San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, Sept. 5, 1887… "The government of the Sandwich Islands appears to have passed… into the hands of a military oligarchy"

Does this sound like something that could be in today’s news? With statements like,

“THE government of the Sandwich Islands appears to have passed from the hands of the king into the hands of a military oligarchy…
“…under the new régime, the newspapers are kept in check with military thoroughness.
“…the freedom of the press of Honolulu is a myth under the reform party, and the man who looks for the facts in the Honolulu journals will not find them.”

King David Kalākaua was the monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The “Bayonet Constitution” of 1887 had been forced through. And even though the traditional date given for “the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom” is January 17, 1893, the SF Chronicle reports that the Kingdom was essentially gone by 1887.
[By the way, as of today, the Kindle version of Queen Liliuokalani’s book, Hawaii’i Story (from which this was taken), is now on sale for only $3,67.]

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[From San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, Sept. 5, 1887.]
THE government of the Sandwich Islands appears to have passed from the hands of the king into the hands of a military oligarchy that is more domineering than Kalakaua ever was. Before the recent revolt of the Europeans in Honolulu the press of the city was very plain-spoken. It printed unadorned truths about the king, and the latter made no effort to suppress such unpleasant utterances. Now, under the new régime, the newspapers are kept in check with military thoroughness. It seems incredible, but it is an actual fact, that not one of the Honolulu journals dared to reprint the comments of the American press on the so-called revolution, although such comment would have been very interesting reading to all Hawaiians. Even the reports of court procedings are dry and matter-of-fact records, very different from the ordinary accounts. In a word, the freedom of the press of Honolulu is a myth under the reform party, and the man who looks for the facts in the Honolulu journals will not find them.
…from APPENDIX A., Liliuokalani, Queen (2008-11-28). Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen [Illustrated] (Kindle Locations 4031-4034). Optal eBooks. Kindle Edition.