HERE'S WHAT THE POPULAR WEBSITE THE SIMON HAD TO SAY RECENTLY ABOUT HAWAI'I AND IRAQ
Leis And Lies -Why Hawai'i And Iraq Are Birds Of A Feather
By Matt Hutaff
Apr 5, 2004
A group of wealthy industrialists conspiring to topple a nation’s government for their own selfish interests is hardly surprising. Given the “corporate sponsorship” of the current presidential administration as well as Dick Cheney’s ties to Halliburton, it’s clear that companies such as Enron work best when they call the shots in the White House.
The current situation in Iraq is one example. Hawai'i, supposedly our 50th state, is another.
The story of how Hawai'i was overthrown and passed to the American government like a two-dollar whore is one of the saddest ongoing act in modern U.S. history. Hawaiian independence is something few Americans know little about because the truth is disturbing, and most would prefer to keep Hawai'i’s image one of tourism, of hula dances and coconut milk.
The fact is, however, that Hawai'i is not legally a state and never has been. It was conquered clandestinely by a group of sugar peddlers looking to eliminate their export tariff, and passed into America’s hands illegally. That problem has never been rectified.
It’s time to change that.
In the 19th century, Hawai'i’s importance was twofold – the warm humid climate allowed vast sugar plantations to corner the market, and its location in the Pacific allowed friendly nations to maintain a naval advantage in the region. However, as Hawai'i was a recognized sovereign nation under its own right (a sentiment echoed by the United States in 1826), American businessmen found themselves paying to import their goods to North America. A shadow organization called the Hawaiian League was set up by lawyer Lorrin Thurston with the goal of eliminating the tariffs… which meant controlling the tiny kingdom.
Hawaiian king Kalakaua – an elected monarch, not a hereditary ruler - was forced by this minority into signing what is known as the Bayonet Constitution (literally signed at gunpoint), which installed the League members to the Cabinet, affording them with all the power and forcing the king into a figurehead position. This group of 400 men then restricted the ability to vote to all but the wealthiest people on the islands, a limitation that coincidentally robbed practically all natives of the right of self-government.
When Kalakaua died and his sister Lili`uokalani assumed the throne, Thurston formed an Annexation Club with the express purpose of overthrowing the queen and installing Americans in power. As if the idea of a group of rich white guys taking over a country wasn’t disturbing enough, Thurston’s communiqués with Washington, D.C. found a supportive ear in no less than President Benjamin Harrison. “You will find an exceedingly sympathetic administration here,” Harrison wrote to Thurston.
Lili`uokalani attemped to revoke the restrictive constitution put in play by the Hawaiian League Cabinet members, which, in a bitterly ironic move, they condemned as fostering “a revolutionary act.” Thurston then called upon American minister (and avowed annexationist) John Stevens to unload American troops illegally from the warship USS Boston, then in port, to quell any dissent and prop up a new provisional government. In doing so, Stevens approved the American invasion of a foreign nation, an act of war by any other name. To further the point of the illegal nature of the operation, Stevens had no authority to order the troops anywhere!
With the queen under the control of the provision authority, Sanford Dole (of the Dole Pineapple dynasty) took over the duties of ushering in annexation legislation to the U.S. government. Grover Cleveland’s personal attempts to restore Lili`uokalani' to her throne met with failure, his eloquent speeches to Congress declaring “military demonstration upon the soil of Honolulu was of itself an act of war” only staving off annexation until his successor, William McKinley, took office. Two attempts by the people of Hawai'i to restore their rightful government to power met only with death and fines for the insurgents.
The Conclusion Tomorrow...
