State Rep. Lynn Finnegan was recently honored as one of 42 policymakers and visionaries recognized by the Filipina Women’s Network as part of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States.
“It’s just a good group to be a part of,” said Finnegan. “I’m happy to be a part of this group of 100 because culturally, if this award helps some young Filipino teenager to realize that there are a lot of Filipina women who have been able to aspire and reach their goals on their own merit, I think it will serve an even greater purpose.”
The Republican represents the 32nd District, which encompasses Lower Pearlridge, Aiea, Halawa, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Foster Village and Moanalua Gardens.
A graduate of University of Hawaii, Finnegan was elected to the House in 2002. And though she previously worked as a senior loan originator with Primary Residential Mortgage and as an entertainer on the Al Harrington Show, she said her greatest role has been as a wife and mother. She is married to HFD Capt. Peter Finnegan and has two children, son Luke, 10, and daughter Piikea, 14.
“When I shared the news with my daughter, she gave me a smile and said ‘Good job, Mom!’” Finnegan said of the honor. “It helps her to operate without thinking she can’t break through that glass ceiling.
“In this day and age, it is so important for her and other young women to really realize things like this are attainable.
“I was very surprised, though, myself. Though I love my job and the role I play here in Hawaii, you just never see yourself being recognized on a national scale like this.”
Finnegan is a member of many community groups and organizations, including the Imago Dei Community Church, Aiea/Pearl City Business Association, Cagayan Valley Association of Hawaii, Moanalua Lions Club, the House Education, Health and Higher Education committees, the Interim Task Force on Standards of Conduct and the Legislative Management Committee.
In addition, she served on the board for Voyager Public Charter School in 2002, as an advisory board member for the Minority Organ Tissue and Transplant Education Program and as first vice chairwoman for the 2001-2003 Hawaii Republican Party Executive Committee.
On the national level, Finnegan was state officer for Women In Government from 2002 to 2005; a member of the National Foundation of Women Legislators from 2002 to 2004; a member of the Council for State Government-West Leadership Academy Class of 2004; is on the Education Commission of the States; and is a State Committee member as the governor’s representative.
Her key issues include charter school funding, crime reduction, drug-use prevention, education reform, health issues, improving good business climates and senior/elder issues. She also has been elected by her colleagues to serve as minority leader for the state House of Representatives for the past five years.
http://www.lynnfinnegan.com/
The top 10 Asian achievements of 2009
Anh “Joseph” Cao makes Asian Weekly's "Top Ten" Asian Achivements of 2009
This year, Anh “Joseph” Cao became the first Vietnamese American to serve in the U.S. Congress. He represents Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district, which covers New Orleans. He is the first Republican to serve that district since 1890. Rep. Cao drew criticism from fellow party members after he cast the sole Republican vote for the house’s health care bill (HR-3962). Rep. Cao serves on the Homeland Security, Transportation, and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform committees.
The idea of free universal healthcare is emotionally soothing and arguably quite Christian. On the surface, it seems like an ideal to which all wealthy and civilized countries should strive. It “feels” good. (So does heroin, apparently.) In truth, it is a stake in the heart of individual responsibility.
Here’s how it works: As countries (like families and individuals) get rich, they tend to lose their common sense. Like spoiled rich kids, they forget about virtues like hard work and personal responsibility—the attributes that got them rich in first place. These nations make ill-advised, indulgent, “feel good” decisions. Such decisions weaken countries over time and, after a generation or two, render them mere shadows of their former grandeur. This story is as old as time.
Let’s look at this through the lens of America in 2009. Imagine if an impartial observer were to examine our current situation. He or she would have to note that the greatest nation in the history of mankind is not currently in a particularly strong position. The U.S. is spending more than it takes in, importing more than it exports, and fighting wars in the global quicksand of empire. The global community is losing faith in our currency just as another great power on a breathtaking rise (China) salivates for the reins of power and is increasingly poised to snatch them from our hands.
At this very moment, our government deems it prudent to borrow yet more money to hook up a broad swath of the American public up to a vast new entitlement program designed to grow, as all entitlement programs do, like a weed.
Have we lost our minds? Handing vast new authorities to a government with an already peerless record of incompetence and lust for power is sheer madness. Forget the huge strain on the budget and the squelching of the free enterprise that made America great. Even more insidious is the effect of socialized medicine on the citizenry.
Such a system makes more people dependent on government. Dependence corrupts and transfers power from the individual to those who dispense the favors. Dependence is what happens to drug addicts. Our government wishes to be the biggest dealer on the planet, and, like any human organization, to grow.
Socializing healthcare is another great step forward for the misguided efforts of FDR in the 30’s, expanded with devastating effect by LBJ in the 60’s. This is the dream of the big government left: to hook up and buy the votes of the middle class—to turn them into a mushy, addled mass clamoring for mama government to come and give them a bit more mother’s milk.
This is a prospect for which all Americans should feel visceral revulsion.
The bureaucrats in Washington are seeking to extend their cold reach. We all know that nothing is produced in Washington, D.C. The Department of Energy has not made a kilowatt, the Department of Education teaches no children, and the Department of Agriculture (with more employees than farmers in America) has never grown a bushel of wheat!
America does need healthcare reform. Costs are out of control for many reasons, all of which stem from the distortions caused by government intervention.
We need freedom of choice, robust markets, faith in ourselves, and a level playing field. These are the pillars upon which American greatness rests.GoAmericaGo! is a patriotic movement started by Raj Peter Bhakta and is dedicated to engaging the competitive American spirit to keep America ahead.
State Rep. Lynn Finnegan was recently honored as one of 42 policymakers and visionaries recognized by the Filipina Women’s Network as part of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States.
