Day 6: DCCC, luncheon, pollster and night tour of Washington DC

It takes immense discipline to blog every day and without the luxury of time, I have not been able to produce more meaningful and thoughtful blogs.  So, I’m going to cheat for this entry. Instead of long narratives, I’m going to post some photos to help unfold the events that took place today.

Meeting with Johanna Berkson, Director of Training & Campaign Staff Recruitment of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)

Top: Johanna (in red) explaining what her portfolio at the DCCC does. In a nutshell, it recruits and trains staff and congressional candidates on how to run an election campaign.

Right: It’s common practice for delegates to thank each person we meet with a small token of appreciation from home. I normally give them a button badge and sticker of the MyConstitution Campaign.

ACYPL Fellows luncheon @ Zaytinya

Had a lovely luncheon with the delegates from Pakistan who just finished their fellowship in Salt Lake City, Utah and several ACYPL staff and alumni members. I’m going to live up to my identity as a Malaysian. Let’s talk about food first. Here’s some of the delectable Middle Eastern/Mediterranean meze on the menu; baba ghannouge, tzatziki, sauteed mushrooms with dates and toasted almonds, salmon cooked with spicy eggplant and cracked green olive salsa and turkish delight.

Heer Soha (left) shared her experience in Salt Lake City. She shyly confessed that she had misconceived perceptions of Americans before she joined the programme. According to her, she didn’t like what she heard about Americans and at the same time also thought that Americans did not like Pakistan nationals. She was pleasantly surprised to experience warm hospitality and kindness displayed by all the Americans she has since met. She particularly like the Mormon community and feels that they share similar cultures; conservative and teetotaler. She added that she was very grateful that her hosts were respectful of their religious practices.

Below: We had Rachel Zagrabelny McGreevy, an Alumnus to Islamabad in 2006, and Heer Soho, a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Pakistan on our table.

Top: The lovely and ever-friendly Philippino delegation who will be going to Atlanta, Georgia for their fellowship. From left to right: Benedicto, Ivy, Aura and Daisy.

Top left: Ellin Rozana, Executive Director of an NGO in Indonesia called Institut Perempuan, eating salmon for the first time in her life.

Top right: Contrary to popular belief that Americans generally stuff themselves up with fast food, people living in Washington DC tends to eat better and healthier. There’s hardly any McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut or KFC around. Instead, there are tonnes of great restaurants such as this. Words have it that Michelle Obama is making great effort to promote healthy eating amongst American and it’s definitely visible here in Washington DC. It’s also the capital for running!

“What do the polls say?” with Karen Emmerson, Associate Analyst, Lake Research Partners

After a 3-course lunch, we waddled to our next meeting. Afraid that I was going to fall asleep, the session was thankfully incredibly interesting.

Karen gave a well-prepared and thorough presentation on what the polls say about the Democrat’s standing for the mid-term election. Again, the results do not favour them. She also shares the A-Z on how to conduct a poll and how it affects a candidate’s campaign.

Top:  Kristin Rhebergen (middle), labelled as a “walking google search machine” by one of the delegates, illustrated the meaning of exit polls while being watched by Rizki (far left) and Karen.

Top from left to right:  Erin (the lovely ACYPL intern and official group photographer), Rajiv, Ivy and Betty enjoying Karen’s presentation.

Washington DC by night

I have to admit that I’m slowly falling in love with Washington DC. I used to think that New York City is one of the most awesome cities I’ve ever been but Washington DC has a soul. NYC is all about the lifestyle but Washington DC is about the city and its remarkable stories. It is almost as if everything that was built on the city prior to the 20th century has a meaning and purpose.

Ken Insley (left), an alumnus to China in 2002, did a fantastic job of introducing the city to us in 2 hours. He astounded us with his in-depth knowledge of American history, which he credited to the years he taught in a high school.

When we past by Smithsonian, Ken revealed  why admissions to the 19 museums are free. (Read here for the story behind it.) According to him, the Air and Space Museum remains the world’s most visited museum. Due to recent economic recession, the number of Americans visiting Washington DC has increased substantially.

Ken may be delighted to know that I’ve decided to spend my free afternoon tomorrow at the museums even though I’m not a museum person.  In honour of James Smithson’s aspiration to promote universal education, I am going to make an exception for this. I have a strong hunch that it would make a couple of people very happy. 

 

Top: Inside the Washington Monument. The walls contain massive inscriptions of parts of the US Declaration of Independence. Below: The large columns predominantly seen on most monuments in Washington DC were very much inspired by the Greeks.

Left: The Lincoln Memorial.

Day 5: A day to remember - hype, labour pain, yeast infection, tea party and a moment of borrowed pride

 

Picture above: The ginormous “mini” bus that takes us around the city for our meetings.

HYPE HYPE HOORAY

Kristin, looking slightly concerned, asked everyone on the bus ride today, “Is everyone ok? I’ve noticed that some of you look a little bit under the weather.” She was referring to Dil and I  who have been trying hard to muffle our coughs during several meeting sessions today.

I may be physically under the weather but my spirit soars far above the Metro stations. Today is one of those days that reminds me of the reasons why I should still believe in humanity. Today is a day when my heart flutters in its attempt to tell me that I’m happy to be living this moment.

We had a series of eventful and interesting meetings from 9am to 4:30pm and it culminated in a high note when we finished the day with a night tour of the White House. The icing on the cake was fresh, delectable and sweet.

Picture above: Mozelle Thompson reminds the delegates that it’s important to manage one’s hotness on Facebook. Laura Burton Capps looks on amusingly.

We first met up with Laura Burton Capps and Mozelle W. Thompson who talked about traditional  and new media strategies for a successful political campaign.

Laura has spent 15 years developing strategic communications and issue advocacy campaigns for former President Bill Clinton, late Senator Edward Kennedy, former Senator John Kerry and other notable academic and non-profit organisations.

Mozelle is on the Advisory Board of Facebook and CEO of Thompson Strategic Consulting. He provides legal and policy advice to technology companies and was a Team Leader of the Obama/Biden Transition where he led the review of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Both presented very compelling arguments on the strengths and importance of traditional and modern media respectively but they also mutually concluded that for a campaign to be truly successful, both methods should always be adopted to complement each other.

Mozelle aptly calls the Facebook phenomenon as “a book club on steroid”. He described the effectiveness of Facebook as a campaign tool by giving an example that someone is likely to be more inclined to buy a Ford if he finds out on Facebook that his cousin has bought one.

He also imparted his wisdom on how to handle bad press/publicity. “The thing with owning a Facebook page or a blog is this, you’ll have to expect people to disagree or criticise you on your page or blog. But do you try to censure or remove these criticisms? Of course not cause here’s the thing. You can remove the comments, but that doesn’t mean they stop criticising you. You need to confront it because it will also provide you with an opportunity to rebut and to replace the bad with good publicity.”

LABOUR PAIN

Picture above: Left – Chuck Rocha and Jun Kim sharing their “union” stories. Right: Dil with the beautiful Anna Durett. Notice what she has on her dress?

We quickly moved on to our next meeting with people from the Communications Workers of America (CWA). CWA is the largest telecommunications union in the world. We were addressed by a charismatic Chuck Rocha and his amiable and down-to-earth colleagues, Jun Kim and Anna Durrett. Chuck’s introduction was  personal, human and inspiring. He shared the story of how he climbed from the bottom of a worker’s ladder to being a union leader and an effective activist for labour rights.

What was interesting about this session is how the whole argument about civil and political rights being as equally important and inter-connected with economic, social and cultural rights (the so-called “third-world rights”) can be personified in the role of a trade union. Chuck said that the sole purpose of a trade union is to defend and promote economic rights and security of workers and one of the most effective measures is to lobby for workers’ rights through legislative change.

Picture above: Denise Ferriozi sharing a light moment with some of the delegates.

A VERY GOOD KIND OF YEAST INFECTION

We then met Denise Ferriozi, Director of Women Vote! of the Emily’s List. The acronym Emily stands for Early Money is Like Yeast, signifying the yeast’s role in raising the dough.  EMILY's List is a political action committee (PAC) in the United States that aims to help elect progressive female candidates who are pro-choice to office.

I was curious to find out whether the organisation would support a female homosexual candidate and Denise affirmed that they had in fact helped Tammy Balwin to become the first openly gay woman elected to Congress in America. Here’s an interesting video promo by Emily’s List.

A TEA PARTY, ANYONE?

Our last meeting was with Phil Kerpen, Vice-President for Americans for Prosperity (a name which should never be confused for a Chinese-American movement). He shared a lot about the philosophies behind the tea party movement and surprisingly it makes a lot of sense to have what they call an “outside organisation” which plays an important role in American politics. For instance, this group is neither Republican nor Democrat and I personally see them as being in the middle. Although it was not specifically mentioned, I believe that they generally call for the decentralisation of federal government, oppose increased taxation in order to increase welfare and their main drive is to maintain the economic prosperity of hardworking Americans.

A MOMENT OF BORROWED PRIDE

Top left: Everyone in great anticipation at the entrance of the White House waiting for security clearance. Top right: At the Press Briefing room where the President delivers his press statements. Bottom: Araz  at the far left and Lindsay at the far right.

Unlike 10 Downing Street, the White House is probably one of the most iconic landmarks in the history of cinema and television drama. Although I have not watched The West Wing (which I should), I can just about imagine the thrill, honour, responsibility and glory of being in the White House. After all, most major foreign policies, whether good or bad, are being deliberated there.

When I first stepped into the White House, it felt as if I was stepping into Tengku Razaleigh’s office and resident in Kuala Lumpur; which for some bizarre reason, emulates the White House. It was a feeling of indifference. It wasn’t until when I saw the generically framed photographs capturing the daily life of President Obama lining every corner of White House walls, that I began to feel a sudden rush of pride and greatness. Being Malaysian, it was indeed a bizarre feeling and I felt guilty almost instantaneously.

As I walked along with the other ACYPL delegates, I tried to understand why being in the White House has touched me that much and these are my conclusions. As a stranger to this country, I was able to feel that sense of pride and honour as any average American would feel because the photos show a regular human being who shares an extraordinary and inspiring story. Barack Obama was a regular  man who tenaciously fought his way up to become the first African-American President. It is clearly a powerful human story and the photos depict him not only as a President but also a husband, father, son and man, help strangers like me to connect with him. (You can view the photos here)

I also think there is another possible contributing factor. To me, Lindsay Mueller and Araz, the two officers who gave us the tour, are the two best people the White House could have as “ambassadors”. It was extremely telling that they were both zealous, proud and honoured to work there. Lindsay spoke about the President, the incoming Chief of Staff, the “jumbo” (photographs) and even the infamous Colonnade with such affection and love that I feel almost envious of her.

Today is definitely one of the highlights of this trip. It almost reminded me of the day when I went to the Gandhi Smitri Museum in New Delhi quite a few years back. I went in feeling indifferent but came out inspired to be a better person for humankind. The people I met today taught me that being good at what they do is ultimately what makes the difference and change.

 

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?

This article was first published in The Malaysian Insider on 4 October 2010.

There is one question that often sparks off heated arguments, and to a certain extent, discomfort among the female species rather successfully — including my own circle of girlfriends.

Nothing riles the female species up more than asking them whether human beings are meant to be monogamous. If you want to be really unpopular, try telling them that you actually don’t believe so — which is the position I’m taking.

What I find frustrating when having such a discussion is that the majority of women are not willing or ready to consider my position. I think I can understand why because I used to be one of them. I used to give the same reasons.

“Infidelity is wrong. It shouldn’t be tolerated!” “This is just a bad excuse for men to commit adultery!”

The problem is when women discuss relationships, we tend to idealise and romanticise them. We often talk about who the ideal man is and what a relationship is supposed to be. We can spend hours dissecting the criteria and issues revolving around them and truth be told, there are often many variations at the end of the discussion.

But, when it comes to the topic of fidelity, we often stand unanimous in condemning the act of infidelity wholeheartedly. There is often no discussion but only judgment. I notice the same pattern with my foreign girlfriends.

When I ask the question whether human beings are meant to be monogamous, I am not asking whether polygamous relationships are acceptable or not. When I take the position that human beings are not meant to be monogamous, I’m not saying that I tolerate or accept that we all should have one-night stands with different sexual partners.

I am merely asking us to consider whether it is possible that people commit adultery simply because it is a natural thing to do and not because they stop loving their partner.

The act of infidelity is not a modern phenomenon. It has probably been around since the existence of mankind. The only difference is that it is less tolerated now as modern societies begin to create the concept of marriage as an institution, the religious impositions of the sanctity of marriage, new moral codes regulating the exclusivity of couple-ship, the romantic idealism of fidelity and not least the feminist movement.

The whole concept of one man for one woman, as romantic as it sounds... does it really work for or against the core of human nature?

Now, I was brought up in a society and community which regards fidelity as an obligation. I believe that my parents have been completely faithful to each other although I’ve known some of my relatives who have cheated on their wives. While we try to avert our eyes and pretend that they don’t happen, it is nevertheless a scandal where endless gossip, conversations and debates are held behind closed doors.

The debates are usually divided into two groups as most debates usually are but the interesting thing is, there is absolutely no gender balance in any of the groups. You always get the women thrashing the adulterer while the men are quick to come to his defence.

One of my cousins had a huge fight with her husband when they decided to debate about Clinton’s fidelity. There is nothing better than a healthy discussion on global “affairs”, I’ll say!

Recent studies carried out by several reputable behavioural science research centres in America have shown two surprising changes in American society today, in regards to infidelity. Firstly, the female infidelity rate has increased which means that women are equally unfaithful to their spouses, and secondly more and more young couples are engaging in adulterous relationships.

They claim that modern women now have more opportunities to commit infidelity as they become more emancipated; they get to know more people at the workplace, stay late at work and travel more on business. Previously, when most women were still housewives, they stayed at home all day and hence were less exposed to the possibilities of infidelity. (Have they not heard about how the milkmen and postmen do more than just deliver services?)

They also claim that in this modern era, the Internet and mobile phone have contributed to the increase rate of infidelity. Even housewives can now indulge in flirtations via the Internet and instant text messaging. As for younger couples committing adultery, the Internet is the main culprit.

This I can agree to an extent because with so many online dating services, adult friend finders, etc. it’s so easy for men and women to hook up with someone. Let’s face it, even if you have every intention to stay faithful to your spouse, many profit-making agencies are trying very hard to make you fail. You can hire escort services at just a click of a button by entering your credit card details, preferences and voila!

Look at all the seemingly innocent online social network websites; Facebook, MySpace, etc. Applications like “Are you interested in me?” “Would you like to sleep with me?” are not as innocent as they seem.

Bottomline is, whatever these studies aim to achieve, I think the bigger question is why are people committing infidelity? I don’t think this survey can ever be considered accurate because many people will never own up to being an adulterer. So, they can just stop wasting their time and money on researches.

Society has taught us that infidelity is taboo and it is wrong, but it has never quite prepared us as human beings to deal with such concepts, which are created by presumably religious or impotent people. When this person decided that marriage should be a sacred institution and it is morally sinful to cheat, many of us have followed without ever studying the nature and readiness of humankind. Otherwise, why have so many faltered under the most insignificant temptation?

Then, there are bigger questions like is it possible for a person to love more than two people at a time, or is it possible for a person to fall in and out of love?

A one-night stand to a certain extent is arguably acceptable but what happens when a fling becomes a thing? An affair is no longer harmless because it breaks up a family, which can potentially lead to far-reaching consequences, especially when children are involved.

Various people commit adultery for various reasons. While to many, it is simply unacceptable, it doesn’t really address the issue. Instead, couples need to look at themselves and evaluate what has gone wrong in their relationship to cause either one of them, or both, to be unfaithful.

Has the husband stopped noticing his wife because he is too busy with work? Has the wife stopped being sexually desirable because she is a full-time mother? Have the children become the centre of their lives as a couple?

Or an option would be to study yourself by asking whether you are the faithful type or not. Be honest and own up to it.

Unless these problems are being addressed, be rest assured that infidelity will continue for as long as mankind shall exist.

Day 3 & 4: Fighting jetlag and getting into things with ACYPL

Day 3: 4 October 2010

This is what happens when you don’t blog for one day: you can’t remember what had taken place the day before, particularly when your body is fighting hard to adjust to the 12-hour time difference.

Picture above: From left to right – Sara Binder, Thomas Mann, EJ Dionne Jr, William Galston and Michael McDonald

Thankfully, there is such a thing as the digital voice recorder to help remind me of the interesting forum called Midterm Elections 2010: Driving Forces, Likely Outcomes, Possible Consequences by the Brookings Institute on Monday morning. (The recording of the session can be accessed here.) Brookings is a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC. It aims to conduct high-quality, independent research which results in innovative recommendations that help to strengthen American democracy, amongst other things.

If you’re not really familiar with American politics, like me, it may be a bit difficult to follow the line of discussions by the distinguished speakers; each with extremely impressive credentials. You’ll also hear terms such as partisan gridlock, tea party (also read this article by Jonathan Rauch in the National Journal magazine), filibuster, gerrymandering (which I was relieved to know), etc. and you wonder to yourself whether they’re speaking in English.

The speakers were no doubt incredibly articulate, knowledgeable and witty as they often took the opportunity to inject humour into their speeches. Despite having some difficulty to fully comprehend the issues at hand, I found them enrapturing.

One can conclude from the forum that the forecast seems to favour the Republican in the coming mid-term elections.

Pictures above: Top – Linda explaining the structure of the two political parties; the  National Democratic/Republican Committee. Bottom: The ACYPL Fall Delegates. From top (left to right) – Rizki Affiat, Ellin Rozana, Aura Landar-Layese, Ibdil Ishak, Benedicto Savellano, Rajiv Rishyakaran & Lim Chee Wei. From bottom (left to right) – Betty Idroos, Ivy Martia Lei Ballitoc, Daisy Gamale, Linda Rotunno & Lim Ka Ea

In the afternoon, Linda Rotunno, the Chief Executive Officer of ACYPL, gave us an overview of ACYPL and the US Government. As a self-professed Democrat, it was evident that Linda has been profoundly touched and inspired by President Barack Obama. It was also clear on her facial expression and manner of speaking that she is frustrated with the declining support given to the President by majority of Americans in recent months. According to her, this is one of the toughest periods in American politics since the economic depression in the 1930s. It is a bleak period where majority of Americans are afraid of losing their jobs and this translates to taking desperate and not necessarily wise decisions.

She gave an example of how democracy does not always deliver the best results, especially when it’s being executed without proper information, nor wisdom. She told the story of Adrian Fenty, the 6th mayor of District Columbia, who single-handedly reformed the education system in lower-income areas of DC. He got rid of teachers who did not care too much for teaching and improved the overall quality of education in public schools. However, he got voted out in the next election by the people who needed him most to help raise the education standards of their children which will hopefully contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Day 4: 5 October 2010

We started the morning early by driving across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington county. There, we met Linda Lindberg who works as the General Registrar of Arlington County Officer of Voter Registration. We were given a thorough explanation of how voter registrations are carried out right up to the ballots being cast on election day.

The most unusual practice found in America as compared to Malaysia is the ability of those who are unable to vote during election day to send in their votes in advance via the absentee voting mechanism. The voters can send their votes either through email, post or in person at their respective county offices.

What was also interesting is the number of people who have told us that electoral fraud is rare. Security measures to counter double or phantom voting such as indelible ink and presentation of identification card at the ballot station are absent.

We also met with Amy Cenicola, Jim McCray and Michael Toner, individuals who work as fundraising consultants for the two political parties. Jim summarised the whole session succinctly. He said that the strength of a candidate is measured by the amount of funds he/she is able to generate. President Obama so far holds the record of generating more than USD700 million for his Presidential campaign and in his opinion, this is only the beginning as he sees greater potential in the President.

Management of campaign fund is pretty transparent in America. They claim that by just logging on to opensecrets.org, one can literally make a search on every individual that has contributed to which party in America. Foreigners, apparently, won’t be in the list.

DAY 2: Sky Juice and Washington DC

The 13-hour flight from Seoul to Washington DC was not as agonising as I thought it would be, albeit some unexpected tearful events caused by Letters to Juliet, Cairo Time, Mother and Child and shamefully, Toy Story 3. After all, it must be difficult for a 17 year-old boy to give up his toys on the day he drives to college.

Going past immigration in Washington DC was a breeze. Thanks to Kristin, our Programme Coordinator in Washington DC, who prepared us well with our paper work prior to departure. It must had been a feat to sort out all the necessary documents for 11 delegates coming from three separate destinations. Yet, she did it with ease and grace.

After waiting for quite awhile for our luggages, we were promptly greeted by Kristin at the arrival gate. It was great to finally meet her in person and she is definitely much younger than how I had imagined her to be. She took to the task of organising us quickly and was rather apologetic for subscribing to the American cliché of driving a super large SUV, which was not superfluous in this context at all.

Although it’s seasonably autumn, the foliage surrounding the city is still green. According to Kristin, we can expect to see the leaves slowly turning yellow and orange in the next couple of weeks. Traffic was clear since it’s a Sunday and we had a pleasant drive through the city.

We arrived at Clubs Quarter Hotel at around 1:30pm and by 2pm, Rajiv (one of the Malaysian delegates) and I hit the city on foot. The weather was just perfect for a lovely stroll along the quiet city which has been largely abandoned by its inhabitants during the weekend.

We walked to the White House which is only two blocks away and was surprised to find the compound so accessible to the public; not to far away from the main public road. It is also much smaller than what we had both imagined. We were very pleased when Kristin announced that we’ll be given a night tour of the West Wing some time next week before we leave for our fellowship.

We walked for 2 1/2 hours and during which, embraced the American culture twice! We bought hot dogs from a street vendor and coffee from Starbucks. Rajiv took the opportunity to give me some lessons on AT&T and T-Mobile pre-paid phone packages for short-term visitors. For the price of USD60, one can get a Samsung phone with USD30 credit!

Later tonight, we all met up for dinner at an Asian-fusion restaurant just around the corner of the hotel. It was great meeting up with the Indonesian and Philippines delegations. We were all in good spirit despite the long and exhausting journey. There’ll be time for getting to know each other but for now, it’s time to get some sleep.

Good night, all!

Pictures below: These pictures were taken outside the White House. There was an elderly woman who was seen standing alone at an anti-nuclear weapon and anti-Israeli demonstration site. The bearded man beneath was sitting on the curb facing the White House. He was waving his arms around in some kind of slow rhythmic motion while reciting something in silence. At a closer glance, he wore a shirt with the Islamic Syahadat on the back.

Day 1: Transit in Incheon International Airport, Seoul

I’ve learned one thing today: No matter how much you think you’re prepared, you’re never 100% prepared.

Left the apartment at around 8pm in an absolute rush to get to the airport by 9pm. Flight on Korean Air was to depart KLIA at 11:30pm. I initially thought I would have time  to drop by at the post office and then picked up my dry cleaning, but I ended up failing to say goodbye to my cat.

Picture top left: Aerial view over Seoul, South Korea.

No matter how much one has travelled, there is this always this nagging anxiety of something dreadful about to happen: What if the car break down and I miss my flight? What if I left my passport at home? What if I left my purse at home and I have to pay for excess baggage? Wait…how am I going to survive a foreign country without any money or plastics with me?

Well, thankfully, none of these happened to me. Thanks to hubby who tried his best to get me prepared.

Korean Air was interesting. I find the service most efficient. The stewardesses were quick to collect used plastic cups soon after they served the usual water or juices. What I am not accustomed to was the fact that the airline did not serve food until 1 1/2 hours before arrival at Seoul!

Instead, as soon as everyone was settled, the stewardess announced duty free shopping immediately. The duty free catalogue is easily the size of a double edition of Marie Claire magazine. Perhaps shopping is a huge Korean tradition. While roaming around Incheon Airport, I can’t help but feel as if I am in Suria KLCC. I’ve never seen such a large concentration of designer clothing lines; i.e. Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Bvlgari, Salvatore Ferragamo, etc. in one small place!

So, now I’m here sitting at the rest lounge waiting for my 3-hour transit to Washington DC. I think I spent my time quite well. Had some time to do a brief cultural activity of making Korean key chain, had my Korean hot breakfast and blog.

Picture bottom left: Free session on how to make Korean key chain at the Korean Traditional Cultural Experience Centre, Incheon International Airport.

Picture bottom right: A Korean doll at the same centre.

It’s 30 minutes before boarding time and I think it’s time to go. Can’t wait to catch up on movies on the flight.