Governor’s final veto decisions are in. Out of 267 bills that the 2026 Legislature sent to him, he vetoed one of them and reduced an appropriation line item in another. This week we will be discussing the line-itemed bill, SB 2600. Back in 1978 when we last had a constitutional convention, delegates thought that \[…\] The post The One Dollar Solution appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [Consumers Here at Home Paid Trump’s Illegal Tariffs: Here’s How to Refund Their Money](https://washingtonspectator.org/consumers-here-at-home-paid-trumps-illegal-tariffs-heres-how-to-refund-their-money/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=consumers-here-at-home-paid-trumps-illegal-tariffs-heres-how-to-refund-their-money) _2026-07-20 · Steven Pressman · Washington Spectator_ On April 2, 2025, so-called “Liberation Day”, President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and put high tariffs on US imports. His base tariff was 10%, but most countries faced higher rates, including 20% for the European Union, and over 40% for Cambodia and Vietnam. Trump has claimed repeatedly that he loves \[…\] ## [Why Care About the Dam Special Fund](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/why-care-about-the-dam-special-fund/) _2026-07-20 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ About a year ago, we wrote about a special fund that we called the Dam Special Fund, and that we were suing the State over it. Our state constitution has a number of provisions in it that are designed to control how our government spends our money. (Not “their” money, hmph.) Most of these provisions \[…\] The post Why Care About the Dam Special Fund appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [Home of the Agentic Pull Request (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/hbVbW9jAm6at) _2026-07-20 · **Sponsored**_ CLI-first, TUI-ready toolkits and a moshscript installer — join the waitlist ## [Where did you go in your LOWA Renegades?](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/where-did-you-go-in-your-lowa-renegades/) _2026-07-18 · Robert Kay · Hawaii Reporter_ I haven’t made it lately to Mauna Loa, as depicted in the photo above, but there’s no question the hiking boots I’m reviewing could handle the trek. Instead, I’ve remained on Oahu, hiking the Mauʻumae Ridge Trail (also known as the Lanipō Trail) atop Wilhelmina Rise. Before scrutinizing LOWA’s newest footwear, it’s worth revisiting the \[…\] The post Where did you go in your LOWA Renegades? appeared… ## [John Roberts and the Unravelling of Democracy](https://washingtonspectator.org/john-roberts-and-the-unravelling-of-democracy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=john-roberts-and-the-unravelling-of-democracy) _2026-07-13 · Stephan Richter and James Maxeiner · Washington Spectator_ The recent decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court have only reaffirmed that John Roberts, the Chief Justice, has been assiduously laying the groundwork for two fundamental changes in the American system of self-government that would have been unimaginable during the first 250 years of U.S. history: first, a massive expansion of the powers \[…\] ## [Empty Homes Tax Won’t Go Away](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/empty-homes-tax-wont-go-away/) _2026-07-13 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ The idea behind an empty homes tax is to impose an outrageously high cost on residential property that is unoccupied, to force owners to either live in the property or rent it out. The theory is that this would alleviate the housing shortage here in Honolulu. We have written about such a tax on several \[…\] The post Empty Homes Tax Won’t Go Away appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [Two Brothers, One Legendary Beach: Meet Waikīkī’s Rising WSL Stars Johnny “The Ripper” and Michael “Monkey” Van Hohenstein](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/two-brothers-one-legendary-beach-meet-waikikis-rising-wsl-stars-jonny-the-ripper-and-michael-monkey-van-hohenstein/) _2026-07-07 · Daniela Stolfi · Hawaii Reporter_ If you’ve scrolled past a surf clip lately captioned “Monkey” or “Johnny the Ripper” and wondered whether you were looking at the same surfer twice, you’re not alone. Michael Van Hohenstein 23, and John Michael Van Hohenstein 22, are brothers that are often mistaken as twins or even the same person. And both are quietly \[…\] The post Two Brothers, One Legendary Beach: Meet Waikīkī’s Rising WSL… ## [SNAP Disaster Imminent](https://www.hawaiireporter.com/snap-disaster-imminent/) _2026-07-06 · Tom Yamachika · Hawaii Reporter_ About a year ago, we wrote about one part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could really hurt our State economically. It’s about the federal SNAP program to help needy families with food costs. It used to be fully funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, Hawaii citizens benefited from this federal \[…\] The post SNAP Disaster Imminent appeared first on Hawaii Reporter . ## [The Graham Platner Story: What It Says About Our Media and What It Means for the Midterms](https://washingtonspectator.org/the-graham-platner-story-what-it-says-about-our-media-and-what-it-means-for-the-midterms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-graham-platner-story-what-it-says-about-our-media-and-what-it-means-for-the-midterms) _2026-06-26 · George Black · Washington Spectator_ All of a sudden, during a single week in early June, a Marine sergeant turned oyster farmer named Graham Cunningham Platner, Democratic candidate for the Senate in Maine, became the most famous veteran in America. Or, if you prefer, the most infamous. Vets running for elected office have always occupied a special place in the \[…\] ## [Government by Slush Fund](https://washingtonspectator.org/government-by-slush-fund/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=government-by-slush-fund) _2026-06-02 · Jonathan Winer · Washington Spectator_ Trump produced this latest one through an unprecedented legal maneuver: suing his own government over disclosure of his tax returns, then settling the case through his former criminal defense lawyer, now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The legality of that settlement is now under active judicial review, even as Trump appears to be backing away from the fund \[…\] ## [The Roberts Court Has Turned the Voting Rights Act on Its Head](https://washingtonspectator.org/roberts-court-has-turned-voting-rights-act-on-its-head/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=roberts-court-has-turned-voting-rights-act-on-its-head) _2026-05-19 · Leslie J. Winner · Washington Spectator_ I am the North Carolina lawyer who served as lead counsel for the Black citizens whose lawsuit led to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Thornburg v. Gingles. That case gave life to Congress’s 1982 amendments to the Voting Rights Act. Those amendments were born from a simple reality that every voting rights lawyer understood: \[…\] ## [Steve Earle’s song “City of Immigrants”](https://washingtonspectator.org/steve-earles-song-city-of-immigrants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=steve-earles-song-city-of-immigrants) _2026-05-14 · WS Editors · Washington Spectator_ Source ## [Open coordination for humans & AI (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/aUL452ZJKTqR) _2026-05-14 · **Sponsored**_ Shared schemas and CLI tooling to validate, route, and audit human-agent workflows. ## [Republicans Made Children More Expensive: Here’s How to Fix the Problem](https://washingtonspectator.org/republicans-made-children-more-expensive-heres-how-to-fix-the-problem/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=republicans-made-children-more-expensive-heres-how-to-fix-the-problem) _2026-05-04 · Steven Pressman · Washington Spectator_ The Department of Agriculture estimates that in 1960 it cost middle-income families $259,711 (in 2025 dollars) to raise a child. In 2015, it cost $414,000 (again, in 2025 dollars), an increase of over 50 percent—substantially more than median household income increased over this time period. As a result, women are having fewer children. During the \[…\]