The petty, partisan and blatantly hypocritical move to try and save Trump's tax plan by blocking the will of the Alabama voters should come as no surprise.

Along with troops, the build-up will include the addition of new live-fire training sites, the expansion of Andersen Air Force Base, berthing for a nuclear aircraft carrier, and the creation of a missile defense system on the island.

For Native Hawaiians, the protection of Mauna Kea is an ancestral responsibility to responsible land stewardship and a means of ensuring Mauli Ola, or a holistic sense of health and wellbeing.