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Dennis K Jr

@dkjrhi.bsky.social
104 followers 363 following 294 posts

☯. Optimistic pessimist. recovering legislative aide. borderline irrational #DukeBasketball fan. citizen. tortured night owl. Next: #WhiskeyAtTheOldMeatFactory IG: www.instagram.com/denniskjr

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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
“By successfully combining enforcement and social services, Denver demonstrates that cities don’t need to choose between those binaries. They should do both.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | We Know How to Fix Homelessness. Why Don’t More Cities Do It?
It takes doing things that both conservatives and progressives dislike.
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Will Caron @willcaron.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
“Don of the Dead” This #IndigenousPeoplesDay: how can the better candidate for Native Hawaiians be on the side actively assaulting Native Hawaiian programs and institutions? My new #cartoon. #HiPol #Illustration #DigitalArt #EditorialCartoon #Politics #Elections #Hawaii #Art #Horror #Slasher
My latest editorial cartoon, "Don of the Dead," captures the central contradiction of Hawaiʻi's Congressional District 2 race in a single image.

There's Brenton Awa, the Republican challenger, laboring up a steep hill toward a sign that reads "120th U.S. Congress." He's stooped under the weight of two massive four-sided weights strapped to his back. The visible faces read: Rampant Corruption. Epstein Files. Tariffs & Inflation. Iran War. (If there were a fifth visible surface, I'd have added a nod to the domestic terrorism of ICE and the white supremacist thugs the GOP has enabled.)

Meanwhile, Jill Tokuda, the two-term Democratic incumbent, is cruising past him—uphill, on rollerblades—and as she passes, she raises a can of bug spray and blasts it directly into the face of the pest clinging to her opponent's back.

That pest is a monkey-sized Donald Trump, dressed as Michael Myers from Halloween. He's wearing the mask. He's brandishing a kitchen knife in one hand. And in the other, he holds a piece of paper labeled "Native Hawaiian Program Funding"—clearly slashed in half by the blade.

The title of the piece is "Don of the Dead." The pun is deliberate. Awa may be Native Hawaiian, but he is carrying the very force that is dismantling Native Hawaiian political power—while Tokuda treats it like the infestation it is.

Read more at patreon.com/willcaron
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
messy
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This audit is damning to the competency of Josh Green & his administration in managing his own signature taxpayer funded project. Meanwhile, he coasts to reelection because his dark money friends shielded him from any formidable challengers by providing an air of inevitability.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
“The issue is not whether kauhale should have been built or whether the initiative helped people. Our audit was about whether the state protected public money while it was building them. We found that it did not.” www.civilbeat.org/2026/10/stat...
civilbeat.org
State Errors Led To $13M+ In Improper Homeless Spending, Audit Says
The audit followed Civil Beat reporting that found irregularities in the state's kauhale initiative.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Who’s the unprofessional one with a vendetta?
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
$13.7M? Josh Green owes the State Auditor an apology for lashing out and accusing him of a vendetta first. www.staradvertiser.com/2026/10/07/b...
staradvertiser.com
State audit: $13.7M in ‘unauthorized,’ ‘questionable’ spending for kauhale | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
More than $13.7 million in state payments for Gov. Josh Green’s signature kauhale homeless initiative were “unauthorized, unsupported or questionable,” according to a just-released, highly critical, l...
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
“If politics cannot deliver on the block where you live, why would you trust it to deliver anywhere?” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Mamdani’s Surprisingly Persuasive Solution to a World on Fire
The New York City mayor has an antidote to globe-spanning distemper.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s definitely become more of a focus - sometimes the fallback point - in his columns now than before. In many recent pieces, he stretches to connect an issue to his religion.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
As they ask for rate increases, would be interested to know this ratio (along with its Board) for HECO: bsky.app/profile/rbre...
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 325-to-1 Trickle-down economics was always a sham. Nothing has ever trickled down.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
HECO rate increases should not even be considered until the detailed, root-cause analyses for outages - information they’ve been hiding - are released for public review. www.civilbeat.org/2026/09/heco...
civilbeat.org
HECO Knows What's Behind Outages. It Just Won't Tell You
The state's consumer advocate wants the utility to provide more information about storm outages. Residents say they also deserve clearer answers about frequent outages that don't seem tied to weather.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“And God blessed the Hawaiian kingdom.” An astonishing sentence written without apparent irony by this columnist who, in his current iteration, is now scribing dogma-laced pieces singularly inclined towards lecture and gospel preach rather than depth. alohastatedaily.com/2026/09/28/t...
alohastatedaily.com
Aloha State Daily | The Hawaiʻi GOP’s real problem isn’t its platform
Today, a party that runs on “faith, family, freedom” has a lieutenant governor candidate who traces mankind to the kalo plant. ASD opinion columnist…
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Our common abandonment keeps failing to produce a common politics — solidarity across difference — because all too often…the way the story is told silos it.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Happens on the Subway Doesn’t Stay on the Subway
The American dilemma in one subway car.
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
My read is that there aren’t five votes to let Trump literally rig elections. Roberts and Barrett won’t greenlight overt election subversion or chaotic, illegal interference with voting. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch aren’t reliable but don’t love the chaos either. Thomas and Alito want to end democracy.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Many across the State affected by severe weather - including most on neighbor islands - continue to endure major suffering…and what angle does he decide to take? An attack on what he perceives as their “dependence” and their ignorance of it. Quite something.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Tell me you have a chip on your shoulder over being a city dweller urbanite without telling me you have a chip on your shoulder over being a city dweller urbanite. alohastatedaily.com/2026/09/11/h...
alohastatedaily.com
Aloha State Daily | Hurricanes Lala and Lowell show Neighbor Islands depend on Honolulu
A high schooler from Molokai looks down at the Honolulu lights and says, “They live like rats down there.” ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the…
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
“The most innovative Democratic campaigns waged since Mr. Trump’s re-election show that populism can resonate from the center and the left. The goal should be threading them together.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Voters Have Spoken. Why Aren’t Democrats Listening?
Less than two years after a catastrophic election, the Democratic brand remains unpopular, and the party is still in the grip of a divisive identity crisis.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
“LNG is a high-risk, low-reward proposition — a bad bet for Hawaii.” www.staradvertiser.com/2026/09/08/e...
staradvertiser.com
Column: Isle LNG is gamble not worth taking | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
“It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.” — Yogi Berra
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Higa has lost his writing touch. Where he was once insightful and thought-provoking, he’s now lecture-prone and inclined towards gospel preach.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
“The state makes no provision for the role of the family and church in helping the addict because the state wants to displace the family and church.” - quite the statement (accusation?) made by this author alohastatedaily.com/2026/08/27/h...
alohastatedaily.com
Aloha State Daily | Hawaiʻi meth deaths and the wrong account of human nature
A state planner earning $139,860 a year was found dead on his apartment floor, a glass pipe in his lap. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on how every…
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
“…not-so-permanent permafrost...” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/c...
nytimes.com
Climate Change Raises Risk of Disasters Like Nepal Floods
Glaciers and permafrost in the Himalayas are melting faster as temperatures rise, though scientists are still studying the exact causes of this week’s landslide.
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cb @cbhula.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
For those of you who have been to this Bake Shop on Hawaii Island..hereʻs a way to help the employees. www.gofundme.com/f/support-pu...
gofundme.com
Donate to Support Punaluʻu Bake Shop ʻOhana After Hurricane Lala, organized by Connie Koi
On August 16, Hurricane Lala devastated South Hawai‘i Island, includ… Connie Koi needs your support for Support Punaluʻu Bake Shop ʻOhana After Hurricane Lala
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Lot of white savior complex tones coming from Josh Green during his segment here. And I beg of him: please stop reminding us that your wife is Hawaiian as a way of suggesting that provides you with credibility to speak authoritatively for the Hawaiian community.
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Will Caron @willcaron.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"Earth, Wind and Empire" An avatar of #empire, clutching the instruments of our destruction, exhaling hurricanes toward the islands. My new #cartoon is a reminder that the #ClimateCrisis is not natural—it is manufactured, and it is profitable. #Hawaii #Hurricane #Art #Illustration #DigitalArt
My latest editorial cartoon depicts an apparition—an avatar of Empire in all its grotesque glory. It is the true form of Uncle Sam: a twisted, corrupted demon dressed in a black suit with a matching black top hat emblazoned with a neon dollar sign. His wild, straw-colored hair floats around him like he's underwater. His body is a voluminous black blob with multiple spider-like appendages protruding from it. Four arms, each representing a horseman of the apocalypse—red for war, white for slaughter, blue for pestilence, pale green for death.

In his pale hand, adorned with gold and platinum diamond rings—a symbol of extraction, industry, and wealth hoarded while the world burns—he clutches the United Nations charter, rolled up like a cigar and lit on fire at the end. From his mouth, he exhales three massive hurricanes, moving west across the Pacific toward Hawaiʻi, which is visibly surrounded by them.

If this is not subtle, it's because it is not meant to be.

Look closer at what this apparition clutches to its amorphous bosom: a bomb representing the war industry, a barrel of stolen Venezuelan crude oil with an oil well behind it representing fossil fuels, a morbidly obese cow and pig representing industrial agriculture, a can of Roundup doing double duty for industrial ag and the chemical industry, a plastic bag, solo cup, plastic fork, and plastic six-pack ring representing the plastics industry.

These are the engines of American empire. They are also the primary drivers of climate collapse.

Read more at patreon.com/willcaron 
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“Flailing regimes dehumanize minorities to distract from their failures. When the economy collapses or a war goes badly, they find a tiny group of people, make them the enemy within, and rally the country against them.”
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
“Since the Lahaina wildfires, Hawaiian Electric has appeared flat-footed. It is paying for decades of deferred investment in the grid.” alohastatedaily.com/2026/08/18/h...
alohastatedaily.com
Aloha State Daily | Hurricane Lala was a warning: Is Hawaiʻi ready for a direct hit on…
In Nāʻālehu, floodwaters swept homes off their foundations; in Kaʻū, bridges were destroyed. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why a storm that…
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Do we just flip a coin now? After a mandatory recount and the deadline for cured ballots passing today, the “final” results released tonight end in both races at a virtual, deadlock tie. Truly wild.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Mahalo for keeping us updated today!
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Smith 🙄
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sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
OHA Trustee Hulu Lindsay: "At its core this is not a question of water allocation, it is a question of whether we are willing to commit a substantial portion of a public land trust resource to private commercial use for an entire generation." 💯
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sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
*Did you know?* The state attorney general was caught lying to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court about the Maui wildfires, to increase the amount of water that can be diverted from East Maui streams. Courts have ruled against the Land Board and AGs 8 times in 8 East Maui water cases over the last decade.
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sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
MAUI SHOWING UP TO DEFEND THEIR WAI. Join stream protectors at the Cameron Center in Wailuku TODAY - and testify verbally at the "satellite" Board meeting space on Maui (but, why not meet on Maui when dealing with Maui's water??? 🤔😠)
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
“It’s a voluntary self-surrender, folks, let’s not expect the lady to go through a Game of Thrones walk of shame.” From the same writer, another fair assessment regarding the narratives surrounding Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke: gotbailhi.beehiiv.com/p/why-sylvia...
gotbailhi.beehiiv.com
Why Sylvia Luke’s Cell Block Turn-In Was NOT a “Bad Look”
Warning: This gets surprisingly DARK at the end 😵
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The AI images are hilarious (I suspect LG Luke wishes her hair behaved that way), but the view here about the Hawaii AG’s bribery allegations case - and the corporate local media’s cheap coverage of it - is on-point. gotbailhi.beehiiv.com/p/lieutenant...
gotbailhi.beehiiv.com
Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke is Innocent
Or at a minimum, she is the least culpable in the grouping of recent indictments by the Attorney General.
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Will Caron @willcaron.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Well #HIPOL, the results were not what we were hoping for last night. Pretty much across the board, progressive challenges to entrenched power came up short. We even lost a progressive incumbent. But everyone who ran should be proud of what they did. It's one of the hardest things you can do.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Ikaika jumped ahead in this morning's printout. Hopefully, that holds.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
...even more bananas: one single vote is the difference between incumbent State Rep. Kanani Souza and challenger Sheila Medeiros. #HIpol
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Think your vote make doesn't matter? In the third and possibly decisive printout, a mere 7 votes separate incumbent Hawaii State Sen. Kurt Fevella and former State Rep. Bob McDermott. Recount likely.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Well…as it turns out, after the first printout only 2 incumbents are facing defeat (Ihara, certainly; Hussey, still a chance but unfortunately likely) while 1 is up but too close to call (Fevella by 67 votes). #HIpol
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
🙃
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
This is a bummers.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
State legislature watch: A three decade career in the state legislature appears to be coming to an end for Sen. Les Ihara as Rep. Jackson Sayama has a commanding lead in first printout. #HIpol
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
These turnout numbers are worrying me in terms of how that might translate to a status quo election. Hoping this is not the case.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Aside from 4 open seats, tonight’s #HIpol State legislature race results could legitimately see a range of anywhere from up to 13 incumbents defeated to none of them going down so it might be a wild time. Buckle up, buttercups.
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Will Caron @willcaron.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Hey you #HiPol homies. The #HawaiiPrimaryElection is today and there are 21 races I'm watching and hoping for the best possible results. Many (but not all) of these races involve progressives challenging incumbents or running for open seats. A few are "best possible option" races as well. ⬇️
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Was Morrrow not pounding the pavement as much as he should have to be credible, or not sufficiently progressive?
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
IMO, Keawekane’s performance and Todd’s underperformance was the most under-the-radar surprise of 2024’s local races. Todd is a legacy name here in Hilo.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
One of the races intriguing me. A generational contrast. The result may signal voter unrest with aging officeholders and its accompanying stagnancy.
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Dennis K Jr @dkjrhi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Good stuff here!
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