Author Archives: California Robin

About California Robin

Robin has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a M.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. She has worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. and as a lawyer in Palo Alto, California. Currently, she is a freelance writer and an external lecturer in law at Copenhagen Business School, where she also completed her Ph.D.

Too Many Guns – What’s Wrong with USA?

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On 14 February 2018, Valentine’s Day, a 19-year-old man shot up the hallways and classrooms of his former high school in Parkland, Florida. 17 died and 14 were injured.

Surviving teenagers burst onto the public stage with protest and debate. “I was born into a world where I have never experienced security,” said one of them at a learning session with Donald Trump, “It must never happen again.”

Referring to a football coach who died shielding students, the President replied that he should have had a gun, “It would have stopped it.”

Now, the good guy with the gun is literally you or me.

Read more here about how the United States is locked in a literal death dance powered by a gun culture distorted by partisan politics, a strained interpretation of the right to bear arms and a firearms industry that buys politicians (in Danish).

To find out how the surviving teenagers represent hope for the future, listen to a radio interview of me in Danish on P1 Morgen here. Download the DR Radio app to listen on your mobil or simply click on the link to listen on your computer.

The United States or the Divided States?

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In these troubled times, does former Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford have a political future in the United States?  I say yes, but conservative Sørine Gotfredsen says no. Feel free to read the debate here (in Danish). For more information about the Ambassador in English, read my article in USA Today here. Gifford is now running for U.S. Congress in Massachusetts’ Third Congressional District. Click on his campaign website here.

Photo by Peter Brinch.

Do you want to learn Danish?

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When I first heard Danish, I was bewitched. It didn’t matter whether I was listening to a conversation at the 7-Eleven, among colleagues at work or while waiting at the doctor’s office. The surround sound of low mumbles and soft purrs was intoxicating.

In my native California, only intimates speak to each other that way. Who wouldn’t want to learn? To me, Danish is a language of love.

But becoming proficient in Danish is like running a marathon while dodging people standing in the way. Learn why here (in Danish).

Photo shot by Penny D. Photo.

About Me

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RobinRobin is a freelance journalist and a university educator. English is her native language and she speaks fluent Danish. Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, USA Today, The Washington Post, Weekendavisen, Politiken, Berlingske, Kristeligt Dagblad and Information. She has also helped National Public Radio for coverage of Sweden.

Robin has been interviewed in Danish by P1 Morgen, P1 Orientering, Radio 24/7, Ritzau and Kristeligt Dagblad on U.S. legal, political and social issues and about events in Denmark by the BBC, CTV National News in Canada and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Robin’s television work includes being hired by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) for coverage of Denmark and by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship TV debate program, DR2 Deadline for coverage of USA. Previously, she served a stint at DR2 Dagen, an international TV news program. Her most successful pitch was of then U.S. Ambassador Rufus Gifford who, for the first time ever, talked on live television about what it was like to grow up homosexual. Gifford then starred in a reality TV show about his ambassadorship and later ran for U.S. Congress.

Robin provides guest lectures on reporting abroad and on ethics in journalism at DIS. She has been an external lecturer in American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark where she taught basic and advanced American History and American Business History.

A third-generation Californian, Robin worked as a lawyer in Silicon Valley and as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.. She has an M.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, a J.D. from Columbia Law School, both in New York City, and a Ph.D. from Copenhagen Business School, where she was assistant professor.

Robin’s addiction to living abroad began when she was a year-long exchange student in Thailand at age 16. Since then, she has lived on three continents, including in Mexico and India, and has held jobs in three foreign languages. To Robin’s surprise, one of the places where she experienced the most culture shock was while living with the Amish in Pennsylvania.

You can follow Robin on Twitter.

 

 

Ivanka is close to Donald Trump. But who is she?

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The Florida sunshine is so bright at the U.S. President’s winter White House, Mar-a-Largo, that the 16th century Flemish tapestries have faded. In a gilded living room – in a style which some call Louis XIV on acid – a little girl is singing.

Just before the crescendo, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, cocks his head to the right, while Chinese President Xi Jinping leans forward and nods approvingly.

Five-year-old Arabella Trump’s performance in Mandarin of “Jasmine Flower,” went viral. But another exercise in soft diplomacy backfired when Arabella’s mother, Ivanka Trump, praised her father, the U.S. President, as a “champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive” at the W20 Summit in Berlin.  Rather than nod, the audience groaned loudly .

Read entire article here (in Danish).

Sessions as Attorney General Could Divide Rather Than Unite

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Senator Jeff Sessions may have a good resume. But he could be on the wrong side of history. Born in Selma, Alabama, he was a Republican student body president on Bloody Sunday in 1965. Instead of promoting justice for all, he may prefer justice for the few. Read my article in Kongressen.com (In Danish).

Gay U.S. ambassador is a reality TV star in Denmark

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Ambassador Rufus Gifford is a role model. “One of the biggest struggles you have as a young, gay person is figuring out how to be comfortable in your own skin,” he said. “I mean, you would lie in bed at night when you were 15, 16, 17 years old and just figure out if there was some way to escape your body.” Read his story in USA Today. Gifford is now running for U.S. Congress in Massachusetts’ Third Congressional District. Click on his campaign website here.

Photo by Bjarke Frederiksen. Danish PM  Lars Løkke Rassmussen, Ambassador Rufus Gifford & his husband, Dr. Stephen DeVincent.