NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

"When I first sat in the Armed Services Committee, my first meeting. They said now, the question you ask, I was on the lower tier, the first row, now I'm on the second row. They said the question should be kind of generic and not too specific. So I had this question written out.Then I heard the rest of them, "my base" and "my state." I says, "Hey!" So when it came down to me, I said, "I want a carrier sent to Guam." Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo in an interview on the Convention Floor, Wednesday "John McCain may pay hundred of dollars for his shoes, but we're the ones who will pay for his flip-flops." New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson during his speech on Thursday. "We can't simply drill our way to energy independence if you drilled everywhere, if you drilled in all of John McCain's backyards, even the ones he doesn't know he has." Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer from his speech on energy independe...

I'm still a bit groggy from all the energy and excitement from yesterday's events at the Democratic National Convention. I'm watching CNN right now and it seems that the Republicans have decided to make major history this election, by not just picking a woman for Vice President, but bringing together the first Father -Daughter Ticket in History!!!! ( joke via Rashne) The media was right, John McCain did pick someone younger than him. Although given all the possible names out there on the national scene, there weren't many people whom he could pick who aren't younger than he is, and in fact three of those names come from either Alaska or Alaska's biggest ally in the Senate, Hawai'i, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Daniel Innouye and Senator Daniel Akaka. McCain had to pick someone younger than him, unless he was planning to exhume Ronald Reagan and create some elaborate Weekend at Bernie's farce over the next few months. I'm looking at McCain and Governo...

Guestblogged by Victoria Leon Guerrero My first cousin and pare’ recently left his wife and three boys for boot camp. His wife stares at the doorway every night hoping that he will walk through it. But he is gone. Gone to the idea that now their lives will be made easier, now that he is in the Army. He will make enough money for them to finally have their own home after raising their family in a small bedroom at his in-law’s house for almost a decade. I want to be hopeful, to believe that this is a good thing for him, but I know better. I know my cousin and how much he loves our island and our family. Now he will be farther away from Guam than he’s ever been, and for a very long time. And in that time the chances are great that he may fight in a war – another country’s war. There is no hope in fighting another country’s war. There are some, who believe that Guam is a part of the United States, and that fighting a war in Iraq gives us freedom on our island, but that is simply not true. ...

The continuing list of famous people I've seen so far (seen, not necessarily talked to). Jonathan Alter, journalist Paul Begala, pundit Ann Curry, tv person (who was, according to rumor born on Guam) Fran Drescher, actress Tammy Duckworth, former Congressional candidate in Illinois New York Governor David Pattersen Penn. Governor Ed Rendell Former California Congressman Norman Mineta California Congressman Mike Honda DNC Chariman Howard Dean Minnesota Congressional Candidate Ashwin Madia Hawai'i Congresswoman Mazie Hirono Congressman from Maryland Steny Hoyer Colorado Congressional Candidate Hank Eng Guam Senator Ben Pangelinan Guam Senator BJ Cruz California Comptroller John Chiang California Congressman John Chiang Susan Sarandon, Actress and Activist Tamlyn Tomita, Actress and Activist Lisa Edelstein, Actress Minnesota Senator Amy Koblucher Maya Sotero-Ng, Barack Obama's sister Kansas Governor Katherine Sebelius Former Democratic Presidential Candidate George McGovern Jo...

I spent Barack Obama's speech crawling around on the floor of Invesco Field, trying to worm my way close enough to the candidate so I could get a decent picture of him with my cheap digital camera. Unfortunately, the closest I was able to get was right in the middle of the Texas delegation, so I have several dozen photos of a brown blur in a black suit that still has plenty of gravitas. I enjoyed the speech, although when you are working on taking pictures and talking to delegates or other people crouched and crawling its easy to miss some of the the finer points. Being someone interested in justice for oppressed communities and also an Ethnic Studies scholar, I had hoped for much more though on the glorious anniversary that this speech was taking place on, and in general the struggle for civil rights and racial justice that he represents. Unfortunately, since his "mature" speech on race didn't quite allow Obama to seal the deal on the nomination, or solve his Jeremia...

From the floor of Invesco Field: Guam Senator and Convention Delegate, Ben Pangelinan on Guam's participation at the Democratic National Convention. "For me its a double edged sword. We come here and we participate in the process of the seleciton of the nominee, and then its stops and so its like a journey incomplete. Its frustrating to that end. I'm glad that yesterday during the roll call vote we were able to make a statement about Guam not having the right to self-determination...That opportunity to make that statement was a positive for this trip and gives me hope that people are listening. We've had an opportunity to talk to many people who are, quite frankly shocked that America disenfranchises people who are asked to bear the burden and responsibility of citizens, and yet are not give that one most precious element of citizenship in this country, the vote."

While looking for a seat at Invesco a bit of serendipity took place, as I ran into a freelance journalist in the same section, who was looking for people to interview, and who after learning about where I was from and why I was at the convention, told me that she had spent three years on Guam in the 1970’s. When I asked what for, she told me that she had worked for Tony Palomo, as a journalist writing for his newspaper The Pacifican . Sadly, the paper didn’t last very long and soon after it was born it was driven out of business by the Pacific Daily News . She asked if I knew Tony Palomo and I said yes, and so she told me some of her life so that next time I see him I could share with him how she’s doing. She ended up interviewing me and my thoughts on the Convention, and I gave her my usual, I’m excited to be here, but…if you aren't enamored with all the excitement and sign-waving, the specatcle of inclusion, then what you've got is basically friendly American colonialism. Aft...

Congresswoman Bordallo Proud Of Guam's Presence At Democratic National Convention Written by Mana Silva, Pacific News Center Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific Thursday, 28 August 2008 Guam - It was an exciting time for democrats taking part in the Democratic National Convention, and Guam certainly put its best face forward, and made its presence known. The convention in Denver, Colorado was attended by thousands, and according to Guam's Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo "the event has been electric." Former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton showing her support during the convention yesterday. President Bill Clinton took center stage today, and of course, vice presidential candidate Joe Bidden also called to speak before the crowd of supporters. Quite a surprise though, was a visit by Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama. Guam's congresswoman was also called to the stage to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Bordallo also had a chance run in with former pres...

Estague i chalan siha, nai mamamokkat yu' kada diha. Bula linahayan, yan diniskuti taiguini. Ai adai, esta mampos yafaifau ya puputi i patas-hu.

To say that this convention has been frustrating because of a lack of Pacific Islander presence would be a sen dongkalu na understatement. I've attended this week all of the events which were marked as "Asian-American Pacific Islander" or "Asian Pacific Islander American" and even "Asian Pacific American." I've had little to no luck. The delegates and representatives from these islands haven't been attending these meetings or even speaking at them. This could be a number of reasons, due to the distance and high cost in getting here, less delegates from these areas are here. Also, because of the great distance and the novelty of being in what is for some a new city or area, touring around or visiting friends has also been keeping people from the convention. Lastly, although the events and the Congressional Caucus may be Asian American Pacific Islander, Pacific Islanders may not see themselves there, both in the sense of their needs not being att...

Today we move the convention from the Pepsi Center to Invesco Field, to accomodate a much large crowd to witness Senator Obama's speech tonight accepting the nomination for the Democrats. The change in venue will be huge for increasing the "historical" nature of this event, opening the event up for even more people. But unfortunately, this change will make internet access more difficult for me. There is a section of the press box marked specifically for bloggers, but I'm sure it'll fill up fast. If I'm at Invesco all day, then I might not post much on the day's activities until late tonight or tomorrow.

Although he has not been posting recently, when he was Carbondate from the blog The Command Post was a very insightful writer. He is currently in the service and at least several months ago was stationed on Guam. At present its possible he's in the Middle East right now. He was absolutely the type of Democrat and blogger that I have been hoping to find at the Democratic Convention this week, people who may come from different positions in the United States, different places, different political backgrounds, different social worlds, yet can still come together and discuss things through a common critical frame. In Denver this week, there is sadly a scarcity of these sorts of things, except for those directed at Republicans and John McCain. In other ways, there are also the usual sorts of critiques that liberals and Democrats can share, about health care, environment, democracy, peace. But for me, as I wrote yesterday, the frames I am searching for are those dealing with American co...

Maleffa yu' put siha, i manRepublicans. Ti mafa'primary giya Guahan, pues mas excited i ManDemocrats kinu i ManRepublicans. Hu faisen todu i delegates ginnen i Manterritories Amerikanu (ni' hu kuentusi) este na finaisen. "Sa' hafa dumemocrat hao? Gi i banda Federal, fihu pumarehu ha' i ManRepublicans yan i ManDemocrats. Todu ti ma attende pat hasso i Manterritories. Sa' hafa un ayek este na banda, enlugat di i otro?" Gi entre todu i sinangan, taya' maolek na ineppe. Ma konsedera este kulang esta Manamerikanu siha. Ti ma hahasso i estao pulitikat i islas-niha. Ti ma keketungo' hafa i "platforms"-niha i Democrats yan Republicans nu i Manterritories. Yanggen un taitai ayu siha, ti dongkalo i diferensia. Ti Manstates hit, pues Manaibali hit, ya puru ha' mandeschable. ****************************************** McCain taps Governor Camacho to chair Pacific campaign by Mindy Aguon, KUAM News Thursday, August 28, 2008 Republican president...

There was so much speculation in the previous week over why Joe Biden would be picked as VP. The most common argument is the Foriegn Policy stuff, which will beef up (by association) the resume of Obama, and hopefully deflect those "fears" of not being ready to engage with the rest of the world. Which is surprising since its been John McCain's gaffe on everything from Czeckoslavakia, to Iraq-Pakistan border, to Sunni vs. Shia, who has consistently proven that he may be old and experienced, but not necessarily ready to engage with the rest of the world. But during the lead up to his speech tonight, just about everything positive from his biography was dragged out to try and make him feel like the ideal candidate for everyone. Hawks, peacniks, women, minorities, etc. There are two things that struck me about Biden's "being" tonight that I think were absolutely part of the Obama team's rationale for picking Biden. When I saw "being" I mean the sor...

Here is an image from the floor votes earlier in the day. When it came time for Guam to report its votes for the party nomination (Hillary pat Obama) there was some confusion. Guam has a total of 9 delegate votes, five super delegates and then eight regular delegates, which each get half votes . When it came time to report the votes, former Guam Senator and current Guam Democratic Party Chair Pilar Lujan stated four votes for Barack Obama and three votes for Hillary Clinton. This being two short of the total they were supposed to provide. In addition to this confusion, Pilar Lujan also made an impact on the proceedings with her short, but to the point introduction to Guam, prior to providing the tally for the Guam delegation. She began by invoking that they were the delegation from Guam, "Where America's Day Begins" which was met by applause. She followed up this statement with a reminder that the Guam delegation seeks self-determination and war reparations from the Uni...

The continuing list of famous people I've seen so far (seen, not necessarily talked to). Jonathan Alter, journalist Paul Begala, pundit Ann Curry, tv person (who was, according to rumor born on Guam) Fran Drescher, actress Tammy Duckworth, former Congressional candidate in Illinois New York Governor David Pattersen Penn. Governor Ed Rendell Former California Congressman Norman Mineta California Congressman Mike Honda DNC Chariman Howard Dean Minnesota Congressional Candidate Ashwin Madia Hawai'i Congresswoman Mazie Hirono Congressman from Maryland Steny Hoyer Colorado Congressional Candidate Hank Eng Guam Senator Ben Pangelinan Guam Senator BJ Cruz California Comptroller John Chiang California Congressman John Chiang Susan Sarandon, Actress and Activist Tamlyn Tomita, Actress and Activist Lisa Edelstein, Actress Minnesota Senator Amy Koblucher Maya Sotero-Ng, Barack Obama's sister Kansas Governor Katherine Sebelius Former Democratic Presidential Candidate George McGovern Jo...

Guest Blogged by Rashne Limki : I had the pleasure of meeting KS Rep. Raj Goyle (D) this morning at the AAPI Caucus. Over the past couple of days I kept hearing of the amazing job Rep. Goyle had done in getting elected to a district he himself describes as "the reddest of the red." Admittedly, this was the first I'd heard of him (in fact, I really had no idea of the current extent of desi representation in state and federal government, and it only seems to be expanding, slowly but surely.) So, like I mentioned this was the first I'd heard of Rep. Raj Goyle and I had no idea what he looked like. So, imagine my surprise, and embarrassment, when I figured out that the desi seated in front of me for most of the caucus was indeed Raj Goyle. Rep. Goyle is a super-energetic, dare I use the "i"-word – inspirational – speaker. He addressed the caucus for just a few minutes, talking primarily about his campaigning experience, but he had folks sitting up and paying att...

Tonight theme for the convention looks to be military, security, having the right judgement when wielding American might and power. Once again however, I find myself out of place in the fervor of the rhetoric and the excitement of the Democrats attending. In this election, but more so in the last election the Democrats will be straddling a very thin line, trying to find a balance between being the default anti-war party, but also proving to be the most militaristically adept party, and the one who should be controlling the troops and the bombs. Coming from an island which has a far more intimate relationship to the military than any other military community (with the exception perhaps of the Marshall Islands), I'm struggling to find a place for the expression or even just mention of Guam's particular relationship with the United States military. Can any "real" "formal" American community, meaning those in states, know the feeling of being occupied in an Amer...

After seeing a parade of Asian American celebrities and political figures, I was glad to finally see someone of Pacific Islander descent. Actress and model Kelly Hu stopped by at the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus meeting this morning. Although Kelly is most well known for her roles in the films X-2 and The Scorpion King, and tv shows such as Nash Bridges and Martial Law, I know her best and most fondly for her support for the Kamehameha school in Hawai'i. In addition to being party English and Chinese, she is also Native Hawaiian, and attended the Kamehameha school in Oahu. She has been on record as supporting these schools for Native Hawaiians, and in 2006 she even made a video which was posted on Youtube through which she expressed the importance of the schools to Native Hawaiians, and rebuffed any claims that the school's existence is tied to racism, but rather to restorative justice. For years, there are have been efforts to close the school or force it open to stu...

Guest Blogged by Rashne Limki I’m sitting right now at the AAPI Caucus meeting. It’s the second one I’m attending, the other being this past Monday. As an Indian, I guess I kind of fit into this rubric and I feel relatively comfortable within it because it is within this community that I became politically active at Oberlin. At Oberlin, one of the issues we grappled with was the ‘inclusion’ of the P or PI within the rubric. During my time at Oberlin, I knew exactly two Pacific Islanders, neither of whom were particularly active in the community. I’m not even sure how they identified, except that they probably put down A/PA on various official forms, just as I have had to do pretty often. I don’t feel particularly comfortable with this census categorization, except when I’m around it as a political community. In any case, sitting here in the AAPI caucus, the situation of Pacific Islanders is absolutely no different than anywhere else… the number of PIs can generally be counted on one ha...

Even In Denver, Bloggers Keep Independent Streak New Media Types Are Excited To Cover The Convention, But Some Do It With A Critical Eye by Kevin Friedl, The National Journal Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008 When the Democrats welcomed hundreds of bloggers to Denver, they may not have known what they were in for. Even the most carefully vetted bloggers, it seems, are still capable of biting the hand that feeds them press credentials. Before the convention had even begun, bloggers invited by the party to cover the event from inside the Pepsi Center were demanding greater access to the floor and overwhelming the DNCC staff with requests. Some bloggers used their initial posts in Denver to complain about security hassles, the credentialing process, and the lack of wireless Internet access, much to the annoyance of Democratic staffers. Of course, the great majority of the blogs' initial coverage was positive. These are, after all, Democratic partisans. Many see their role as sharing the excite...

Senator Hillary Clinton is speaking right now and she just said, "...and the territories." I will write later about why, other than this being the way that Guam is mentioned and included in this great big Democratic tent, that this is interesting. Otro fino'-ta: Earlier in the evening her old campaign shark Terry McAuliffe came by the Guam Delegation on the floor and yelled at us "I Love Guam!" The Guam delegates, mainly the Hillary supporters swooned, because like Hillary, Terry has also visited Guam. (for clarification, in this photo Terry Mcauliffe is posing with Alaskan delegates not Guam ones)

An interview with Guam delegate Derrick Muna Quinata and page from Guam Derick Hills. From Campus Voices :

I've written before about the half-vote delegates that Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Americans Abroad receive in the Democratic Presidential primary process. For me this is just another sort of way in which the island is included and excluded, how it is never made a full part of the United States, but instead treated to small token gestures to make it feel more American then it really is. But this is my view on things, a member of the Guam delegation, Taling Taitano, a Democratic National Committeewoman and a superdelegate looks at it in a different way. She says that the rules have been such, with half delegates for a long time and isn't sure where the rationale comes from. But it is actually a bonus for territories such as Guam, which have small populations and are so far away from the United States. With half delegates, they can send twice as many members. If they received full delegates, then only four people, in addition to Guam's five super delega...

I briefly met one elected official this afternoon, who had spent several years of her life in Okinawa. I introduced myself as the blogger from Guam. She mentioned having always wanted to visit Guam but never having the chance too. I took this opportunity to discuss the impending military buildup there, and mentioned specifically the several thousand Marines which will be transfered from Okinawa to Guam. At first her face went ashen and she said oh no, how terrible. She didn't elaborate on this and so I can only guess why she seemed to feel it was terrible. Was it because of some simple image of a small paradise island being overrun by eager young Marines? Or was it something tied to her own time in Okinawa? After this brief pause, she quickly sobered up and said that it would probably be for the best.

I was finally able to meet Aaron Silverstein from the Colorado blog Squarestate.net who I first came across on the blog Guam Loves Jason Rosenberg . I had no idea that I could even apply as a blogger to attend the Democratic National Convention, and it was Aaron who first let me know about it. I posted this morning about a painting that I'm planning on giving Aaron to show my appreciation for his help, and actually when I met a random blogger from Pennslyvania today, and introduced myself as a Guam blogger, he immediately said, "yeah, you made a watercolor painting for Howard Dean!" Not exactly, but close enough. Speaking of Aaron Silverstein and Howard Dean being confused with each other. At the blogger's Tailgate today, Howard Dean spoke at length with those attending, and enjoyed some watermelon and corn while doing so. Obviously in a hurry to go to yet another event, he left his plate and his finished food on the table. Goldy, a Washington blogger from Horse...

I just finished up a lovely interview with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton from Washington D.C. I saw her, her staff and most of her delegation all wearing buttons or shirts that said "DC Statehood" and "No Taxation Without Representation." I stopped someone wearing one of those shirts, asking if I talk to them about their movement, and thankfully enough I happened to stop Congresswoman Norton's chief of staff. Amongst the territories, Washington D.C. is like the Alpha Male or Bulaka , because of her privileged status, as the only one whose constiuents pay Federal income taxes, and whose geographical region houses the center of American power. I know plenty of Norton and her positions because of this relationship. Most other Americans probably know her from her ongoing fued with Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report.

I've done plenty of interviews so far, but none with any of the people that I had listed and submitted to the Democratic National Convention. I'm happy to report that I just got an email from US Virgin Island's Congresswoman Donna Christensen and will be meeting her pretty soon. Since my hope her is to get more info on Federal-Territorial relations, and learn how things works for the insular empire of the United States, meaning Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and possibly the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, this will be one of my most important interviews. Congresswoman Christensen is the chair of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs under the House Committee on Natural Resources. If there is any subcommittee of Congress which could be considered to "know the colonies" of the United States, at least the formal ones, this is it. So although the subcommittee is compared to all others weak because of the smallness of what it provides ov...

Famous people I've seen so far (seen, not necessarily talked to) . Jonathan Alter, journalist Paul Begala, pundit Ann Curry, tv person (who was, according to rumor born on Guam) Fran Drescher, actress Tammy Duckworth, former Congressional candidate in Illinois New York Governor David Pattersen Penn. Governor Ed Rendell Former California Congressman Norman Mineta California Congressman Mike Honda DNC Chariman Howard Dean Minnesota Congressional Candidate Ashwin Madia Hawai'i Congresswoman Mazie Hirono Congressman from Maryland Steny Hoyer Colorado Congressional Candidate Hank Eng Guam Senator Ben Pangelinan Guam Senator BJ Cruz California Comptroller John Chiang California Congressman John Chiang

Today was another machalapon day. More wrong directions, running around lost and misinformation by DNC folks, Pepsi Center employees and other volunteers on where I need to go and where I can go. I eventually made it to the Bloggers' Tailgate '08 this afternoon but not after running around for a while, being misdirected to just about every section of the Pepsi Center. Fortunately, I had a partner in being lost and eventually finding the party. I met Sara, who is the state blogger from Kentucky and part of the blog Blue Grass Roots . I told her that she was the first blogger I'd ever met from Kentucky, and she said the same in terms of Guam. She asked if there was much blogging on Guam and if I had any competition in getting accepted into the State (and Territory) Blogger Corps. I said, sadly no, there is not much blogging on Guam, at least not blogged that's politically motivated or inspired. This wasn't the case with her, as her blog had beaten out a much larger b...

Just go this from Al Franken's Senate campaign. I'll be posting more substantive things later today once I get to the Pepsi Center. ********************** Dear Michael, I'm grabbing a quick minute in between events here at the Democratic National Convention to bring you some good news. That energy, that enthusiasm, that excitement that's been giving us all hope that this November, we'll really be able to change our country is exploding this week in Denver. The energy is here – big time. And it will spread from coast to coast. Everyone I meet is fired up and ready to work hard every day to elect Barack Obama. But everyone also knows that President Obama will need a working majority in the Senate to help him carry out his agenda of real change. That's where I come in. And that, in turn, is where you come in. CAN YOU MAKE A CONTRIBUTION OF $25, $50, OR $100 TODAY TO HELP ME HELP BARACK OBAMA CHANGE THIS COUNTRY? With Barack Obama and Joe Biden at the top of the tic...