AFC Blog » Politics

Rachel Maddow: Gay Asian Soldier Talks About Discrimination in Military

Brad — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:37:39 +0000

Rachel Maddow finally got an uninterrupted interview with National Guard First Lieutenant Dan Choi of Knights Out, the group of 38 West Point graduates who came out of the closet last week to form a support group for US Military Academy active duty alumni, cadets, and their families and offered to serve as liaisons between alumni and Army administrators as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed.

Jason Wu

Brad — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:58:09 +0000

CNN reported that Jason Wu, a young New York designer originally from Taiwan, designed the gown Michelle Obama wore to the inaugural balls tonight. He said he didn’t know she would wear it until he saw her on TV tonight. Various designers had submitted creations to her.

He went to Parsons and interned with Narciso Rodriguez. He’s working on a collection for Fashion Week in two weeks.

1/24 – Updated - NY Times article, about his career and boyfriend.

Reaction to the Obama victory in Asia…

Brad — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:21:09 +0000

Fantastic read at Daily Kos: (click link for full article)

Even if you are not an Obama supporter, the world thinks much better of us now, based on the reaction the writer is hearing:

Upon seeing my button, everyone, without exception, smiles. I have received preferential treatment all day long. They didn’t make me pay extra for a heavy bag, they treated me in short, like royalty. The stewardess told the pilot, who stood up in the cock pit to give me a thumbs up. Even the immigration official barely looked at my passport. He was much more interested in knowing an Obama supporter and what I thought would happen today.

<…>

The man behind the counter is Malaysian. He asks if I voted and when I confirm I have he laughs really loud and says something to the other official sitting next to him. This man laughs too. They both look at me intently. The one, fighting to find the right english begins, “This is (something in Malay). I smile saying I don’t understand. He looks at his colleague and rattles something in Malay…The man says just a minute. He gets out a book. It is an english translation book. He says something to the man and hands him the book…pointing to a line on the page. The 1st man turns back to me and says…”this is fan/tas/a/tic…fan-tas-aahhh-tic…how do you say?” I tell him, yes, he is right “Fantastic”. They laugh again at their attempts. I laugh too.

10/13 – What Does This Election Mean For Asian Americans?

Brad — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:07:23 +0000

“What Does This Election Mean For Asian Americans?”

Monday, Oct. 13
3:00 p.m.
Addams Hall #207

Why should Asian Americans care about this election? Does my vote really
matter? Learn more about the issues that impact Asian Americans in this
election cycle and the need for Asian American political leaders. Also
learn about the voting power of Asian Americans and how to make your voice
heard in our political process.

Panelists:
* April Lewton, Community Organizer for the Asian American Institute of
Chicago who, in collaboration with community leaders, developed the 2008
Asian American Issues Platform for Illinois, a guide to Asian American
issues important to this year’s election.
* Ann Kalayil, founder of the South Asian American Policy and Research
Institute who has been involved in a variety of political campaigns and
Asian American political organizations.

Sponsored by UIC’s Asian American Resource and Cultural Center. For more
information, contact ckodama@uic.edu or 312-413-9653, or visit aarcc.uic.edu.

To see some fun announcements about why Asian Americans should vote,
visit: http://www.sdaff.org/reelvote2008psa.php . Get inspired and vote!

Note: the deadline to register to vote in Illinois is Tues., Oct. 7. To
register (including changing your address), pick up a form at the UIC
Library or visit
http://www.elections.state.il.us/votinginformation/Register.aspx

Corinne M. Kodama, Associate Director
Asian American Resource & Cultural Center (MC 203)
University of Illinois at Chicago
826 S. Halsted St., Rm 101 (Taft Hall)
Chicago IL 60607-7029
312-413-9653 ph, 312-413-9732 fx
ckodama@uic.edu
http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/AARCC/

The Asian-American Vote

Angel — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:34:05 +0000

Why don’t we ever hear about the Asian-American vote?

By Christopher Beam
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, at 4:57 PM ET

Presidential campaigns can feel like an informal census. As the candidates traverse the country, they pander to Latino voters, African-American voters, working-class white voters, older voters, younger voters, elite-college-graduate voters … everyone gets to feel important.

Except Asian-American voters. Somehow, amid all the demographic navel-gazing, the country’s third-largest, fastest-growing minority—now 15.2 million people, or 5 percent of the population—gets overlooked.

Not this week. Or, more accurately, not for several hours on Tuesday. That’s when a nonprofit group called Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics held a news conference excitingly titled “Political Role of Asian Americans Examined” while the Obama campaign scheduled interviews about its outreach efforts to Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters. The message from both events: Asian voters can make a difference. Attention must be paid.

More about that later. But first, a question: Why, with all our obsessing over demographics, do we hear so little about the Asian-American vote?

The most obvious reason is size. Asian-Americans make up only 5 percent of the U.S. population. (Note: “Asian-American” here, and at the press conference Tuesday, is defined in the broadest possible sense, to include Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Indian, Pakistani, and Indonesian, among others.) Fifteen million people is a lot, but not compared with other ethnic groups. African-Americans now number 38.4 million, according to the 2006 census; Latinos boast 44.4 million. Plus, Asian-Americans have the lowest proportion of eligible voters compared with the populations (about 52 percent) of any racial group. And of those, very few (about 50 percent in 2006) actually register to vote. So we’re talking about 7 million eligible voters and about 3 million actual voters.

But wait—it gets worse! The five states with the largest Asian populations are, in order, California, New York, Texas, Hawaii, and New Jersey. Not exactly the swingiest places around. There are two big exceptions: Nevada and Virginia. Both states have rapidly growing Asian-American populations—they constitute 6 percent of eligible voters in Virginia, possibly enough to swing a competitive presidential race.

Another difficulty is the Asian-American community’s heterogeneity. Koreans and Chinese and Vietnamese aren’t necessarily more or less fractured than Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Cubans. But, unlike Latinos, they speak different languages. Campaigns can easily cut Spanish-language ads to run nationwide; it’s tougher to run ads in Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, etc. (Only about 60 percent of Asian-Americans speak English.) Then you’d need to target ethnic media, which is costly and, on the national level, of marginal benefit.

Then there is the difficulty of targeting Asian-American issues. This is a problem in ethnic politics generally—opinions on immigration, for example, are more diverse among blacks than among the interest groups that lobby on their behalf—but it is especially acute among Asian-Americans. Yes, there are general bread-and-butter issues like health care and education for which platitudes about access and opportunity are useful. There are also hyperspecific concerns that are not ideal campaign talking points: Chinese care a lot about U.S.-China relations. Taiwanese care about China-Taiwan. Vietnamese favor anti-Communist policies. And Filipinos often vote based on whoever supports benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II. Plus, segments of the Asian-American community often disagree—as Taiwanese-Americans and Chinese-Americans do on Taiwan, for example, or Pakistanis and Indians on Kashmir.

Finally, as if demographics and geography and message weren’t challenging enough, there is partisanship. Or, more precisely, lack thereof. African-American voters break heavily toward Democrats; Latino voters (with the exception of Cubans) are also largely Democratic. Asian-Americans, meanwhile, can’t make up their minds. About a third of them are Republican, a third Democratic, and a third unaffiliated. This last group consists largely of immigrants—more than half of Asian-American were born overseas—who often won’t develop party loyalty for another generation.

For more, visit http://www.slate.com/id/2201246/

Takei Wedding!

Brad — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:27:40 +0000

See pictures of George Takei when he was here in Chicago in our gallery

George Takei and Brad Altman reach the final frontier, marrying after
21 years together

By SANDY COHEN

LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Takei and his longtime partner, Brad Altman,
have agreed to live long and prosper together.

Takei, 71, and Altman, 54, were married Sunday in a multicultural
ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum that featured a
Buddhist priest, Native American wedding bands, a Japanese Koto harp and
a bagpipe procession.

The couple, both clad in white dinner jackets with black pants, made a
grand entrance to the tune of “One Singular Sensation” from the Broadway
musical “A Chorus Line.” They stepped into a circle of yellow roses and
lilies, where they shared a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and were
wed by a Buddhist priest.

The couple, who have been together for 21 years, wrote their own vows.

Altman said that he had called Takei many things during their two
decades together — “life partner, significant other” — but that
their marriage represented “a dream come true for me.”

“I can add ‘my husband’ to the list of things I call you,” he said.

Takei called his longtime partner an “organized, detail-obsessed,
punctuality-driven control freak.”

“I’m easygoing with details, so we’re a good fit,” he said in the
trademark baritone recognizable to all “Star Trek” and Howard Stern
fans.

“I vow to care for you as you’ve cared for me … and to love you as my
husband and the only man in my life,” Takei said as he held Altman’s
hands.

The priest then pronounced them “spouses for life.” A bagpiper played
as the newlyweds walked out, followed by friends, family and a few
members of the press.

Takei said he and Altman chose to make their wedding public — and
have been outspoken gay-rights advocates for years — for the sake of
democracy.

“We have a relationship that’s been stronger and longer-lived than some
of our straight friends, and yet we were not equal,” Takei told The
Associated Press before the ceremony. “What this does is give us that
dignity; (it’s) being part of the American system and being whole. We’re
making the American system whole as well, as America is becoming more
equal.”

Such activism is nothing new for Takei. He participated in the civil
rights movement, served as a Democratic delegate in 1972 and fought for
redress for those — like his own family — who were forced into
internment camps after World War II.

“I grew up determined not to be marginalized,” he said. “That served as
an incentive for me to be proactive.”

He and Altman were among the first couples to receive a marriage
license in West Hollywood when the state began granting licenses to gay
couples on June 17.

“A quarter century ago, when I first met Brad, (marriage) was the
farthest thing from our imagination,” Takei said. “But what seemed
impossible at one time becomes, over the passage of time, more and more
‘what if’ and ‘why not.’ We have to participate in moving society along
to be a better democracy.”

Wedding guests included “Star Trek” stars Walter Koenig and Nichelle
Nichols, who served as best man and best lady, Hollywood executives,
local and national government officials and the couple’s relatives from
around the world.

Keeping with the multicultural theme, guests dined on Asian/Baja
Californian fusion cuisine and took home Japanese tea-ceremony treats in
boxes printed with the phrase: “May sweet equality live long and
prosper.”

The “Star Trek” star and his manager plan to honeymoon in Argentina and
Peru.

6/6 – Obama LGBT Conference Call

Brad — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:38:57 +0000

If the McCain campaign does one, we will post it as well.

After aggressive contests in all 50 states, the Democratic Primary has come to an end. If we are to elect Barack Obama president in November, as a community, it’s important that we come together.

With the unified and enthusiastic support of LGBT Americans, our chance of success is much greater. That’s why we need your help to take the next step in supporting Barack.

Tomorrow, Friday, June 6th, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, our campaign is hosting a national call for LGBT Americans who are interested in helping Barack.

On this call, we will give a status report of our campaign as a whole, discuss LGBT policy, provide suggestions for how you can be involved and answer questions and hear your concerns.

National LGBT Conference Call
Friday, June 6th, 2008
6:00 p.m. EDT

RSVP for the conference call:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

As a gay American, I couldn’t be more proud to work for Barack Obama. I believe in my heart that he will be a great president with the best judgment to lead our nation. He is a friend and will fight for justice and equality, standing up for our individual rights.

The stakes in this election are very high. A nation led by Barack Obama will stand in stark contrast to that of his opponent.

Please forward this email to others who may be interested in joining the call. If the timing of the call does not work for you, we will schedule another one in the near future.

Join us on the call and learn more about our LGBT program:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

I hope you will get involved and join us on Friday.

Thanks,

Steve

Steve Hildebrand
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

P.S. — We’ve pulled together a few resources for you to learn more about Barack and LGBT issues.

Learn more:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

Aurora Austriaco’s State House Bid

Angel — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:21:02 +0000

AFC Members:

We received the following appeal to us to help out an Asian American who’s running for State Senate. Here’s the information we received:

I saw the blog post on the AFC’s website regarding Aurora Austriaco and I wanted to get in touch with you to get involved with her race for State Representative in Illinois 65th District. Which includes Park Ridge and its surrounding communities.

Aurora is the first female and minority president of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, the President of the Asian American Institute and a founding member of the Filipino American Bar Association. Aurora serves as a member of the Asian Advisory Council of the Governor, the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Circuit Court. She is a past board member and a current member of the Asian American Bar Association and is currently serving her fourth term as Chair of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Asian Advisory Council.

On March 5th we are arranging a fundraiser, “Asian Americans for Aurora Austriaco” and I thought we should work with your organization to rally support. We are asking Sponsors to commit to contributing or raising $500, hosts to commit to contributing or raising $250 and individuals to attend for $50. I hope your organization will be able to help us out.

Illinois Primary – registration deadline Tuesday!

Brad — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:50:15 +0000

As you may know, Illinois has changed its primary election to February 5. Voters can participate in either the Democratic or Republican primary to choose a candidate for county, state and federal office. This includes members of the Illinois General Assembly, the United States Congress and President of the United States. Regular voter registration ends Tuesday, January 8, 2008

To register or to change you registration status for the primary election you will need to present two forms of identification, including one with your address. Acceptable forms of identification include a valid Illinois driver’s license, social security card, employee or student photo ID, birth certificate, passport, credit card or utility bill postmarked with your address on it.

For more information, visit the Cook County Clerk’s Office website

Grace-period registration and voting is available from Wednesday, January 09, 2008 - Tuesday, January 22, 2008 only at the Cook County Clerk’s main office.

An up and coming politician in Illinois – Aurora Austriaco

Val — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 01:53:19 +0000

A friend of mine, Mike D(emetria), who is active in the GLBT community emailed me to let us be aware of an Asian involved in statewide politics. Her name is Aurora Austriaco. I’m just going to go ahead and copy and paste his email here. Some of you have met Mike before or are at least familiar with him. He was visibly active in organizing the Gay Games held here in Chicago. Click Mike D. for his email if you want to get involved. Aurora Austriaco’s contact information is in the website mentioned below. You can also ask me questions if you want.
- Val Z.

All,
I just want to get all your opinion on how we, Filipinos/Asians, can support Aurora Austriaco who is running for state rep 65th district. Aurora works with Ray Koening at Peck/Bloom/Austriaco. Below is her short resume. Maybe we can plan a get together/event to support her.
We can also ask Asian & Friends and other Gay Asian organizations for their support.
Thanks
Mike
“Aurora is running in the 65th District (Park Ridge, Des Plaines) against Republican Rosemary Mulligan. Aurora was born in the Philippines and moved here with her family when she was 18. She attended college and law school here, becoming a very successful lawyer. Her professional bio can be found at http://www.peckbloom.com/aurora-austriaco.html. She is a huge asset to the Asian community, having given back a ton of time and money to address various community needs. She really wants to increase the power of the Asian community as a whole to raise its political power to at least match its size.
Aurora is extremely gay-friendly. I can personally attest to that. She is a staunch supporter of every gay rights issue I raise. She is also vocal about her support.
In short, Aurora is the type of representative Asians and gays need in Springfield. She is smart, tough, persuasive, and personable. She’ll represent the Asian community well – and she will serve as a strong ally of the gay community as well. “