Please take five minutes to listen to me speak about the important issues my campaign is addressing. View my speech here or here.

Please read Fire at the well head, by Llewellyn D. Howell in the August 20, 2006 Star-Bulletin “Insight” section. It raises a number of important points about the nature of and the steps that might be taken to increase peace in the Mid-East. The active discussion of the ideas in this UH professor’s article is essential to unraveling the current crisis that faces our world.

Finally, the discussion of the ideas expressed in this article is a sign of strength on terrorism, not weakness.  Knowledge and insight brings strength. Limiting discussion brings weakness.

The Honolulu Advertiser covered my campaign today in this nice article: First-time hopefuls set sights on House.

Rejecting special-interest money, the 65-year-old marathon runner is operating a shoestring campaign that includes running through neighborhoods across the district, getting his name into the public eye and taking the opportunity to meet potential voters.

“I am running because I refuse to tie myself to special interests that will only keep me from speaking freely about thoughts that are in my heart and in my head,” he said.

He opposes war in Iraq and would rather see the money directed toward adding housing for senior citizens and the needy, and making college and vocational training more affordable.

He also wants to put an end to “pork-barrel spending” that earmarks portions of the federal budget to benefit certain constituencies. While he welcomes federal money that comes to Hawai’i, he wants to spread the message: “Don’t buy pork if it’s not on sale.”

We’ve added a new feature to the site: see the map of Hawaii with markers showing where Joe’s been sharing his ideas for a Common Sense Congress.

I brought my Race for a Congress to thousands of nice folks on Maui Auustg 10-14. Theme of the visit was From the Mountains To The Sea. I wanted to run my ideas for a Common Sense Congress from the summit through up-country and then down to the beaches, telling everyone along the way about the need to get out of Iraq now and the need to get Congressional big spenders off of the backs of our little children and grandchildren.

Here are some of the highlights of my visit to Maui.

Thursday: Flew over on the 5:20 a.m. flight from Oahu. Up the road to the top of the summit at Haleakala National Park. Gave my wife a nice hug and started running down the road. Remembered the ancient ones and their messages of preservation and conservation. Absolutely beautiful vistas of Maui’s mountains and valleys. Ran for several hours and eventually passed the park entrance. I ran about 10 to 12 miles downhill.

Friday: Great breakfast at Charley’s in Paia. Saw two pregnant ladies. Remembered that their unborn children already owe thousands of dollars in “national credit card” debt due to our “Family Values” Congress. (See Heartbeats on Maui.)

Saturday: Taped three-minute television statement on Maui’s community t.v. station. Public access T.V. is the life-line for a Campaign Finance Reform effort such as mine. I support vibrant federally funded public broadcasting.

Afternoon running in Kihei, thank you Kihei. What fun! Great response from local residents. Ran about 6 miles with my wife, Dorothy. We ran along major beach road and enjoyed the many “Go Joe” cheers that we received from residents. I did stop to talk to a number of nice folks, including a mayoral candidate and a bike path advocate. I described the wonderful new 17 mile bike path under construction on Kauai. I told him that I actively support federal funding for bike paths. They offer so many positive factors to our communities during these times of high gas prices. Simply stated, bike paths support healthy living, save gasoline, attract tourists, provide healthy recreation to local residents and provide jobs in eco-tourism for local residents.

Sunday: Church at Po’okela. Met an interesting couple who appreciated my People to People proposals regarding Muslim youth and disaster relief efforts.

Then I went to Haleakala Highway and headed toward the sea. I was determined to run to the sea and after about three hours I did it, stopping at the port entrance. By the time I got there I was hot, sweaty, dirty and very tired. But those runs are good for me because they allow me to remember how tired the workers of Hawaii are when they return home after a full day in the fields, on the water, in the hotels or just fighting traffic. During my runs we are together in spirit and I renew my fight for a Common Sense Congress for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.

Fun moment during hot run was when a local surfer stuck his head out of the window near the K-Mart and said, “Hey, Joe, I saw you up in Pukalani.” Yes you did, brother.

Monday: Yes, more running. This time from Haiku thru Paia (stopping at Charley’s again) and them out along the cane fields to the junction of the highways.

Summary: Ran about 50 miles from the mountains to the sea. Thousands of Maui residents saw me running their highways. Soon they will know about our desire to avoid special interest money in order to better represent them. That is why I run around the islands.

Felt the spirit of the ancient ones and the tranquility of “up-country” Maui. Felt the conflicts that residents feel over the rapid pace of living, the high gasoline prices and the never ending construction that feeds families but which fuels the creeping urban tensions. A “Common Sense Congress” cannot cure all of these problems but it sure can help.

The Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii wanted to know my views on bike trails and paths:

I support expansion of bike paths throughout the United States. As Congressman I would support federal funding for these efforts and would encourage communities to come forward with creative ideas to maximize bikeways. Hawaii has really failed to understand the importance of moving forward on bike paths. Now we complain about the high cost of gasoline and the lack of alternate modes of transportation. Yet we have done little to take advantage of our great weather in Hawaii.

Kauai is to be congratulated for their new 17 mile bike path that is going along its most populated residential areas. It will give people safe passage to and from work and it will promote health and tourism. Eco-tourism is a real concept and that bike path will generate many jobs. Way to go Kauai!

Finally, please note that as a member of my local governmental board I argued forcefully for the expansion of bike paths in our community. However, the inertia of those who are stuck in autos is frequently the deciding factor in these decisions. For that reason you need people who really believe in alternative ways of doing things. Bike paths are one of those alternative ways.

Prepaid Health Care Act
I support this act and its purpose of providing health care for workers. It does result in health care for our workers. We (Hawaii) are the future not the past as regards coverage for workers and their families. Our degree of coverage is the ideal. We should not lessen coverage.

Anti-trust
I support the right of physicians, etc. to use their collective power to negotiate with insurance carriers regarding health plans. If it is shown that this collective power results in damage to the consumers and the health care beneficiaries then I would fight for repeal.

Medical providers should be fairly compensated for their valuable services. If this helps, then I support it. But those in need of medical services should always be kept in mind.

Scope of practice/prescriptive authority
I do not support the expansion of prescriptive authority unless supported by the leading medical and scientific communities in America.

However it is the science that counts and not the economic interests of any one group. So let’s be objective about the science. Times do change and science and standards advance. And positive changes occur.

Health Insurance
We should provide standards of review for the council. If there are standards that will allow additional providers then the council will have to allow for that expansion. I take no campaign money from any special interest group so I can be objective on this issue. I do not promote monopolies unless there is an absolute need for that restriction.

I support whatever steps we can take to increase medical coverage for our residents.

Health Savings Accounts
I support all forms of incentives to encourage Americans to save money for the future. This includes tax incentives, etc. However, if we continue to give the majority of the tax benefits to the rich we cannot expect the financially strapped middle and low income taxpayers to independently save for all future health needs.

Tort Reform
Tort Reform is a non-issue. Your insurance carriers are making great profits without reducing your premiums. There are few medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Hawaii and the number of lawsuits actually filed keeps dropping. Your premiums continue to go up in states that passed “tort reform” so lawsuits were not the cost-driver.

Finally there are few “frivolous” lawsuits due to the cost of initiating and pursuing a lawsuit.

Medical Necessity
I trust my doctors to make important decisions, not some accountant in a far off office. I would work to maintain the doctor-patient relationship as regards health maintenance organizations. Patients need prompt administrative appeal rights
at a minimum.

Right to Sue
See above regarding administrative appeal rights. Although a lawyer, I do not promote lawsuits unless necessary to correct injustice. In addition to administrative appeals I would support whatever mechanism is necessary to guarantee that the patient’s interests are primary and fully addressed.

Patient Assisted Suicide
I oppose physician assisted suicide.

Workers’ Compensation
I strongly support your right to receive fair compensation for your services. Under current medical fee schedules in Hawaii you are not paid a fair wage. I support immediately increasing the fee schedule.

I also support an expedited review of insurance carrier denials of your treatment plans. Those denials hurt your patients and my clients.

Regulation of Physicians’ Fees
I do not support control of your fees as long as you do not violate anti-trust laws or consumer protection rights. I also do not want large HMOs to determine the quality of service that your patients need to recover and to stay healthy.

Physician Campaign Involvement
There are physicians all over Hawaii who are familiar with my work as a progressive work-injury attorney. They know that I fight to get their treatment plans approved promptly. They know that I represent badly injured workers whose rights are being abused by governmental agencies, employers or insurance carriers. I anticipate that many of your members will appreciate my call for an immediate removal of our troops from Iraq, my call for a reduction in our national debt (”national credit card”) and my call to reduce wasteful pork barrel spending.

I do not accept any financial support from special interests, lobbying groups, etc. I do accept individual contributions of up to $200.

Is No Child Left Behind working? Evaluate it and its effect on Hawaii’s schools.
It helped by clarifying reading and math levels. Now we need creative funding. Money for mock hotel industry reservation centers in rural Hawaii communities for training and then job creation, money for at-risk students to learn construction trades by repairing state park bathrooms, fixing vacant public housing units, etc. These programs will teach them post-school trades for employment. And school-government cooperation saves taxpayer money.

We need money for computers and more teacher assistants in classrooms. We need creative and exciting programs for our youth. All of this is just a false promise if we do not get out of Iraq and reduce Congressional pork barrel “addiction”. We need to reduce the national debt (national “credit card”).

Finally, we need to stop complaining about our public school teachers. They have a heavy burden and work with many recent immigrant families and/or with families without a full appreciation of the need for education in this changing world. Let’s continue supporting these teachers and improve our public school system. It is OUR school system after all.

How concerned are you about the deficit and what measures do you believe must be taken to move us toward a balanced budget?

Saw two pregnant ladies recently, excitedly discussing their upcoming childbirths (about 3 months away). As I heard them talking about the new additions to their families and their hopes and dreams for their families, I realized that those two persons (yet to be) already owe thousands of dollars as their share of the national “credit card” debt. In fact their debt is now three trillion dollars larger than it was six years ago. Thanks to our “Family Values” Congress, those children have the burden of paying off this debt instead of using their earnings for their families.

Congress has turned America into a “debtor” Nation. Families in Hawaii have much more common sense that Congress when it comes to budgeting and financial matters. “Off the books” budget gimmicks, refusing to put the costs of the Iraq fiasco into the annual national budget, adding thousands of costly “pork barrel” gifts to Congressmen and women in unrelated appropriations bills represent the out of control spending damage that Congress continues to inflict on Hawaii’s residents and future generations.

We need common sense in Congress. Congress must change or be changed.

In balancing Americans’ right to privacy with the need for homeland security, how much personal information should the government be able to gather, what kind of information should it have access to and for what purpose?

We compromise our right to total privacy every day of our lives. These compromises are legitimate and necessary. State governments know when we were born, the names of our parents, etc. State governments know about our driving records and whether we need glasses to drive a vehicle. The federal government knows when and where we travel to foreign countries. The Social Security offices know the names of each employer where we have worked over our lifetimes and the amounts of money we made and the Internal Revenue Service knows how much we pay in taxes and what deductions we claim. And non-governmental groups know our credit records and sometimes our outstanding bills.

All of these compromises are necessary and cannot be avoided. Even more information may be needed in the future if the public insists on instantly knowing whether workers applying for jobs are “legal” or illegal” residents. Most likely a national identity card similar to a social security card would be necessary to show if any of us are legally allowed to work in America.

What we need in America is the following:

1. A healthy appreciation of the Constitutional rights that we possess. That document makes America special. Every Hawaii resident should read the Constitution and know your rights. Then demand that everybody, even powerful governmental officials live up to the promises of the Constitution.
2. A mature analysis of national problems and realistic steps to solve our security problems. Library cards don’t lead officials to terrorists. Mass round-ups of telephone records do not lead to terrorists. We need information gathering to be objective. Homeland security is vital but must be real and focused; not wildly scooping up millions of pieces of information that don’t lead to terror and that only remain unread in some office.
3. We need to demand that our President and our governmental officials follow the law, not break the law. There should be increased statutory penalties imposed upon government officials who inappropriately use any of our personal information for “political” purposes. Each time we sit quietly by and allow abuses to our rights we weaken and threaten our Constitution.
4. We need a Congress that loves the Constitution and is willing to restrain politicians who would weaken our Constitutional rights for purely political purposes during times of national homeland security crisis.

Had a great breakfast at Charley’s in Paia this morning. Saw two pregnant ladies excitedly discussing their upcoming childbirths (about 3 months away). As I heard them talking about the new additions to their families and their hopes and dreams for their families, I realized that those two persons (yet to be) already owe thousands of dollars as their share of the national debt. Thanks to our “Family Values” Congress, those children have the burden of paying off our national credit card (national debt). In fact their debt is now three trillion dollars larger than it was six years ago.

That makes me mad. It is wrong. Congress must be changed to protect our children and grandchildren. Let’s get some common sense in Congress.

Off on the road running in Kihei for the afternoon. Taking our ideas to the people without the help of special interests.

I spent 6 good hours in the blazing sun on my Kauai continuation run from Kalaheo through Ele’ele and Hanapepe, ending in Kaumakani. It was hot and windy along the highway but the number of smiles and shouts that I received kept me energized and focused onthe need for a Common Sense Congress.

Along the way, I met a representative of the Habitat For Humanity project on Kauai that is helping some families build their own homes, with the help of volunteers. What a great project and what a great tribute to Pres. Jimmy Carter. I plan on returning as a volunteer for that effort after the election is finished and I encourage others to contact the Habitat program to inquire as to their volunteer needs. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I have seen community development and community efforts bring about miracles like the effort on Kauai.

I also met several interesting small business owners in Hanapepe. We shared some laughs about the joys and work involved in having your own small business and making it succeed. As a small business owner (attorney for injured workers), I know exactly what they are talking about and exactly the dedication it takes to keep the business open and moving forward. The persons I met seemed very involved in both their businesses and their community I applaud them for their energy which is helping them to make Hanapepe special.

Memories of today include the continuing joy of the kind reception from the folks on Kauai as I run my ideas for a different type of Congress around Hawaii and the island of Kauai. Another memory is the heat, the sweat and the beauty of the cane fields as I was passing along the roadway. Then I remember the wind in my face. And finally I remember the beauty of the calm sea around Pearl Harbor last night which the full mon illuminated to make the water look like shimmering glass.

What a great day in my chosen paradise.