Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann wants to spend $3.7 billion on a 20-mile rail line, but the group Stop Rail Now stands in his way. It wants to force a public vote on the matter,

Not to worry. The mayor took out ads. Do the ads tout the value of rail? Perhaps (I haven't seen them), but they make news for making personal attacks on the membership of Stop Rail Now. T

You see, three of the activists who want a public vote are "members" (in the words of the Honolulu Advertiser) of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a policy group that advocates free-market based policies and which (I'm assuming) has criticized the mayor in the past.

The institute is currently headed by a former resident of Texas (there's the beauty queen), making for an interesting variation of the old "my opponent is a carpetbagger" technique.

Enough of personalities, though. Does the proposed rail make sense for the island of Oahu or not? That's the important question that islanders ought to consider.