Free Republic

Democratic National Committee vice chairwoman Tulsi Gabbard said she has been disinvited from the Tuesday Democratic presidential debate after comments she made on MSNBC calling for more debates, The New York Times reports. While Gabbard said she was disinvited, an anonymous source close to the DNC told The New York Times that Gabbard was not disinvited, but was told to reconsider going because she could be a distraction. Gabbard disputes the claim that she would be a distraction to the debate. "It's very dangerous when we have people in positions of leadership who use their power to try to quiet...

The state approved a 27.3 percent rate hike for Hawaii Medical Service Association members and 34.4 percent increase for Kaiser members in Obamacare plans for 2016. HMSA, the state's largest health insurer, had proposed an average 49.1 percent rate hike -- the highest it has ever requested -- for 20,935 members in Obamacare plans next year. . . .

Massive earthquake rocks Chile; Tsunami alert issued for Hawaii

An American Airlines plane that was not cleared to undertake long flights over water was flown from Los Angeles to Hawaii by mistake, violating US Federal Aviation Association regulations. The incident took place last month, when an A321 plane was accidentally flown to Honolulu, despite not being certified to take extended flights over sea.

On Aug. 28, six scientists left the comforts of civilization, set to be gone for an entire year. Their mission will simulate what it might be like for astronauts journeying to Mars. In the confines of a 36-foot-wide and 20-foot-high solar-powered dome in a remote location on the island of Hawaii, the six team members will have to live together for 365 days. They will have no face-to-face contact with humans outside of the dome. This is the fourth and longest such mission carried out by the Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program, and its goal is to find...

Comments by Hawaii Governor David Ige this week has left Hawaiian Electric in a quandary regarding its plan to burn regasified LNG shipped from Canada in its oil-fired power plants, a source at the utility said Friday. "We're in a bit of a stew at the moment," the source, who asked not to be identified, said. Ige previously supported using LNG as a transitional fuel as the state moved to 100% renewable generation by 2045. "When it was first proposed, I was willing to support it as a transitional fuel because it had some clear advantages for Hawaii," Ige said...

Second Amendment advocates are firing away at a decision by Honolulu officials to destroy $575,000 worth of perfectly good handguns in a move one critic called the “height of anti-gun stupidity.” Some 2,300 Smith & Wesson 9 mm handguns, including at least 200 that are brand-new and in unopened boxes, were issued to the city’s police department. But with the 2,200-member force upgrading to lighter and less expensive Glock 17s, the guns were set to be permanently holstered. While it is customary throughout the country for departments to auction the guns to law-abiding citizens, including the police who once carried...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hurricane Ignacio has maintained its speed in the Central Pacific as its track takes the storm near the Hawaiian islands. The National Hurricane Center said at 5 a.m. Friday, Ignacio was located approximately 840 miles east-southeast of Hilo. . . . Ignacio could become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday. . . . If the storm remains organized it could come close to the Big Island Monday evening. . . .

During the near-decade photographing the homeless around her, the last person Diana Kim expected to stumble upon among them was her own flesh and blood. But that's exactly what happened during one of her photography shoots on the streets of Honolulu. After years of lost contact, Kim found her father, homeless, disheveled and painfully thin, in the throes of a deteriorating mental condition — his schizophrenia had worsened. When Kim finally summoned up the courage to approach him, he did not respond. "I stood there trying to get him to look at me and acknowledge me," she said. "I can't...

Local doctors are in the eye of a storm swirling for the past three years over whether corn that’s been genetically modified to resist pesticides is a source of prosperity, as companies claim, or of birth defects and illnesses Pediatrician Carla Nelson remembers catching sight of the unusually pale newborn, then hearing an abnormal heartbeat through the stethoscope and thinking that something was terribly wrong. The baby was born minutes before with a severe heart malformation that would require complex surgery. What worried her as she waited for the ambulance plane to take the infant from Waimea, on the island...

HONOLULU – Hawaii state Rep. Bob McDermott is hoping to spur an Internal Revenue Service investigation into Planned Parenthood’s excessive lobbying efforts, which he believes violates laws governing its nonprofit tax status. “Planned Parenthood has been aggressively forcing its way into the public school system, and its push for ‘social engineering’ over valid health and welfare of students is our major concern,” McDermott told the Hawaii Free Press. “The excessive lobbying and pressure they’ve put on legislators to override the Department of Education is way over the line for a 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation.” McDermott sent a letter to Tamera...

House Democrats who are a "no" on the deal (9 of 44 needed to override potential veto): Steve Israel, New York Nita Lowey, New York Ted Deutch, Florida Grace Meng, New York Kathleen Rice, New York Albio Sires, New Jersey Juan Vargas, California Eliot Engel, New York Brad Sherman, California Note: 150 House Democrats signed a May letter supporting the then-unfinished Iran negotiations and none have come out against the deal since it was completed. Senate Democrats who are a "no" (1 of 13 needed to override potential veto): Chuck Schumer, New York Senate Democrats who are a "yes": Tammy...

HONOLULU (AP) - The U.S. military says it has successfully tested an interceptor that can shoot down ballistic missiles as well as airplanes. The Missile Defense Agency said Monday the destroyer USS John Paul Jones tested the technology during a series of flight tests off the Hawaiian island of Kauai over the past week. Raytheon Missile Systems spokeswoman Heather Uberuaga says the tests used a modified version of the SM-6 missile the Navy already uses.

Federal Judge Threatens To Hold IRS Commissioner, Justice Attorneys In Contempt Over Lerner Emails. Judicial Watch Exposes Key Document in Government-Funded Race-Based Hawaii Separatist Vote Judicial Watch Partners with TheBlaze On Documentary On Border Narco-Terror Threat: “The Sun City Cell” Federal Judge Threatens To Hold IRS Commissioner, Justice Attorneys In Contempt Over Lerner Emails. This was quite the week for those of us demanding that the Obama IRS be held accountable to the rule of law for its abuse of innocent taxpayers. We received more documents that expose more Obama administration misconduct and lies in the IRS scandal. And...

The White House has shrugged off demands by some leaders that President Barack Obama steers clear of support for gay rights while in Kenya on July 25. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama was not expected to back away from addressing any particular tropic while in Kenya. He was answering a question on the matter while addressing journalists during a daily briefing at the White House on Tuesday. "I had not been made aware of that particular announcement from Kenya. Obviously, we have been clear that when the President travels around the world, he does not hesitate...

(CNN)—President Barack Obama on Saturday lectured Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about his country's gay rights record. "When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode," Obama said at a joint press conference with the Kenyan leader in Nairobi. "And bad things happen."

Oh damn. Of course the very first question put to Obama at the press conference this morning in Kenya was about gay rights. He went on and on about Kenya’s lack of gay rights, but the president soundly slapped down his suggestion to impose his values on the African country.Watch below:(video at link)Notice the applause too.It should be too surprising that Kenyans aren’t open to his gay-mongering – before his visit a coalition made a statement that they would tell Obama to shut up and go home if he pressured them on gay issues. Funny how far left liberals like...

President Barack Obama on Saturday lectured Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about his country's gay rights record. "When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode," Obama said at a joint press conference with the Kenyan leader in Nairobi. "And bad things happen." Under Kenyan law, sexual activity between men is illegal and punishable with a maximum imprisonment of 14 years. Obama equated legalized discrimination of gays to legalized racism in America. "And when a government gets in a habit of...

The U.S. Navy's newest combat ship, the USS Little Rock, slid into the waters of Marinette Marine Shipyard in Wisconsin on Saturday morning. .. the 378-foot-long, 3,000-ton littoral combat ship with only a 13-foot draft is ideal for the missions the Navy faces in shallow waters around Pacific Rim, where the Navy is increasing presence as it keeps an eye on China, which is expanding its naval forces and its presence in the South China Sea. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the launching of the Little Rock is emblematic of the Navy's commitment to have a fleet of 304 ships...

While most of Hawaii experiences sweltering conditions this July, part of the Big Island might seem like winter after Mauna Kea got some snow overnight.Officials have closed the road to the summit of Mauna Kea Friday after snow fell and caused icy road conditions. A ranger reported mixed rain and snow, fog and 1.5 inches of frozen snow on the summit.br />Mauna Kea weather varies widely. A calm sunny day may quickly become treacherous with hurricane force winds and blizzard conditions. Summit winds above 120 mph are not uncommon. At 10:15 a.m. Friday the temperature was still a chilly 36...