NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The past few weeks while I've been conducting the Hinekka i Tiningo' i Manamko' project for Chamorro Studies and the Guam Museum, I have naturally felt nostalgic for the days when I was conducting my thesis research for Micronesian Studies at UOG. I started off without any real focus as to what I wanted to research or write about, but just a feeling that I should talk to as many people as I can. The initial project I told people I was working on dealt with an analysis of political campaigning on Guam and how they have changed over the years. This became difficult however after most of the interviews I did with the key people in the 2002 Gubenatorial races didn't offer up anything very interesting. People talked alot, but no one said much that I felt was useless, it all chalked up to the usual platitudes as to why one person won and another person lost. During those interviews I asked to talk to people who could represent the golden age of politics on Guam, when it w

Obama, Tearful, Finishes Campaign In Iowa, Where It Started By Sam Stein, The Huffington Post Posted: 11/06/2012 12:50 am EST Updated: 11/06/2012 9:00 am EST   WASHINGTON -- As sentimentality goes, President Barack Obama hosting the last campaign event of his political career in Des Moines, Iowa, is hard to top. The Hawkeye State launched the then-junior senator from Illinois to national prominence. And there is a movie script-like quality to having such a historic political trajectory emerge out of the frosty cornfields. Speaking just steps from his 2

A familiar creature has returned to the roadsides of Guam. For some, as they see the beasts lurking beside the road they may feel as if it is too soon. It was not too long ago that these beasts came to blight the land, and it cannot already be time for their return! But for others these creatures are things of beauty; who stand like quiet sentinels and brighten the days of those who pass by. These creatures come in many forms, their plumes multicolored, and their shrieks filled with familiar refrains and friendly sound bytes. The creatures I am of course referring to as the political signs for this year’s election season. In times past, for most of the island, the next few months would be the highlight of everyone’s year. Families and friends would band together for months under the banner of Popular or Territorial, Democrat or Republican and waste the weeks away at pocket meetings and fundraisers. Naturally there was always a lot of bitterness and animosity during this

 Stuff from my inbox about the Wisconsin Recall election last week. **************** From the AFL-CIO: Dear Michael, A year and a half ago, Gov. Scott Walker and his friends in the Senate forced through an extremist anti-worker agenda that divided the state. Li Last night, Wisconsin took back its Senate. While Gov. Walker remains in office after being only the third governor in American history subjected to the humiliation of a recall, his divisive agenda has been stopped cold. Though Walker was shielded with a flood of secret corporate cash, Wisconsin made its voice heard. While we came closer to recalling Walker than many expected, we ended up coming just short. The work we did together was about much more than just this one election. We laid the groundwork for a powerful movement to push back against Walker-style anti-working family policies everywhere. The energy and momentum in Wisconsin have inspired working people from all walks of life to stand toget

Next month the primaries start for Republicans and so that means that the Presidential race will be starting soon. With so much of my focus on local politics, especially those dealing with decolonization, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to devote to following and covering Obama versus whoever the Republicans pick. One video I just came across on Youtube picked my interest. In it the campaign manager for Obama, Jim Messina lays out the five main paths in terms of electoral math and victories, that would give Obama the Presidency. Given the rough ride that Democrats had in the last election, and Obama's poor poll numbers, their projections have the aura of being both lean and sober, but also optimistic and wishful. I'm hoping for an Obama victory, despite my disappointment in his record thus far. To see the maps that Team Obama is working with, check out the video below:

Ti manggana' Si Russ Fiengold gi i botasion-na gi i ma'pos na sakkan. Annai hu taitai este na tinige' ilek-hu nu Guahu na maolek na ti kumeketu pat ti kumakasao Si Russ. Annai mapedde' gui', ti ha yute' iyo-na principles siha. Ha gu'ot siha, ya ha daggaon maisa gui' ta'lo gi i mimu. ************************** Published on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 by Huffington Post Russ Feingold Launches 'Progressives United' To Combat Corporate Influences In Politics by Amanda Terkel WASHINGTON -- When some senators retire, they decide to take lucrative lobbying jobs. Others go straight to Wall Street. But Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, who lost his re-election bid in November, is continuing on his principled -- and often lonely -- path by starting an organization to combat corporate influence in politics, an effort he hopes will spark "a new progressive movement" that will truly hold elected officials accountable. Launching on We

My cousin got me a ticket last night to go and watch the Great Debate held at the UOG Field House between the two Republican gubernatorial teams for this year's election, Eddie Calvo and Ray Tenorio and Michael Cruz and Jim Espaldon. I have a headache right now and I have a translation project I need to finish this weekend, so my blog post might not be the best or most well-thought-out tonight, but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on the event. In the interests of full disclosure, Segundo Maga'lahi Mike Cruz is i gayu-hu. ************************* 1. The bigger and more official-feeling the debate, the more boring it tends to be. I really wish it wasn't so, but last night's event featured the most boring, most stale and therefore mas mata'pang na questions imaginable. They all had the same format, and were as banal as possible, and to make things even worse, were read in a tone which made them even less interesting. "Compare and contrast your stanc

I've been living back on Guam for more than a year and a half now, and while I've become immersed in Guam politics and issues, my knowledge of national or regional politics in the states has taken a hit. While I was living in San Diego for five years while in grad school, I eagerly followed the ideological battles between Democrats and Republicans. This following culuminated in the presidential election in 2008 which ended up consuming my blog for a year. I used to be able to name 90 of the 100 US Senators and close to a 100 of the members of the House of Representatives. Nowadays however, when I try to recall who is the junior Senator from whichever state, I'm pretty sure I'm just making up whatever name I recall (unless its someone who has been there for ages). For instance, I have no idea how it came up in a conversation, but last fall, a student who had gone to school for a year in Pennslyvania asked him if I knew who the Senators for that state were now. I mistake

I have to post this, because its so funny. I just heard it on The Colbert Report (its so nice that they have their writers back), and couldn't stop laughing. There once was a man named Mccain Who had the whole White House to gain. But he was such a hobbyist of boning his lobbyist. So much for his '08 campaign. This, is not the way things are shaping up however, since the lack of "sexiness" to the "lobbyist sex scandal" seems to make it for people a non-issue. But as too few people (in particular pundits) are noting, the "lobbyist scandal" isn't so much about sex, but about the intimacy of John McCain's compaign with lobbyists, and how this will impact his attempt to portray himself as a clean politician, whose maverick status is best defined by his long-standing refusal to engage in generic Washington style corruption. After campaigning so tirelessly against salapen Washington, try your best not to be surprised when you find out the total n