My original point:I just finished watching a segment on MEET THE PRESS that featured Axelrod and the McCain operative. All of the debate on this show seemed pretty fair, until TOM BROKAW declared at the end of the segment that the Wall St. Journal poll showed a big WIN for McCain as Commander in Chief. What the hell is unbaised about that? Totally unfair. Please write NBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/ and steve.capus@nbc.com) and let them know we aren't going to take anymore of their brand of "bipartism commentary". More important let's tell NBC if they don't get Brokaw off we will start writing the advertisers. Let's get Brokaw off of Meet the Press and put him back where he belongs--retirement!
Original email I sent to NBC:I just watched your Meet the Press segment featuring Mr. Axelrod and Mr. Schmidt. All seemed pretty fair and balanced. With the exception of Mr. Brokaw, who could not help himself to exclaim that John McCain had won Commander and Chief status in a Wall St. Journal Poll. He did not allow any further comments, it was Mr. Brokaw's free positive advertisement for Sen. McCain. I am asking that you take Mr. Brokaw and his obviously Republican leaning views off of this program and consider a different, unbiased host for this show. If not, I can guarantee that your advertisers will start getting many, many complaints. Thank you.Mr. Capus response:Helene, I'm watching Meet the Press as we speak. I'm going to watch with an eye towards this alleged bias. I'll be shocked if I see the broadcast the same way you do... As I know, Mr. Brokaw plays it right down the middle. But, I'll watch - and if I agree with you, I'll say so in a follow-up email. Thank you. -SACSteve Capus NBC NewsAbout 30 minutes later:What specifically do you point to when you claim Mr. Brokaw has ANY obvious political leanings? He is one of our nation's foremost journalists - who is working hard to "get it right" in the midst of of one of the most politically charged environments. The bias is not Tom's, I'd suggest it is belongs to you. -SACSteve Capus NBC News My response:Mr. Capus,Then why would Tom Brokaw possibly refer to one poll that favors Sen. McCain while many other polls favor Sen. Obama? Why end the interview with a poll that favors one side OR the other? Why not just thank the guests instead of injecting any political bias either way.Please explain to me how this was unbiased?I know that Mr. Brokaw is a long time journalist, so was Dan Rather. I am a long time viewer of Meet The Press, why should I have to accept what he says without any criticism?Thank you,Helene ScharfCatonsville, MDMaybe you all could write to him as well if you saw Meet the Press? His email address is: Steve.Capus@nbcuni.comHis response:Tom's noting of a poll was to provide context of where the week begins. You may disagree with the results of the poll - but it is one indication of where the race stands, and it certainly wasn't a statement of Tom's viewpoint. But, please also consider this: Tom had just lead a conversation with both campaign strategists ... Moderated a debate between two Senate candidates ... Then interviewed President Clinton. And, you choose to point to one 10-second reference to a poll as an indication of bias? That's a bit unfair, I'd suggest.By your accounting, President Clinton never would have been invited on Tom's broadcast, because Tom's too busy trying to get McCain elected. Please... We can have a smarter discussion than to suggest, Tom's 10-second reference to a poll is PROOF of his bias. -SAC
My response:
That's fine Mr. Capus and thank you for your replies. I will present our emails to my newsgroups and get their opinions. Maybe I am in error and if so, I'm sure they will point it out to me as well.
Thank you.
AND THAT IS WHERE WE STAND NOW...
Dear Friend,
I don't know about you, but I'm mad as hell. Last night, instead of offering real solutions to the many challenges we face, Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin spent their time mocking those who serve our communities. And tonight, John McCain's buddy Lindsay Graham continued the reprehensible attacks on Sen. Obama's patriotism even after Sen. Obama called on all Americans to remember that no matter which party we support, we all love America. And while giving lip service to bipartisanship, John McCain stood by while the national tragedy of 9/11 was exploited to score partisan points in that played before his speech. Donate $25 now to tell John McCain that the Asian American community has had enough!
When Asian Americans have been ignored by politicians and those in power, it has been the hard work and dedication of community organizers and activists like Sen. Obama that have given us a voice. Sen. Obama inspired me, an ordinary American, to start Asian Americans for Obama to fight for my community and my country. Sen. Obama's bottom-up movement has empowered Asian Americans to make our voices heard. Your small contribution will join a chorus of thousands of voices demanding change.
Make a donation now.
Together, Asian Americans can make a difference in this election. Let's go out there, and change the world! Sincerely Yours,Ramey KoFounderAsian Americans for Obama PS - With just 60 days left until the election, Asian Americans for Obama has launched a new, improved website to help us win this election! Check it out!
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.
This year, Asian Americans have an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in the election. With only two months left, we must act now to mobilize our community elect Sen. Obama and make an impact that the whole country will notice.
If Asian Americans are to make a difference, we must show up. You can help make sure our community shows up by doing the following today:
1. Building our Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2220476126
We need to utilize our networks to build this group up as large as possible. Join the group, invite your friends, and encourage them to do the same.
2. Building our MyBarackObama group: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/AsianAmericansforObama
This is our primary e-mail list. Please join our list and encourage your friends to do so as well. The campaign pays attention to these numbers, and we can make a big splash by boosting our membership.
"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have historically been invisible in the eyes of government, too often forgotten even as an afterthought." - AAPI Platform for Change
Originally published in Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-lalas/nationwide-asian-american_b_116831.html
When I decided to run for a state delegate position in Texas, I contacted one of the leading Democratic activists in my district. Besides being elected, the other way to become a delegate was to "simply" be chosen by members of the Nominations Committee, whose responsibility it was to make sure that the Texas delegation is diverse and representative of the community. For instance, if a certain ethnic group was not represented, the committee could make an individual of that group a delegate to balance the scale. I asked what the make up of the delegates generally looked like and he replied, "A third, a third, and a third." When I asked him to clarify, he told me the delegate group usually is made up of a third Anglo, a third Hispanic, and a third African American. Being Filipino, I wanted to know about Asian Americans. He responded, "Well, traditionally, they've been considered white."
I thought about that conversation on Sunday, July 21 when Asian American Pacific Islanders from all over the country gathered together for a conference call to participate in Obama's "Listening to America" campaign. The "AAPI Platform for Change National Call" was organized by Keith Kamisugi, the director of communications for the Equal Justice Society and a long time activist in the API community. "With this platform, we want to declare the existence of the Asian American community to the Democratic Party," Kamisugi stated.
To promote awareness of the conference call, Kamisugi used the internet and reached out to several other active Asian community organizations. He posted a sample platform on the AAPI Platform for Change website and asked for feedback. Though time-consuming, over 40 people participated in the platform survey, leaving both comments and suggestions. Over 120 people registered for the conference call.
"I was really impressed with the response," stated Ramey Ko of Asian Americans for Obama and a National Delegate for Texas. "We had only 97 lines for the call, and they all filled up quickly. This demonstrates two things. First it shows how interested APIs are in getting involved. Secondly, it demonstrates that people want to engage in issues. When the Democrats do more than just go to people and say, 'Help us get elected' - when they actually ask people to discuss and debate issues - it opens up a whole new universe."
John Delloro, a Filipino union organizer and former president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance in Los Angeles highlighted the significance of the Obama campaign's effort to include the voices of everyday Americans and Asians. "Out of all the ethnic groups, the API community is the most economically polarized. You have really rich Asians on one end and really poor Asians on the other. Unfortunately, when politicians try and engage us on issues, they go to the wealthy Asian businessman or the Asian elected official. Consequently, the voices of the Asian American working class get left out. This is the first time a Democratic presidential candidate is asking for the opinions of the API non-profit and community organizations."
Indeed, the conference call included some key figures like the Obama campaign AAPI Voter Outreach Director Chairman Manansala as well as her counterpart from the Clinton campaign, Irene Bueno. But most significantly, the Democratic National Platform Director Michael Yaki joined the call and welcomed everyone during introductions. "Michael is the top staff person on the Platform Committee, working directly with Committee Chair Gov. Janet Napolitano. With over 1,000 platform meetings going on throughout the country, it was a privilege for him to join us and great to hear him praise our efforts to focus on API issues." Kamisugi said.
The call generated discussion on a wide range of issues including immigration reform, access to higher education, employment discrimination, and labor rights. There were also a number of people who vehemently expressed their desire to include a provision addressing justice for the Filipino World War II veterans who had fought under the United States flag in the Philippines during Japanese occupation. President Roosevelt had promised them full health care benefits upon retirement. But to this day, that promise has remained broken. A bill to repair this injustice has been languishing in Congress for over 18 years.
I was surprised to hear that both the call and the platform tended to focus on very broad issues that could apply to almost any minority group. With the exception of a few issues, like the Filipino veterans and the discussion over the American government's relationship with native Hawaiians, the platform itself focused on a myriad of big picture concepts, like support for the Employee Free Choice Act, rights for same-sex couples, and health care access.
Puzzled by this, I asked Kamisugi, who facilitated the discussion and whose initial online draft served as the guideline for the conference call, "Instead of an 8 page document that looks like it could have been written by any progressive organization or minority advocacy group, why wasn't there more of a focus on just a handful of 'API' issues that affects our community more directly?"
He responded, "If what we submit to the Obama campaign is too narrowly focused on just 'Asian' issues, it may not make it onto the platform."
"There is an API perspective to all of the issues we outlined," added Ko. "For example, with immigration reform, the laws that govern how Asians abroad can reunite with their families in America remain very unique and tend to differ from other groups like the Cuban and Haitan communities. A lot of groups face cultural and linguistic barriers, but they are not all identical. Still, API's are human beings and there few things that just affect us. A lot of things are universal."
Delloro elucidated that the broad appeal of the AAPI platform reflects Obama's recognition that we are becoming a country where the minority is now the majority. "We must unite around our common interests," Delloro urged. "This differs greatly from Hillary Clinton's 'microtrends' approach which attempts to reduce different minority groups into 'special interest' categories. It's not about 'Let's get this for APIs, and this for Hispanics.' It's about 'Let's get health care for everyone.' So the AAPI platform is congruent with Obama's philosophy and approach. "
Based on the conference call and the online activity that ensued, it is clear to many of the AAPI Platform for Change participants that Obama's inclusive approach has created a greater sense of personal investment that could serve as a source of motivation to get more of his supporters politically active as November looms closer.
"But the platform is merely the first step for the API community," Delloro warned. "It will take a lot more organizing and direct involvement to break the barrier of invisibility."
The AAPI Platform for Change can be viewed online at platform.apaforobama.com.
Hi. I would like to volunteer my time as a web designer or graphic artist. I am open to working with any organization or group could use some of my skills for free. I can do brochures, ebooks, electronic files, pdf files, websites, blogs, news feeds, email marketing, web marketing etc. The limit is that it will have to be a pro Obama pro democrat website or anything related.
I live in Hawaii so I think this state is already a gimme for Obama. I'd like to participate with the campaigning thats going on in the mainland especially those red states. If your interested in my help please shot me a message. I don't know how the turn out will be whether someone out there can use me. But if I have to many offers please don't take it personally if I turn you down.
Aloha,
Another example:
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/03/mccain-apologizes-after-using-phrase.html
I guess the word "gook" doesn't count? see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6iqLcidbhghttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/hongop.shtml
Thursday, March 2, 2000
By KATIE HONGSPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
On his campaign bus recently, Sen. John McCain told reporters, "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live." Although McCain said he was referring only to his prison guards, there are many reasons why his use of the word "gook" is offensive and alarming.
It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.
It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.
Contrary to McCain's attempt to narrowly define "gook" to mean only his "sadistic" captors, this term has historically been used to describe all Asians. McCain said that "gook" was the most "polite" term he could find to describe his captors, but because it is simply a pejorative term for Asians, he insulted his captors simply by calling them "Asians" -- a clearly disturbing message. To the Asian American community, the term is akin to the racist word "n*gger."
(Originally published on Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-lalas)
Obama-McCain Matchup: Jedi Knight Clashes Light Sabers with Sith Lord at Comic-Con
"We will fight another hundred years of war," taunted the Sith Lord McCain.
"Not if I can defeat you with the power of hope," responded Jedi Knight Obama.
Their light sabers clashed next to the voter registration booth set up outside the convention center where the annual San Diego International Comic Convention was taking place.
Fanboys and fangirls dressed as X-Men, droids, video game characters, and superheroes, witnessed the "epic battle." Meanwhile, Jack Robertson made sure his team of volunteers, armed with voter registration forms, was ready to engage people when the light saber duel came to a close.
Robertson, who is 72 years old and an active volunteer with the San Diego County Democratic Party, decided to target the comic-con because he wanted to reach out to young people. "It was very satisfying to see the younger group express interest in participating this November, especially with so much at stake," Robertson said. "We had about 20 to 25 volunteers here each day of the convention." His group registered nearly 300 new voters.
This was not his first time at the comic-con. Robertson was also here in 2004 just prior to the Bush/Kerry matchup. Though they registered close to the same amount of new voters, Robertson noticed there was so much more enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee this year.
To attract people to the table, Robertson set up a life-size Obama cut out and put a sign on his chest that read the unforgettable words uttered by a dying Uncle Ben to his innocent nephew who would become Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Robertson is involved in voter registration efforts throughout the county, participating in the recent gay pride parade and every month at the naturalization center in the county where over 1500 immigrants become U.S. citizens. The level of enthusiasm at the comic-con compared to these other events was overwhelming. "People jut stopped by taking photo after photo after photo [with the Obama cut-out]. Out of all the events I've done, this was by far the most successful."
But Roberston understood voting wasn't enough. He also had people sign up to help volunteer with the Democratic Party on block-walking and phone-bank efforts.
The volunteers had to get creative in order to draw geeks to their table, many of whom were already being wooed by Hollywood and the loads of free merchandise offered by the studios. Cynara Kidwell dressed up as Obama Woman and yelled out to the crowd, "Be democracy's hero. Register to vote!" Like Wonder Woman, Kidwell wore blue hair, red heels, and a cape, but replaced the "W" symbol with an Obama logo. Just a week or two before the convention, she posted a notice on the Obama web site asking not only for volunteers, but help with costumes. "If you happen to have a Sith robe in your possession, please loan it to the cause!" the post read. Kidwell also had to make sure enough people volunteered to play Sith Lord McCain and Jedi Knight Obama, which required each person to wear a warm robe and a mask in the sweltering Southern California heat.
Her efforts at guerilla geek theatre seemed to have worked. "We registered tons of new voters and handed out over 3,000 Obama stickers," Caldwell said.
No volunteers for McCain ever showed up.
The Obama volunteers were not the only creative people trying to engage comic book fans in politics. Frank Grau Jr. designed the cover for this year's San Diego Comic-Con souvenir book and guide, which is handed out to all of the attendees. It features the Republican elephant dressed in a Superman outfit and the Democrat donkey dressed as Batman.
"Some may see the Batman donkey representing the candidate who they see as a 'dark knight.' Others may see the Superman elephant as representing what they see as the stronger, more virtuous candidate," Grau noted. "The truth is there was nothing esoteric about my decision. The donkey's big ears fit the Batman suit better."
According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/NEWS15/80619066&GID=rXlakoBVcc8WumLcjE0kGJ6K56ieqk8CejNNX5IUZw0%3D
By NIRAJ WARIKOO • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 19, 2008
Barack Obama personally called to apologize Thursday to the two Muslim women from Michigan barred from sitting next to him during a campaign rally Monday because they wore Islamic head scarves.
Advertisement
One of the women, Shimaa Abdelfadeel, told the Free Press that Obama called her "to personally convey his deepest apologies and acknowledge that this was inexcusable."
Obama also left a voice mail for the other woman, Hebba Aref, 25, of Bloomfield Hills, according to Abdelfadeel.
Obama volunteers didn't allow the two women to sit behind Obama at a Detroit rally on Monday out of fear their Muslim headscarves, known as hijab, would create a negative impression.
"We both immensely appreciate the Senator's phone call and his commitment to remedy this issue," Abdelfadeel said. "We commend him for displaying qualities befitting an effective President."
Speaking about the incident, Abdelfadeel said that on Monday, “two volunteers denied us seating behind the stage the Senator would soon take.”
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/stick-a-pin-in-it.html
Posted 6/18/2008 4:11:00 PM
Source: Dallas Morning News
Author: Christy Hoppe
While a number of speakers -- such as Railroad Commission chairman Michael Williams and Mike Huckabee -- have praised the advance of Barack Obama and what it means towards a colorblind society, at least one vendor hasn't gotten the message.
At the Republican state convention, a booth hosted by Republicanmarket was selling a pin Saturday that says: If Obama is President will we still call it the White House.
There were other pins that weren't necessarily conveying the positive, inclusive, united front that has been portrayed during the convention. One said, "Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Deportation" and another, "I will hold my nose when I vote for McCain"
On the June 11 broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Program, host Lee Rodgers said: "[T]he historical voting records show that Democrats have, historically, enjoyed a huge advantage in women voters. Why is that?" Rodgers continued: "Well, some women may be offended by this, but here's another dose of reality. We have a lot of women in this country who get knocked up and they don't have a husband. In effect, the government becomes Daddy in terms of paying the bills. And that accounts -- that's not all of it, but that accounts for a large part of that vote."
From the June 11 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Program:
RODGERS: I wonder what's going to happen with women voters going into this election. Now, the historical voting records show that Democrats have, historically, enjoyed a huge advantage in women voters. Why is that? Well, some women may be offended by this, but here's another dose of reality. We have a lot of women in this country who get knocked up and they don't have a husband. In effect, the government becomes Daddy in terms of paying the bills. And that accounts -- that's not all of it, but that accounts for a large part of that vote. What are your takes on this comment?
RODGERS: I wonder what's going to happen with women voters going into this election. Now, the historical voting records show that Democrats have, historically, enjoyed a huge advantage in women voters. Why is that? Well, some women may be offended by this, but here's another dose of reality. We have a lot of women in this country who get knocked up and they don't have a husband. In effect, the government becomes Daddy in terms of paying the bills. And that accounts -- that's not all of it, but that accounts for a large part of that vote.
What are your takes on this comment?
