What are your plans for May 21?

There has been a change to the end of the world prophecy.  Listeners of Family Radio, a Christian broadcasting network based in Oakland, California, believe May 21, 2011 marks the Rapture and serve as the beginning of Judgement Day.  The group of believers claim Judgment Day will last a total of six months and will cease when the world ends.

The group has purchased billboard and ad space around the country to spread their message.  They will spend May 21st in Boston passing out pamphlets.

Read more on this group at CNN.com

Easter Learning

Happy Easter to all!  The staff at Desperate America Report extends their well wishes to everyone and hopes for a safe and enjoyable weekend.  As is the usual case with holidays, we have decided to share some facts with the readers here.  Some are well-known while others may be entirely new.  Either way, enjoy these little eggs of knowledge!

Happy Easter!

1. Easter is a Christian Festival which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  On the third day after Good Friday, the day of his crucifixion, he rose from the dead.
2. Eggs symbolize the new life which arrives in the Spring to nature.  Eggs were first traded prior to the existence of Easter.  Egyptians and Persians exchanged eggs colored in Spring tones.
3. Early Christians used the color Red to decorate their eggs to symbolize the Resurrection.
4. The bunny symbolized new life and rebirth to early Egyptians.
5. The Easter Bunny is based on a German legend: A woman hid colored eggs for her children to find during a famine.  As the children hurried to find the eggs, they saw a large bunny hopping away.

Those tidbits were provided by SunnieBunniezz.com

Tell Us What You Think: Civil Unions

With the House holding a floor vote on Friday, and always wanting to know how our readers feel, Desperate America Report wants to know where you stand on the issue of Civil Unions.

Are you for or against? Why?

Only two options. We want to know how you really feel and why.

Leave a comment below or send us an email. We’ll put up some of the best responses from either side. All we ask is that everyone be civil!

So tell us: How do you feel about Civil Unions?

Merry Christmas!

On behalf of Desperate America Report, Merry Christmas everyone!

Enjoy your day with friends and family and remember to thank all of them for being part of your life!

A simple “Thank You” on Veteran’s Day

We are the land of the free because of the brave.  We hear it all the time, a simple twist of the final line of our national anthem.  However, just a week removed from another election season, we are truly thankful to have been given the opportunity to vote.  All too often we take for granted our freedoms.  We take for granted the ability to vote.  In fact, there are many in this country who choose not to vote and think it is not their problem.  Have we forgotten the sacrifices of previous generations?  Have we grown to be too comfortable with life?  Have we become so blinded by our excess and material bliss that we have forgotten how lucky we are as Americans?

Veteran’s Day allows every American the opportunity to find and thank a past or present service member for their service towards this country and ourselves.  It is a day in which we take the time to remember our fallen heroes and those men and women who put themselves in the line of fire every single day.  Today we show our appreciation to our military brothers and sisters.  I challenge everyone reading this today to remember the sacrifices of our military brothers and sisters and thank them for the opportunity to attend school, to go shopping at a mall, to attend a football game and other every day tasks in peace.  In an ever-changing world, these brave men and women have done their best to keep us safe and have asked for nothing in return.  While we may see imperfections in our country, we can all be thankful to our heroes who have allowed us to point these imperfections out and to work together keep this country great.

Our thanks and praise will never be a suitable show of affection and appreciation to our military heroes.  However, let us all take the first step and just say thank you!

Election day Winners and Losers

A few days removed from the craziness that was election day, it is now time to sort through the rubble and see where we stand.  There were some surprises and some close calls.  The results nationally really was in stark contrast from the results in Hawaii.  Nationally Republicans benefited from an electorate angry with the slow recovery of the economy.  Locally, Republicans took a huge blow in their hopes of keeping control of the governor’s office.  Now it’s time to break down a few of the winners and losers from this past election in Hawaii and on the mainland.

Winners:

Congressman John Boehner is poised to become the new Speaker of the House. (clevescene.com)

The obvious national winners are the entire Republican Party after they 50+ seat pick up in the House and erasing the Democratic majority in the Senate.  While falling short of controlling both houses, the GOP has a large majority in the House and will be able to prevent many of President Obama’s initiatives from moving forward.  Ohio congressman, John Boehner is lining up to be the new Speaker of the House while Eric Cantor looks to become the new majority WHIP.  A surprising national winner has to be Nevada Senator, Harry Reid.  Reid was able to fend off a tough challenge from Republican candidate and TEA Party favorite, Sharon Angle to gain reelection and keep his spot as Senate Majority Leader.

In Hawaii, the winners have to be the Democratic Party.  The 2010 elections solidified Hawaii’s long-standing tradition of being a blue state.  In fact, Hawaii has the most lopsided state legislature of any state in the nation.  88% of all the members of the Hawaii state legislature are Democrats, beating out Rhode Island which sports 84%.  Sen. Daniel Inouye cruised to a 50 point victory over his Republican challenger while Congresswoman Mazie Hirono easily won reelection with a 20 point margin.  The real surprise came in Hawaii’s 1CD House race with incumbent Charles Djou(R) falling to Colleen Hanabusa(D) by 7 points.  At the first printout, Djou trailed by about 4,000 votes.  However, the subsequent printouts only put the Republican incumbent further behind.  Hanabusa’s victory was the first time Hawaii voters had voted out a US Congressional incumbent.

But of course, the big winner was the Neil Abercrombie/Brian Schatz team.  The Democratic team was able to trounce their GOP counterparts by nearly 100,000 votes.  In fact, the final margin of victory was 17%.  To make matter worse, of Hawaii’s 51 state house districts, Abercrombie was able to win 50 of the 51.  It was surprising to many the sheer size of the victory for the long time US Congressman.  Abercrombie single-handedly took down political giant, Mufi Hannemann and his GOP challenger, Duke Aiona.  Abercrombie used an effective social media campaign to engage with the younger voters and was able to reestablish himself with the older voters whom he once represented while in the Honolulu City Council and Hawaii State Legislature.

Losers:

Governor elect Neil Abercrombie cruised to an impressive 17 point victory on Election night. (daylife.com)

On a night where House Republicans picked up more than 50 seats and Senate Republicans came close to taking the majority, the obvious losers are the Democratic Party.  Democrats across the nation suffered defeat and many incumbents fell.  Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin saw his bid for reelection come up short.  Feingold is best known for his efforts to reform immigration.  The House Democrats will now be a highly outnumbered minority and will be at the will of Republicans.  Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Reid will have some tough fights ahead now that he has a near stalemate with Republicans.  President Obama must also be considered a loser of this election.  He has now lost the majority in the House and has the prospects of a severely weakened Senate.  Now more than ever will he need to sell his ideas to the public and work some magic if he hopes to have a second term.

Locally, the Hawaii GOP was not able to ride the so-called wave of change to victory.  Hawaii Republicans are now left with only a single Senate seat and only a handful of House seats.  Moreover, the Hawaii GOP invested heavily in the Djou and Aiona campaigns.  However, their investments would not produce the returns they anticipated.  A humiliating loss by Aiona was coupled with a bitter defeat for Djou.  Many within the party felt 2010 was the best chance for Hawaii Republicans to take control of the government and to finally solidify itself as a major power in Hawaii.  However, as the printouts were released, Republicans were left to wonder how and why this election turned out to be another drubbing from Hawaii Democrats.

The effects of this election will not be fully felt for another few years.  However, one thing is certain: Hawaii really does buck national trends and chooses to do things a little differently.  Whether this means a better Hawaii or something worse remains to be seen.  At least we now have another couple of years to start the conversation of where our state and this country is heading and hopefully are able to find some solutions along the way.

Post election hangover?

Election night brought us some surprises.  Victories by Neil Abercrombie and Colleen Hanabusa proved Hawaii remains firmly a Democrat controlled state.  Some tight House and Senate races kept Hawaii residents up throughout the night awaiting the final printout.  Nationally, the GOP took control of the House and narrowed the gap in the Senate.  President Obama has already discussed the election at a press conference earlier today.

Here is the final printout from yesterday’s election.  Keep in mind the results remain uncertified for at least another week or so.

Join us tomorrow for a complete wrap-up and some insight as to what the results mean moving forward for Hawaii!

Polls are closed and now we wait!

—Update 11:44pm—
The second and third printouts have come in. The Aiona and Djou camps have conceded their respective races and thanked their supporters. Aiona trails Abercrombie by nearly 5x his defecit after the first printout. Hanabusa has a 10,000 vote cushion over Djou.

The final printout should be out around 2am. A complete wrap-up will be available on Thursday! Thanks to everyone who stayed with us throughout the night!

—Update 7:56pm—
First printout for Hawaii has Abercrombie up by about 17,000 votes, Hanabusa up by 3,000 votes. Nevada Senator Harry Reid has survived on the back of 90% of Latino vote.

Second printout should be out around 9:30pm.

—-

Polls across Hawaii have now closed. The results are coming in from around the country and are beginning to sort out the winners and losers. This is what we know so far:

Democratic Senators, Russ Feingold(WI) and Blanche Lincoln(AR) have lost their bids for reelection. As it stands, the GOP will have the majority in the House but the Democrats will still hold the majority in the Senate.

The results from Hawaii should begin to trickle in within the next hour with the first printout scheduled for about 6:45PM. The first printout should primarily consist of all the early and absentee voters around the state. Of course, there may still be some absentee ballots which will not be included since the deadline to return absentee ballots to the Office of Elections was 6PM tonight.

We’ll have more updates as the results come in tonight!

It’s Time! Go Vote! Updates throughout the Day!

—Update 2:07PM HST—

Kentucky Senate win has been projected for Tea Party candidate, Rand Paul. CNN has projected Democrat Chris Coons as the Delaware Sen winner. More updates to come!

—Update 11:17AM HST—

Polls will be closing at about 6pm locally. However, as long as you are in line by 6pm, you will be allowed to vote. Please remember that and also bring an ID with you when voting to avoid any problems. Know your voting rights and make sure to properly fill out your ballot! East coast polls are expected to close in the next couple of hours and the results should begin to come in shortly thereafter. Follow us on Twitter and check back here for updates throughout the day!

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The polls are open all across America and citizens are exercising their rights as Americans! We’ll have updates on all the big national races as well as the big races in Hawaii throughout the day. Please feel free to leave comments on who you think will win and what you think about the results. If you are reading this, you better have already voted. If not, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GO VOTE!

-Desperate America Report

Election Day is almost here: Let’s pick the winners!

We are less than 24 hours away from one of the most hard-fought election seasons in recent memory for Hawaii.  Both sides have campaigned vigorously and have aimed to sway voters all around the state.  Millions of dollars have been spent and countless hours of television have been taken over by political ads for one side or another.  The big race is for governor and the top two contenders, Neil Abercrombie and Duke Aiona have not held back on the punches.

Desperate America Report has looked at a few of the larger races and spoken to some of Hawaii’s residents on who they think will win.  Here is our breakdowns of the Governor, US Senate, and both US House races.

Governor:

This race has seen $6 million in spending combined.  Both men have flooded the air waves with ads attacking the other as well as fluff pieces on themselves.  Abercrombie took a week off after the September primary election victory of Mufi Hannemann and that may cost him in the end.  Most polls have put Abercrombie’s once double-digit lead somewhere near 4%.  Of course, many still feel the Democratic candidate still has the sizable edge and is still in control.  The Democratic party has done well to unify after a tough primary season and former adversary, Mufi Hannemann, has come around and publicly supported Abercrombie.

Aiona did not face a very tough challenge in the primary and was able to save most of his funds for the general election battle.  He has been aided in large part by the Republican Governors Association who have spent much money for television ads since Aiona became the Republican nominee.  Aiona has looked to distance himself from the Lingle administration as well as embrace certain aspects of his former boss.  He has also faced questions about his ties to a controversial religious group.  Aiona has done well to close the gap between himself and his Democratic challenger.

Outcome: Aiona’s hopes hinge on his ability to get enough of the independent voters away from Abercrombie.  The former US Congressman, Abercrombie has a sizable advantage on Oahu having served as the CD1 representative for the last 20 years.  Abercrombie is also aided by the traditionally large Democratic voter turnout on election day.  However, Abercrombie must hope not to see a repeat of 2002 when Republican Linda Lingle edged out a victory over a scrambling Mazie Hirono.  That election showed the need for party unity when moving towards the general election.  Dems have done well to bring the party together.  Desperate America Report sees this race coming down to the final printout with Neil Abercrombie winning by a 5-8% margin.

US Senate:

Dan Inouye has had little to worry about from his Republican challenger, Cam Cavasso.  The longtime Senate power broker has still made the rounds at various rallies and parties within the Democratic Party.  Cavasso has done well to remain in the conversation by running some very entertaining ads.  However, there is little evidence this race will be close.

Rundown: Inouye will be reelected by a margin near 30%.  It is a tad smaller than what would have been expected a few months ago, but it was still never that close.

 

It is time to complete our civic duties and vote. This election has serious implications for Hawaii's future!

 

US House CD1: Djou and Hanabusa have been battling ever since the special election this Spring.  Both candidates have spent a ton of money and have sent a ton of barbs in the direction of the other.  Similar to the Governor’s race, the key to victory is which candidate has the independent voters.  Djou has looked to keep a distance from the local and national Republican parties in an attempt to portray himself as an independent thinker.  Hanabusa has pledged her support to the Obama administration and has received support from the President himself in robocalls and emails.

Rundown: For much of the build up to the election, Djou has held a lead of about 5%.  However, many polls have seen that lead fluctuate and sometimes become a deficit.  In the end the independent voters go away from the traditional Democrat Hanabusa and help reelect the Republican Djou.  However, this will be a margin of victory inside of 3%.

US House CD2: John Willoughby has done his best to chip away at the lead of incumbent Mazie Hirono.  However, Hirono has been able to keep a sizable double-digit lead through most of the election season over her Tea Party challenger.  An endorsement from conservative darling, Sarah Palin, seems to have done little to sway the normally liberal neighbor islands.  Hirono has done well to state her case and has repeatedly chosen to talk about herself and ignore her opponent entirely.

Rundown: This is another one of the probable routes.  Willoughby has always been fighting an uphill battle since taking the Republican nomination.  Hirono has traveled the state and solidified her support.  Don’t expect this race to be within 25%.  Hirono should win easy.

There you go ladies and gents.  It will be a fun night come November 2nd.  Follow us on Twitter for live election results and reactions.  And please remember: GET OUT THERE AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER 2ND!