NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The conventions for both political parties this year have passed. Because of the time difference on Guam, I wasn't able to watch them as much as I'd hoped, because I was usually in class when people were speaking. I followed the coverage as best as I could, even writing about the Guam delegations for both the DNC and RNC and the way they represented the island in their roll call spotlight moment. I have only attended one political convention in my life and that was in 2008 when I got to be the "Blogger from Guam" to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Barrack Obama received the nomination for President. I has wanted to go back to another convention or two, and toyed with the idea of attending this year, but my teaching schedule made it impossible. While reflecting on this year's convention and my own experience 8 years ago, I sifted through my digital files and came across this article this article that I written fro AAJA or the Asian American

For two weeks there has been non-stop discussions of American exceptionalism across the United States. This has been centered in the national conventions for both of the major parties of the United States, the Republicans and the Democrats. They each proposed different forms of American exceptionalism at least on the surface, one immediately more frightening and menacing, while the other more comforting and friendly. Both of them focused on the idea that the United States is exceptional in history and in the present moment, and holds the keys to human progress and security. But as I've written about before, these conventions are interesting because they represent the last chances for people from the colonies of the United States to participate in American democracy. As people who live in Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands and even the CNMI cannot vote for President of the US (and have no electoral college votes), they get to participate up until this point

The speech by Khizr Khan, father of a Muslim American soldier, Humayun Khan, who was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004, has become the most famous of the Democratic National Convention this week. There is so much to write about this and discuss. Lao tailugat yu' pa'go na ha'ani. In the meantime, here are some articles discussing the speech and the way it has affected the 2016 presidential race. ********************* Father of Muslim American War Hero to Trump, 'You Have Sacrificed Nothing' by Igor Bobic Huffington Post 7/28/16 PHILADELPHIA ― The father of a Muslim American war hero addressed the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, delivering a brutal takedown of Donald Trump and his inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric. Khizr Khan spoke about the heroism of his son, Army Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan, who was killed in action in Iraq by an advancing vehicle loaded with hundreds of pounds of explosives. The 27-year-old soldier, who was born

Normally decolonization discourse at the UN is fairly focused. This doesn't mean that it is focused in a way that it becomes more efficient or effective. I mean it is focused around certain territories only. That certain territories out there, especially those over which there is a territorial dispute between various sovereign nations, they get the attention. They receive the focus of discussion and intervention. In contexts such as the UN, the words of support you offer your allies is your primary currency. It is the main way you show your friendship and solidarity to others. That is why, for example, in the UN the neighboring Micronesian islands around Guam, tend to vote against Guam when it comes to decolonization. Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia all tend to vote against Guam, because it is one of the few ways they can throw their support behind their sovereign ally of the United States. The discussion becomes a nexus of thes

The Honorable Xavier Becerra Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, California 2012 Democratic National Convention Thursday, September 6, 2012 The American dream—it’s built not with words or speeches but from sweat and tears. Its heart and soul reside not in the boardrooms on Wall Street, but in the shops and factories on Main Street. Its promise is simple: work hard, play by the rules and you can make it in America. That’s Barack and Michelle Obama’s story. Like so many of you, that’s my parents’ story, too. My father was a construction worker who dug the ditches and laid the pipe and concrete to build our highways. My mother arrived in this country as a newlywed with no money, no English and no family of her own. Together, they realized their dream of sending their four children where no man or woman in our family in America had ever gone before: college. El sueño Americano! The American dream! In any language, that’s wha

September 4, 2012 Transcript of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery: My fellow Democrats, my fellow Texans, my fellow Americans: I stand before you tonight as a young American, a proud American, of a generation born as the Cold War receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution and determined to re-elect the man who will make the 21st century another American century — President Barack Obama. The unlikely journey that brought me here tonight began many miles from this podium. My brother Joaquin and I grew up with my mother Rosie and my grandmother Victoria. My grandmother was an orphan. As a young girl, she had to leave her home in Mexico and move to San Antonio, where some relatives had agreed to take her in. She never made it past the fourth grade. She had to drop out a

I didn't get to watch much of the Democratic National Convention this past week. My teaching schedule meant I was in class when most of the action was going on. I've also had so many projects to work on lately that sometimes I don't get to watch news or read any updates. I'll be using my blog this week to post some of the speeches I've been hearing about, so I'll have a chance to actually read them. ***************** Vice President Joe Biden Posted: Sep. 6, 2012         My fellow Democrats, and my favorite Democrat. Jilly, I want you to know that Beau, Hunt, Ashley, and I are so proud of you. We admire the way you treat every single student who walks into your classroom. You not only teach them. You give them confidence. And the passion you bring to easing the burden on the families of our warriors. They know you understand what they’re going through. It makes a