Congress is recessing and we are too (sort of)

Greetings Of Peace and Politics readers. Whew! It's been a busy month here at FCNL and on Capitol Hill, what with Congress working feverishly on health care, climate change, and a myriad other issues. While it looks like the House and Senate probably won't wrap up health care before they depart in August, both Congress and FCNL are going to slow down considerably over the next few weeks.

Today is the last day for this year's crop of first and second year interns, and until September only Maggie and Stephen will be in the office to contribute to the blog. That means we'll be on semi-hiatus. Please keep reading though, and come back to us in September! In the meantime you can listen to the latest podcast. If you want updates on what's happening at FCNL you can check our website.

On a more personal note, it is with a tear in my eye that I bid farewell to this blog. It's been my pet project for most of my time at FCNL, and I've loved seeing it grow. I'm just heading across town to George Washington U. to work on my master's in Media and Public Affairs though, so I will continue to read, listen, and write in the comments.

Cheers!

Caroline

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Behind the Lobbying: What makes FCNL tick?

My last time posting the podcast to our dear blog. But this one is a good one. In it Maggie, Christine, and I discuss FCNL's lobbying strategy -- what works, how it works, why it works, and what can be frustrating about it.

Listen in!

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Congress is about to break for the summer

Since I've worked on Capitol Hill, I have noticed that when I get one day off, Congress gets five, and when I get a week off they have the whole month. Why? What is the purpose of recess? This article explains some of that, and reminds me how important it is to lobby your members of Congress while they're home over the break. Make them work for it! If you don't schedule meetings with them, they'll just be left to lie on the beach or canoe or something.

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Send in the blue helmets...err briefcases?

How to prevent war torn countries from relapsing into violence once the dust settles?

FCNL has urged the U.S. government to fund a robust civilian response corps, or a cadre of civilians with skills in law, policing, economics, health systems, agriculture and public administration to help train police forces, establish basic services and reinvigorate financial markets in fragile states.

The United Nations is now considering establishing a permanent civilian response capacity, similar to the United State's nascent civilian response corps. This week, the UN Security Council heard an assessment of the four year old "Peacebuilding Commission."

One of the recommendations Security Council states heard was to establish a permanent civilian counterpart to UN peacekeepers that would have the skills and the means to help war ravaged countries put the pieces back together. As The Economist notes, in peacekeeping situations, "the UN cannot stop the war unless it is also able to win the peace."

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Goodbye, FCNL! Reflections from our Junior Intern Alex Hull

For the last 6 weeks, Alex Hull from Kenyon College has been helping me (Alexandra) here at the office. He has been amazing--making hundreds of calls, putting together packets, accompanying me on lobby visits, learning his way through my alphabet soup Washington-speak, and updating the immigration network on a weekly basis through the blogroll. I asked him to reflect on his time at FCNL. This is what he said:

My time at FCNL is sadly at an end. I’ve finished my phone calls, sent out the last of the potluck packets, and coolly navigated my first solo lobby visit. As the dust settles on my six week jaunt on the hill, I thought I’d share a few of my reflections.

I’ve learned to speak rudimentary Washington-ese (HR2709, grasstops, ICE, E-verify), mastered both copy machines, and fostered an appetite for late night C-SPAN. I’ve learned the ins and outs of our immigration system, which, by the way, is unbelievably dysfunctional in every way, and I’ve gotten a taste of how and why this government serves its people. I’ve learned that the Metro system is never to be trusted and that Washington is literally the hottest place on the planet.

Time and time again, I’ve found myself marveling at the anxious scheduler who lurks behind every member of Congress, constantly whispering into his/her member’s ear about the latest political developments on the hill. They are the epitome of 21st century efficiency and accountability. At the same time, tangible political progress is achieved at a snail’s pace in Washington. The health care debate will rage on into the fall, and as a result, the immigration debate will surely be put on hold. Somewhat paradoxically, things move really slowly and really quickly here in Washington. It is a city both in and out of touch with the rest of America.

Into this paradoxical city I entered, determined to learn as much as possible and make a real difference. My assigned task at FCNL was to set up potluck dinners across the nation in support of immigration reform. First my supervisor Alex and I designed a packet of planning materials, complete with film screening options, ways to contact members of Congress, colorful flyers and letter-writing templates. It really is a veritable immigration activism super-packet, if I say so myself. Then I dedicated my last two weeks to the phones, calling people across this nation and begging them to look at my packet and plan a potluck of their own. I called people from Maine to Oregon, and ended up sending about 55 packets out to interested parties. I was honestly really surprised at the number of people who were willing to consider hosting a dinner. It’s a big undertaking—planning and executing a dinner, and for such a nebulous cause at that. But this cause is an important one—our actions are vital and our voices need to be heard. There is heartbreak and dehumanization in every town across this nation, and it’s because our immigration system is broken, but not beyond repair. We must hold ourselves to be responsible for the way our government treats the least of its people. It is our duty as people of faith who walk humbly with God to protect those who need protection, and call out for those who cannot call out for themselves.

We must be the text on that scheduler’s blackberry. We must be the whisper in that member’s ear. Only when we are everywhere, in everyone’s ear, will we be heard.

I want to extend my deepest thanks to all of those who worked with me at FCNL this summer. Each one of you welcomed me into your workplace with a daily smile and a wave. For a terrified intern, it made all the difference. A special thanks goes to my supervisor Alex Douglas who was helpful, kind, and patient, day in and day out.

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No New F-22s!

Why FCNL doesn't like F-22s:

1) They're weapons, used in war -- They contribute to deadly conflict.

2) They've never been used in combat -- They are wasteful -- even the Defense Secretary agrees.

Find out more about F-22s and their defeat in the Senate yesterday.

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Kenya's Moment

What will it take to prevent Kenya from returning to violence? That is the question many following the brewing crisis in Kenya are asking.

Last week, Kofi Annan, former head of the United Nations and chief mediator in Kenya's 2008 election crisis, handed an envelope to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Inside was a list of about a dozen prominent Kenyan politicians and business officials believed to have played a key role in the violence following Kenya's flawed elections.

Annan's move comes after the Kenyan government's failure to establish a local tribunal to investigate and prosecute instigators of the post election violence. In February, Kenya's parliament rejected legislation which would have authorized a local tribunal in Kenya to investigate and prosecute instigators of the post-election violence.

After the Parliament rejected legislation, Annan told Kenya's leaders that he would send "the list" to the ICC if the Kenyan government failed to establish a tribunal. In April, the ICC vowed to act swiftly in seeking justice if Kenya's government fail to act. In June, Annan announced he would give Kenya until August to establish a local tribunal.

It appears August came early.

After a meeting with Kenya's coalition government in Geneva, the former UN chief decided to hand over the envelope to the ICC early. Why the rush?

Annan says he want to put pressure on Kenya's parliament to set up a tribunal. Given that the names under investigation are said to include at least two senior cabinet members and others with influence in government, Annan must have figured Kenya's government needed to feel some heat.

Kenya's governance crisis comes amidst reports that "leading politicians, notably those representing constituencies in the Rift Valley, which bore the brunt of the violence last year, maintain armed and trained militia units." But, as the NYT reported today, this time, militias are passing on machetes, and arming themselves with guns.

As FCNL pointed out recently, the failure to address impunity, chronic corruption and achieve necessary political reforms at the senior levels of government, combined with the rearming of militias and disputes over land at the local level, is a combustible mix that could set off violence in the case of a traumatic national event.

What happens if the ICC goes public with the Annan's list of names? What if Kenya's next round of elections go badly? What if the extrajudicial killings occurring in Kenya increase?

All of these events could set the stage for another round of ethnic violence, and once again, rip apart East Africa's island of stability. While Kenya's violence was brought to an end with the help of Kofi Annan's mediation effort, and business and civil society groups, the issues which ignited the violence have not been addressed.

As Maina Kiai, a former Kenyan official recently noted, Kenya is not at peace. "It's a cease-fire." The decisions taken by key Kenyan officials, international diplomats and Kenyan civil society leaders in months ahead will be critical in paving the way for peace, or leading Kenya back to war.

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Lessons from my mom

This is my mom and me at my college graduation dinner. I bring up my mother (something I haven't done yet on this blog) because she raised a point while we were driving up to a family gathering in Vermont over July 4 weekend that I hear all the time from FCNL supporters. Our conversation when something like this:

Mom: What have you been up to at work lately?

Me: You know, sending out emails -- have you read any of them? Have you written to Rep. Holt? (I'm from NJ-12)

Mom: (Sigh) Noooo. I'm too busy.

Me: What! It only takes five minutes.

Mom: I know, but I get so many emails -- I don't contact congress for any of them.

Me: Well, first of all, FCNL emails are better (wink wink) and also, I don't believe that you gave birth to the people sending any of those other emails (Sassy, I know -- long road trip).

Cut to last week. I find this email in my inbox:

Subject: Sent my first letter through FCNL

Hi Caroline,

Okay, I sent my first FCNL letters on F-22's to Lautenberg and Menedez. Now, I'm hoping to be included in a Blog post from YOU before you leave FCNL!!!!

Love, Mom

So there you have it. If my mother, who runs a school and is currently dealing with many visiting relatives, had time to send an email to the New Jersey senators AND send her daughter an email successfully bribing her to write a blog post, then surely you can find the time to contact congress as well.

So go on -- take action! (I promise. It only takes five minutes. Comment here if it takes longer. The action link will take you to a chance to write Congress about getting out of Afghanistan.)

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Priceless quote from Gates to illustrate DC sentiment on Afghanistan

This quote is a bit old, but in another sense, positively timeless to understand what shockingly passes for "cross cultural understanding" far far too often in this city.

It's Secretary Gates testifying for the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 27, 2009:

"So one of the things that I've been focused on, in addition to trying to see what more we could do to reduce civilian casualties, is: How do we get more of an Afghan face on every single one of our operations? How do we get them out in front so that the villagers see that it's their army that we're helping? It's not us kicking down their door; it's an Afghan who's kicking down their door to try and find a bad guy."

Funny, I thought it was one of those universally held values that people didn't like ANYONE kicking down their doors....

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The Climate Bill Won't Work

Find out why (and Devin's more nuanced analysis of the bill) on this week's podcast:

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Happy Canada Day!

Did you know? Today is Canada Day. According to my Canadian sources, the celebrations in Ottawa are similar to those in Washington DC for Independence Day -- fireworks, barbecues, and general summery revelry.

You know what else those sources tell me? That Canada has a health care system that resembles pretty closely what FCNL would like to see in the States.

And to close, a fun Canada fact. Did you know there are three versions of the Canadian national anthem? One in English, one in French, and one that alternates between the two languages.

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