Unfortunately, the smell of Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t our only olfactory experience as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:

» State legislators quietly exempted themselves from ethics rules that bar state employees from using their official positions to gain unfair advantage for themselves or others. It’s an honor to serve your state, but more profitable to serve yourself.

» The state is struggling yet again to control foul odors from algae overgrowth in the state Capitol’s reflecting pools. The obnoxiousness of the stench is seasonal; when the Legislature is in session, it actually serves as a deodorant.

» Rep. Joe Souki, the 79-year-old former House speaker, formed a coalition with the chamber’s seven Republicans to wrest his old job back from Calvin Say. This is like a remake of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," but with Rip Van Winkle cast as Snow White.

» Gov. Neil Abercrombie said he won’t take sides in the power struggle between Souki and Say. The two are equally capable of ignoring his legislative proposals.

» Democratic Chairman Dante Carpenter, who as a state senator joined the only previous Democratic-Republican coalition, ripped Souki for consorting with the GOP and hinted he should quit the party. It’s the political art of leading by hypocrisy.

» After University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood complained about legislative interference in the Stevie Wonder fiasco, a Senate committee ordered an audit of the entire UH system. If you don’t like the Legislature on your back, see how you like the state auditor up your …

» The Hawaii County Council shot down a proposal to allow chickens in populated areas. Some people just can’t take a little competition.

» Bob Loy of the Outdoor Circle sharply criticized a 650-foot apartment building in Kakaako that the state is promoting as an iconic landmark, arguing, "Hawaii is already iconic enough as it is." True enough; we have potholes in Kakaako that rival the Grand Canyon.

» Shoppers waited in line for hours to take advantage of Black Friday sales around Oahu. It was like waiting for ballots to arrive at polling places, except then there were no good deals at the end.

» University of California researchers received a $2 million federal grant to study insect and spider life in Hawaii. They should have done it during the election season, when the specimens were more out in the open.

And the quote of the week … from Kauai Rep. James Tokioka on the stink from the Capitol reflecting pools: "I thought I was going to gag. … In the six years I’ve been at the state Capitol, I’ve never seen anything like that or smelled anything like that." He must have been absent the day they created the Public Land Development Corp.

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