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meaghanjoy
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Name: Meaghan
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Metro: Ann Arbor
Gender: Female
Interests: :: JesusChrist :: friends :: music :: BORDERS :: TaylorU :: discussions :: International Justice Mission :: philosophy :: intramurals :: 10s :: unique people :: Pistons :: summer :: tang :: the OC :: knarping :: witnessing :: law :: UofM football :: hobby lobby :: traveling :: clean teeth :: learning :: rollerblading
Expertise: //quotes? //political science? //being poor? //being short? //being a pk? //annoying others? //procrastinating?// sarcasm? //asking too many questions? //
Occupation: Student
Industry: Legal
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  meggome17
Member Since:
2/6/2005
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| lots of happenings! my final semester (ahh im almost a grad!) is wrapping up quickly here! right now i am interviewing to a number of different jobs, but don't want to say much until they are solidified :) i have decided to stay in DC, it so happens that where I'm living now is opening up for the spring semester at an unbeatable price and area, and two of my friends are staying here as well!! i have a network of people, a church, and the center of political happenings and international advocacy is here-- i think its a good decision. thats not to say if my dream job doesn't open up i won't take it :)
last Friday, we finished up our China unit by having our own "hearing" in a Congressional house committee room; we discussed and came up with our own recommendations for US policy, based on different findings, which was so much fun! I had a nice chill weekend, took a walk to embassy row and got to see some cool things. we also put up the christmas tree, decorated cookies and sipped cider, and sang carols :) it is getting colder around here and today it actually snowed (and stayed on the ground) a few inches! supposedly if it snows overnight we have no work because no one comes in :)
on Tuesday I was able to go see the Supreme Court listen to an argument! 25 spots are open to the public (those brave/willing to wait in the cold--which i did, for three hours). today was a high profile case where Bush was the defendant (discussing the foreign citizens rights to habeas corpus (Guantanamo bay essentially)) and I work one block from the supreme court so people it was pretty crazy with the press and such. I wish I could've gone!
Today, I got to talk to my MOC, Representative Walburg, about the Jubilee Act. I thought the meeting went well! He is a graduate of Ft Wayne Bible college (Now TUFW) and actually was a minister for a while. Plus, he just got back from traveling to Africa last week and his daughter is a missionary in Uganda- what a perfect backdrop for talking about issues related to global poverty! He had to leave to go for a vote after about 15 minutes, but we continued talking to a staffer.
While we got into the nitty gritty economic conditionalities and such that I don't fully understand-- basically the staffer (who had his masters in international business) wanted to do more micro-financing for development- which i am a big fan of! I told him we need both top-down and bottom-up help. if privatization of water and electricity hurt the poorest of the poor-- if they can't go to school because of school fees, then business spreading wont' really help them if they can't develop education. i also told him about the history and success of many debt-relieved countries, such as Tanzania.
the staffer was also concerned about giving illegitimate governments debt, and we explained that right off, only 9 countries would fully meet all the requirements for debts and the other countries would have to make some changes. we also explained how the money is accounted for-- made sure that it will be spent on fighting poverty for education or health care.
in the end, so much of it comes down to ideological differences. i would think (hope) everyone wants to reduce poverty (besides the horrible business corporations that wipe communities out for profit). the issue is government's or individual's place in that. for debt relief, if it was irresponsible lending-- if this money never benefited those people-- then it is odious debt and should be our job to relieve it. since our country pulls the weight of the money, and since our government has such a hand in the international institutions-- basically they started this mess of monopolizing africa-- then i think it is our governments place to fix it.
the other ideological difference is party lines. we have 3 republicans in the house (of 89) and about half in the senate (5/10). Walburg, being a freshmen representative of the minority party, doesn't have much pull (he is weighted 428/435!) so he will look to other leadership (he mentioned a few reps on the financial services committee) to see where to vote. sadly, sometimes politicians will not vote a certain way for not other reason than they do not want to step outside party lines.
well... this post got WAY longer than i meant! tomorrow i get to go to the white house/national christmas tree lighting-- it's supposed to be cool because Bush, Cheney, his whole cabinent, etc-- will be there! (as well as 2,000 other people.. haha) things are wrapping up with my internship-- farewell parties, finalizing projects, evaluations, ahh!
i am flying home on the 14th! christmas break plans include trips to buffalo and chicago, catching up w/ TU friends whom i miss dearly and spending lots of time with SETH! whooo is probably going to move out here as well! yayy :) God is good-- even though I don't have a job yet I could write a whole post on him-- maybe in a month?
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| so it's been a while. right now I am studying China-U.S. relations from Russia's economic perspective- what?! yeah. it's getting colder and even though it warms my heart to know its colder in Michigan and Indiana (my two homes) than here, i'm starting to think D.C. may be too cold itself...
last night i spent a few hours per usual applying for jobs. only to realize today that I had been saving and correcting the cover letter but sending out a DIFFERENT one. crappp. life is just like that, and i hate myself for not being more detail-oriented. scratch that off the qualifications list ;)
for your viewing pleasure, some pics of me at our 10th anniversary celebration:
and halloween (i was hilary clinton, apparently 'scary' although i'm not sure why ;):
my friends were condi and laura bush (easiest costumes ever):
dance dance party on the roof
To conclude this random post, some lyrics from an old song that I will
NEVER get sick of. The song is "refine me" by Jennifer Knapp:
I come into this place
Burning to receive your peace
I come with my own chains
From wars I've fought for my own selfish gain
You're my God and my Father
I've accepted your Son
But my soul feels so empty now
What have I become?
Lord, come with your fire,
Burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Refine me
My heart can't see
When I only look at me
My soul can't hear
When I only think of my own fears
They are gone in a moment
You're forever the same
Why did I look away from You
How can I speak Your name?
Lord, come with Your fire,
burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Come rescue this child
For I long to be reconciled to You
It's all I can do
To give my heart and soul to You
And pray, and pray, oh I will pray
Refine me, refine me
Refine me, refine me
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So I haven't been blogging here because I was busy blogging for Jubilee! Last week ended our fast with a prayer breakfast where 5 Congressmen and multiple religious leaders talked about what the fast meant to them. Rev. Duncombe broke his 46 day fast and I've never seen a single person do something so humbly or effectively. Our training and lobby days went well with about 75 volunteers, and our annual Network Council meeting and 10th anniversary celebration were a success! I'm very thankful it went so smoothly and that life for the poor Jubilee staff can be somewhat normal now!
Its been cool to see from a grassroots perspective what a small network of people can do. Then again, the ONE campaign really helped us out and lobbied for us on MANY days. they sent us 40,000 hand-written letters to Congressmen about the Jubilee Act. Nov. 8th is the hearing in the financial services committee, and i'm definitely going!
now, some pics from the breakfast:Ulrich Duchrow- prof. of systematic theology of heidelberg- i loved this guy! 
From L to R- Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) the two initial cosponsers:
 
(L to R below): Rep Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Donald Payne (D-NJ)
 
this is what interns have to do... so exciting... and i think they caught me saying something
want to see more? go to our flickr account
Besides
that, I worked all weekend on my domestic policy term paper
(immigration enforcement- low-wage labor market) and am LOVING the fall
weather! well it was in the 80s until today and its gonna be in the 60s
all week :( i am also busy polishing my resume and sending it to
organizations. this friday is fall break and i think im going to NYC!
which is exciting bc i have never been and its only $35. fyi, if you've
tried to call me recently i am not rude in getting back with you, i
lost my phone on the metro a while ago but hope to be getting one in
the mail shortly. and i think, because of my familys persistence, i am
coming home for thanksgiving for like 5 days!
peace and love: Meaghan
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|  JUBILEE'S BACKGROUND...
I am the "Media and Policy Intern" for Jubilee USA this fall. I'll explain what Jubilee does: Specifically, we work on the issue of debt relief for impoverished
countries — most of those being African, Latin American and Asian countries —
that have been oppressed by illegitimate regimes, dictators and also Western
economic policies that benefit richer nations, while further miring countries
like Kenya, Liberia, and Haiti in the cycle of debt and economic injustice.
Why do we do this? Well 1)Texts in both the Hebrew Scriptures and throughout the New Testament
call for debt cancellation and the righting of relationships every
seven years with a super Jubilee every 50th year, and 2)we believe that international debt has become a new form of slavery.
Debt slavery means impoverished people working harder in a vain effort to keep
up with the interest payments on debts owed to rich countries, including the U.S., and
international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank. The Jubilee USA Network brings together people to
turn this reality around by active solidarity with international partners and
targeted, timely advocacy strategies and educational outreach.
But debt
cancellation alone will not be sufficient in order to restore relations of
justice in the global community, broader issues must be addressed and
far-reaching changes must be enacted. Jubilee USA Network is committed to
linking to and addressing these broader issues of Jubilee justice: HIV/AIDS;
Oil & Climate Change; Immigration; Gender; and Trade.
JUBILEE's
Current Work
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Spencer
Bachus (R-Ala.) have introduced the Jubilee Act (HR 2634), legislation that would
cancel the debts of 67 impoverished countries without the harmful
conditionalities that usually accompany debt cancellation. These conditions
include user fees placed on education, healthcare, clean water and electricity
in addition to salary and hiring freezes on education and health workers. Right now we have 58 House co-sponsors, so thats good! We have been meeting with Senators/Reps and their staff to advocate for this. Right now we are working on getting the Senate to introduce their version of the bill, as well as getting a formal hearing in both.
Moving
the Jubilee Act through Congress is the central goal of this fall's Cancel
Debt Fast, a rolling 40-day fast for debt cancellation that will take place
from September 6 to October 16th. Over 10,000 people
have signed up to fast and we are hoping more will continue (hint, hint YOU GUYS :) ) Some are doing liquid-fast, sugar-fast, or w/e they prefer! People are also
sending their Congressmen paper plates that say, "I'm hungry for debt
cancellation!" in hopes that they will support the Jubilee Act. 
I could write LOTS more about this, buutttt I will leave you with links to check out for yourself and ONE fact: - FACT: Africa pays more in debt service than it receives in aid, new loans and assistance. For every $1 that is given in aid, Africa pays back an estimated $2.30 in Debt payments.
- Jubilee Rocks! (check out the blog b/c i do that!)
- Related Blogs/Cool Christian Int'l Development websites: Christians Ending Poverty, The One Campaign, Bread for the World, Action Aid, World Vision.
- there are like 10,000 Aid/Development/Humanitarian/Christian organizations in the DC area and it's been SO COOL to network with them! (and what a stark contrast from all the senate/rep meetings.)
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| some of us were discussing last night the relationship between spoken beliefs and actions. in my 3 years at taylor, the two lessons continually taught to us again and again were 1) worldviews (and how important they are to shaping belief) and 2) connecting your praxis with your telos, or your beliefs with your actions. i cannot stress enough how much i have valued the foundation i learned there and am learning this semester.
its very interesting to see how people who work as public servants, in international development, or any sort of nonprofit are driven. i interviewed a senior policy analyst at a well-known aid organization and kept asking him questions about mercy, peace, and justice. he could only answer about "economic injustices" and nothing else.... when you ask value questions here, you rarely get value answers. people know the answers to the what, but not to the why. it simply blows my mind how they can work so hard and yet they can't point to what gets them up in the morning. they just know that there is hope, that something can be done, that there is certain "right" or responsibility.
i believe, whether or not they profess it, everyone has a sense of ought. i think this comes from a perception of God and justice. even if people have differing views on the role of government, limits of humans, crime, whatever. they are still striving. the fact that any business is alive shows that a) there must be a problem to fix or situation to better and b)they believe it can be done, at least partially. there is a way things should be (ought), the way things are (is), the way we can make them better (can) and yet a final hope for resolution (will be.)
this ought | is | can | will be stems from the bible. is essence, it comes from the stories of creation | fall | redemption | consummation. it is the only worldview that takes in the value of the individual, the brokenness of society and relationships, the ability to change circumstances, and yet hope for the future. and that is why christians have so much to offer the world. people practically believe this without knowing they believe it. ask a businessman why they have meetings to make things 'better.' if any of the 4 pieces is missing, you have no root to the why.
perhaps this is really simple and obvious, but its just now clicking in my head. and writing it down helped me process it. i am not the one who thought it up, but simple maps like that get stuck in my head and are easy to remember :) when i find a way i can question peoples worldviews i can really get them thinking! and thinking is GOOD.
anyways, im going to go enjoy the beautiful weather on this relaxing sunday! i went to a baptist church today and actually enjoyed it, though the service was a big rigid for my taste  . this week i plan on posting on international debt (my internship) and immigration (policy we're learning in class.) just a heads up for those who will be bored.
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