Guam and Federal Money

Just some light posting through the holiday season. I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you. Enjoy 2008!

And here are the 2006 numbers for federal assistance to programs in Guam to mull over as we get ready to compare it to 2007.

That is $519 Million in grants.
The city of Denver received $6 BILLION that year.

Guam runs on 1/12 the funding that Denver does.

Denver will be getting $50,000,000 from the Feds for security for the one week Convention.
Housing and Urban Development spent $32,479,085 on housing last year in Guam.

Guam Quarter

The Treasury Department is extending the State Quarter program an extra year to include DC and the territories.

Here is the story via Guam blogger, M. G. Ryan:

It was with great interest that I listened to the discussion in the House of Representatives, recently, relating to 1997's 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act (Public Law 105-204). I am quite familiar with this program, as I am an active collector of the state quarters. The US Mint began releasing the quarters in 1999. The designs on each quarter were to reflect the history and spirit of each state. Each quarter was released in the order of the date each state was admitted into the Union. It is a ten-year program, with five quarters released each year, ending with Hawaii, our 50th and last admitted state, having its quarter released in late 2008.

I have to admit, I was a little sad with the prospect of this program ending next year. However, due to the previously mentioned discussions in the House of Representatives, there is a possibility of an extension of this program. How? With the proposal of HR 392 - The District of Columbia and United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act - the "collecting" can continue for another year by including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Good news, Ms. Ryan, the proposal passed.
Start thinking of designs; the territorial quarters will start in 2009.

Energy Emergency Preparedness

Like me, you have probably wondering why the Dept. of Homeland Security has delayed reporting the Energy Emergency Preparedness plan. If the power goes out in Guam, what is proposed for the safety of the island? Wasn't the plan supposed to be done around now.

I checked into it...

Hafa Adai Mr. Silverstein:

This is in response to your inquiry regarding the above caption.

To date, the Energy Emergeny Preparedness Plan is at its final draft. Unfortunately, due to the Guam Administrative Rules relating to "Procurement Control, Distribution, and Sale of Petroleum Products During Fuel Shortage", a draft was forwarded to Senator Espaldon's office for reveiw andimplementation under the Guam Administrative Rules for Guam Energy Office.

The Senator's office is now working on it and will get back to me as soon as possible. After this process, the final Energy Emergency Preparedness Plan will be forwarded to Homeland Security Office of Civil Defense for the final publication to be incorporated into the Territory Emergency Disaster Preparedness Plan. We will be communicating with Homeland Security Office of Civil Defense regarding the distribution to the general public. I'm almost sure that you might be able to access this manual electronically on the Homeland Security Office of Civil Defense website as it becomes available.

If you have any further information regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PAT A. FLORIG
Program Coordinator
Guam Energy Office
548 North Marine Corps Drive
Tamuning, Guam 96913

"THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY"

Guam-Guam-Guam

I have been reading Guam-Guam-Guam, a good news aggregator blog that covers Pacific issues.

This week they pointed at a story about the massive US military build-up on Guam, and the story has a name in it that might be familiar to readers of this blog.

antiwar.com

Activists believe the redeployment will result in a total influx of approximately 35,000 people, a number they say will overwhelm their small island, which has a population of just 168,000 people. The southernmost island in the Western Pacific Mariana chain, Guam has been a U.S. territory since the United States won the Spanish-American War in 1898.

"Guam has basically no say," said writer Michael Lujan Bevacqua, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego. "So the U.S. has the right to bring in whatever they want, and there is no framework that Guam can make demands or negotiate with the U.S. military. The Pentagon and the United States Congress are the sovereign owners, and they act like that. There is no relationship that says we have to listen to your feedback or we have to listen to your demands."

GUAHAN Project

Since 2003, the Guam HIV/AIDS Network Project (Gua. H/A N. Project) has been providing trainings and resources on HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, STDs, women's reproductive health, quitting smoking, diabetes, etc., but it was just this month that they launched their new outreach website.

It is looking great, and I welcome them to the Guamroots!

Next month, I will be sure to remind everyone about their local-cast production of the musical RENT, but for those who can't wait that long, I will give you an update on their event for this weekend:

December 22: Saturday
GUAHAN Project Film Festival
HIV/AIDS themed films and local productions for AIDS awareness
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
GUAHAN Project Resource Center located directly across Tamuning Elementary School, Chalan San Antonio, Tamuning, Core Pacific Building, Third Floor, Suite 301
Refreshments will be served

Gov. Dean in Guam : the Video

click to be taken to video page

Howard Dean:

One of the first things that I did when I was elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee was made sure that territories had the same voting power as states. The idea that a delegate from Guam... [applause] The idea that a delegate to the Democratic National Committee from Guam was going to have a quarter of a vote, and the people from the states who has exactly the same job was going to have a full vote... that is not what we do in the Democratic Party, and we don't do it anymore.

DNCC Blogger Credentialing Problems

UPDATE: Problem fixed.


The online form didn't hit the page until this afternoon.
Right now, it looks like they are having problems.

When you submit the form it tells you:

ADODB.Recordset error '800a0cc1'

Item cannot be found in the collection corresponding to the requested name or ordinal.

/blog/success.asp, line 54

Blogger Credentialing Starts Today

The submission area on the Democratic Convention's site is not available yet, but they expect to have it live later in the day.


Click here for the rules in a .pdf file

Click here for the credentialing page.

Non-Blogger Media Information

All of the information below has been transcribed from:
http://www.demconvention.com/a/2007/09/press_logistics.html

2008 Democratic National Convention
Press Credential, Workspace & Housing Information and Key Dates

The U.S. Congressional Press Galleries are opening their credential application process today. Please consult the Press credentials and workspace section below for links to all four Congressional Galleries and a description of the press organizations that fall under their jurisdictions.

Those media organizations that fall outside the jurisdictions of the Congressional Press Galleries should direct their request to the DNCC Press Gallery. That application process will begin later today. Please check back here for the live link.

Thank you for your interest in attending and covering the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO August 25 – 28. The following information provides you with information to begin the credential, workspace and housing application process for your news organization.

General information:

The Convention begins Monday, August 25 and runs through Thursday, August 28. Press credential distribution is scheduled for Sunday, August 24. A media party for all credentialed members of the press will be held on Saturday, August 23.

The application process for members of the press interesting in attending and covering the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver is outlined below.

Press credentials and workspace:

Applications for press credentials and workspace will begin on December 10, 2007.

The U.S. Congressional Press Galleries, in conjunction with the DNCC Press Gallery, will accept workspace and credential requests for all media organizations.

Please contact the respective Gallery listed below to begin your application process.

DAILY PRESS GALLERY: all daily newspapers (including foreign dailies), news wire services, and on-line daily news organizations.

Daily Press Gallery:
Jerry Gallegos, Superintendent
U.S. Capitol, H-315
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3945
www.house.gov/daily/hpg.htm


PERIODICAL PRESS GALLERY: all magazines (including foreign magazines), newsletters, newspapers of less than daily circulation, and any website updated less than daily.

Executive Committee of Periodical Correspondents
C/O House Periodical Press Gallery
Robert Zatkowski, Director
U.S. Capitol, H-304
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2941
Email: periodical.press@mail.house.gov
http://periodical.house.gov/


PHOTOGRAPHERS’ PRESS GALLERY: all photographers representing news organizations and news services. Freelance photographers must be on assignment from a news organization.

The Standing Committee of Press Photographers
P.O. Box 15273
Washington, D.C. 20003-0273
Attn: Jeff Kent
202-224-6548
www.senate.gov/galleries/photo


RADIO-TV GALLERY: all independent radio and television stations, groups or programs, domestic and foreign. Foreign broadcasters please work directly with the Radio/TV Gallery or with a domestic network. Contact the Radio/TV Gallery with any questions.

Radio TV Gallery:
Olga Ramirez Kornacki, Director
Room H-321
U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202- 226-5715
Email: rtvconventions2008@mail.house.gov
radiotv.house.gov

Press credential requests from news organizations that are not handled by any of the U.S. Congressional Galleries should be directed to the DNCC’s Press Gallery.

DNCC PRESS GALLERY: all other news organizations including blogs community newspapers, the publications of membership organizations, quarterlies, college media, production houses and media service organizations. Please visit the DNCC blog for more information on the blogger credentialing process.

DNCC Press Gallery
1560 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: 720-362-2008
Email: dnccpressgallery@demconvention.com
www.demconvention.com

Media housing information:


All media requests for housing for the Democratic National Convention during Convention week and including pre- and post-convention week stays can be made beginning on Tuesday, November 13, 2007.

To begin your DNCC online housing application process, please go to the media housing website at www.ambassadorsevents.com/dncc/media

There is a three step process for reserving hotel rooms:

1. Fill out an online application on the media housing website to request the number and types of room(s) your news organization requires for the Convention.

2. Confirmation and hotel room assignments will be sent via email, starting in February and will continue on a rolling schedule.

3. Complete the process of reserving rooms by paying a deposit and supplying credit card information.

For more information about media housing at the Convention, please go to the Media Housing FAQ at www.ambassadorsevents.com/dncc/media

Key media dates:

• Begin making your housing request online beginning November 13, 2007
• Begin making press credential and workspace requests December 10, 2007
• Early decision housing request deadline is December 13, 2007
• Early decision housing assignments confirmed by February 13, 2008
• Room block lists and room deposits due by June 24, 2008
• Media Convention party is August 23, 2008
• Distribution of press credentials is August 24, 2008
• Democratic National Conventions runs August 25 – 28, 2008

For more information and regular news updates on the 2008 Democratic National Convention, please visit www.DemConvention.com.

We look forward to working with you.

Gov. Howard Dean in Guam

This Friday, Dec. 14., DNC Chairman Howard Dean will be in Guam as the keynote speaker at the annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner. Tickets are $40 per person, and you can get information by calling 671-646-1100.

Dean will be meeting with local Senatorial candidates Tom Ada (pictured) and Judge B.J. Cruz.

Pacific Daily News

"This visit is part of Gov. Dean's commitment to building a national Democratic Party that does not take any vote or voter for granted, no matter where they live. He looks forward to the opportunity to help support the Guam Democrats," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera.
Democratic party of Guam chairman Tony Charfauros said he hopes the visit will bring more of a spotlight to the island.

"I think it will benefit everyone. Any time you have someone with the stature of Gov. Dean, it will benefit Guam because now there will be some national attention brought to our island," Charfauros said. "I think if we discuss with Gov. Dean (the) local issues we have, he can at least discuss it with some of the leaders back (on the mainland)."

Hoping that Dean, as amazing as he has proven to be, will discuss your issues with 'leaders' thousands of miles away, just sounds to me like setting the bar pretty low. That is why I advocate for people to get involved online. If your issues are being blocked due to the way information and access are traditionally handled, you have to be on the front edge of using the new technology to break through.

That said, it looks like Dean and Charfauros are hitting the right note with this expansion of Dean's 'Fifty State Strategy'. One of the comments at PDN was particularly illuminating:

"Everybody wants to bash political parties; they are not a necessary evil, they are they way people get organized to win elections; like other human institutions, they are fallible, they make mistakes ...... etc.

but on balance, I know which political party looks out for my interests. National political parties do not pay attention to Guam much..... but if Howard Dean is coming out and is not expecting anything other than he is responding to an invitation and reaching out in the middle of a presidential campaign.... then maybe not much good will come out of it, but it does say something.

Congratulations to the local Democratic Party.... it is more attention than the local Republican Party has received...... it is only David Cohen that talks to us."

I like the sound of that.

Hotels for bloggers

I asked Convention CEO Leah Daughtry about hotel accomodations for bloggers.

She replies: (video here)

"Well, all bloggers are invited to apply for housing through the DNCC's media housing process, and if you haven't already done so you should go online right away at our website; www.demconvention.com to file your application. We've got plenty of rooms and we hope to be able to take care of everyone who needs to have a room and who is here to cover the convention."

People who wish to cover the Florida delegation should probably also look for a room in Tallahassee.

Croatia weighs in on me and Jason... I think.

Demokrati i republikanci u strahu od blogera jer ih je te��ko 'usmjeravati'

Democrats and Republicans something bloggers the something 'something in quotes'.

Voice of America, I think. Croatian. Um...

U kolovozu sljede��e godine, u Denveru u Coloradu, strana��ku konvenciju Demokratske stranke, na kojoj ��e se i slu��beno izabrati kandidat za predsjednika dr��ave, pratit ��e tisu��e reportera - radijskih, televizijskih i novinskih. No, kako javlja Brian Larson, uz novinare iz tradicionalnih medija, u Denveru ��e biti i nekoliko desetaka blogera – koji ��e postupak predsjedni��ke nominacije pratiti na svoj na��in.

Denveru u Coloradu. Hey! I live there... probably.

Jason Rosenberg, je u Demokratskoj stranci direktor Odjela za Internet komunikacije. On ka��e da je utjecaj blogera, mahom novinara-amatera, porastao u odnosu na 2004. godinu, kada je odr��ana posljednja nacionalna konvencija Demokratske stranke: "2004. godine nitko jo�� nije shva��ao va��nost blogera. Strana��ki izbori su bili zanimljivi, nakon toga su uslijedili nacionalni izbori 2004. godine, me��utim tek 2006. – na izborima za Kongres – blogeri su pomogli demokratima da pobijede u nizu kongresnih utrka."

See that? In 2004 there were blogera, but in 2006 blogeri. And not just blogeri, but blogeri su pomogoli! That is why this convention rocks.

Jedan od blogera koji nastoje dobiti akreditaciju za pra��enje nacionalne konvencije Demokratske stranke je i Aaron Silverstein, pokreta�� bloga progresivne orijentacije squarestate.net.

Wait a minute. This is about me? Oh great, now I am going to have to find a translation.


I can't find it in the English section, but it looks like they quoted me as the lead story on the front page in Croatia...

Haven't found it in English yet, but apparently they quoted me on their front page and it was the lead story...

Demokrati i republikanci u strahu od blogera jer ih je teško 'usmjeravati'
Aaron Silverstein: "Stranačke konvencije još uvijek vrlo strogo kontroliraju protok vijesti. Meni je jasno zašto stranka želi da na konvenciji bude ograničen broj blogera – oni naime zaista pišu što misle."

I found a cleaner version without the special characters.

Throwing the page through the InterTran translator yields:

Democratic bi Liberals party is required unveil yet else more interesting for blogere – deemed Silverstein: "wing convention still very unsparing control the prototype board. A menu had conspicuously why does Liberals party I want to yes we do at convention branch office blogera – those namely truly which abstract. Still them does deemed the new phenomenon and does not wellspring info."

I think I was misquoted. I remember saying the new phenomenon doesn't necessarily wellspring info, but often does, at least when the blogeri is su pomogoli.

Don't Blink

At the 39 second mark of this news report you can see the subliminal messages that Fox31 decided to send out to Denver.

The rest of the montages are of Kos, HuffPo, FireDogLake, and other usual suspects, mostly set to pages about Giuliani, but you can see the first of two glimpses of the page 2008 Democratic Convention Watch at the 1:11 mark.

Minagahet

I have to check into the Blogger settings so that I can get comments emailed to me. This would move a lot smoother if I did that.

I sent this out just now. If you are in Guam and are thinking, "I can't believe he wants that guy to get the spot," this would be a great chance to jump in and point me in unexpected directions. Let's face it, as much as I would like to complete my quest here I am a man of action and don't want to have to rest on my laurels so soon.

Michael,

It is so good to hear from you.

As you have probably gathered from my blog, I am trying to find a good candidate to cover the DNCC next August in Denver that can bring a perspective on the news, events and politics that has traditionally been pushed away.

Your work more than any other that I have seen, reflects that possibility and I want to do what I can to help you be credentialed onto the floor of the Democratic National Convention and to help your independent voice be heard.

Jason Rosenberg is the Director of Internet Communications for the convention, and starting on Dec. 10th he will be gathering applications for the internet media interested in covering the convention and he wants bloggers from every delegation represented.

My clever (?) branding, schmoozing and networking has me high on Jason’s radar, and I know that he recognizes that the Convention has a stake in seeing that all grassroots viral efforts like this generate positive results. I do not work for the DNCC, and I don’t get to decide who is credentialed, but I know that his eyes are on me when it comes to finding the right blogger from Guam. (I copied him on this email, just in case he didn’t know that yet. You hear that Jason? Your eyes are on me.)

If you are interested in covering the convention next August, please let me know and I will keep you appraised of the timeline as it develops here in Denver, and will do everything I can to help you with the logistics of attending the event.

If, for whatever reason, Colorado is not in the cards for you, please share any information you can to help my site put a spotlight on the Guam Netroots, and maybe even find the right person for 2008.

Thanks! (and keep up the great work on all of your sites)

Aaron Silverstein

Great News!

Michael Lujan Bevacqua, who so far is hands down my top choice for the spot, has contacted me.

I will be writing him and seeing what we can develop!

More on this later...

Jason Rosenberg talks Blogs on KCFR

Jason Rosenberg and Joan McCarter from DailyKos.com spoke today on radio station KCFR.

They explained the importance of bloggers in coverage of the local delegations.

Listen to the podcast here:
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510072

The host tried repeatedly to push them to say that blogs were being included to provide a leftist slant, but the guests were not biting and underlined the relative independence of the blogging community.

It was clear from the story that this is a pivotal and transformational moment both for those engaged in bringing traditional journalism to the net and for the net-pundits who are bringing perspective and analysis.

That's a lot of pressure, people. Clearly, I better find someone more up to the task so I can spend that week napping.

Guam Delegation Questions Answered

Dan Slater, 1st Vice-Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, writes:

OK. I think I’ve cleared up the Guam delegation issues.



First, you have the super-delegate numbers correct. One for the Congressional delegate, and four for the DNC members (chair, vice chair, and two DNC National Committee persons). Then, normally, Guam would have had 3 more votes divided among 6 half-delegates, making a delegation total of 11 (Plus 1 alternate). However, the DNC adopted a rule earlier this year that allows states that go later in the delegate selection process to get bonus delegates as a reward for not front-loading the process (worked like a charm, as Feb. 5 shows).



Because Guam is scheduled to go on May 3, 2008 with its caucus / convention process, it was rewarded one extra delegate, which adds two half-votes. Accordingly, Guam’s delegation size is 13, plus 1 alternate. (By the way, Guam’s 4 pledged delegates represent 0.12% of the total number of delegates at the Convention – well, at least as of today; that percentage assumes Florida gets 0 delegates but still assumes that Michigan has its full delegation). In comparison, Colorado represents 1.63% of the pledged delegates.


More data for you: Guam has one member on each of the standing committees (Credentials, Rules, and Platform), and that one member gets a fourth of a vote on the committee. (Colorado gets two full votes on each committee.) As did Colorado, Guam had to adopt an outreach plan with delegation affirmative action goals. They have a goal of 6 delegates being Asian / Pacific Americans and 1 being “Youth”.


Hope all that helps! Let me know if you have further questions.


-- Dan

That last paragraph is very interesting. I wonder who the "youth" delegate might be?

Fox 31 NEWS

On our local Fox affiliate, they just ran an interview with Jason Rosenberg and ProgressCon 2008's Bobby Clark about bloggers at the Convention.

I am pretty sure that if you watch very closely, there is a momentary flash of GuamLovesJasonRosenberg.blogspot.com

I will try and find a clip.

If you were brought here by the subliminal call of the message, welcome!

Rosenberg at Roots Camp

Political progressives are gathering in Denver this weekend for the 2nd annual Roots Camp.

In one of the many break-out sessions, DNCC Internet Communications Director Jason Rosenberg spoke about the blogger credentialing process for the convention and took a number of questions.

I was on hand, and he was very generous with his comments about my work on this blog. I was glad that he was able to weave it constructively into the narrative of the convention, and I hope that it sparks something creative for one of the other bloggers.

A lot of useful coordination has begun within the Colorado netroots, and there were a number of good points raised. One in particular seems worth bringing up here.

December 10th marks the beginning of the application process, but the State Blogger Corps will not be finalized until April. By then, you can be almost certain that nearly all hotel rooms will be booked in Denver. I sent a question along to CEO Daughtry to find out what sort of resources may be available for out of town bloggers, but it does not look likely that the DNCC will be offering much help.

If you are attending as a Guam blogger, I will see what I can do to help provide for your housing, but if you are reading this because you are planning to attend from elsewhere, you might want to look into a few other options.

Obviously, booking your room early... or last month... would be good. Failing that, you might want to keep your eyes out for the housing share page on the ProgressCon site.

Right now, there is just a place holder there, but I spoke to Bobby Clark of ProgressNow and he started to say that they would be filling it out soon, but then he offered the suggestion that perhaps I should take it on. I just might.

Not tonight though. I have to get some sleep and head back for day two.