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Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

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  • Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

    The conversation was about Evan Dobelle's termination, but the news turned out to be state Sen. Fred Hemmings and his alter ego, Sonny from Kapolei, messing with Dobelle and a KHVH talk radio show:
    A caller identifying himself as "Sonny from Kapolei" asked Dobelle a pointed question on the air in a pidgin accent. But after Dobelle questioned his identity, "Sonny" acknowledged that he was Hemmings and the senator and the fired president got into a brief debate. "I love Freddie; I've known Freddie for 50 years," [Mike] Buck said yesterday. "But he was way out of line with this."
    So was Hemmings impersonating a local boy? Does that imply he's not a local boy? I presume he's a regular enough caller to KHVH for someone at the station to identify him... but if that's the case, why'd he even try such a goofy prank in the first place?

    Is it that Hemmings is a Republican? If so, why is he so sure Dobelle wouldn't have talked to him as... well, him? What on Earth is going on here?

  • #2
    Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

    Fred Hemmings is definitely a local boy (albeit a Punahou grad ). His father moved to Hawaii 20 years before he was born, and his mother was a local Portuguese lady. I agree that it was kind of goofy for him to put on a pidgin accent, which is not usually how he speaks, but what the hell. What I wonder, though, is why does it matter? I mean, it's a radio call-in show. What does it matter who is asking the questions, anyway? The important thing is the answer that the guest (Dobelle) provides.
    Last edited by Glen Miyashiro; July 7, 2004, 09:36 AM.

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    • #3
      Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

      Sorry I missed that dialog...usually don't have a chance to listen to radio in the afternoons. Did former president Dobelle shed any light on the whys of his dismissal and when will the public be able to hear any of the reasons?
      Retired Senior Member

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      • #4
        Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

        I presume he's a regular enough caller to KHVH for someone at the station to identify him... but if that's the case, why'd he even try such a goofy prank in the first place?
        If you are a regular listener of KHVH radio you would know that Fred is a regular caller and sometimes even a regular guest on the Mike Buck Show.

        Being local born, Fred can turn the pidgin on and off just like most of us can switch between that and standard English.

        This stunt has backfired on him since Mr. Dobelle and Buck figured out rather quickly who he was. May jepordize his future appearances on Buck's program if he is as upset as the article indicates he may be.

        One thing you have to remember about the Honolulu Advertiser, they often are biased against Republicans and the conservative viewpoint. I am not surprised they picked up on this in their ongoing effort to make Republicans look bad. But then again they had a lot of help from Senator Hemmings' himself.

        For those of you who may not know, Senator Hemmings is also an avid supporter of surfing and has been acknowledged for his efforts in the surfing world for many years. He was briefly featured in the 1966 surf movie The Endless Summer and continues to support the sport, efforts to preserve Hawaii's oceans and improve the business climate through bills he has introduced or supported in the Legislature. Hemmings has been a state senator since 2000 and previously served in the House in the 1980s.
        I'm still here. Are you?

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        • #5
          Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

          My read on the Advertiser was that the exchange between Hemmings and Dobelle was civil after Hemmings got discovered. However you have to wonder why Dobelle was on the air in the first place assuming his lawyer's advice was to have the lawyers work it out.

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          • #6
            Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

            I can see that all of the none KHVH listeners are coming out of the woodwork. Mike Buck features a lot of recurring guests on his show of which Mr. Dobelle is one of them. If you guys like Mayor Harris he is on Buck's show every Wednesday afternoon at around 5 PM. You can learn a lot about the city and state by listening to KHVH radio during the Rick Hamada morning drive show and the Mike Buck afternoon show. Sure most of the opinions skew toward conservative and your mileage will vary depending on your political philosophy, the show hosts, subject matter of each day's shows and whoever the guest might be. However it is worth listening to KHVH if you are interested in such things.
            I'm still here. Are you?

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            • #7
              Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

              Yesterday as guest hosts Rick Hamada had Colleen Hanabusa and Sam Slom do his show since he is the escort for a cruise to Europe. I think the same two were on today's show. They (Colleen & Sam) really compliment eachother and although they have opposing viewpoints sometimes, they always let the other person have his/her say. It's people like this that make the discussion interesting...with room for disagreement too.
              Retired Senior Member

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              • #8
                Re: Hemmings or Sonny: Playing Local Politics?

                Sam and Colleen have a great on air presence for all the reasons mentioned. It also help that they are both good friends and respectful of each other off the air too.
                I'm still here. Are you?

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