Tsunami fails to wash away political campaign garbage

Events ranged from the seismic to the political to the spooktacular as we plant tongue in cheek and "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:

» After first saying a Canada earthquake wouldn’t cause a tsunami here, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center changed its mind and triggered evacuations, then canceled the warning when no big wave came. It was the "hokey pokey" prediction model: you put one foot in, you put one foot out, you put one foot in and shake it all about …

» One of the most popular Halloween happenings in Honolulu was "Zombies Apocalypse," which boasted a decomposing cast of more than 50. It was the annual community service project of the state House of Representatives.

» Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz sponsored a "Get Your Flu Shot" day at the state Capitol. It was a nice change from the administration’s signature "Shoot Yourself in the Foot" days.

» Abercrombie accused the Sierra Club of "verbal assault" for describing his Public Land Development Corp. as "grand theft ‘aina." By that standard, the way he used to lob around the F-bomb as a legislator would have qualified as "terroristic grandiloquence."

» After nearly two years on the job, Abercrombie’s public approval rating still barely broke 40 percent in the new Hawaii Poll. Like the optimistic kid digging through manure in search of a pony, the guv pored over the numbers and exclaimed, "There’s got to be a ‘New Day’ in there somewhere."

» A federal judge dealt yet another legal setback to the $5.26 billion Oahu rail project, but city transit officials insisted that the stalled train "remains on course." Only if it’s a demolition derby course.

» More than $6 million so far has been poured into the Honolulu mayor’s race between Kirk Caldwell and Ben Cayetano, with most of the cash coming from political action committees focused on rail. The auction ends Tuesday if you want to get in a bid.

» Democratic candidates for state Senate received campaign donations of nearly $2 million, while their Republican opponents haven’t yet cleared $150,000. Hawaii has a two-party system, but only one of them gets an invitation.

» Liz Larson, a GOP candidate for state Senate in the downtown-Waikiki district, added some welcome glitz to the dreary world of local political fundraising by hosting a "Dancing with the Candidate" event. Cha-cha-ching.

And the quote of the week … from "Zombies Apocalypse" actor Scott Ok: "I’ve seen a lot of people get like Jell-O legs because they get so scared, or they scream so high pitched that you can’t even hear the sound coming out of their mouths." Much like the audience watching the final U.S. Senate debate between Mazie Hirono and Linda Lingle.

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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.