tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314171992024-03-05T03:41:49.202-05:00Life After JerusalemThe musings of an Out and Proud Foreign Service OfficerDiggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comBlogger1589125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-975043050100543552018-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:002018-02-08T16:56:44.809-05:00Still Here<span style="color: magenta;">It has been more than a year since I have posted. (Trust me, it is not that I have had nothing to say.) And in that time, you have no doubt heard about the mass exodus from the State Department. <br />
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It is true that a lot of senior people have left. You can tell it by the lines (or lack thereof) in the cafeteria. You can tell it by the empty spaces in the parking garage, especially the ones marked with green that are reserved for the highest ranking people in the Department. We are missing a lot of very senior people. I sometimes joke that it feels like all the grownups are leaving. <br />
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A fair number of more junior folks have left as well. Many are now on Facebook insisting you have to leave or be complicit with the current administration. <br />
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But I don't believe that. And so I am still here. <br />
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And there are a lot of here who feel that way. The importance of our work hasn't changed even if it feels less appreciated. Or at least less appreciated by some. Oddly, Congress, on both sides of the aisle, has been showing us MORE appreciation lately even as we stare down another potential shutdown. (I won't even get started on that one right now.) <br />
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A lot of us are still here doing the work we feel that matters. Upholding our oath to the Constitution because THAT matters. A LOT. <br />
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There is a <b><a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/07/serving-under-trump-is-not-a-crime/">good piece</a></b> in Foreign Policy today about those who are leaving and the need for folks to stay. Suzanne Nossel writes:</span> <br />
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"U.S. interests now and in the future depend on having a robust, experienced, and committed diplomatic corps. Embassies with experts on politics, economics, counterterrorism, human rights, arms control, drug trafficking, international development, and an array of other topics — coupled with counterparts back in Washington — give the United States unmatched capacity to mobilize support, move international opinion, and respond to crises. In an era when cyberattacks, pandemics, natural disasters, and other threats can originate anywhere and spread overnight, the breadth of this network is invaluable. To let this arm of American influence atrophy would be a grave self-inflicted wound." <br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">I won't be a party to that wound. <br />
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So I am staying. <br />
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She goes on in the article to call on those who are concerned with foreign affairs to help make sure those of who stay aren't forced out or punished for staying.</span> <br />
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"Diplomacy is a job you cannot learn outside of government. While there are people with related expertise in think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector, anyone who has entered government from the outside will affirm that one’s effectiveness is enormously dependent on the career officials who show you how to get things done. While a hollowing out of the diplomatic corps may feel like a well-deserved thumb in the eye for Trump, those concerned with U.S. foreign policy need to take the long view, doing everything possible to ensure that career officials hang in there and are still around when it’s time to help U.S. diplomacy rise anew." <br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">I hope they do. Because I still believe in diplomacy. I still believe the State Department is worth fighting for. We don't need a damn military parade. We need dedicated diplomats doing everything they can to keep us out of wars in the first place. Use that money to fund diplomacy, or at least to take care of the wounded warriors we have already created.<br />
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And so I hope if you were thinking of joining the Foreign Service, you still do, even if the numbers are smaller and so getting in is harder. And if you are here, I hope you stay. You won't be alone. <br />
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I will still be here.</span>
Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-20645647073914873252017-02-03T10:53:00.001-05:002017-02-03T10:53:06.680-05:00Welcome, Mr. Secretary<span style="color: magenta;">Newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had his first day in the office yesterday and was greeting by a crowd of the Department's Foreign and Civil Service employees. I admit that much has given me angst about the way things have been going for the last couple weeks, but he isn't one of those things. I am actually cautiously optimistic.<br />
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The speech was a good one. And I was touched that he paid his respects at our Memorial Wall, inscribed with the names of all of our number who have given their lives in the line of duty. It touched me when he reached up and touched Ambassador Stevens' name.<br />
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I have only one complaint however. Praising the New England Patriots is not the way to unite your team. (Steelers forever!)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMSQ1EKQoEI" width="480"></iframe>
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Here is the <b><a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/02/267401.htm">text of his speech</a></b> if you don't have time to watch the video.</span><br />
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SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, good morning, all. We apologize for being late. It seemed that this year’s prayer breakfast, people felt the need to pray a little longer. (Laughter.) But I certainly welcomed them all, so – thank you for such a warm reception. And it’s a pleasure to be here, obviously. I’ve been anxious to be here, and I’m so pleased to have my wife, Renda, of more than 30 years. And she has been just steadfast through this process, encouraging me on and reminding me what this is really all about. And so thank you. (Applause.)
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I also want to thank Acting Secretary Tom Shannon, who has just been superb through this entire process. And Tom, thank you so much. (Applause.) It was truly and indeed an honor that Tom joined us in the Oval Office last night for my swearing-in, and I appreciated that he was there.
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Obviously, I also want to recognize and thank all of you here at headquarters of our State Department, the staff and partners around the world, who have faithfully performed your duties regardless of who was in charge. It was so important. I know many of you have assisted ambassadors and other officials during the Senate confirmation process, and indeed some of you have been through it yourself. Having just come through it for the first time, I can assure you the Senate still takes it as serious as ever, they’re as energetic as ever, they’re as thorough as ever – but we’re here. (Laughter and applause.)
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So in the days and weeks ahead we’re going to have plenty of opportunity to discuss in more detail the goals, the priorities, and the strategic direction for our organization. But for now I really want to take a few minutes to communicate my high regard for the men and women of the State Department and share with you some principles for all of us to live by as we pursue our shared mission.
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The individuals who comprise this department are among the finest public servants in the world. Many of you serve our nation abroad and have served our nation abroad. State Department staffers in the field are not just conduits for policies and plans; you are our emissaries of our nation and the ideals we stand for. When people see you, they see America.
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When I wake up each morning, the very first thing I ask myself is: Are all of our people safe? The safety of every single member of our State Department family, regardless of where he or she is posted, is not just a priority for me. It’s a core value, and it will become a core value of this department. (Applause.) This means the State Department family here in the U.S. and all those agencies serving under chief of missions abroad, including Civil Service; Foreign Service officers and specialists; locally engaged staff of host country and third-country nationals; interns, fellows, support contractors and implementing partners; and not least of all, the family members who support us at home and in our service to our country overseas.
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The Foreign Service is not the only component of the State Department. The Civil Service workforce at the State Department plays an indispensable role in all we achieve, and we cannot attain success without the mission-critical services that you provide.
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Though we often live in a world of headlines, working outside of the public eye does not make you any less essential to our operations. Your dedication, your intelligence, and your sound judgment are the brick and mortar elements of all we do. We all depend on your good work, and I know it will continue.
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One of the great – (applause) – one of the great challenges and thrills for the State Department staff is deciding how to confront changing conditions in every corner of the world. And I encourage all of you to use your natural and well-developed skills to adapt to changes here at home as well.
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I know this was a hotly contested election and we do not all feel the same way about the outcome. Each of us is entitled to the expression of our political beliefs, but we cannot let our personal convictions overwhelm our ability to work as one team. Let us be understanding with each other about the times we live in as we focus our energies on our departmental goals.
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As Secretary, I will deploy the talent and resources of the State Department in the most efficient ways possible. That may entail making some changes to how things are traditionally done in this department. Change for the sake of change can be counterproductive, and that will never be my approach.
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But we cannot sustain ineffective traditions over optimal outcomes. I will gather information on what processes should be reformed, and do my part to make sure we are functioning in the most productive and efficient way possible.
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Regardless of the circumstances shaping our country or our department, we must all remain focused on the mission at hand before us. I remind you that our undertakings are larger than ourselves or our personal careers.
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Our duty is to faithfully represent our nation in the arena of foreign affairs. If we stay focused on the work before us, I promise I will work to ensure you achieve your own personal success and your professional satisfaction in what you are doing.
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For every individual who works at the State Department, I ask that we adopt a few core principles.
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First, I believe that any organization runs best when all of its members embrace accountability. From the mailroom to the boardroom, every member of a team has a job to do. I know nobody will always be perfect, and that certainly includes me. But I ask that everyone strive for excellence and assume responsibility for their actions and their decisions.
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The New England Patriots have signs posted all over their team facilities that simply say, “Do your job.” It is a brief message, but one with profound importance. If we all do our jobs and embrace a willingness to be held accountable for our performance, we work better as a unit and move closer to attaining our goals. It’s worked pretty well for the Patriots over the years, as I must admit. (Laughter.)
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Secondly, I want us to be honest with one another. We’re on the same team. We share the same mission. Honesty will undergird our foreign policy, and we’ll start by making it the basis of how we interact with each other.
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Lastly, we’re going to treat each other with respect. No one will tolerate disrespect of anyone. Before we are employees of the State Department, we are human beings first. Let us extend respect to each other, especially when we may disagree.
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What I ask of you and what I demand of myself – I will embrace accountability, honesty, and respect no less than anyone.
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Before President Trump called me, I thought I would be entering retirement this spring after four decades of business experience. (Laughter.) Renda and I were ready to head off to the ranch and enjoy our grandchildren. But when I came back from my first meeting with President Trump and he asked me to do this, Renda said, “You didn’t know it, but you’ve been in a 41-year training program for this job.” (Laughter and applause.) So despite our own dreams, she said, “You’re supposed to do this.”
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Well, my first day is here. I’m on the job. Hi, I’m the new guy. (Applause.)
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As such, I will depend on the expertise of this institution. There are over 75,000 members of the State Department workforce, both Foreign and Civil Service employees, with an average of over 11 years of service in the department. I have 25 minutes. (Laughter.) You have accumulated knowledge and experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else. Your wisdom, your work ethic and patriotism, is as important as ever. And as your Secretary, I will be proud to draw upon all these qualities in my decision-making.
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I ask that you join me in upholding high standards of ethics and professionalism, committing to personal accountability and honesty, and respecting your colleagues. There will undoubtedly be times of victory, but there will also be many times of difficulty. Let’s go forward as a team through all of it. Let’s make the American people proud of what we do in this building and beyond.
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Inscribed on the walls in this lobby are the names of fallen Foreign Service personnel, who, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, gave their last full measure of devotion. They died in service of causes far greater than themselves. As we move forward in a new era, it is important to honor the sacrifices of those who have come before us, and reflect on the legacy that we inherit.
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In closing, I am honored to be serving alongside each of you as I serve our nation as the Secretary of State. So now I am going to take a moment and pay my respects to those individuals that are memorialized on this wall, and then I look forward to making the rounds and greeting you personally. It may take me a few days. (Laughter.) But in all sincerity, I do hope to have the opportunity to shake the hand of every one of you that’s here. Thank you so much. (Applause.)<br />
<br />Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-4301040447872644162017-02-01T05:27:00.001-05:002017-02-01T05:27:23.960-05:00Two Welcome Surprises and One Unwelcome (non)Surpise<span style="color: magenta;">We got a couple bits of good news yesterday.<br />
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First, we found out that the President issued an Executive Order stating he would not overturn the executive order signed by President Obama affording <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-considers-reversing-lgbt-protections-for-federal-workers/2017/01/30/06160150-e736-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html">protections to LGBT employees</a></b> of federal contractors. <br />
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The <b><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/31/president-donald-j-trump-will-continue-enforce-executive-order">text reads</a></b>:</span><br />
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THE WHITE HOUSE<br />
Office of the Press Secretary<br />
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
January 31, 2017<br />
President Donald J. Trump Will Continue to Enforce Executive Order Protecting the Rights of the LGBTQ Community in the Workplace
President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">Of course, it does beg the question of why he would need to publically state he is going to continue with a particular policy. Part of the explanation I am sure is that rumors had been swirling that an executive order was forthcoming either rescinding the Obama protections or allowing discrimination based on "sincerely held religious beliefs" (or both). The latter could still be coming. I also suspect it could have something to do with his nomination of a Supreme Court Justice to fill the seat vacated with Anthony Scalia died (you know, the one that has been vacant since February because the Senate refused to have a hearing for Merrick Garland, the Obama nominee). More on that in a bit.
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The next nice surprise came in the form of a bit of <b><a href="https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/news/press-releases/foreign-affairs-democrats-trump-dissenting-diplomats-protected-law">support from the Democrats on the House Committee for Foreign Affairs</a></b>. In a letter to the President, they expressed concern about Press Secretary Spicer's comments regarding those who supported the dissent channel message and not the President's policy, saying they should "get with the program or get out." You can read my thoughts on that <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2017/01/this-is-program.html">here</a></b>. And by the way, apparently <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/world/americas/state-dept-dissent-cable-trump-immigration-order.html?_r=0">more than a thousand people have signed it</a></b> so far and more wanted to. And that is out of some 7,600 Foreign Service Officers (that number may be higher if it doesn't include FS specialists) and 11,000 civil servants.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZY5io_voruqY6L0r7V4_4kTMJc-7FzQCxiqSLFsFZyTWSqmCMsoYhdf_iwmAkZbi9ew4mK0SwRFUXSKFVJRqWgF1TI7tBtYGoJBUlZ-bTTv3V_ThUODJGvBwD1-YeLK0he0d/s1600/letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZY5io_voruqY6L0r7V4_4kTMJc-7FzQCxiqSLFsFZyTWSqmCMsoYhdf_iwmAkZbi9ew4mK0SwRFUXSKFVJRqWgF1TI7tBtYGoJBUlZ-bTTv3V_ThUODJGvBwD1-YeLK0he0d/s320/letter.jpg" width="250" height="320" /></a></div>
In <b><a href="https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/sites/democrats.foreignaffairs.house.gov/files/1.31.17.%20HFAC%20Democrats%20Letter%20to%20POTUS%20on%20DoS%20Personnel%2C%20PressSec%20Comments.pdf">the letter</a></b>, they said:</span>
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Dear Mr. President:
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Yesterday, from the White House podium, your spokesperson, Sean Spicer, announced that State Department employees who offer dissent to your executive order on immigration and refugees should “get with the program or they should go.” We are alarmed by Mr. Spicer’s apparent lack of knowledge about the way foreign policy is made in the United States.
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We would like you to know that during the Administration of President Nixon, the State Department established a formal mechanism to allow personnel to express dissent from Administration policy. According to the State Department, “the Dissent Channel was created to allow its users the opportunity to bring dissenting or alternative views on substantive foreign policy issues, when such views cannot be communicated in a full and timely manner through regular operating channels or procedures.” For decades, the Dissent Channel has offered our diplomats the ability in critical circumstances to express concerns and warnings contrary to Administration policies. Notable examples have included dissents from policies toward Vietnam and Syria.
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So it’s deeply troubling that your Administration isn’t interested in hearing different perspectives, especially those transmitted through the State Department’s revered Dissent Channel. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual prohibits reprisal or disciplinary action against anyone who uses the Dissent Channel. We are requesting your assurances that State Department personnel will not be subject to harassment or retribution if they take advantage of the Dissent Channel or offer policy advice that doesn’t align with White House policy decisions.
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Please reply as soon as possible confirming that your Administration will respect the law (P.L. 96-465) governing the State Department and the treatment of its personnel.
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<span style="color: magenta;">It was signed by every Democrat on the committee. Thanks y'all!
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And for the record, I don't think most of us are going anywhere. We are the <b><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/30/career-officials-you-are-the-last-line-of-defense-against-trump/">last line of defense</a></b> for the Constitution (and the <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/diplomacy-first-it-saves-lives-and-treasure_us_588f80a4e4b04c35d5834e9c">first line of defense to protect our military</a></b>).
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So then came the unwelcome news, which was actually not much of a surprise (though the reality TV manner of making the announcement kind of was...I was expecting the President to give a rose to the Supreme Court nominee he selected since he invited the top two for the announcement and had clearly already made up his mind...).
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The President is nominating Neil Gorsuch to be the next Supreme Court Justice.
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This makes keeping the protections in place for LGBT people seem like a ploy to get our guard down (it didn't work, by the way).
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According to the <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/01/31/trumps-supreme-court-pick-has-history-of-ruling-for-religious-freedom/">Washington Blade</a></b>, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), called Judge Gorsuch "Justice Scalia on steroids,” Nadler said. “His record demonstrates that, if confirmed, he would rely on his conservative, originalist philosophy to overturn critical precedents and to disregard the rights of everyday Americans while bolstering protections for corporations and special interests.”
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Gorsuch is definitely no friend to the LGBT community. In a paper for the <b><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/213590/liberalsnlawsuits-joseph-6">National Review</a></b>, he lamented that "liberals" are addicted to having the courts rather than the ballot box solve society issues including marriage equality. Never mind of course that it was the courts that overturned laws against interracial marriage at a time when 75 percent of the country opposed it. Because in a Republic, the minority is supposed to be protected from the tyranny of the majority, and the courts are generally our best defense for that. And never mind that it was the courts that desegregated schools. We should just let the majority vote on our rights, right?
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He is also a supporter of so-called "religious freedom" laws and has already ruled in their favor. Those laws, in case you aren't aware, allow those with sincerely held religious beliefs to discriminate against LGBT people. This includes doctors in some cases...so I guess if you are in the ER and need a doctor with a sincerely held religious belief against you to save your life, you are out of luck. I wonder what Jesus would do...
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I admit I am not overly worried, only because he replaces the most far-right judge who was on the court. But I do worry about future appointments (circle of protection around the notorious RBG please).
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But I do think it shows we have to stay in, we have to fight to preserve the Constitution and our democracy, and we can't let our guard down for a second. </span>
Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-39413300016973257602017-01-31T04:26:00.000-05:002017-01-31T04:28:24.178-05:00This IS the Program<span style="color: magenta;">Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, referring to a <b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017/01/30/state-dept-officials-draft-dissent-memo-after-trump-s-ban.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl">dissent channel cable working its way around the Department</a></b> opposing the executive order banning immigration or travel to the U.S. from seven particular countries, said that State Department employees should <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/us/politics/sean-spicer-state-dept-travel-ban.html?smid=fb-share">"get with the program or they can go</a></b>."
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The comments represent a profound misunderstanding about the State Department in general, the dissent channel process specifically, and in fact, the nature of a nonpartisan civil service.<br />
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To put it succinctly, this IS the program.<br />
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Spicer seems to think that federal employees should just agree with everything coming from the White House without questioning. But if that is the case, why have us at all? <br />
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Let's have a little history, shall we?<br />
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The idea behind the reform of the civil service from what that was simply based on a spoils system (winner of the election gets to put their own people in all jobs) was to replace patronage appointees with <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Civil_Service_Reform">nonpartisan employees qualified because of their skills</a></b>. The idea is pretty old by U.S. standards. President Ulysses S Grant supported civil service reform and rejected demands to suspend it and make patronage appointments. It was his cabinet who implemented a merit system to increase the number of qualified candidates. Those efforts went a step further with the Civil Service Reform Act (also called "the Pendleton Act") of 1883. This act created the United States Civil Service Commission and eventually placed most federal employees on the merit system. It was supposed to mark the end of the so-called "spoils system."
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And America is better for it. Do we really want to return to the days when our generals were chosen not for their military skills but for their connections (granted, we still have a degree of that with political Ambassadors, but that is another post)? Do you want the person developing a bridge on an interstate highway to know nothing about engineering? I hope you want those positions to be awarded based on merit and qualifications. <br />
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The Foreign Service is a good example of a meritocracy. Each year, some 50-80,000 people take a written exam. The ones who score enough to pass move on, regardless of their background or who they know. Those who pass write essays, and those who pass that get to take the oral examination. That exam is scored on a point system from 1-7, with passing being around 5.5 (it varies by career track). You can get extra points if you pass a language test, because we need people who possess foreign language skills. You can also get extra points if you are a veteran. Then you get all your clearances (security and medical). You are then place on a roll of highest score to lowest, and people are offered slots in the orientation class starting with the highest scorers first. None of it has anything to do with who you know or what political party you support. It is all about how you would do at the job.<br />
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And this system gets a lot of really exceptional people, people with real world experiences they can offer to the service of the country. And what you get when you bring in a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds and a variety of experiences is a lot of smart people with good ideas on how to help the country.<br />
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Which brings me to our <b><a href="http://www.afsa.org/dissent-channel">dissent channel</a></b>.<br />
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We communicate through cables (mostly by email now but the name cable harkens back to older times). And we will absolutely support and implement the President's foreign policy, or if we can't, we will quit. But the dissent channel gives us the opportunity to say, without fear of reprisals, that we think a particular policy is a bad idea. It was started back during the Vietnam War and according to the <b><a href="https://fam.state.gov/fam/02fam/02fam0070.html">Foreign Affairs Manual</a></b> (the FAM as we call it): "The State Department has a strong interest in facilitating open, creative, and uncensored dialogue on substantive foreign policy issues within the professional foreign affairs community, and a responsibility to foster an atmosphere supportive of such dialogue, including the opportunity to offer alternative or dissenting opinions without fear of penalty. The Dissent Channel was created to allow its users the opportunity to bring dissenting or alternative views on substantive foreign policy issues, when such views cannot be communicated in a full and timely manner through regular operating channels or procedures, to the attention of the Secretary of State and other senior State Department officials in a manner which protects the author from any penalty, reprisal, or recrimination.
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Freedom from reprisal for Dissent Channel users is strictly enforced; officers or employees found to have engaged in retaliation or reprisal against Dissent Channel users, or to have divulged to unauthorized personnel the source or contents of Dissent Channel messages, will be subject to disciplinary action. Dissent Channel messages, including the identity of the authors, are a most sensitive element in the internal deliberative process and are to be protected accordingly."<br />
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It is meant to be internal, and I admit I am not happy it was leaked. And so I'll only discuss the contents of the memo generally and I won't mention any of the signatories (since there are already <b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-immigration-ban-state-department-diseent-channel-memo-234364">fears of reprisals</a></b> and we have apparently been <b><a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/317006-rubio-state-asked-not-to-talk-travel-ban-with-congress">instructed not to even discuss it with Congress</a></b>!). Basically, it says that the undersigned believe that the policy will hinder rather than help our mutual goal of making the United States safer. The drafters believe the executive order will actually serve as a recruiting tool for terrorists (and there is already <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadist-groups-hail-trumps-travel-ban-as-a-victory/2017/01/29/50908986-e66d-11e6-b82f-687d6e6a3e7c_story.html?utm_term=.6a9d6f77a648">evidence this is happening</a>,</b>) while actually souring our relations with the countries included in the ban. <br />
<br />
So. Mr. Spicer, this IS the program. We are the country's foreign policy experts, hired for our skills and now with decades of experience. It is our obligation as public servants to warn the administration of dangers we see. If you are about to get into a car, and we know there is a bomb in it, I would think you would want us to warn you. And we would want to warn you. Because we love this country and what it stands for just as much as you do and have devoted our lives to serving it.
<br />
<br />
This IS the program. And I would hope that would be the way you would want it."</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-3568764549354936722017-01-27T08:30:00.001-05:002017-01-27T08:31:24.637-05:00The New Normal?<span style="color: magenta;">I think most federal employees, and certainly a big swath of the country, is worried.<br />
<br />
Some days I feel like there is so much coming at us that we need to pay attention to that I just get overwhelmed. Where do you even start?<br />
<br />
And then I worry that if I don't say something, so many issues will have piled on and it will all just become normal. And it can't.<br />
<br />
And I see it. Like the removal of web pages that have been put up over the years on issues like LGBT rights and climate change. All gone. <br />
<br />
Yes, it is normal for a new administration to replace old policy pages with their own. But this many? And the not replace them with ANYTHING? Like those issues never happened, never mattered? <br />
That isn't normal.<br />
<br />
And now we have the resignations from the Department. <br />
<br />
Again, normal for a new administration to want to install their own people. But this many career officers gone so fast? With no replacements in sight?<br />
<br />
And yes, they were career officers who were in Senate approved positions. But usually, they are allowed to move into other positions because they are not really political appointees. They are career diplomats. Diplomats who have served both Republicans and Democrats. And they seemed willing to stay. Instead, <b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/longtime-state-official-resigns-amid-department-shakeup/">they resigned</a></b>. Or retired. Or <b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/top-state-department-officials-asked-to-leave-by-trump-administration/">were fired</a></b>. Or were just asked not to come back.<br />
<br />
Who knows?<br />
<br />
So far, we know that Patrick Kennedy, Undersecretary for Management; Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration; Michele Bond, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs; and Gentry Smith, Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, are all gone. I've heard stories of several others.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/state-department-officials-leave-trump-234223">Politico reported</a></b> that "As is standard when a new president takes over, each official had submitted a letter of resignation. But instead of keeping the officials on, as previous administrations have often done to ensure continuity and smooth the transition process, the Trump team accepted the resignations."<br />
That isn't normal.<br />
<br />
They added that there have been rumors that these folks resigned in protest, but I doubt it. I worked closely with U/S Kennedy in his capacity as the mentor for GLIFAA, he was extremely professional and devoted to his work.
And I hear from consular friends that A/S Bond was universally loved. they also said there is worry of a talent drain from State. I hope that won't happen, though I do know at least one person who resigned in protest. But I hope most people are dedicated enough to service, to the country, to the Constitution, to stick it out.<br />
But still, it is already a lot. And the void is felt.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://diplopundit.net/2017/01/26/recipe-for-disaster-transition-statedept-situation-altnormal-all-fucked-up/">Diplopundit</a></b> talked about how there is now no one in place who can declare an ordered or authorized departure. So if everything goes to hell at a post, just sit tight until they figure things out? Really?<br />
<br />
I know someone who couldn't get a random medevac cable processed because of "post-inauguration confusion." <br />
<br />
That isn't normal.
<br />
<br />
I worry things are breaking down. Not just at State, but in our whole country.<br />
<br />
And I worry most that our society's attention span has withered to the point that we can't keep our focus for four years. I remember reading something about <b><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=outrage%20fatigue">outrage fatigue</a></b>.<br />
<br />
It will all become normal.<br />
<br />
And it isn't.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-16402397598232136442017-01-24T10:00:00.001-05:002017-01-24T10:00:43.000-05:00The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves<span style="color: magenta;">I got the CNN alert on my phone last night right as I got home.<br />
<br />
The President had just signed an <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-freezes-hiring-of-federal-workers/2017/01/23/f14d8180-e190-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.c2e42e9d5f02">executive order freezing federal hiring</a></b>. No positions, except those in the military, that were vacant on January 22 may be filled.<br />
<br />
I am sure there are many who cheered. The swamp is getting drained.<br />
<br />
First of all, being called a swamp dweller is getting pretty old. Federal employees are not the ones getting rich off of the American taxpayer. For that, you might look to Congress, who has not been subject to pay freezes or pay stoppages in the event of government shutdowns. And they are curiously well off for people working for the people...I think you will find more millionaires there percentage-wise than you will among federal employees.<br />
<br />
Part of the trouble is that Americans have been, and are being, sold lies.<br />
<br />
<u>Lie Number 1: We are getting rich off of the taxpayers</u><br />
<br />
As I said, we are not wealthy. Most of us are hard-working, solidly middle class folks who want to serve our country and pay our bills. We do not, contrary to what you may have heard, make more than those in the private sector. In fact, especially for those of us with university degrees, most of us make more like 24% less than we could on average if we weren't serving the country. But we want to serve, and none of us expects to get rich doing it. (and the ones who ARE making more than the private sector? Those are blue-collar jobs in the government, and I hope you wouldn't begrudge a janitor making just a bit more in order to serve the country and live in DC).<br />
<br />
And if you got rid of our jobs, we would head straight to the unemployment office. So it isn't like you could save the government money by getting rid of us. We aren't living off of inheritances. We need our paychecks to get by. And I bet most of us are living paycheck to paycheck just like you are.<br />
<br />
<u>Lie Number 2: There are more federal employees than ever</u><br />
<br />
Completely false. Even with the hiring done in the last months of the previous administration, we are still at our <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/23/the-trump-administration-just-told-a-whopper-about-the-size-of-the-federal-workforce/?utm_term=.bbeb44540023">lowest levels in decades</a></b>. There were 2.7 million people on the federal payroll in May, and that number rose about 3% to 2.8 million in December (largely due to agencies trying to fill positions they needed before a suspected freeze happened. The civilian workforce, by comparison, grew 4.9% over than same period.<br />
<br />
Even at 2.8 million, the numbers are historically low. Hiring has been pretty flat over the last administration, and the current numbers are similar to the beginning of the Obama and Clinton administrations and lower than at any time during the Reagan administration. In the meantime, the population we serve has grown drastically. Percentage-wise, we are at our lowest rate in 70 years. Seven percent of the population worked for the government during World War II. Now, only 2% does. Yes, some of that number is offset by contractors, but while they are easier to fire than federal employees, they are also more expensive.<br />
<br />
<u>Lie Number 3: We take up a huge portion of the federal budget</u><br />
False. A CBO report in 2011 showed that federal salaries make up <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/how-much-money-is-spent-on-federal-workers/2011/10/26/gIQAMSLBJM_blog.html?utm_term=.c3249a2a8fe1">15 percent of discretionary spending in the federal budget</a></b>. And nearly half of that goes to the Department of Defense's civilian employees. And that is not 15 percent of the total budget, mind you. Discretionary spending is just 40 percent of the budget. that means federal salaries account for just less than 6 percent of the total budget. Do you really think cutting there will help that much with spending?<br />
<br />
<u>Lie Number 4: The shutdowns proved we are bloated</u><br />
<br />
Actually, they don't. I heard during the shutdowns from members of my own family that if employees are "non-essential" (the term they used to use for employees who were told not to come to work during the shutdown), they should be gotten rid of. But the trouble is that some of those "non-essential" people were actually in training. Most of us were forced to come to work even under the threat of not getting paid during that time. That of course gave the impression that everything functioned just fine without the government. The trouble is, it was a lie. Notice that your social security check still got delivered? That is because employees in the Social Security Administration kept working to process your payments and the post office kept delivering the mail. And the ultimate irony is that the shutdown actually <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2013/10/18/how-much-did-the-shutdown-cost-the-economy/?utm_term=.cc15143478c9">cost the taxpayers MORE money</a></b>.<br />
<br />
Far from bloated, most agencies are actually understaffed. Just at our embassy, we have a number of positions that need to be filled, and now they can't. We have been told to do more with less for year, and I am sure we will be again. But at a point, we will have to do less with less. And the taxpayers will feel the brunt of it.<br />
<br />
<u>Lie Number 5: It is just "DC Elites" who work for the federal government anyway</u><br />
<br />
Wrong. <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/23/the-trump-administration-just-told-a-whopper-about-the-size-of-the-federal-workforce/?utm_term=.bbeb44540023">85% of us live and work outside the Beltway</a></b>, including Foreign Service Officers, who live in dangerous places and away from family just to serve you. And about 20-30 percent of us are veterans.<br />
<br />
So seriously, just stop. Stop with the name called and please stop with the abuse. We aren't swamp dwellers. We are Americans. Americans who have devoted our lives to serving you and to serving our country, often while making less than we could otherwise. Often at risk to our own personal safety. Often at great personal sacrifice.<br />
<br />
Beating on us may make you feel better, but it isn't getting you anything. Despite the fact that we give you a lot.</span><br />Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-43296080029921055772017-01-17T08:09:00.002-05:002017-01-17T08:09:19.761-05:00The Spoils of War<span style="color: magenta;">Seems more and more like the change of administration means open season has been declared on federal employees.<br />
Federal employees have long been the whipping boys for certain members of Congress.<br />
<br />
There doesn't seem to be a problem they can't distract us from by taking aim at dedicated servants of the American people.<br />
<br />
They shut down the government and don't pay us (but they still get paid) any time they don't get their way on an issue. (and make no mistake, we all still work, because they don't want you to know how much you actually need the government).<br />
<br />
And when it comes to cutting the budget, it is always feds and not real areas of spending bloat (like insisting the military continue to buy equipment it neither wants nor needs because the companies making that equipment have wisely spread out the jobs across multiple states. This isn't a military need. This is a pork barrel jobs program). They freeze our pay for years. They threaten our pensions. They cut hiring when we are already at historically low levels and are stretched thin. And the <b><a href="http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2017/01/republicans-expected-slash-feds-pensions-outsource-more-work/134333/">farm out our work to contractors</a></b> who cost more (but can be fired more easily) and sometimes even give us the likes of Edward Snowden.<br />
<br />
And now, they want to be able to fire us without cause.<br />
<br />
I get it. We have all dealt with THAT government employee. The one retired on active duty. The one who snarls at you when you need government services. The one who collects their pay but you can't really tell that they actually do work. I get it. I have dealt with those people too.<br />
<br />
But the majority of us are actually dedicated, patriotic and hard-working. We know most of us could <b><a href="https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/112th-congress-2011-2012/reports/01-30-FedPay_0.pdf">earn more in the private sector</a></b> but we choose to serve. To serve the country, to serve the people, to serve the Constitution. I have never met anyone more patriotic than the hard-working federal employees I have the fortune to serve with.<br />
<br />
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) has put forward <b><a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr6278ih/pdf/BILLS-114hr6278ih.pdf">HR 6278</a></b>, which he calls “Promote Accountability and Government Efficiency Act.” According to the <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/01/12/new-feds-could-be-fired-for-no-cause-at-all-under-planned-legislation/?utm_term=.b67660bfaf4e">Washington Post</a></b>, Rokita considers the bill “a tool for … President [-elect Donald] Trump to use in draining the swamp.” What it really does is eviscerate civil service protections for all new federal employees, meaning federal employees hired one year after enactment or later “shall be hired on an at-will basis.” And the bill is crystal clear on the meaning of at-will status: “Such an employee may be removed or suspended, without notice or right to appeal, from service by the head of the agency at which such employee is employed for good cause, bad cause, or <i>no cause at all</i>.”<br />
<br />
That's right, for NO CAUSE. And they will not have any right to appeal. <br />
<br />
Of course, I posted this on Facebook, and many of my friends immediately chimed in with, "So what? Lots of businesses do that." <br />
<br />
And that is their right as business owners. But the government is different.<br />
<br />
The Civil Service is intended to be non-partisan. We serve all Americans regardless of their or our political affiliation (can you imagine if we didn't? I'm sorry, but I refuse to send social security checks to people from Party X. Government tenders will only be given to those from Party Y). The protections for federal employees are meant to keep us non-partisan, to keep us from facing political reprisals. That was the idea behind the <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton_Civil_Service_Reform_Act">Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883</a></b>. Previously, federal positions were essentially the spoils of war, granted to supporters of the winning party. It is also the thinking behind the <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939">Hatch Act of 1939</a></b>, which prohibits federal employees from participating in certain types of political activities.<br />
<br />
I notice they aren't trying to get rid of that.<br />
<br />
So here is where we feds stand now. <br />
* The transition team has asked for the names of people who have worked on particular issues, such as <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/?utm_term=.cfd9465e74b0">climate change in the Department of Energy</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2016/12/22/trump-team-asked-state-department-for-info-on-womens-issues-programs-stoking-fears-of-another-witch-hunt/?utm_term=.d51ba7c72370">gender</a></b> and LGBT issue at the Department of State (and were asked to "ferret out" <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/12/16/tony-perkins-urges-trump-remove-activists-state-dept/">those working on LGBT issues</a></b>).<br />
<br />
* The <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/house-republicans-revive-obscure-rule-that-could-allow-them-to-slash-the-pay-of-individual-federal-workers-to-1/2017/01/04/4e80c990-d2b2-11e6-945a-76f69a399dd5_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.a7f2dc79bc6f">Holman Rule</a></b> has been reinstated, meaning that any member of Congress can target ANY federal employee and cut that person's annual salary to ONE DOLLAR.<br />
<br />
* Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is pursuing measures to <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/01/10/beware-chaffetz-committee-plans-broad-agenda-affecting-feds/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.554c9e7f10bc">fire feds faster, freeze federal hiring, decrease federal contributions to federal retirement and disqualify federal employees and contractors who are “seriously delinquent” on their federal taxes</a></b>. (Never mind that federal employees are delinquent on their taxes at a <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/04/16/house-rejects-bill-to-fire-tax-delinquent-federal-employees/?utm_term=.71eeabd88106">far lower rate than the general population</a></b>. Or that is it hard to collect back taxes on people who lose their jobs.)<br />
<br />
* Employees could be required to <b><a href="http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2017/01/republicans-expected-slash-feds-pensions-outsource-more-work/134333/">contribute more to their retirement</a></b>, meaning an up to 5% pay cut.<br />
<br />
* Employees could be fired without cause and without the right to appeal.<br />
<br />
* And then of course for those of us in the Foreign Service, there is the added bonus of threats to <b><a href="https://diplopundit.net/2017/01/05/senate-bill-to-slash-embassy-security-funds-in-half-until-us-embassy-jerusalem-officially-opens/">withhold 50% of our security budget</a></b> unless our embassy to Israel is moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
No wonder <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fear-among-federal-workers-flourishes-as-they-face-a-hostile-trump-presidency/2017/01/09/7bf558fc-d67a-11e6-9f9f-5cdb4b7f8dd7_story.html?utm_term=.83acd20984a2">people are afraid</a></b>.<br />
<br />
Our jobs, our lives, have become the spoils of war. <br />
<br />
But yeah, thanks for your service.</span><br />
Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-58283591115696017282017-01-10T05:46:00.000-05:002017-01-10T05:46:56.977-05:00An Apology That Was Overdue and Right On Time<span style="color: magenta;">It is long overdue and just in time.<br />
<br />
Secretary Kerry, in what is undoubtedly one of his last official acts, <b><a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/01/266711.htm">formally apologized</a></b> for the "Lavender Scare." You can read the complete apology below.<br />
<br />
Lots of you may not know what the Lavender Scare was, but I bet you would be hard pressed to find an LGBT employee who doesn't.<br />
<br />
The apology came at the request of Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who sent Secretary Kerry a letter on November 29 reminding him that “at least 1,000 people were dismissed from” the State Department “for alleged homosexuality” during the 1950s and 1960s. According to <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/01/09/kerry-issues-formal-lavender-scare-apology/">an article in the Washington Blade</a></b>, "The Maryland Democrat cited the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security that says employees “were forced out . . . on the ostensible grounds that their sexual orientation rendered them vulnerable to blackmail, prone to getting caught in ‘honey traps’ and made them security risks.”
Cardin wrote the State Department also had a screening process to “prevent those who ‘seemed like they might be gay or lesbian’ from being hired.""<br />
<br />
Although the policy of firing or not hiring LGBT employees dates to the 50s and 60s, current State Department employees who are members of GLIFAA (formerly Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies and now LGBTI+ in Foreign Affairs Agencies) recall that even in the 80s and 90s, they were warned in A-100 that homosexuals would not be tolerated in the Department. In fact, it was only in 1992, the same year GLIFAA was founded, that prohibitions against openly LGBT employees having a security clearance were lifted. And basically, if you can't hold a security clearance, you can't work for the State Department.<br />
<br />
In addition to the apology, Secretary Kerry also sent <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/01/08/kerry-highlights-lgbt-rights-exit-memo/">a 21-page memo</a></b> highlighting some of the achievements the Department has made on LGBT rights at home and abroad over the past eight years. Among those are UN resolutions on LGBT rights and the appointment of Randy Berry as the first ever envoy for LGBTI rights.<br />
<br />
I say the move has come just in time because with the new administration and Republican control of the White House and both houses of Congress have come renewed calls to clamp down on LGBT rights and even to roll them back. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council sent <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/12/16/tony-perkins-urges-trump-remove-activists-state-dept/">a letter to supporters</a></b> calling on the new administration to “to make clear that these liberal policies will be reversed and the ‘activists’ within the State Department promoting them will be ferreted out and will be replaced by conservatives who will ensure the State Department focuses on true international human rights like religious liberty which is under unprecedented assault.” And former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) called for the new administration to end the <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michele-bachmann-gay-agenda_us_5873020de4b099cdb0fdd7db">State Department's “evil” gay agenda in other countries</a></b>.<br />
<br />
To its credit, the President-elect's transition team responded to Perkin's call by saying that it was absurd to think they would tolerate discrimination of any kind. But can we expect continued support for LGBT rights or could we have expected such an apology? I doubt it.<br />
<br />
So thank you, Secretary Kerry. It was right on time.<br />
<br />
Thank you too for your leadership and support. You will be missed.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE<br />
Office of the Spokesperson<br />
________________________________________<br />
For Immediate Release<br />
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY KERRY<br />
January 9, 2017<br />
Apology for Past Discrimination toward Employees and Applicants based on Sexual Orientation<br />
Throughout my career, including as Secretary of State, I have stood strongly in support of the LGBTI community, recognizing that respect for human rights must include respect for all individuals. LGBTI employees serve as proud members of the State Department and valued colleagues dedicated to the service of our country. For the past several years, the Department has pressed for the families of LGBTI officers to have the same protections overseas as families of other officers. In 2015, to further promote LGBTI rights throughout the world, I appointed the first ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
In the past – as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for decades – the Department of State was among many public and private employers that discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place. These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.<br />
On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 6px 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-47685926601454240052017-01-08T06:46:00.001-05:002017-01-08T06:46:17.966-05:00I'm back<span style="color: magenta;">I won't start off by apologizing for not blogging in a while. Sometimes it is hard to blog when life is pretty good. <br />
<br />
And life has been pretty good. My wife and I are in jobs we like. Life at post is good...the pollution and less than awesome health care makes it a little challenging at times, but the work is interesting and the people we work with are awesome. So we are happy here.<br />
<br />
And while we only have six months left at post, we both got our top choice of onwards. We are going back to DC and really happy about it.<br />
<br />
I started this blog as a way to let my dad know I was safe in Jerusalem, but it turned quickly into a combination of recruiting tool (because life is better when your co-workers are awesome) and a way to raise awareness about the Foreign Service in general and LGBT issues specifically.<br />
<br />
But in those areas, life too has been pretty good. We have marriage equality as the law of the land, so my wife and I are officially a tandem and my LGBT colleagues who are not tandems have EFM status for their spouses. Members of the trans* community can have their passports issued according to their gender identity regardless of surgical status. Yes, there are still challenges ahead (reciprocity, I am looking at you), but things are pretty good.<br />
<br />
But then we had the election, and everything changed. <br />
<br />
Things don't look so great anymore.<br />
<br />
Congress has already started making noise again about attacking federal employees via their <b><a href="http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2017/01/republicans-expected-slash-feds-pensions-outsource-more-work/134333/">pensions and outsourcing more to contractors</a></b> (because not only are contractors more expensive, but using them worked so well with Snowden). Even more concerning, they have re-enacted <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/house-republicans-revive-obscure-rule-that-could-allow-them-to-slash-the-pay-of-individual-federal-workers-to-1/2017/01/04/4e80c990-d2b2-11e6-945a-76f69a399dd5_story.html?utm_term=.1017ab00041f">a rule allowing them to target individual federal employees and reduce their salaries to ONE DOLLAR</a></b>. When you couple that with the President -elect's transition team's requests for the names and positions on anyone working on particular issues (like <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/?utm_term=.54f6c5da3a9f">climate change at the Department of Energy</a></b> or <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2016/12/22/trump-team-asked-state-department-for-info-on-womens-issues-programs-stoking-fears-of-another-witch-hunt/?utm_term=.d49030941a57">gender equality</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/12/16/tony-perkins-urges-trump-remove-activists-state-dept/">LGBT issues</a></b> at State), that looks a little ominous. (kudos to Energy for refusing and to certain bureaus at State for handing the team a complete org chart and saying we all work on gender equality).<br />
<br />
And now you have Senators putting forward a bill to move our Embassy from Tel Aviv. I will leave aside whether or not that is a good idea, since that is specifically a foreign policy matter and so not one I feel I can discuss on this forum (but if you know me in person, you know I am not ambivalent about it). <br />
<br />
Now that in and of itself is not all that concerning. Such bills have been put forth for years, always delayed by the President. But this time, not only do we have a President-elect who says he is willing to sign it, but a really frightening caveat has been added: <b><a href="https://diplopundit.net/2017/01/05/senate-bill-to-slash-embassy-security-funds-in-half-until-us-embassy-jerusalem-officially-opens/">50 PERCENT funds for Diplomatic Security will be withheld</a>,</b> until the embassy is moved. <br />
<br />
Never mind that we in the Foreign Service are simply the implementers of the President's policy. So whether we think it should move or not is irrelevant (much like the issues above that they want the names of people who cover them. We all follow the directives of the President, whether we agree or not). <br />
<br />
And never mind that it can take as much as 15 YEARS to build a new embassy. Senators Heller, Cruz, and Rubio (and now others) want to cut our security budget and put our lives in very real danger. These are by the way, the same Senators who have been raising hell about Benghazi and how State's lack of security cost the lives of four diplomats, including my friend, Ambassador Chris Stevens. (Also please be kind enough not to notice that the lack of security was a direct result of cuts those same Senators made to State Department security...nothing to see here...). <br />
<br />
(It is almost like those hearings were really about damaging Secretary Clinton's chances at becoming President and not about our safety. But I am sure I am wrong...)<br />
<br />
And never mind that only the day before yesterday, a <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/07/video-captures-shooting-of-u-s-consular-official-in-mexico/?utm_term=.a93ec82f34e2">first tour consular officer was deliberately targeted and shot in Guadalajara</a></b>. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/8e783ad0-d512-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="480"></iframe>
<br />
Clearly we can do without half of our security funding for up to 15 years. It isn't like our jobs can be dangerous.<br />
<br />
Except they are. We know they are. We all knew that when we signed up. <br />
<br />
But we shouldn't be used as pawns for political points when we are serving the country. Or have our livelihoods threatened for following the directives of our bosses. Or have our retirements threatened because that wins political points while doing almost nothing for the budget.<br />
<br />
And so I am back..</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-22356671012005496352016-09-16T05:01:00.001-04:002016-09-16T05:01:25.661-04:00Unsettled<span style="color: magenta;">I really should post some pictures of the awesome trips I have been taking, especially my most recent one to Ireland.
<br />
<br />
But of course, the thing most on my mind is that hellish time in your tour called bidding season.
<br />
<br />
I think they call it a season so you will look forward to it, like Spring, or football season. I think of it more like allergy season myself.
<br />
<br />
And so they made some changes this time, which I *thought* would be great. They have shortened the season and put it AFTER promotions came out. You know, so you could focus on jobs at your own grade instead of at your current grade and your grade if you get promoted. All sounds good.
<br />
<br />
So the promotion list came out while we were on vacation (and it was not a very nice anniversary present) and the bid list comes out on Monday.
<br />
<br />
And Bureaus are being asked not to create their short lists UNTIL AFTER THE LIST COMES OUT!
<br />
<br />
Meaning some are making their short lists BEFORE the list of jobs comes out.
<br />
<br />
Now I confess, I have been using the projected vacancies to make lists of where we'd like to go. Planning is essential as a tandem (even if the Department makes it darned hard to do it). And I will even admit to having sent some emails back in the Spring. This week, I even had a couple of interviews (one for my dream job that I then learned the incumbent is bidding to stay in, so there is one dream shattered...). But short lists? This has me suddenly feeling like I am behind in bidding, and THE BID LIST ISN'T EVEN OUT!
<br />
<br />
So now I hate this process even more.
<br />
<br />
Oh and I have always hated it. If you think I exaggerate, just look at posts here with the label: bidding.
<br /><br />
<b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2013/08/it-just-never-gets-easier.html">Here's one</a></b> if you don't want to hunt.
<br /><br />
In <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-waiting-game.html">another</a></b>, I talk about how painful it is waiting for a handshake once all bids are in and considered, which this year is October 31 (trick or treat!).
<br /><br />
I wrote:
</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><br />
"On Facebook last night I wrote: "Bidding reminds me of when I was a kid in gym class, waiting to be picked for some team, and fearing I'd be picked last."
<br /><br />
And my friends were quick to respond:
<br /><br />
Friend 1: And the game is dodge ball.
<br /><br />
Friend 2: Even worse, because you don't know what the game will really be, who will be on your team when you get there, or even who, exactly, is making the decision.
<br /><br />
Friend 3: it's worse cause you don't even know if they've secretly given away all the slots on the team!
<br /><br />
And all that was in addition to responses of "Word," "Exactly," and a plea to just put us back on directed assignments.
<br /><br />
So we all wait."
<br /><br />
And we aren't even to that point yet.
<br /><br />
And the even more fun part is that you could end up with no assignment, waiting, wandering the halls after your tour is done, looking for a job. Picture hollow-eyed zombies shuffling through long white hallways filled with suited bureaucrats whispering and not making eye contact.
<br /><br />
Okay, that is how I picture it anyway, and if fills me with dread. I do know some who just don't bid and wait to see what good jobs pop up when there are people with jobs looking for good candidates instead of the other way around. I lack the internal fortitude for that.
<br /><br />
It all feels a bit like middle school, waiting to be asked to the dance. You feel like you are sending notes across the classroom.
<br /><br />
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And then you get a little positive response, but you aren't sure you were understood, so you send another:</div>
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And of course, this is always a possible response:</div>
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<br />
Which of course means, you are the #3 candidate, with two ahead of you. They want you for the dance...er...job...only if their top two say no.
<br /><br />
It leaves me feeling anxious and questioning my worth.
<br /><br />
It also leaves me feeling unsettled. There used to be an FS blog called Six Months of Settled. The idea is that you get to post and it takes you six months to really settle in, get over culture shock and adjust to your new place. But for two year tours, you start bidding after a year at post.
<br /><br />
And by bidding, you start focusing on the next assignment, and you feel unsettled all over again. And you don't feel settled again until six months into your next job. So that is all we get: six months of feeling settled.
<br /><br />
This is where I am now. Unsettled. Anxious. And hoping not to get hit by a dodge ball and turned into a zombie at the Mother Ship.</span>
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Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-33854003793397093682016-06-26T12:30:00.001-04:002016-06-26T12:30:21.803-04:00Two Weeks, One Year and Three Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: magenta;">The week following the Orlando massacre was rough for me. The slaughter of 49 of my gay brothers and sisters and the injuring of another 52 more two weeks ago today passed relatively unnoticed at our embassy, and I found that personally devastating. Our Ambassador, whose leadership I greatly admire, was out of town. And consequently, we didn't have a condolence book. We were told at country team that we could have one if we wanted but that the Charge' didn't have strong feelings about it.<br />
<br />
I nearly walked out of country team.<br />
<br />
I am sure no harm was meant by the comment, but it harmed me. And perhaps anyone else who was LGBT, or had LGBT family or friends, or who had been touched by gun violence, or who just cared that their fellow Americans were mowed down by a madman able to get an assault rifle.<br />
<br />
And then I had to fight to get our local LGBT activists to be ALLOWED to have a memorial vigil at the embassy. To be ALLOWED to light 49 candles for those who were lost. I was devastated all over again.<br />
<br />
But several healing things happened since then. First, we did have the memorial. Not at the embassy like they wanted, but at least at USAID and not downtown away from the embassy. And it was really touching.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">
<br />
And then our Ambassador returned, and told us how sad he had been not to be with us when that happened. And how awful what had happened was and how he knew how hard it was to be so far away when this happened. And how we were lucky, because we were in a position to serve the country and to help make the U.S. and the world a better place. <br />
<br />
And that helped a lot. <br />
<br />
And so today I am celebrating. Because today I am reminded that it has been three years to the day since the Supreme Court ruled that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.
<br />
This is what I wrote about it at the <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-scotus-ruling-on-doma-means-to-me.html">time</a></b>:</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"></span><br />
"We were on vacation in Norway when the ruling was first announced. I had been waiting for it for what seemed like an eternity. I expected it to come at 10 am Washington time on Wednesday, and it did, but I had not told my wife that this was when we would hear. She had already chastised me for watching <b><a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/">SCOTUSblog</a></b> over the past few weeks for fear I would jinx it. So I watched the clock anxiously that day and never told her I was watching the clock.<br />
<br />
We got back into our hotel room around 4:20, or 10:20 DC time, and I immediately jumped on Facebook to see what had happened. She sat on the bed, and did the same thing, only she wasn't looking for the results. She thought we would hear the next day, because she thought the rulings were issued at the end of the day. As tears welled up in my eyes, I heard her say, "Wait, what? Did they? No..."<br />
<br />
I said, "Honey, we are full citizens."<br />
<br />
I didn't get up...I didn't want her to see me crying...and then she came over to me, tears streaming down her face. Neither of us had expected to cry. She had expected them to rule against us...and I had figured they would do what they did but was at the same time afraid to hope for it. I expected I would scream or dance or both.<br />
<br />
But we both cried together. Together, apparently, with thousands of other LGBT people who felt finally accepted by their country. Who felt they were finally full citizens. Within minutes, I saw several proposals online, including one from one of my closest friends to her partner of more than 20 years. They had always considered themselves married, and she asked if her partner if she would now marry her legally. Of course she said yes. And I cried again.<br />
<br />
What this means for us is that we no longer have to worry about being allowed to make medical decisions for each other. We never have to worry about being able to claim the other's body for burial should the unthinkable happen. We can inherit each other's property and pensions without paying inheritance taxes. We are no longer legal strangers."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">One year later, I wrote about <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2014/06/one-year.html">the astounding changes</a></b> that had happened in that time. Marriage bans across the country were dropping like flies. We were able to go about our lives and do everything exactly the way other married couples do. And when we moved to our new house in Maryland, and went to go get our driver's licenses, one clerk accepted our mortgage document as proof of residence for my wife but not the same one as proof for me. When I went over to her at the window where she was to get the proof of car registration from her to use as proof since my mortgage paper wouldn't work, the clerk said, "Aren't you married?" When we said yes, the clerk said, "oh then she can vouch for your residency." So, yay bureaucracy?<br />
<br />
And then a year after that, the unthinkable happened. On the two year anniversary of the Windsor decision finding DOMA unconstitutional. SCOTUS found ALL marriage bans unconstitutional.<br />
<br />
We were finally full citizens. And I subsequently <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2015/06/feel-free-to-unfriend-me.html">asked anyone who didn't respect my right to marriage to unfriend me</a></b>, on Facebook or in real life. But I added this:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
"But before you do, I ask you to consider how you would feel if your spouse was hospitalized and weren't allowed in the room? I don't have to imagine. I have experienced it.<br />
<br />
How would you feel if your spouse died, and you weren't allowed to bury him or her because you were a legal stranger and the law required immediate family to claim the body, even if that person was someone your spouse hated? What if you weren't allowed at the funeral? I have friends who experienced this after 20 or more years together.<br />
<br />
How would you feel if you lost your home because your spouse died and you had to pay inheritance tax on "their half" of your home. It has happened to many gay people.<br />
<br />
Civil marriage brings some 1,300 rights and responsibilities. Wills don't cover it. And some states could ignore even wills. And medical powers of attorney. It happened, a lot.<br />
<br />
And hopefully it won't any more.<br />
<br />
So maybe you still have religious beliefs that oppose marriage equality. Fine. But you don't get the right to impose those beliefs on others. Because you know what? My church believes in marriage equality. We were married in the church.<br />
<br />
Think marriage is a Judeo-Christian ideal? Then why can atheists marry?<br />
<br />
Think it is for procreation? Then why can the elderly and the infertile marry?<br />
<br />
They can, because just as was determined in Loving v Virginia in 1967, marriage is about love, and it is a civil right.<br />
<br />
And before you worry that this means your church will be required to marry gay people, it won't. A Catholic priest is not forced to marry non-Catholics. A rabbi is not forced to marry Christians. In fact, when we got married in our church, our pastor had just refused to marry a couple because they did not want to go through the required premarital counseling. Churches will still get to decide what is right for them, Just not for everyone else.<br />
<br />
So please celebrate with me, because for the first time, I feel like a full citizen. I feel like the country that I serve, that I have kept faith with, has finally kept faith with me.<br />
<br />
And I want to close with this, Justice Kennedy's eloquent final paragraph in the 5-4 ruling:<br />
<br />
<i>"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.<br /><br />
The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit is reversed.<br /><br />
It is so ordered.</i> "
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Orlando has demonstrated that we still have a ways to go. There is still so much hate in the world. But I think we are heading in the right direction. So while I still mourn, while I am still shaken over and attack that happened in a "safe place," I celebrate that we are on the right path.<br />
<br />
And I need no further proof of that than that the Charleston Post and Courier in my home state of South Carolina, where they fought to avoid accepting marriage equality, <b><a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/20160624/160629658/same-sex-marriage-routine-in-south-carolina-a-year-after-us-supreme-court-decision">reported yesterday</a></b> that one year later, same-sex marriage is simply "routine."</span><br />
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Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-26267181151497968062016-06-13T03:59:00.000-04:002016-06-13T09:47:29.797-04:00Orlando<span style="color: magenta;">It is hard for me to even know where to start with this post.
<br />
<br />
I am sad. I am angry.<br />
<br />
Fifty of my LGBT brothers and sisters were massacred in a senseless act of terrorism and hate in Orlando yesterday. During Pride. On "Loving Day," the anniversary of the ruling in Loving v Virginia that outlawed laws prohibiting interracial marriage and, I believe, paved the way for the ruling last June making marriage equality the law of the land in all 50 states.<br />
<br />
As President Obama said, “The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub. It is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights. So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.”<br />
<br />
He is right. It was more than a bar. I remember the first time I walked into a gay bar. It was Menage, in Columbia, SC. It was the first time I felt truly safe, truly free to be who I am. It was a refuge.
<br />
<br />
Yesterday, a terrorist violated that refuge.
<br />
<br />
There are different theories about why he did it. Some want to credit radical Islam. Others say he was "disgusted" seeing two men kissing. But the root in these are the same. Hate. I have heard the same kinds of hate from close family members. I have witnessed it when being told I am condemned to hell, or when I was shot at while outside a gay bar.<br />
<br />
And we are witnessing it now, when in the wake of the ruling granting marriage equality, more than 200 anti-LGBT bills have been filed, many seeking to allow people to discriminate against people like me because of "sincerely held religious beliefs." (Funny, my Jesus said to love everyone, even your enemy. ) Others seek to ban trans* people from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Because the Stanford rapist was trans*...oh wait, no he wasn't. And the monster yesterday who slaughtered 50 innocent people was trans*...oh wait, no he wasn't. He was a straight, wife-beating, unstable guy who had been investigated by the FBI and was STILL allowed to buy an assault rifle.<br />
<br />
But it is easier to hate gays or Muslims than to do something about our gun culture. It is easier to have potty police than to do something about rape culture. It is easier to blame the other than to confront the hate in our own society and do something about it.<br />
<br />
We need to confront the hate in our society. And yes, that includes the hate of radical Islam. But it also include the hate of radical right-wing Christianity. Did you take a look at the Twitterverse yesterday. People were PRAISING him. For finally wiping the disgusting gays off the map. For killing someone "other than innocents." For doing what both hate-filled imams and hate-filled pastors have advocated. Event the Lt. Governor of Texas yesterday tweeted after the attacks that "you reap what you sow." Blaming the victims.<br />
<br />
I think a place for us to start is on our own churches, with our own language. So I want to share a piece I wrote just over a month ago that I have shared with no one but my pastor in Maryland. I wrote it in response to the potty laws, and I think it is applicable even today. Because if our goal is to be more Christ-like, more made in the image of our Creator, we must see God as someone big enough to love all of creation and rid ourselves from the hate that I am sure breaks God's heart as well.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Towards a Radical Inclusiveness
</div>
<br />
By Digger Diplomat
<br />
<br />
I have been thinking a lot about pronouns lately.
<br />
<br />
Much of it stems from the recent debate over bathrooms and who gets to serve as the potty police. I am not transgender, and yet the debate is personal to me. <br />
<br />
Among my people, I am considered a “Two-Spirit,” or someone who possesses both a male and a female spirit. This has always fit with how I feel myself, neither really male nor really female, but both. I am very comfortable in my own skin.
<br />
<br />
But there are those who are not comfortable with me. These are the ones who have called me “sir” since long before I cut my hair short. Some quickly apologize. Some laugh nervously. Some snicker. Because I feel like I am both, it has never bothered me, except on the rare occasions when the person seemed hostile.
<br />
<br />
I fear those occasions are increasing. I see more and more reports of attacks on trans* people. And these attacks aren’t limited to trans* people. There are all sorts of gender non-conforming people being accosted in restrooms even if they are using the restroom that corresponds with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
<br />
<br />
One such person is a friend of mine who is a sergeant in the Marine Corps. She is part of the elite group of Marines who guard our embassies. And she has been thrown out of the women’s bathroom because she looks too much like a boy. A nice thank you for your service. <br />
<br />
A <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-emily-c-heath/a-christian-minister-on-r_b_9787184.html">recent piece by UCC minister Emily Heath</a></b> describes a similar struggle. She too is female but gender non-conforming. She jokes with her wife that if she isn’t back from a public restroom in five minutes, to come looking for her. It is becoming less of a joke.
<br />
<br />
I fear it is a matter of time before I am accosted as well. <br />
<br />
I wonder if this whole issues gives us an opportunity as progressive Christians to examine the language we use. <br />
<br />
Because language matters.
<br />
<br />
When we refer to gender rather than sex and then insist on gender being binary, we negate the lives of those who live along the spectrum of gender. And we negate the lives of those assigned a sex at birth that doesn’t correspond with their identity, or those who fall into the at least three categories of intersex, meaning those with biological traits of both sexes. These folks too have typically been assigned a sex at birth, often surgically, and often incorrectly.
<br />
<br />
Likewise, when we refer to God as He, we negate the lives of women and their connectedness to the Creator. In my own church, and other UCC’s I have attended, we have struggled to find more inclusive ways to refer to God, whether calling God both father and mother, or changing the words to the doxology to refer to Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost rather than Father, Son and Holy Ghost. And often, we have shunned the use of pronouns.
<br />
<br />
What if we didn’t?
<br />
<br />
Many in the transgender and gender non-conforming community have sought a third way through the use of “they” as a singular pronoun. I know there are those who reject the use of “they” in the singular. I confess to being something of a grammar nerd myself. And yet we have a history of using the pronoun “they” when the sex of the person about whom we are speaking is not known. As I saw in a recent discussion of the matter, two wait staff noticed a customer left behind a coat. “I wonder if they know they left it?” “Let’s put it in the lost and found in case they return.” <br />
<br />
See, we’ve been using it all along.<br />
<br />
What if we used it for God?
<br />
<br />
What if instead of tying ourselves in knots trying to avoid using “He,” or at least using “He” and “She” together, we defaulted to “they?”<br />
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We’d be doing a number of things.
<br />
<br />
First, we would be referring to God in the way that They referred to themselves. In the plural.
<br />
<br />
Remember in Genesis 1:26, God says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
<br />
<br />
And too in Genesis 3:22: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”
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<br />
If God, in referring to Self, says “us,” perhaps we should be saying “They.”
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<br />
But using “They” would accomplish more than that. It would be a recognition of the radical inclusiveness that is God. The God that created all things, including all sexes and all genders.<br />
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It would mean that our understanding of God is limited by our understanding of ourselves, but that we recognize that God is not limited. Often, we are neither male nor female. Neither then is God. We were created in God’s image, male and female, because God’s image is male and female. <br />
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And by using “They,” we not only recognize the abundance that is God, but we welcome all of the abundance that is God’s Creation into the arms of our Creator and Their Church.
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<br />
Amen.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Maybe this is a little thing. Maybe it won't change the hate that fills people's hearts. But what if it does? What if one little change would help people see that we are all part of God, part of creation, that we, male, female, and in between, that we, gay, straight and in between, were all created in God's image and are loved by our Creator. Maybe then we could love each other.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-43638577387088700202016-05-09T08:30:00.000-04:002016-05-09T08:30:30.558-04:00Bucket List<span style="color: magenta;">Someone from back home made a comment to me a couple weeks ago that she would hate to see my bucket list...that is must be a blank page.<br />
<br />
It isn't blank, but not just because there are a few places on the original one (that yes, is actually written down in a place I can access regularly) that I have yet to visit (I'm looking at you Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, and Angkor Wat), but also because the more I travel, the more I want to see. So the list keeps growing.<br />
<br />
Before I met my wife, I had left the country exactly once, for my "once in a lifetime" trip to Germany. Of course, I have since been to Germany numerous times and have no doubt I will go back. And I also no longer think of travel as once in a lifetime. I've traveled now to 28 countries outside the U.S., many multiple times and seven new ones and several returns to previously visited ones in just the past nine months. <br />
<br />
Our most recent trip was two weeks ago, to Slovenia. You should go there...Lake Bled is amazing!<br />
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</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8lXzwp4CmV4-Jh45dlGZ0gHJlG79dxiDFjAU3fCLR3xpECneeJh5wjE01LrKuURMyi7NBjaRq-A9CT47qQMtMyKeiQeGJA565HCIc5yJKUJQqWAc75UbunI8ark9A6GcZlWA/s1600/View+of+Church+of+the+Mother+of+God+on+the+Lake+from+Castle+Bled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8lXzwp4CmV4-Jh45dlGZ0gHJlG79dxiDFjAU3fCLR3xpECneeJh5wjE01LrKuURMyi7NBjaRq-A9CT47qQMtMyKeiQeGJA565HCIc5yJKUJQqWAc75UbunI8ark9A6GcZlWA/s320/View+of+Church+of+the+Mother+of+God+on+the+Lake+from+Castle+Bled.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta;">
<br />
That was a recent bucket list addition. Dracula's Castle is as well, now that we are close enough to Romania. That will probably be in a couple months.<br />
<br />
In case you are curious about some of the other places, they are the usual suspects: the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Neuschwanstein in Germany, the pyramids in Egypt, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Sea of Galilee, Petra in Jordan, the Hagia Sofia in Turkey, the Acropolis in Greece. I've been to Rome and the Pompeii. I've visited Stonehenge. I've snorkeled in the Red Sea. And Estonia wasn't on my original bucket list, but it should have been.<br />
<br />
Not bad for a kid who grew up in a Mill Village in South Carolina.<br />
<br />
Any one of these and numerous other trips I've been lucky enough to make could have been a "once in a lifetime." Now they are more like, "this is my life" trips. <br />
<br />
You miss a lot being in the Foreign Service, and I'd be lying if I didn't long sometimes for the comforts of home. I miss my family, my house, being able to buy cheddar cheese... But I have gained a lot too. <br />
<br />
Travel is one of the best ways to combat prejudice and open minds. I am a different person than I was before my first trip overseas. And I am a changed person with each place I visit. you take a little of it home with you. You find that you love your own country a little more while realizing that there is so much the world offers that we do not. <br />
<br />
Why am I being so introspective today? Probably because it is May. As I mentioned yesterday, Mother's Day gets me. This year marks 20 years since she passed. It also marked the passing of the date at which I was older than my mother had been when she died. And May is her birthday month, and that of her mother, who became like a mother to me (and me like a daughter to her) after my mom died. I lost her six years ago. May makes me think of what I miss, and therefore what I am missing by being away. <br />
<br />
But it also makes me hope she can see me, that she would be proud of the person I have become and the adventure that has become my life. Some of the places on my bucket list are places I would have loved to have shared with her.<br />
<br />
I kind of hope I have.</span><br />Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-5635526292030893522016-05-08T08:32:00.004-04:002016-05-08T08:32:54.948-04:00Mother's Day Dogwood<span style="color: magenta;">As spring has rolled around here in Kosovo, I have found myself really homesick. Not because I am not happy here. I am. But Spring is my favorite season, and I miss my yard.<br />
<br />
When we moved into our house in July of 2014, I set about making it a home even though I knew we would move in exactly one year. Folks wondered why I was investing so much energy, but it was because I knew we would likely return after two years, meaning two years of growth to all the plants and trees I planted. <br />
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Two years for the azaleas to remind me of my grandfather's yard, which was full of him (boy do I wish I had inherited his green thumb!). Two years for my butterfly bush to attract all the little flutter-bys. <br />
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And two years for my dogwood to grow.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9qpyy8-ozcKOCSTJyIPZ_zflBKDbcNAQl-FU28YagxHxcQ8VHCPaAW5iISfxj8WBvIz1pIViA6op2vpVUlZFjIL6ubqMWbaFtJc7__u90LzusNoai_C5cBTK76vnWkyZ-aHr/s1600/Baby+dog+and+baby+dogwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9qpyy8-ozcKOCSTJyIPZ_zflBKDbcNAQl-FU28YagxHxcQ8VHCPaAW5iISfxj8WBvIz1pIViA6op2vpVUlZFjIL6ubqMWbaFtJc7__u90LzusNoai_C5cBTK76vnWkyZ-aHr/s320/Baby+dog+and+baby+dogwood.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My baby dog and my baby dogwood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I knew that the moment we had a yard, I wanted a dogwood. They are my favorite tree, and I love to see them growing wild in the South. But in Maryland, you have to hunt for a blight resistant one. After some searching, I finally found one and planted it almost exactly a year ago.<br />
<br />
Part of why I love dogwoods, I am certain, is how much my mother loved them.<br />
<br />
When I was a kid, and my parents bought their first home, my mother was determined to have a dogwood in our front yard. But of course, her only child was a bit of a tom boy, and much to her dismay, she planted it in a perfect spot in our front yard to serve as first base in our kick ball games.<br />
<br />
Which also means the little thing never stood a chance, and broke after one too many times of being grabbed by a runner trying to be "safe."<br />
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I don't think she ever managed to have a dogwood live there. <br />
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So I hope mine lives for her in our yard in Maryland.<br />
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You see, this year is my 19th Mother's Day without her. July will make 20 years since she left us, way too soon. <br />
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It never gets easier. <br />
<br />
And so this Mother's Day, I hope if you still have your mom, you hold her close. I hope you call her often and visit her often. When she is gone, nothing will fill that hole.<br />
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And if you see live in my neighborhood and see my dogwood, think happy thoughts that this one makes it.<br />
<br />
For my mom.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-86354239137454611242016-02-02T05:52:00.000-05:002016-02-02T05:52:02.226-05:00Every Breath You Take<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOVASvQlrr9OyvprJeE7_sjNuSOBwuHVNeVzCQko6VRZQFRCXnbldhCjP1V_5IlNJ-wjJ4wU9ynp0ccLT2O441oyTwzEedzwy6MPP6c3PADmGMECr2QR-m4XuuREHnjgIeNcd/s1600/IMG_4186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOVASvQlrr9OyvprJeE7_sjNuSOBwuHVNeVzCQko6VRZQFRCXnbldhCjP1V_5IlNJ-wjJ4wU9ynp0ccLT2O441oyTwzEedzwy6MPP6c3PADmGMECr2QR-m4XuuREHnjgIeNcd/s1600/IMG_4186.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta;">Smoggy Sunrise</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">I remember the first time my wife came home for R&R from Baku. Those were the days when as a same-sex spouse and non-employee, I was not allowed to live with her at post unless it was a country that would recognize our relationship. And such countries were even fewer and farther between than they are now with the advancements our country and others have made in terms of marriage equality.<br />
<br />
So in those days, I was allowed to visit on a one-month tourist visa, after which I needed to leave the country before I could return. So over the course of her two-year tour, I visited three times for a month each trip, and she came home to North Carolina for R&R twice. (Of course, that doesn’t “count” as our having done an unaccompanied tour, because our marriage didn’t “count” at the time).<br />
<br />
All of which is to say she was in Azerbaijan without me. And I remember her first trip home because as we drive back to Chapel Hill from the airport, she kept hanging her head out of the window to sniff the air. “It smells so clean!” she kept saying. “It is almost sweet.”<br />
<br />
I admit I didn’t get it. Clean air, or at least reasonably clean air, was something I had the luxury of taking for granted. Neither Jerusalem, with its occasional sand storms, nor Tallinn, with the #1 air quality in the world (yes really), disabused me of that privilege.<br />
<br />
Pristina has.<br />
<br />
There are many reasons those of us in the Foreign Service are allowed to retire after 20 years instead of the usual 25-30 for other federal employees. The biggest reason for that is the toll that living in some of the places we serve take on our health. And pollution is a big part of that toll. If you want to read some other posts on it, check out <b><a href="https://fsbaggage.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/when-pollution-is-really-really-bad-at-post/">this</a></b>, <b><a href="https://kidswithdiplomaticimmunity.wordpress.com/2016/01/31/the-air-we-breathe/">this</a></b> and <b><a href="http://unlikelydiplomat.com/2015/01/02/breathing-uneasy/">this</a></b>.<br />
<br />
Kosovo is a country without the luxury of multiple means of electricity. Basically, its options are coal and coal. The two aging coal plants in the city provide all of the country’s electricity. And they belch out pollution all year, but especially so in the winter when people need heat. There are plans for a new coal plant, which will pollute less than the two they have now. But there is simply no option other than coal. And then there are the coal fires coming from every building in the winter. Lignite is cheap and people can basically dig up piles of it to burn in their homes for heat and hot water.<br />
<br />
Some days, you can barely see across the street for the haze created by the smoke. Most days really. Because we are in a valley and very prone to fog, the smoke and fog come together and make smog. Did you know smog freezes? I didn’t either until I came here and saw the dirty ice crystals on all the plants. The fog/smog also means that often it is impossible to fly in or out of the airport here because the runway is not long enough for the navigational equipment needed to land when you can’t do it by sight. Everyone here has missed a flight or had it diverted. Ours was diverted to Skopje, AFTER the pilot tried unsuccessfully to land and had to pull up hard at the last minute. (No, that wasn't terrifying at all...)<br />
<br />
And the smell permeates EVERYTHING. All of your clothes, even fresh from the dry cleaners, smell as though you have been standing by a camp fire.<br />
<br />
And you smell it in your house as well. We have air purifiers running constantly in our apartment and have extra weather stripping under the doors. And you still smell it. Our stairwell seems to funnel the smoke from outside upward to all of the apartments in our building. Even my dog sneezes when she goes outside. And I wear a scarf every day, not because it is cold but because it gives me something to breathe through. I wonder what it is doing to all of our lungs…I already breathe heavier going upstairs than I used to. And on our trips out of the country, I feel like an ex-smoker, my lungs trying to clean themselves out of the toxins I am taking in.<br />
<br />
Soon the embassy will have air quality monitors, and we and the public will have a better idea of the amount of pollution in the air. Of course, maybe that will just make us feel worse about it. But in the meantime, I am glad we decided not to extend. Not because I am not glad to be here. I am. The work in interesting and important and the people here are great. But as a committed life-long non-smoker, it is more than a little alarming that after only five months here, it sometimes hurts to breathe.</span>
Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-80395388583027806482016-01-01T07:42:00.002-05:002016-01-01T09:10:58.606-05:00Gezuar Vitin e Ri nga Kosove!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJdWsN4HTHsFbcpoTnXoluXN8XUP-NC3e9yHP6jfTzgU1y4lh4tkXrjEAWaKTha2dBqirvqyeO7Ir2EkQg9BJEm418lzcXe5HUXOD87dCM7Hc9rZCgL2eoGyS8XskrjIf0utU/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJdWsN4HTHsFbcpoTnXoluXN8XUP-NC3e9yHP6jfTzgU1y4lh4tkXrjEAWaKTha2dBqirvqyeO7Ir2EkQg9BJEm418lzcXe5HUXOD87dCM7Hc9rZCgL2eoGyS8XskrjIf0utU/s320/IMG_1285.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Year's fireworks over Pristina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Happy New Year! <br />
<br />
I hope whatever your 2015 was like, whether awesome or awful, that 2016 is even better.<br />
<br />
I have to confess my 2015 was pretty awesome. Except for that little language test hiccup and the drama of getting my dog to post, both of which were ultimately overcome, things in 2015 were pretty awesome. We spent time in our new house, found a church we love, made lots of friends both at work and outside of it. We and our animal children are all healthy and happy, as is much of our family. My wife even managed to stick in another half marathon this year. And of course, the Supreme Court on June 26 ruled that marriage is a civil right. No more worrying that our marriage won't be recognized when we cross state borders!<br />
<br />
Since we got to Kosovo, we have been able to travel more, already adding six countries to the list of places we’ve been. Just since our trip to a winery in Stobi, Macedonia, we have visited Neuschwanstein in Germany, Munich twice (the second time for the Christmas markets), Salzburg, Austria (also for the markets), Sarajevo, Bosnia (for a public diplomacy offsite), as well as a road trip through Albania and Montenegro on our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia.<br />
<br />
But the purpose of this post is not to give you the abbreviated version of my Christmas letter.
The purpose it to try to jumpstart my blogging again. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know I kind of suck at New Year's resolutions. But this year I am resolving to do two things: blog more and read more. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><br />
After my lapse in blogging, I considered hanging up my blogger hat and walking away. But a few folks asked me not to, plus there is still cool stuff to share. So for the blogging, I am going to try to fill in a few things I have done personally and professionally over the past few months. For example, never mind that I haven't shared any pictures from our cool travels, I don't even think I mentioned Randy Berry, the LGBT envoy, came to post. <br /><br />
And then I am resolving to post at least once a week. Hopefully. <br />
<br />
And on reading, I am going to shoot for at least 25 books this year. Preferably real books (I want to wean myself away from reading the iPad in bed). My hope is more, like one a week, but I am a notoriously slow reader. So I am not going to set myself up for failure. <br />
<br />
So for now, I will leave you with this, a video that we did as a New Year's message from our Ambassador. And like him I wish you a Happy New Year!!</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iwpHALJ1NDc" width="480"></iframe><br />Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-4398220205077642852015-12-24T09:41:00.000-05:002016-01-01T09:59:53.051-05:00Christmas Markets!<span style="color: magenta;">The first time I ever went to a real Christmas Market was in Estonia, and it was love at first Gluwine!<br />
<br />
The sights, the smells, the spirit, I love everything about it.<br />
<br />
So this year, because we are so close to Germany (a quick 2-hour flight to Munich), we decided to check out some Christmas markets this year.<br />
<br />
We went for Munich (which has like five or more in different parts of the city) and then took the train to Salzburg, Austria to check out their market as well.<br />
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</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta;">The Munich Markets:</span></div>
<span style="color: magenta;">
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The Salzburg Market<br />
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And then in Salzburg, there was this (I missed the beginning):</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RyNlGPAOUzw" width="459"></iframe><br />Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-51239574169577160422015-10-04T06:39:00.001-04:002015-10-04T06:39:33.545-04:00So They Make Good Wine in Macedonia<span style="color: magenta;">I haven't left Kosovo since I got here back in the beginning of August, but I finally rectified that yesterday.<br />
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CLO (Community Liaison Officer, or basically the morale officer for post) organized a trip to the Stobi Winery in Macedonia.<br />
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Now we all know I pretty much don't drink (probably why I didn't get promoted yesterday...it is sort of a Foreign Service requirement...), but I do like the taste of some wine. That said, we decided to go on the trip mostly for my wife, who likes wine a lot.<br />
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But actually, they had some really good wine! And the trip was a lot of fun.<br />
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We toured the vineyards first. They have some 600 hectares of grapes of a variety of types.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes in one bunch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the mountains in the background</td></tr>
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Then we toured the winery, where we got to see all the way from "skvishing" to the end of the process.<br />
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And then we got to taste...there was a frickin' lot of wine. We sampled 12 before lunch. I just took sips...some of our group were VERY happy by lunchtime (which was at 3:30! Twelve samples before a lunch that late seems risky, but fortunately everyone was very behaved.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The logo comes from a mosaic at nearby Roman ruins...<br />
that I didn't hear about until we got home! Guess we'll go back!</td></tr>
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We ended up buying four cases of wine, good wine, for only about $135. We bought Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvingon, Cuvee and Sirah. We figure they will make good gifts when we go to other people's houses plus we will have plenty to serve here as well.<br />
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Plus, the trip got me another country visited...I love living in Europe.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-81242900506438926682015-09-30T06:02:00.000-04:002015-10-04T06:17:17.452-04:00Houston, we have an apartment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: magenta;">It is no secret that I am a nester.<br />
<br />
I like to have my home decorated with things that mean something to me: art, souvenirs, pictures, things that <b><a href="http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2012/01/decorating-with-stories.html">tell stories</a></b>.<br />
<br />
So when we pack our HHE (and to a degree, but less so, our UAB), I like to include things that make our place overseas feel like home.<br />
<br />
Apparently, my wife also likes that I do this, because this time, even she was clamoring for something to make our apartment (which is ginormous) look less like a corporate apartment.<br />
<br />
So we were both really happy when our HHE finally arrived a week ago Tuesday. And there was lots of it, like 6000 lbs (and that number is low because I deliberately reduced how much we brought this time!). Of course, probably half that amount is books...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaHv9mzBwMOGX66r299P9WnqAwzo1KYMO5BG9Lyu9pcni1qkOLK0nhvqGlhbiekEweXa5LmWT_w_BqCH8ID4mBlfKhwNBt5AyVx4e5eyLlGGzxI0RuODWgjvgATYODeGorIhA/s1600/IMG_3036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaHv9mzBwMOGX66r299P9WnqAwzo1KYMO5BG9Lyu9pcni1qkOLK0nhvqGlhbiekEweXa5LmWT_w_BqCH8ID4mBlfKhwNBt5AyVx4e5eyLlGGzxI0RuODWgjvgATYODeGorIhA/s320/IMG_3036.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lotsa Stuff</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cats approved of the boxes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7fqEIGCP3m_LRNLqGf4yUfgjr_bM8gE72uOWqI-vA6Zn_o88-kmqqix1CDBnt-Z6xRDwYPEJX2emPARG9EMHIjCzfbzwxeKqxOkBrXW3X3obV5BpVP6F674YqOLFL0TXc-C9/s1600/12039194_10153814496572176_5903290166900283030_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7fqEIGCP3m_LRNLqGf4yUfgjr_bM8gE72uOWqI-vA6Zn_o88-kmqqix1CDBnt-Z6xRDwYPEJX2emPARG9EMHIjCzfbzwxeKqxOkBrXW3X3obV5BpVP6F674YqOLFL0TXc-C9/s320/12039194_10153814496572176_5903290166900283030_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the paper</td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta;">And true to form, I got all of our stuff unpacked and the boxes thrown out within two days (with the help of a local holiday...yay! Bajram!..on Thursday). Admit it, you wish you were married to me.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4PnSCLNlpxjYoUPa6FAL0M9LIMSY6J8t60j4aG2egksg-pwFesk5OyD3h12L_MpFrKaeto7DuF7AabpCLbpo0HFXLJUYht3rdSdBCexPL6Xt5Z5aZn5tTjvli1TIinMKTzuD/s1600/IMG_3037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4PnSCLNlpxjYoUPa6FAL0M9LIMSY6J8t60j4aG2egksg-pwFesk5OyD3h12L_MpFrKaeto7DuF7AabpCLbpo0HFXLJUYht3rdSdBCexPL6Xt5Z5aZn5tTjvli1TIinMKTzuD/s320/IMG_3037.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making progress</td></tr>
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Friday, I put in the order for GSO to come hang our pictures (I tried it myself, but the walls are concrete and I lack concrete nails or transportation to go buy some). And they came yesterday. So now we even have art on the wall.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">
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<br />
Even my office at work has a touch of home:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxW6XzsogRLGBoHKMZ85e4et1ma9naMClHkA6-4Wu6jSyk1n1s5FcS_QIcQcToBx1_PDRM7s7fR9923gRRhdhT6v4i5NKqRuhv6fpySidnQup7UYaj9_VBOBeKCkewwaIdzlYJ/s1600/IMG_3072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxW6XzsogRLGBoHKMZ85e4et1ma9naMClHkA6-4Wu6jSyk1n1s5FcS_QIcQcToBx1_PDRM7s7fR9923gRRhdhT6v4i5NKqRuhv6fpySidnQup7UYaj9_VBOBeKCkewwaIdzlYJ/s320/IMG_3072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why yes, I am from SC, why do you ask?</td></tr>
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Now it feels more like home...for another 21 or 22 months anyway...</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-48388439724411478612015-08-24T15:48:00.000-04:002015-08-24T15:48:09.820-04:00Anibar Internation Animation Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: magenta;"> Well, I didn't get the entire weekend off, but at least my job is lots of fun.<br />
<br />
Sunday, I headed to Peje, a town in the mountains near the border with Montenegro.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">
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We went with the Ambassador because the city hosts, and we help sponsor, the Anibar International Animation Festival.<br />
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<br />We helped the festival bring Mike Reiss, one of the writers of The Simpsons, to speak and do workshops with the attendees.</span><div>
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Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, even if it was for work!<br />
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Plus, the mountains there are gorgeous!<br />
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Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-73645818674751081102015-08-23T14:44:00.000-04:002015-08-24T14:45:26.674-04:00Visiting My Happy Place<span style="color: magenta;">So this weekend I got to take a road trip.<br />
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Not my first, because I am a PD officer, so we get out more than your average bear...er...Foreign Service Officer.<br />
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But this one was for fun.<br />
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The CLO (Community Liaison Officer) organized a trip to the Gracanica Monastery and Ulpiana.<br />
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We started off at the monastery, a Serbian orthodox monastery established in 1321 on the ruins of a 6th century church.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gracinica Monastery</td></tr>
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The monastery is really beautiful and has some absolutely amazing frescoes inside. You aren't allowed to take pictures inside in order to protest the frescoes, but I did take some shots from outside.<br />
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After the monastery, we grabbed some lunch...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ribs and creme with pitalka...yum!</td></tr>
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And then headed to Ulpiana, a Roman city located about 30 minutes outside of Pristina that was established in 169 AD and reached its peak of development in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.<br />
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We were given a tour by the head archaeologist, who also is an alum of one of our programs. They are doing amazing work there despite the challenges they face (like that the country can't afford to buy the land and so they lease it for 3 years at a time and have no security in being able to keep it. Plus the land is divided up into tons of parcels, most owned by Serbian farmers who distrust the Kosovo government, so they have been able to excavate only a tiny fraction of the site. Even so, they have uncovered a massive basilica, a smaller basilica with a baptisterium, a Roman bath, and several cemeteries.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basilica 1</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basilica 2 with Baptisterium</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman bath</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Necropolis</td></tr>
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Definitely need to go back. Archaeology is clearly my happy place!</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-90968043705786579342015-08-21T18:12:00.000-04:002015-08-23T04:13:34.399-04:00Houston, we have an Ambassador....and I have my puppy!<span style="color: magenta;">Our new Ambassador, Greg Delawie, arrived Thursday. I am looking forward to working for him, because everything I hear about him is great.<br />
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Have you seen his video? If not, check it out:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pcrrID3ShR0" width="480"></iframe><br />
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I met him at the airport. That was pretty fun. But even cooler was getting to go to his credentialing at the President's office.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amb Delawie handing his credentials to President Jahjaga<br />
Photo courtesy of U.S. Embassy Pristina</td></tr>
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The other exciting thing that happened this week was the arrival of my puppy. Okay, she is not a puppy (she is 14), but she is definitely my baby.<br />
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She wasn't able to fly with me because only one pet was allowed in the hold at a time and I had to bring my parrot. I wasn't choosing my parrot over my dog, but it seemed like it would be harder to get a parrot in by a shipper than a dog.<br />
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Turned out getting a dog here was hard too. It took two weeks. Two weeks where I tried to hide that I was secretly miserable.<br />
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But now she is here. And happy and healthy.<br />
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And I am happy too.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-92163331042792402672015-08-16T12:26:00.002-04:002015-08-16T12:26:47.674-04:00Newborn<span style="color: magenta;">I am determined to fully immerse myself into life here.<br />
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So this morning, I went to church. The service was entirely in Shqip (Albanian). I confess that the parts where they read from the Bible (in standard Shqip, or Tosk) were easier to understand than the parts in the Kosovar dialect (gheg). But I persevered.<br />
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After church, I spotted a friend of one of my teachers. I was able to pick him out from his Facebook picture because he had sent me a message there. We went at had coffee at a place right by the Newborn monument.<br />
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<br />The monument is a well-known sculpture in downtown Pristina in front of the Palace of Youth and Sports. It was designed by Fisnik Ismaili and unveiled on 17 February 2008, the day that Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. It was painted bright yellow when it was first revealed and was later re-painted with the flags of the states that have recognized Kosovo. It is repainted every 17 February every year, and I look forward to seeing it then. In the meantime, it seems to be a sort of national canvas while still being recognized as a single word understood by non-English speakers as describing the birth of a new country.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-91700643473425431632015-08-15T13:41:00.004-04:002015-08-15T13:41:45.885-04:00Getting Back To Work<span style="color: magenta;">Okay, that title is misleading.<br />
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Language training is work, hard work, and fun (except when it isn't...I am still reminding myself to be thankful for that extra time in language because not only did I really solidify my skills but I also really solidified friendships with several of the teachers. That is something to be grateful for.), but it is nice to be back doing what I joined the Service to do.<br />
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I just finished my first full week on the job and am finally about over my jet lag. And is a week that has me really enthusiastic for the next two years.<br />
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First, and most important to me personally, it looks like my dog will arrive on Wednesday. If you are the praying/positive energy sending/finger and toe crossing sort, please do so for her. One of my awesome new colleagues is travelling to the states and is bringing Noostie back with him on Tuesday. Apparently there is a total embargo on bringing pets to Pristina as cargo but you can bring them as excess baggage. I tried to send her to Vienna and have a shipper drive her here, but even that proved too much. So this colleague is saving me a trip back to the states...I definitely owe him his favorite alcoholic beverage (or five) of choice!<br />
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Second, I have been able to do some actual Public Diplomacy work. Our section was a part of Dokufest, an annual 8-day International Documentary and Short Film Festival held in Prizren that draws artists and audiences from across the region and the world. We sponsored some American films there as well as an American Night reception in Prizren. The reception was well attended, and we arranged interviews between the press and some of the American directors. Plus, I was able to meet some of our folks from our American Corner there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">America Night reception</td></tr>
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It was my first time to visit Prizren, but I will definitely be back. Because...castle!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prizren</td></tr>
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Apparently we gave a pretty massive grant to Kosovo for the restoration of part of the castle, so you know, I HAVE to check on that!<br />
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Plus, I have to go back and see the churches there. I tried, unsuccessfully to visit this one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVH-IybUdgitJqOR4lbb3QST0p07kMwlgJ8EdQjxidIvb8x8CFk5V3yHgQkPChKX9veEHFWkIwMLtAb-DI-m5BjLI4Jom5b6cfJbGet4iUVEDUOMfFEfqWcEUFbkyugP4La9o/s1600/Prizren+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVH-IybUdgitJqOR4lbb3QST0p07kMwlgJ8EdQjxidIvb8x8CFk5V3yHgQkPChKX9veEHFWkIwMLtAb-DI-m5BjLI4Jom5b6cfJbGet4iUVEDUOMfFEfqWcEUFbkyugP4La9o/s320/Prizren+church.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orthodox church in Prizren</td></tr>
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This is an Orthodox Church in Prizren, right by where we held our reception. I tried to visit the church and photograph it, but was asked to leave the courtyard by a Serbian-speaking guard, possibly because I spoke to him in Albanian (Serbian-speaking colleagues have been allowed to go inside). Note to self: use English when trying to visit churches. Kosovo is an interesting place.<br />
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Orthodox churches aside, I am finding many opportunities to use my language here. For example, two of our Albanian teachers are in Kosovo, so twice this week we had dinners out that involved lots of speaking in Shqip (Albanian). One involved lots of Shqip and a Proper Pizza the size of our table and the other involved less Shqip but traditional Albanian food.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A proper pizza from Proper Pizza</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: cente;">Biftek në gurë</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;">Tavë Shtëpie</span></td></tr>
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I also had a meeting this week with someone seeking a grant who didn't speak English very well. So I said we should do the meeting in Shqip. And we did. I understood him completely except for a few words in gheg that I had my local staff member explain to me. And he seemed to understand me. My staff member also said to me that I speak freely and comfortably in Shqip. I am pretty proud of that.<br />
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In fact, I asked him to help me by speaking to me in Shqip and to teach me some gheg. But I told him that it helped me when he spoke more slowly.<br />
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So he said he would speak vvveeeeerrryyyyyyyy sssslllloooowwwwwlllly. Just like that. But in Shqip. :)</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-77965145843229659552015-08-10T07:36:00.000-04:002015-08-10T07:36:00.079-04:00Language<span style="color: magenta;">So the language we study at the Foreign Service Institute is not exactly what they use here.<br />
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In Kosovo, Gheg is the dialect of Albanian spoken. In fact, it is spoken by the majority of Albanian speakers, including the folks north of Tirane in Albania. But the standard dialect, Tosk, is taught at FSI. It is standard by virtue of having been the dialect spoken by Enver Hoxha, the former dictator of that country.<br />
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I already knew Gheg was different just in terms of the occassional times in class that the native gheg speakers would tell use different words used in Kosovo or show us videos of people speaking gheg. And at one lunch with two of my teachers and an EFM from Kosovo, all of whom I have become friends with, when the native Tosk speaker was late, the other two spoke very quickly and in gheg.<br />
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Holy mini-immersion Batman! Gheg is different!<br />
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So when I arrived at the airport on Wednesday, I was prepared to have a bit of difficulty understanding, but I sort of expected to be understood.<br />
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I went to the customs line because I needed a signature on my CITES permit for Cayenne showing she had arrived.<br />
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I told the officer in standard Albanian that I had nothing to declare but I needed someone to sign that the bird had entered the country.<br />
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What? he asked.<br />
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So I repeated myself.<br />
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"Where are you from?"<br />
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"The U.S."<br />
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"Speak to me in English."<br />
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I was simultaneously offended and wondering what I said wrong. So I repeated myself in English.<br />
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"What?" he asked.<br />
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"I need a signature on my form."<br />
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"Why?"<br />
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"To bring the bird into Kosovo."<br />
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"But she is here."<br />
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"Right, but I need a signature so I can take her back to the U.S. in two years."<br />
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"So take her."<br />
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Okay, at this point I have determined the issue was not my language skills. It was the issue. And once I got him to sign the form (yay for small victories), I chatted with him for a few minutes in Albanian just to reassure myself that I could actually speak the language.<br />
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I could.<br />
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I also succeeded last night in chatting with the guard at our house about unemployment in the country.<br />
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So maybe I speak this language after all.</span>Diggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.com0