NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The first full draft of my dissertation was completed almost a month ago and in the time since I've been editing and fixing up my chapters in preparation for my defense in June. As I've done with my previous chapters, I'm pasting in this post, all the tetehnan or leftovers from my writing of the fourth chapter of my dissertation. To read the tetehnan of my other chapters, click the links below: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 In this chapter I was discussing sovereignty and decolonization from a more local perspective, writing about and sometimes critiquing the ideas of sovereignty that Chamorros, activists or not, everyday use to articulate their existences, and how a lot of times they set themselves up for failure, dependency, non-existence or eternal colonization through their ideas. You might recognize some of the names in this chapter, and in fact, there might even be a chance that you might be mentioned in this chapter. Read through if you dare, its all over the place, ...

Why I Called Justice Scalia a Homophobe Rep. Barney Frank Huffington Post March 26, 2009 While responding to questions from journalists about my characterization of Justice Antonin Scalia as a homophobe, I realized that the fact that I made that comment in conjunction with a potential lawsuit about the Defense of Marriage Act created some confusion as to my basis for that characterization. My view that Justice Scalia is prejudiced against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is based, not on his position on marriage, but entirely on the angry minority opinions he wrote in two Supreme Court cases in which the majority held that gay and lesbian people had certain rights against discrimination regarding private consensual sex and political activity. In those two virulent dissents, Justice Scalia denounced the court majorities not simply for finding that it was unconstitutional to discriminate based on sexual orientation in cases involving political rights and the right to private...

The website Common Dreams is a great resource for people wanting to know what's going on in the United States and the world from a progressive perspective. When I moved to the states in 2003 to start graduate school, I made Common Dreams my homepage, so that every morning when I got up I could see what was happening in or happening to the progressive world. I admit, I enjoyed having my vision broadened, but like anyone from a small, disrespected and ignored community, who nonetheless thinks that their little spot in the world is the best in the world, I was irritated at how little attention Guam received on the site. A couple years back I searched for Guam mentions or Guam pieces on the site, and didn't find much. But this is the both the story our lives and in particular the story of my dissertation . Although Guam is a site where American militarism and colonialism co-habitate in perfect harmony, this doesn't seem to mean much to most peace groups or anti-war groups out ...

It’s Chamorro month again, or mes Chamorro ta’lo. That means that the landscape of Guam changes in some small and large ways, to bring out more of the island’s “Chamorro side.” It’s the only month of the year that you might see more Guam flags than American flags. It’s the only month that you can actually hear a large group of young people, actively debating and creating in the Chamorro language. Its also the month during which communication between grand kids, great-grand kids and their respective elders is usually at an all time high due to class assignments about Guam history. Lastly, it’s also the third most important time period for t-shirt vendors on Guam, after election season and the month of July (Liberation Day). It can be both an exciting and depressing month. Exciting because of all the public sector, private sector and even personal energy that is suddenly put into representing or sharing kosas Chamoru siha. Depressing because one has to wonder where does all this Chamor...

I've been a writer on the site Guamology for more than a month now and the most shocking thing about the website is that the most popular, most viewed and most loaded page there is my article " Guam and Gaza ." Looking at the page statistics, it is by a huge margin the most visited page on the entire website. I'm not at all sure why, since its not the most discussed by any means. The post itself is something you'll find plenty of on this blog. Discussions about what kind of future and present should Guam have. Should we be an island that accepts the way the United States defines and determines our lives, in particular through their strategic military interests? Should we accept and celebrate it when they call us the tip of their spear? Or should we be pushing for an existence which is more focused on ourselves and doesn't rely on the most crass and militaristic ideas of weaponizing or militarizing. As I often say to people, if you accept and celebrate Guam as...

Recently, i hagga-hu Sumahi started talking so much, and not just words, but sometimes even short sentences. Usually these sentences deal with demands, for liquids, foods, items, demanding to leave someplace, demanding to go to another place, etc. One of the cutest sentences that she's started using that is not a demand, is when if you say "I love you" to her, she'll respond to you back (if she loves you) with "I Wow You." I've tried to get her to respond to me when I say "Hu guaiya hao," but no such luck. Although she does respond when I say to her "Hu Wow Hao Nene," and when I respond to her saying it with "Hu Wow Hao Lokkue'." One of the ways in which you can tell whether or not Sumahi does indeed "wow" you, is if she'll play with you when you speak to her in Chamorro. Slowly over the past couple months I've taught her a half dozen words, and taught her a corresponding action to each of those words. ...

To read the filing of contempt charges on behalf of the United States of America against the Government of Guam, click here . If you ever want to know what the relationship between Guam and the United States is at its core, at its foundation, read any court cases such as this, where you see local and federal interests clash. You'll see reiterated over and over the idea that Guam is ours, Guam belongs to the Feds, Guam belongs to the Congress, Guam belongs to the military. That is the legacy that we get from American imperialism and then the case law which starts with the Insular Cases that authorized and legalized American colonialism in its territories. I'll be writing more on this soon, but for now the KUAM News article on it will have to suffice. But in case you don't read through to the end of the post, my favorite quote from this so far is that the Guam Legislature has "warred against the Constitution." Guaha taotao kumalamlamten, pues sa' hafa kumeketu h...