NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

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 at

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 pr

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 s

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

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 J

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 Am

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 st

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

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 ex