Kiwiblog

US Ambassador David Huebner has a blog, and I am finding it a good read.

In is latest post he talks about Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson:

Franklin was a Renaissance man who could not be pigeon-holed.  He was an author, editor, business man, inventor, soldier, satirist, philosopher, statesman, politician, post master, and diplomat.  He developed the concepts of the modern fire station, ambulance service, and public lending library.  He served as America’s first ambassador, and was effective in securing the alliance with France that helped insure the success of our Revolution.

And Jefferson:

Likewise, Jefferson was a brilliant man who made his mark in many different fields – as a farmer, architect, inventor, educator, philosopher, archaeologist, diplomat, and statesman. Jefferson served as America’s first Secretary of State (under George Washington) and as President for two terms. Jefferson was a fierce advocate of the rights of individual citizens and the individual States, and his struggle against Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists over the development of a strong central government still resonates through America today. Jefferson is consistently rated by scholars as among the very greatest of American Presidents.

When President John F. Kennedy hosted dinner for a group of four dozen Nobel Prize winners, he famously commented, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” (White House Diaries.)

That is one of my favourite quotes.

The class and I spent much of our time reading through the Declaration and discussing the meaning, power, and novelty (at least back then) of its various clauses.  We talked about the courage it took – and still takes in various places around the world – to risk being imprisoned and killed for simply speaking your mind and seeking freedom.  We spent a good bit of time discussing what it means to say that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” or to say that it is the absolute right of the people “to alter or to abolish” governments that become “destructive” of the interests and rights of the people.

The Declaration of Independence is Jefferson’s masterpiece. How it survived a committee so well, is a miracle.

We also examined the structure, history, and current application of the U.S. Constitution – the oldest and shortest written constitution in use on Earth.

I knew it was the oldest on Earth, but not that it is the shortest. It is worth remembering that the US was unique in having a written constitution and no monarchy – a form of Government that is today the most common we have.

Colin Espiner reports on the new US Ambassador. I like what I hear:

America’s new ambassador loves New Zealand already because it has most of his favourite vices.

David Huebner held a press conference at his new home in Lower Hutt shortly after his arrival in Wellington yesterday, and immediately established his credentials as a Kiwiphile.

The Flight of the Conchords, wine, cheese, beer and rugby are just a few of his favourite things.

Previously a Shanghai-based lawyer, Mr Huebner followed the rugby sevens in Hong Kong, eschewing American football as too effete.

“I respect the fact that even at the highest levels you don’t wear all that armour plating.”

Superb. He basically says the Super Bowl is for wimps. And he is possibly being mischievous being a gay lawyer labeling American Football as “too effete”.  That’s just superb.

But his anecdotes and one-liners may give his staff the odd grey hair.

Mr Huebner, “just the right side of 50″ (he’s 49), said he had used up his State Department shipping allowance freighting his wine collection but had since discovered the quality of New Zealand viticulture.

“I’m looking forward to drinking from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the Mainland.”

Now that sounds my sort of Ambassador. His Excellency will be an early invite to The American Politics Appreciation Society in 2010, especially as we meet in a bar.

The first openly gay envoy appointed by President Barack Obama, he joked with one reporter who asked if he would dress up for the Wellington Sevens. “Would you ask a straight ambassador that question?“

And even better he has a sense of humour about himself.

The Herald reports:

The United States Senate is expected to confirm an openly gay lawyer – David Huebner – will be its next ambassador to New Zealand.

The appointment has generated some publicity in the United States because it is the Obama administration’s first appointment of an openly gay ambassador.

Mr Huebner is currently a lawyer based in Shanghai for a United States law firm where he specialises in international arbitration and mediation. He also acts as general counsel for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

People may be unaware that both Presidents Clinton and Bush appointed gay Ambassadors. Bush appointed Michael Guest as Ambassador to Romania.

As the US has around 150 Ambassadors, I’d expect around half a dozen of them to be gay, all other things equal.

His law firm bio is here. He currently works in Shanghai, and before that worked as an assistant to a Japanese Diet member. His legal career seems pretty distinguished. His law firm represents 56 of the Fortune 100 companies.

Often Ambassadors are major donors, but as far as I can tell he gave only $3,000 in 2008 – $2,000 to Obama and $1,000 to the DNC.