Thank you for your interest in my campaign for a Common Sense Congress. The voters of Hawaii’s Second Congressional District have chosen Mazie Hirono to represent our state in Washington. All the best to Congresswoman Hirono.

My campaign is finished, but I’m still blogging. Join me over at Politics Aside.

On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has taken no special interest money during his election campaign.

On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has run his ideas for a “Common Sense Congress” around the 2nd Congressional District.

On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has spoken out against continuing the Iraq disaster and who has proposed a Second Front on the War On Terror that would promote international understanding for future generations.

Finally, on September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has called upon the President and the Congress to stop strangling our babies in “national debt” — to Stop billing the babies and to stop Congressional pork barrel addiction. It always gets billed to your children and grandchildren.

On September 23, you get to vote. Only you can decide what issues are most important for you.

Happy birthday to the candidate, Joe. We’re all proud of you for taking your ideas for a better America on the road.

As a member of Congress, how would you work to ensure that the necessary resources would get into the state?

We need trained professionals, not political appointees, to run these important disaster relief agencies. And we need Congress to properly fund FEMA and Homeland Security. Cut out the politics; people’s lives are at stake. Use experts to help set funding levels. As Congressman, I plan to ask the right questions quietly before the disaster, not in front of a television camera after the disaster.

Then, make local plans and coordinate within the local areas, but also set larger geographic plans. Local rescue services will not be fully functioning after a large disaster. We saw that clearly in New Orleans, where local services evaporated. I also saw that years before, during Hurricane Hugo in the Virgin Islands. Consequently, there have to be plans to bring in assistance immediately from outside predictable disaster areas. That is especially true for our island communities. Skilled responders, sufficient supplies, no delays and no excuses.

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.