Peace Corps News

Super delegates like Pat Waak and Sam Farr are super important

With Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama less than 100 delegates apart in the chase for the Democratic nomination, the party's so-called super delegates — roughly 20 percent of the total delegates available — are garnering attention from the campaigns. 

Consider Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak (RPCV Brazil). Chelsea Clinton called her cell phone and her home, wanting to talk about her mom. Bill Clinton personally asked her to support his wife.  Obama supporters found her private e-mail address, urging her to "fight against back-room deals" and support the man who won the Colorado caucuses Tuesday night.  "I'm sure this is just the beginning," Waak said.

Super delegates are party leaders, members of Congress and other VIPs who get an automatic vote on the convention floor — one that they alone decide. For the first time since the Democrats set up the system, super delegates could hold the balance of power. Read more.

Another RPCV super delegate is California Congressman Sam Farr who served as a volunteer in Colombia.  Bill Clinton has gone to work Thursday trying to win over Farr, the Monterey Bay Area congressman who has yet to declare his preference. Farr was leaving Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, where he was meeting with local health officials, when the former president rang his cell phone. "I told him I was holding my ground," Farr said Sunday. "He said he understood."

Several in the Democratic Party have suggested that superdelegates like Farr should side with the candidate who won their district "to avoid a possible backlash if the popular vote is overturned. But Farr said he's seen strong support for both candidates locally and didn't feel obligated to one. "I think I can use the statistics either way. Read more.

An Exhibit of RPCV David Whitman's photographs of Brazil opens in Key Biscayne September 9

An Exhibit of Saint Lucia RPCV David Whitman's photographs of Brazil opens in Key Biscayne September 9
Six years ago Miami photographer David Whitman visited Ilha de Maré, an island in northeastern Brazil. His friend Jorge Antonio Espirito Santo Batista, a teacher there, had promised Whitman a glimpse of a Brazil that was disappearing—an island without cars, where you arrive by boat and wade through the surf to the shore, a place still dependent on the sea and the legendary tides that give the island its name. As they wandered along streets made of crushed shells and earth, Whitman noticed two barefooted boys playing marbles. “From where I stood, they happened to form a yin-yang shape,” Whitman recounts, “and I quietly reached for my camera, hoping I could record the moment before they shifted positions.” He did, and the young marble players—Jefinho and Darlei—famously landed on the cover of the International Calendar of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in 2005. Jefinho and Darlei inspired the calendar’s theme that year: Harmony in Play. “The two boys playing marbles convey the age-old concept of Yin and Yang—opposites that fit together perfectly to make a whole—a reminder that harmony does not come from being the same. It comes from embracing differences and discovering how we complement and balance each other, thereby making the world a richer place.” Whitman’s photo—and the story behind it—were featured at the time on Progreso Weekly and Progreso Semanal, and also caught the attention of Alhemar Altieri, the publisher of InfoBrazil, a site that offers independent analysis and opinion on Brazilian current affairs. “With most Brazilians absorbed by the annual Carnival celebrations, we at InfoBrazil decided to break away from the usual political, business and economic content, and asked David Whitman, an accomplished photographer, to reflect on his time spent in Brazil.”

Last November, Whitman returned to Ilha de Maré during a four-week photographic journey through Brazil. As he was walking along the same road where he’d encountered Jefinho and Darlei six years earlier, he passed two boys—about the same age as the marble players had been—seated at a cement table. He gave them each a keyring from Miami, and asked if he could take their picture, the first shot of the day. That photo, “Best Friends,” is now the announcement for an upcoming exhibit of Whitman’s work, in Miami, called “Luminous Youth.” Reviewing an exhibit of Whitman’s work in Berkeley, California, Stephanie Hornbeck, now a conservator at the National Museum of African Art, wrote, “Whitman’s photographs evoke a gentle world. Beneath leafy trees in sunny, seemingly carefree settings by the sea, warm smiles and bright eyes engage the viewer directly. He focuses on the inner warmth and outer beauty of his young subjects, separating them from their often sad circumstances.” “Luminous Youth” runs from September 9 to November 2 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Crandon Park, Key Biscayne. The opening reception is on Sunday, September 9, from 3 to 6 pm, with Brazilian music performed by Rose Max and Ramatis.  Read more.

Read more about Peace Corps Saint Lucia.

Read more about Peace Corps Brazil.

Read more about Photography and the Peace Corps.

Read more about Peace Corps Exhibits.

Pat Waak, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, celebrates after Denver secures 2008 Democratic convention

Pat Waak, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, celebrates after Denver secures 2008 Democratic convention
National Democrats announced that they have picked Denver over New York for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. "Democrats in Colorado, and the West, have worked hard to demonstrate that this is the new frontier for the Democratic Party in America ... We have worked hard to reach voters across the state. The selection of Denver adds to the momentum, as we build a Colorado that is dedicated to serving all citizens," said Pat Waak, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party.

Denver's selection brings the high-profile political gathering to the Pepsi Center in August 2008 -- exactly 100 years after the city hosted its first and only national party convention. About 35,000 delegates and journalists are expected for what business leaders hope will mean a more than $160 million boon for the city. "The West has had a lot of influence politically in the last two years. And there has been talk to move the party influence to all 50 states. It was important that Gov. Dean chose Colorado. This decision helps us build the party much more," added Waak.

Pat Waak, Chairman of the Democratic Party in Colorado, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Brazil in the 1960's. She has a long history as a political activist.  She was the Deputy Campaign Manager for Sargent Shriver's presidential bid in 1976 and went on to serve in the U.S. Agency for International Development. She has been a senior advisor to Audubon, focusing on the relationship between people and the environment worldwide and was a candidate for Colorado's Fourth Congressional District in 2002.  Read more about Pat Waak.

Read more about Peace Corps Brazil.