Kaulapi World

I came across this article today about the sentencing hearing for one of the six crimes that occurred in Hawaii in 2006 that were classified as hate crimes. This time it involved a good intentioned bystander coming to the rescue of what he thought was animal abuse. The dreaded H-word was thrown about while the local defendant, his nephew and his son beat up the victim. It reminded me to follow up on my earlier post on the assault and battery that occurred in a Waikele parking lot back home, that was characterized as “racially motivated” by USA today article, and a continued conversation with my wingnut, self-proclaimed “conservative” friend about race relations in Hawaii. After reading what I had sent to him, I realized that it might be worth posting the gist of our exchange below. A few observations I had on this case that I forwarded to my friend along with the article:

Linkes for 3/22/2007
VA hospitals deteriorating
Medical research on herbal treatments
Why Conservatives Can’t Govern or just aren’t cut out for it
Be on the lookout for predators in School
One incident the kid gets shot in the head
Casey Serin in a nutshell

For the several months now I’ve been following the coverage of several housing related blogs and informational websites that present a very compelling list of arguments why it might be a very bad idea to buy real estate in the current market conditions. Although many of them are focusing on the San Francisco bay area, I think the rationale can be applied to other metro areas that have seen exponential rises in housing prices since 2000. I think the authors have to have laid out very well reasoned yet painfully simple economic analysis which I have yet to see sufficient evidence on the other side to present a compelling case. One author addresses just about every sales pitch that has been thrown around by real estate agents and mortgage brokers about why everyone should be buying a house, and its always a good time to buy.

Anyone who has taken a high school class in economics, or even glanced at an Econ 101 book should be able to understand why many of the pro-housing advocates in this current market make no sense at all in their sales pitches. Unfortunately emotion and fear of market exclusion is a very effective tool at getting people to stop using their heads and make very poor financial decisions that could haunt them for the rest of their lives. In many ways I liken the current state of the real estate industry a lot like the diamond industry, the luxury sports car industry, selling overpriced, over-marketed consumer goods that are suck up a substantial amount of the average person’s disposable income, guaranteed to depreciate in value, and ultimately amount to nothing more than another meaningless status symbol when it really should be something more practical: a roof over your head and land to maintain and maybe pass on to your heirs one day.

The subprime stock implosion and mainstream media coverage of toxic/exotic loans that sound a lot like credit cards with their low introductory rates that double or quadruple after a couple of years is all troubling. Especially since a lot of these loans were apparently given to all being given to people who normally could not qualify for a standard, fixed rate loan. They were banking on the fact that their houses would appreciate at 25%, 50% a year or something, and they would eventually sell it for a profit, or refinance the mortgage and take more cash out on the equity. Unfortunately now that the real estate market is tanking, it looks like it’ll just get worse as more and more mortgages reset to the higher rates, and more foreclosures go through. In the next couple of years there might be a lot of broke homeless people with bad credit finding it hard to find someplace to even rent.

I think that everyone who is thinking about buying a house or condo should at least read and digest the wealth of information available online before taking the debt plunge. The housing market is so out of whack right now that it could be financially fatal to buy in the current inflated market conditions.

Housing Blog Linkes:
The Bubble Meter
Housing Panic
Marin Bubble
Hawaii Real Estate bubble
DC housing blues

For the hell of it, I thought I’d post an excerpt of my raw reading notes from one of my Constitutional law cases. More later as far as commentary on the method I’ve developed to learning legal doctrine over the past 24 months. It’s a long tedious process that works great if you have the time for it, not so much if you’re fully employed or otherwise distracted.

U.S. v. O’Brien - 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
Draft card burning case during the Vietnam war - question of whether burning a draft card at a protest constitutes free speech protected under the first amendment, and the constitutionality of 462(b)(3) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1948 and the subsequent amendment of 1965 criminalizing the conduct of someone who knowingly destroys, knowingly mutilates or in any manner changes a certificate (registration certificate)

ICA found the amendment as unconstitutional limit on free speech, holding that the amendment had no valid purpose, focused on public rather than private destruction.

SCOTUS overrules the ICA and says that the amendment is in fact constitutional, pointing out that on its face, the 1965 amendment has nothing to do with speech, and is instead focused on protecting draft cards from destruction. SCOTUS likens draft cards to driver’s licenses, or maintaining tax records.

O’Brien’s arguement is that the 1965 amendment is unconstitutional (1) applied to him because his act was protected symbolic speech under the first amendment, and (2) the amendment as enacted fulfills the purpose of congress to suppress freedom of speech.

In addressing O’Brien’s (1) claim, SCOTUS points out that while acknowleging the grey areas between speech and non-speech, all free speech has its limits. SCOTUS puts forth a 4 part test in which suppression of speech by the government is constitutional:
1) When it is within the constitutional power of the government
2) When it furthers an important or substantial government interest
3) If the governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression
4) If the incidental restriction on first amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to further that interest

Court’s reasoning here:
1) When it is within the constitutional power of the government
Derived from Congress’s powers to raise and support an Army

2) When it furthers an important or substantial government interest
Governmental interest in having the selective service system, how the draft card is a integral part of it.
- as proof of registration
- as a document with important dates, numbers
- as a continual reminder that the registrant needs to notify his board of his movements

3) If the governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression
distinguishes protecting the card from mutilation or destruction from specifically suppressing free speech
distinguishes case with Stromberg v. California that punished people who expressed opposition to organized government through the display of a flag, badge, banner or devise.

4) If the incidental restriction on first amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to further that interest
(balancing test) says the 1965 amendment is limited just to preventing harm to the selective service process, no more.

On O’Brien’s other charge (2) that the purpose of the 1965 amendment is to suppress freedom of speech, the court in part acknowledges his point, but claims that he is going the wrong way about arguing this point. Court points out that in order to find something facially unconstitutional, especially when dealing with congressional intent, they need something more than a few floor speeches and committee reports.

Points out that only one senator and 2 representatives spoke about the bill before passing it. Besides, what discussion there was on the amendment had to do with the concern of destruction of cards would have on the selective service process.

Harlan’s concurrence - agrees with majority, but cautions on limiting this exception to cases when governmental interest is important and substantial. Also points out that O’Brien could’ve spoken out about his opinion without burning the card.

Douglas’s dissent:
thinks the real question is whether conscription is permissible in the absence of a declaration of war.
Points back to Brandenburg v. Ohio - action is often a method of expression and within the protection of the first amendment - raises the question of whether burning a copy of the constitution or a bible would be considered unprotected “speech”

Linkes 3/13/2007

Talking Points Blog.
The Quality of Justice.
For some, not all a rich year indeed.
Cats of Mirikitani Play.

Thought I’d devote a post or two on the ongoing housing bubble in the DC metro area that I’ve been keeping an eye on for the past year or so. I’ve been noticing at how ridiculously inflated the asking prices and tax assessments are for properties around the area that aren’t even close to what they should be. I’m no building contractor or structural expert appraiser, but there’s simply no way in hell these houses are worth as much as they are asking for. Like any other economic good or service, the market is determined for how much a prospective customer is willing to fork over for ownership. Unfortunately, I think the current housing situation is a prime example of how impulsive and stupid the American consumer is, following the herd into the illusion of home ownership as a means of lucrative investment, and status symbol.

I think the market is tanking, slowly but surely right now. There seem to be a lot more houses popping up for sale around my neighborhood, in fact there are right now 3 properties for sale on the street I currently live on, one of which sat on the market for about 6 months without any buyers, was taken off the market, and put back on again. the other two just went for sale end of 2006. A quick search of tax records lists the 2008 Assessments for the properties on my street:

$739,530
$752,150
$684,490
$726,730
$722,730 (For sale?)
$752,150 (For sale?)
$722,180 (For sale?)

Most of these houses are painfully small for the assessed price, granted they are in a really nice neighborhood and close to the metro, still you really have to be an idiot to be willing to pay that much money for such a small and relatively run down property. Especially when a further search in tax records reveals that these properties sold for about half or even a third as much just 4 years ago. Crazy. Of course there are some people who like to say that we all should’ve bought back in 2003 or 2004 before the market took off. this means nothing, since relying on hindsight (and luck) is such a bullshit point to make.

Unfortunately our society is brainwashed into making financial decisions driven by fear of exclusion or being perceived as being behind the curve of the joneses. I heard a lot over the past couple of years from people that made a lot less money than me that I was in danger of being priced out of the market if I didn’t buy soon, that I was putting to waste the my good credit and not taking advantage of the shiny mortgage that my professional salary would qualify me for.

Now that it seems like real estate is now a depreciating investment, and foreclosures are running rampant nationally due to predatory and fraudulent loans, I’m glad that I stuck to my guns in saying that “there no fucking way that tiny 3 bd house on the corner is worth $1.4M.” and “theres no way you can convince me that going that much into debt is worth it.”

Linkes 3/8/07
More conspiracy theories, but it Can’t happen here.
War game theory in economic terms, Raptors in Okinawa.
The system works? who’s complaining?
I like the free books part
Even spooks are turning green turning green, Job outlook not good in 2007

Shared an article with a friend on the recent disclosed discovery of a huge oil field 70 miles off shore of American territory, smirking at the irony that we won’t be getting any of it anytime soon, mostly due to our foreign policy blunders. In typical wing-nut fashion, instead of getting a logical and thoughtful response I ended up getting a totally off-point article (but interesting) about the Hawaiian melting pot boiling over. After reading it and noting that it was referring to pretty current events back home I shot back a quick response that in retrospect had a lot more depth than I had initially intended - I thought it would be worth posting.

It’s not surprising that the most vocal observers cited in this article of anti-haole sentiment in Hawaii comes from the military. I think this is probably true in most overseas stations where you have mostly young, single men in a foreign unfamiliar surroundings immersed in a culture to which they are largely ignorant of. However I see this incident as more of an example of road rage crime, I’m pretty sure I read that the assailant has prior convictions for assault and battery. Interesting twist on that story was that there was talk about classifying the attack as a hate crime because the assailants used the word Haole.

Racial tensions back home have definitely been on a rise in the past few years, I think it has most to do with the shift of demographics, a lot of Hawaiians are moving to the mainland for jobs, a lot of rich haoles are buying land and moving to hawaii. In addition to the recent supreme court challenges on admissions of non-Hawaiians into Hawaiian education trusts, also there have been a lot of heated debate on the presence of the military on native Hawaiian land, as well as weapons research at the University of Hawaii.

Still things are still not as bad as they were during the 1932 Massie trial - again another clash between local Hawaiians and military personnel - a time in Hawaii’s history when the racial melting pot got very close to boiling over. I still think Carlisle’s quote at the end sums it up quite well: “The race thing isn’t perfect here,” he adds. “But there is a lot that people can learn about race relationships from Hawaii.”

As with any other conversation about Hawaii I’m a little lost for words when talking to people who lack the context or understanding of history and the nuances of an island culture, I’m constantly reminded that the mainland mentality is more of a barrier of colonial ignorance than anything else. I think this small mindedness is what is driving a lot of problems in the way Americans in general are perceived internationally.

Linkes 3/6/07
Pushim: Anything for you
Antiwar film from an American producer, actor, and former Mayor
Perverted Justice - literally….
Guardian’s take on direction the economy is heading….
Peddlers as foundation for American Economy
article on zipcar from 3 years ago

Been a busy couple of weeks, had the benefit of being on an early spring break from classes, a good rest from night school, some reading here and there, but most importantly it was a chance to get back into the gym on a regular workout schedule. It really adds to the energy levels and routine, plus it gives me about an hour to read a few cases, although it isn’t really easy to take down notes in the margins while riding a bike, it still helps.

Bit of a lengthy list of links for this post.

Linkes for 2/17/07 - 3/5/07
Kaufman’s Rules: 1-7 | rules 8-14 | 15-21
MCA of 2006 - Dodd Amendment , blogger coverage and similar legislation up north?
I really hope they’re wrong about this too
Smarter than a 5th grader and Superficial greeks

Some news back home:
Algae wins at the state capitol Limu wins at blaisdell arena
Masu’s Teri Chicken recipe and Ramen eating contest photo finish
Family detention facilities in PR sucks to be immigrant families

Sexuality and religion:
Rotting gametes , and the Vatican Method of birth control
Sleeping position psychology?

Market Crash of 2007?
Bloody Tuesday Dow down 400 points , and Greenspan’s warning
Subprime problems looming and more mortgage Lender BS
Something to think about financial insecurity in America all around

Baggage of citizenship, war on tactics:
Perspective of a wannabe Canadian, occupational hazardsclandestine employment
Face and voice of America zero credibility, domestic security in plain english
VA funding and support for the troops
DHS resisting pay for performance time to unionize