NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Michael -- Our democracy is a people's democracy, which makes it a double-edged sword -- it can be as great as our people can be, but as fallible as them as well. That's why I'm so glad that we have Congressman Mike Honda in Washington: he's someone who always stands up for those who need it most, no matter how unpopular or politically risky the position is at the time. Since his first day in office, Mike has been a passionate and outspoken ally for the LGBT community, fighting for the rights of our community long before the Democratic Party as a whole would take up our cause. A progressive champion, Mike has never backed down from a worthy fight, or buckled in the face of adversity. But now Mike is facing the fight of his career, fending off attacks from a well-funded opponent fueled by max-out contributions from far-right conservatives. Will you join me and Democracy for America in standing with Mike Honda today by chipping in to help send our progressi

Always nice when Guam gets a mention in The Nation. ************************ Around the Globe, US Military Bases Generate Resentment, Not Security Katrina vanden Heuvel June 13, 201 The Nation  As we debate an exit from Afghanistan , it’s critical that we focus not only on the costs of deploying the current force of more than 100,000 troops , but also on the costs of maintaining permanent bases long after those troops leave. This is an issue that demands a hard look not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, but around the globe—where the United States has a veritable empire of bases. According to the Pentagon , there are approximately 865 US military bases abroad—over 1,000 if new bases in Iraq and Afghanistan are included. The cost? $102 billion annually—and that doesn’t include the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan bases. In a must-read article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences , anthropologist Hugh Gusterson points out that these bases “constitute 95 percent of all the militar

"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 indepe

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 t

Yesterday was a confusing and crazy day. Interviews were difficult to come by and when I was able to speak to politicians about Guam issues or Pacific Islander issues, their answers were generic or banal. Internet was also an issue, as I had trouble nearly all day finding reliable internet as I shuffled around from DNC event to DNC event all around downtown Denver. Today looks to be alot better. I woke up this morning to find in my email inbox a wonderful email from one of the blogger media people, letting us know that we can request spots on "podium roundtalble interviews." As speakers at the convention step off the stage and into the sea of media and delegates they will have a blogger/press roundtable waiting for them where we can ask a question or two. You can only request three a day from the list of speakers. I'm sure most bloggers would go after a spot speaking to the bigger name folks from today's schedule. For me, I'm just trying to find people who can sp

I attended four Asian Pacific Islander Events today, and for the part of me that has lived out in the states for the past four years, and become accustomed to pan-ethnic rubrics such as “Asian Pacific Islander Americans” it was an exciting day. For the other part of me which is rooted in Guam, and had never even used the term “Pacific Islander” until I came out here, the day has been a bit disconcerting. There is an exuberance this year amongst Asian Americans, in particular Japanese, Chinese, South Asian and Filipino, over their turnout at the convention and their political accomplishments in recent years. In California for instance, there are several Asian American Congresspeople and a multitude of elected officials at the state level. According to Congressman Mike Honda , a pioneer Asian American politician, of a room of more than one hundred people, you would have only found ¼ of that number of Asian American delegates, elected officials or activists in 2004 at Boston. Twelve yea