To Bail or Not to Bail out?

First of all, I'm still waiting for the government to bail me out from my $x0,000+ worth of student loan debt. Don't worry, I won't hold my breath.

With this latest proposed bail out for the auto industry, I don't think it's as easy as just saying "No! They f'd up." Yea, Detroit should definitely have been adapting existing technology for fuel efficient cars. That's poor corporate leadership.

Where I'm stuck in this is whether the workers and their families should suffer because their bosses suck. And I can definitely see the GOP using this as a ploy to end labor unions. It's not like the GOP asked too many questions when they gave the banks tons of money with no stings attached.

But then I come back to... if the banks get a bail out, and Detroit gas-guzzler producers get a bail out, when do I get a bail out?

Obama, Bill Richardson, Wen Ho Lee, and my Chinese American-ness

President elect Obama just announced his nomination for Veterans Affairs - Eric Shinseki. Cool, the first Asian American nominee, but my mind is still stuck on the Bill Richardson nomination, the only Latino nomination so far.

There's a petition going around and campaign to protest Richardson's nomination to Commerce. The group details their reasons for opposing the nomination, but I'm left asking as an organizer: What do you want? What are your goals? What is a "win" for you? Are you looking for a Richardson apology? Because that is not a very clear demand in your statement, and for any successful campaign, you must have a clearly stated demand. It shouldn't be buried. Also, Dr. Lee and his family want nothing to do with this campaign. So... I'm very conflicted on this campaign. I guess I'm just ambivalent about it.

As much as I like Bill Richardson, when he was running in the primaries, I said I could never vote for him because of Wen Ho Lee. But now he's not running for president. At the convention, I thought he was good people.

Anyway... I guess my mind is still kinda all over the place on this. Shouldn't I be backing Wen Ho Lee... a Chinese American? Well... he's not even backing this campaign. Why am I totally ok with Richardson's nomination? Is it because I'm not critical enough of Obama? Am I uncomfortable with having a campaign against the lone Latino nominee? Not sure.

I'm leaning more towards the thought that I may have just forgiven him. Forgiveness doesn't need an apology to happen. Plus, whatever Richardson did as Secretary of Energy under Clinton, he was still *under* Clinton, acting on behalf of President Clinton and their team. Strangely, in primary season despite IRA-IRA, "workfare", and Wen Ho Lee, Asian Americans supported Clinton. Are we scapegoating Richardson? Do we really know how much he was acting independently or as a representative of the Clinton administration?

We may never know. I'm going with forgiveness, peace, and moving forward.

Grassroots videos

I'm currently diggin' on 2 videos made by regular folks.



8 years ago these guys made a classic Budweiser commercial with just a couple simple words. "WASSSSUP" and "True". Irony here is that Cindy McCain's family owns Anheuser, which owns Budweiser, which made the original 8 years ago. And now the original actors are back 8 years later with a sobering look at where we are now.



This video - A message to Sarah Palin - is also made by ordinary citizens. Very powerful stuff with regular girls talking about the inroads we American women have made. True Palin is a woman, a working mom, and even a good looking one at that, but check her policy record. Her policy stances and record send shivers down my back.

Crrraaaaazy! White Devils be crraaaazy!

I gotta say that Saturday Night Live has been on fire this election year. The Obama Variety Show skit has been one of my favorites. The parody of Gnarls Barkley's song Crazy is awesome.

Speaking of white devils being crazy...

YES WE CARVE!

This is what I love about Obama. He's inspired something so much bigger than himself. People have really taken it upon themselves to be amazingly creative in utilizing their talents to encourage people to vote... and of course, vote for OBAMA-BIDEN '08!

Yes We Carve!

those are some damn hot boots!

Wow Sarah, where'd you get those boots? Got this picture from the Huffington Post. $150,000 spending spree for the Palins. But seriously! Those are some HOT F' me boots!

Hey White Women! Watch this!

You know you bought those hundred dollar tickets to go see the NKOTB reunion tour! Now check out BoyBama in Battleground for your Heart.

poliTricks of Hate

Obama for Hawaii video

In February, I got the chance to go and help campaign for Obama in the primary in Hawaii. I walked down the beach one time for 15 minutes, but the rest of the time was spent busting my tail for the campaign. Shout out to the Big Island and Andy Winer, coordinator of Obama for Hawaii. Andy just sent me this film produced by Mark Wolf, a film student at UH, and his colleagues... lotta API's reppin in a really touching short. Gotta love all the shoes outside the door in the last scene, too!

I'm a fan girl of Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai!

Black, White, Whatever.

This Girl is Yellow!

AAPI Vote PSA's

My favorite Asian American film festival has done it again with their voting PSA contest. Check out the finalists here. YAY!



I think my favorite is the one by Karen Lin, but I gotta say that they're all way better than this:



Seriously, why do we Asian Americans sometimes gotta go and perpetuate wack stuff?

The State of Asian America: Trajectory of Civic and Political Engagement

It's here! The book I contributed to as a co-author on one of the chapters is here :)

Book summary:

Nationally renowned educators in the field of Asian American Studies have come together to put forth the possibilities for the future of Asian American civic engagement in America.

Especially important to recognize in this color-conscious election year, the report touches on issues such as the civic participation of immigrants and Asian American college students, the role of the internet in increasing Asian American civic engagement, and how civic engagement might serve as a pathway to political party identification.

My co-authors and I wrote the chapter on college students and civic/political engagement. You can download the book here.

GOP whining: Gwen Ifill

When I first heard that Gwen Ifill was moderating the VP debate, I thought it was genius. She's an African American woman and very respected journalist who works for PBS. Given her credentials and the fact that she is both a woman and African American, I could not imagine anyone having an issue. I was wrong.

Today comes news that the Republicans are upset that Ms. Ifill has a book coming out on my birthday/Inauguration day (Jan. 20, 2009) called The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. When the elections commission deliberated and announced that Ifill would moderate the VP debate, her book was already public.

Previews I've seen of the book indicate that it is NOT a pro-(nor anti-) Obama book. It is an analysis regarding race and politics in this extraordinary political year. Simply writing about race does not make someone pro-Obama, because he's Black. I could write plenty about gender in this election year, but it doesn't make me pro-Hillary or pro-Palin (GOD NO!).

On Amazon, the book is describe in this way:

In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.

Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.

THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy.

This sounds like a perfectly legitimate and necessary research project. Seems more to me like an analysis of how Black politics have shifted from the days of Jesse Jackson, and some of the internal community conflicts because of the generational shifts.

Sub-text to the false Ifill controversy: Black woman must be pro-Obama. Race trumps gender. Ifill recognizes racial dynamics in her latest book. Thus she cannot be objective in doing her job.

Bottom line is that the GOP is whining because of this:

To Wear or Not to Wear Gear?

Recently, I've received multiple emails warning me not to go to the voting booths on November 4th with my Obama gear on. The emails usually look something like this:

I just found out today that if you wear an Obama t-shirt to the voting polls on November 4, 2008, you will be turned away and NOT allowed to vote! Wearing an Obama shirt is apparently "campaigning" and thus not allowed in the space of the voting polls.

It seems that these emails have been especially targeted at Obama supporters, who are relatively new voters and younger voters, hence easier to scare away from voting.

I got suspicious about the emails, and a little bit of internet research and I found out the following from about.com:
1. Yes, states have laws against electioneering within a certain distance from polling locations. Each state's laws are different and enforcement levels vary. These laws usually only prohibit passing out and holding signs, posters, fliers, pamphlets.
2. There are 10 states that explicitly state in their laws that buttons and t-shirts are not allowed. They are: Delaware, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.

My immediate thoughts are that these emails have been sent out specifically in these states to warn voters, and that they've been spread across the country regardless of state voting laws. I fear that the panicky tone in some of them will scare off new voters.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly, I fear that poll workers who should know better will take these emails as fact and discourage voters on November 4 because they are wearing buttons or t-shirts whether or not they are in states that prohibit wearing gear.

In California, it's not entirely clear as to whether we can wear gear. Here's a recent letter and FAQ pdf by the Secretary of State's office. It seems that electioneering requires "distribution" or "circulation" of promotional items, trying to influence other voters within 100 feet. It's also obviously illegal for poll workers to wear partisan gear. Secretary Bowen's office has instructed poll workers to politely ask voters to take off buttons or hats, etc. or to flip their shirts inside out in the facility's restrooms. However, it seems easy for poll workers who disagree with a voter's stance to simply turn them away. If a voter doesn't know her/his rights, then they might just go home without voting.

Perhaps it's best to be safe than sorry and just not wear gear?

As always, be aware and research your local voting laws.

Questions of fidelity and sexism

I was just over at Five Thirty Eight.com and saw this banner ad on the site for sodahead.com. It asks, "Who's more likely to cheat: Obama or McCain?"

Seeing this ad just struck me in so many ways. First, they depict both wives as nutty, crazy, and angry. Thus the subtext to the question "Who's more likley to cheat?" and the banner is, "Which one of these women looks like a crazier bitch that would drive her man to cheat?" Second, why are people really voting on things like this when they should be registering to vote on November 4?

By the way, this is kind of a moot question since McCain cheated on his first wife when he met Cindy. And there have also been questions of his fidelity to Cindy earlier in the year.

OMG: SERIOUSLY?

Watch CBS Videos Online

I don't even know what to say to this. Have I already said that this woman scares the poo poo out of me? Yet another fantastic McCain decision. Who knows what McCain's criteria were for choosing a running mate. A nice ass, perhaps?

A 19 year old story in the making: McCain, Gramm, Paulson... oh my!

What a day!
The U.S. economy in the pooper, a shady federal bailout proposal for Wall St. fat cats, the media is not allowed to ask Palin any questions, and McCain doesn't want to debate even though last week he said that the economy was still fundamentally sound... oh my! Where do we even start?

Let's start with 1989, the year the Keating Five and the Savings & Loans Scandal, which led to a $160.1 billion federal bailout of a bunch of failed banks with over $120 million paid for by tax payers. The bank failures came resulted from Reagan led deregulations of the banking industry and the housing boom of the 80's which led to highly risky moves by several banks. Sound familiar?

Long story short, Keating made some seriously shady moves which eventually landed him in jail for 5 years. Some of the shadiness included this dealings with 5 Senators including John McCain. Although the Senate investigation only gave McCain a slap on the wrist, it's amazing to see that the Keating 5/Savings and Loan scandal hasn't been brought up more in the political discourse today.

Only a decade after the Keating Five, the Republicans passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which led to more deregulation of the banking industry. If you remember in 1999 we were going through the tech boom with tons of start-ups and another housing boom with a ton of more shady loan practices... and here we are today with the economy tanking.

Oh yes, "Gramm" in Gramm-Leach-Bliley? That is Phil Gramm, co-chair of the McCain campaign.

And now, McCain has announced he's suspending his campaign so he can swoop into DC to broker the bailout, and skip out on the first debate? So what's all the panic all of a sudden when just 9 days ago McCain said that the economy was still "fundamentally sound"?

Forgive me if I don't feel entirely confident in John "Keating 5" McCain's knowledge, skills and frankly the people whom he trusts in matters of the economy. In a primary season debate, McCain listed his "circle" of folks like Phil Gramm as his people he relies on for direction in the economy.

A "circle" of advisors made of friends and supporters? What about public oversight? Perhaps McCain would agree with Secretary Paulson in making sure that all operations in the bailout are kept behind closed doors. The proposal (full text) for the bail out makes no mention of a process for public accountability. In fact, check this out:

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Ummm, so basically the Treasury becomes untouchable? Pardon me, but if we are going to give $700 billion to bail out irresponsible corporate managers, shouldn't we have the right to know how our money is being spent?

And now McCain doesn't want to debate on Friday, and the McCain campaign has said that they want to postpone the VP debate. Yes, all of our leaders should be working on a fair plan to ensure that the economy doesn't entirely tank. However, in times of crisis, I prefer to also hear from my leaders. They've decided to also ban reporters and the media from asking Sarah Palin any questions. Why and what are they hiding?

By the way, as a former college administrator I would be po'd at McCain-Palin for cutting out on the debates so last minute. What are the consequences for Ole Miss if the debate doesn't happen this Friday? The PUBLIC university will lose out on millions of dollars. With the budget crises being experienced at most public universities, the frivolous waste of money on a canceled debate should anger anyone. I'm sure McCain would say that the loss of money for the public university would just be the Ole Miss community putting "country first." For me, supporting public education IS putting the "country first."

Does being a "maverick" mean that the man and his staff do not think of consequences for anyone? The fact that McCain has a legit shot at being president and his VP choice is not allowed to speak with the media makes me shudder.

Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race

Last month when I heard that Congressman Westmoreland from Georgia called Senator Obama "uppity," I shook my head amazed that an elected official would say that in public, yet unfortunately I really wasn't that surprised. It's Georgia. I spent a few years there. Racial disparities were always obvious to me and there was a racial caste system that is hard to not notice. Just walk around Hartsfield airport in Atlanta and look around at who is doing what jobs. Unspoken racial hierarchies permeate the ATL.

I was only in Georgia for three years, but I quickly picked up on the language and the culture there. I never felt comfortable there with the culture of denial over racial oppression and white supremacy. It was nearly impossible to have a critical discussion about racism and racial reconciliation. A perfect case in point is the Westmoreland's response to the criticism he received for calling Senator Obama "uppity." He says he didn't realize the racist history and context of that term. I doubt that's true. I am even more amazed at the strength that Senator Obama has not to fall into the thousands of racial traps that have been thrown his way in an effort to make him out to be "that" angry Black man. Props to Brent Staples at the New York Times for his recent op ed: Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race.

Tim Wise is one cool white dude.

I know this essay has been circulating around for a few weeks. I've received it by email and via facebook several times already, but it really is worth posting. So here it is: Tim Wise's This is Your Nation on White Privilege.

I highly recommend reading this piece, as it is perhaps one of the most on point analyses out there.

On the point regarding the lower educational achievements of Palin and McCain (whose less than stellar educational achievements were not mentioned in Wise's piece):
Although no one can really confirm whether or not Palin flunked out of college without her permission because of privacy laws, as a one-time academic counselor I can attest that her college attendance pattern is a text book case of going to college, flunking out your first semester, and bouncing from community college to the next one to make up the credits to be accepted back into a four-year university/college. McCain graduated at the bottom of his class at Annapolis. I am by no means saying that a person's educational failings should hinder them from achieving in their futures. However, I do think that if the roles were reversed and Obama was a white man who had taken 6 years at 4 schools to graduate or he had graduated at the bottom of his class, the public discourse would have turned to say something like, "This Black man is unqualified, just look at his crappy school record." Obviously I have no proof, but as a woman of color I have to say that my lived experiences tell me this is true. As a person of color I have had to work much harder than white folks to prove myself worthy.

Anyway... props to Tim Wise!

FiveThirtyEight

Thanks to OW, I have been obsessed over the polls, but not just any poll. I've been checking FiveThirtyEight everyday and sometimes multiple times. As a neophyte quantitative researcher, I've been really impressed by their methods and can see why their results have been spot on. Their most recent polling numbers have me happy and more fired up to get this thing DONE! Seriously... Montanta and West Virginia are that close!? WOW! And Nevada, Virginia, and Florida are beginning to turn ever so slightly. But... let's not get lazy and cocky. GET BACK TO WORK!

Too much inspamity ... so get to WORK!

Sarah Palin, the GOP telling community organizers to suck it, lipstick on pigs, McCain checkin out his running mate's ass on stage and fidgeting with his wedding ring, general and typical GOP politricks... so instead, I'll just list some recent blog articles that I've really enjoyed. Feel free to add your own.

• The good progressive's guide to criticizing (and not criticizing) Sarah Palin
• In defense of community organizers

In this crazy period of GOP madness, I've received a lot of emails and texts from friends and family who are sitting in front of their tv's upset at how things are being reported, fretting over polls, venting about how people are stupid to think McCain-Palin are the choice for change this country. Hey people, I hear ya. I totally agree with you. I'm so there with you. So here's my message to you:

GET TO WORK! You know that nervous feeling in your stomach? That pissed off-ness you feel when listening to Karl Rove and his cronies? It's a message. You hear it? Do you understand it? It's a message: "Get away from your tv and computer (unless using it to work) and get to WORK!"

I'm not saying to not vent to me or talk with me about this stuff. I'm always here for my friends and family, but honestly all that inspamity out there is just getting me anxious, and it's taking time and energy away from working to call voters, go door to door, write letters to editors, write email or call loved ones who live in swing states, etc. etc.

The change Obama talks about is NOT top down. It's about you, me, US getting engaged and involved in ways we haven't before in the democratic process... taking back our country and holding our government accountable.

Take that negative energy from the inspamity and turn it into something amazing! Get out there and do the work! Do what you can! Get to know your neighbors, your community... and ORGANIZE!

Bao Phi is Revisiting "Dear Senator McCain"

Original Text found at: Yellow Rage's blog

"I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live."
    -John McCain, February 17, 2000

"I will call any interrogator that tortured me, a gook.  I can't believe that
anybody doesn't believe these interrogators and prison guards were cruel
and sadistic people who deserve the worst appellations possible. Gook is
the kindest appellation I can give."
    -John McCain, February 17, 2000

'Cause we soft spoken, doesn't mean that we've forgotten
Your bootie smells rotten and one day you will be gotten
-Lauryn Hill, "Family Business," The Fugees' The Score

John McCain's people have deftly flippt the script on Barack Obama over the last 2 weeks. They've told us that The Maverick is back in full effect--the original straight talker. Behold our very own Greatest American Hero--the true agent of change for the American people. After all, they reminded us as McCain was introduced at the RNC before giving his acceptance speech, "When you've lived in a box, you put your people first."

And so it began: the narrative being sold to us about McCain--a narrative dominated almost exclusively by his time as a POW during the Vietnam War. It's been shoved in our faces so much we can recite the story by heart: McCain shot down on a bombing mission over North Vietnam. McCain pulled from his wrecked plane by North Vietnamese soldiers, both arms broken. McCain taken to "Hanoi Hilton" where he and other POWs were interrogated and tortured. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I read somewhere on the internet that McCain's acceptance speech contained 43 sentences about his POW experience while only 8 recounted his 25 years on Capitol Hill. And so, for me, if McCain wants us to swallow this War Hero narrative as the fodder for his character and his qualification for the Presidency, then let us really open it up to scrutiny. And that means us gooks are coming back to haunt him.

I don't care that he made his gook reference 8 years ago and that he claimed he meant it specifically for his interrogators. I don't care that he apologized for it under political pressure and a concern for a potential APIA swing vote in the CA primary while running for President in 2000. If currently he is continuously going to invoke his POW years and thrust before us images of his and America's enemy, and in doing so transplant Vietnamese faces to embody the word "enemy," then he is opening himself up to a resuscitated examination of his use of the word gook in referring to this enemy. Because what we should care about in helping us decide if this experience indeed makes him fit to be President is his initial, honest, straight-talker response when reporters first called him on it back in 2000: "I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live."

I could rehash the criticisms from the APIA community at the time about McCain's blatant insensitivity and ignorance in his use/defense of a broadly racist term for Asian Americans; I could compare it to the word "nigger" and other racial epithets and complain that he wouldn't have been let off so easy if he had offended black people or other racial minority groups--all of these points are still valid (and can be readily found on the internet), and the whole incident still pisses me off. But in revisiting this word gook, what I really want to do is put McCain's statements in a context with current political issues and consider what it may reveal about how he would handle foreign affairs, military operations, and the war in Iraq.

It bothers me that McCain's POW years have become so commodified by his campaign. If you visit his website, the homepage opens up with 2 back-to-back videos chronicling his POW experience and lauding his heroism. The narrative highlights his sacrifices and dedication to his country, fighting for American freedom, and having a brave heart "to never surrender." Military images abound. Pictures of Vietnamese people situate them in no uncertain terms as the enemy--both John McCain's enemy and America's enemy.

The forgotten narrative of the Vietnam War is that of innocent Vietnamese civilians--their suffering, their loss. It is convenient that America's nostalgia for war, especially those that involve Asian people and countries, becomes one that forgets the desperate, pained Asian faces that the U.S. military/government purported to protect and save but actually ended up being complicitous in harming whether, in Vietnam specifically, through directly executed or coordinated napalm attacks, mass murders of civilians (My Lai), gang rapes of young Vietnamese girls, or the abandonment of thousands of babies fathered by U.S. military personnel. And as U.S. soldiers torture and humiliate prisoners at Abu Ghraib, kill innocent Iraqi civilians including women and children, bomb civilians in Afghanistan, fail to locate and catch Osama bin Laden, and become exhausted and bitter through several tours of duty away from family and friends, I am not reassured that these neglected narratives can be revised under John McCain. who finds such personal/political meaning and comfort in his "Look-at-Me-the Tortured-War-Hero" story.

I cannot trust a man who has proudly insisted "I hate the gooks" to lead us out of Iraq to peace when he's ready to stay there for 100 years or however long it takes to "win." I cannot trust this man, John McCain, to responsibly address the U.S. government's oversight of CIA interrogation techniques, i.e. torture, or prevent another Abu Ghraib when in February 2008 he voted against an anti-torture bill and supported Bush's veto of the bill after it was passed by the Senate. I cannot trust John McCain not to take Western/American, fundamentalist Christian-Judeo war-mongering to Iran, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, or North Korea. Precisely because of his personal Tortured-War-Hero-POW narrative, I do not trust John McCain.

Most troubling to me about McCain's declaration and defense of his using the word gook is his unapologetic insensitivity to how it both completely conflates and demonizes all Vietnamese people--which can very easily be extended to all people of Asian descent. His vehement hatred towards "the gooks" bothers me too. In using such a hatefully racist term to talk about his North Vietnamese captors, I cannot believe this is a man who would work successfully with the diverse peoples and cultures of the Middle East or will make the effort to bridge the divide between Christianity, Islam, and other religious beliefs practiced around the world. War and hatred; fear and loathing; fighting and survival; Gook and Terrorist/Muslim/Other; America vs. Vietnam/Iraq; Hero vs. Enemy--how can the dominant personal/political narrative of such a man give us confidence that he can take us in a direction of progress and change and, ultimately, peace both at home and abroad as President of the United States? But then again, isn't that the point--to keep us at war indefinitely until all America's real and imagined enemies are crushed?

In his poem "Dear Senator McCain," Bao Phi seizes McCain's POW/gook narrative and spits it back in his face, holding him accountable for his hypocrisy and insensitivity. Bao is a Vietnamese American spoken word poet from Minneapolis, and he wrote this poem after the gook-word incident 8 years ago, but it is relevant to our present political discussion for all the ways that I have already outlined. Full of irony and sarcasm, "Dear Senator McCain" exposes the inherent racism of McCain's statement, situates McCain's comments in the contentious American militarist discourse that surrounds the Vietnam War and all of America's war narratives from Asia, and demands that he take responsibility for his wholesale demonization of a group of people that crosses generations, continents, soldiers, civilians, refugees, immigrants, citizens. What hope are we to have with such a man representing the American people to the rest of the world? How can we read Bao's poem and not think about the current war narrative being constructed of Muslims--the conflation of "Muslim" and "Arab" and "Middle Eastern" with "enemy" and "terrorist" and "evil"?

We cannot let such narratives dictate history and determine our lives. We must reclaim our narratives, humanizing them so that the fuller story is told and calling out those which demonize. And we can set off this corrected retelling with Bao Phi's scathing "Dear Senator McCain."

Many thanks to Bao Phi for giving me permission to reprint his poem on our blog. Thanks to all of you who have read my long-winded set up of Bao's poem.

Always love and peace,
Michelle

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

DEAR SENATOR McCAIN
By Bao Phi

Dear Senator McCain

I write this letter on jungle leaves
and the skin of a white man.

I am a gook, a jungle spook,
a steamed apparition
of piss and foot rot
building torture devices from old rotary phones
and the rusted hulks of American cars

I am that gook, when you turn on the light
I scramble away and if you see me
you know there’s ten more
where I came from
catching tracer bullets like fireflies
in my teeth
my language like malaria
sweating itself into your brain

I am a gook, riding on top of water buffaloes,
waving welfare checks like a white flag of surrender
but shot in the back by your finest when they thought
I was standing in a martial arts stance

I am a gook, miscellaneous bomb bait,
agent orange evolved primate
creeping thru cashmoney colored jungles
and masturbating neon onto Wall Street
slit eyes fixed on white women
fingers like 10 long drips of grease

I am that villain in a white lab coat
trading bomb secrets for red cash
stashing code in surgery folded eyelids

I am gook, no speak no Engleesh
too much headache, tell me go back to my country,
motherfuck you eh?

I am indeed a gook, polished gold yellow
at Yale, driving my Ferrari horse-powered dick
deep into your spread-legged streets
while Miss America screams out an orgasmic “There goes the neighborhood!”

I am gook
that gook waiting in that nightmare jungle
that gook in front of you with 17 items in the 10 items or less lane at the supermarket
that gook born with a grenade in his head
that gook that got a better grade in your shop class
that gook uppity enuf to stand with his brothers and sisters and demand an apology
that gook who patted you on the back and said "That’s okay--I hate gooks too."

I am that gook who stole your bomb secrets,
that gook that held you hostage,

that gook whose culture your daughter robbed for her tattoos, trinkets and t-shirts
that gook whose language your son attempts to speak so he can crack some nookie
from the fortune cookie

I am the gook who blazed you
the gook who saved you

I am gook, chink, slope, slanteye, victor, charlie, chan, suzie wong, dickless rice picker, model minority, binder of feet, your favorite sushi waitress, piss colored devil, nip, jap, snow falling on cedars, miss saigon, memoir of a geisha, joy luck club, ally mcbeal,

I am gook,
I ate your motherfuckin cat

I am that gook who will hang himself on Nike shoelaces
so your sons and daughters can play pickup or NCdoubleA final four,
I am that 14 cents an hour gook whose ghosts paint those Gap commercials white,
I am that gook that took over your pool hall and your roller skating rink,
I am this gook, I am that gook, I am your gook, I am my gook
I am that gook, popping out of a motherfuckin bowl of rice
to ask:
senator
what’s the difference
between an Asian
and a gook
to you?

Where is Bridget McCain?

With all this talk of Sarah Palin's children and whether her daughter Bristol was the mother of her youngest child Trig, it got me thinking about one political daughter who has been completely out of the media's eye.

Where is Bridget McCain? Bridget is the 16 year old adopted Bengali daughter of the McCain's. According this this article, Bridget is staying home in in Arizona. Interesting that they seem to be keeping Bridget out of the public's eye. Remember in 2000, when Karl Rove's tactic was to spread rumors that Bridget was McCain's illigitimate daughter by a Black prostitute? Why keep Bridget in hiding? Hardly even a mention is made of her existence these days.

Will we see her at all during the convention? They always have those picture perfect family gatherings at the end of the conventions. The Obama's and Biden's had a beautifully multi-raced group of extended family gather at the end of Senator Obama's speech at Invesco. Will Bridget make an appearance this week?

UPDATE: Check out The Discovery of Bridget for an incisive perspective on the appearance of Bridget McCain at the RNC.

Obama's big speech

I'm at the Illinois party now. Suffered another indignity at the hands of a bitchy denverite... Got let in and welcomed at first without having to show any credentials, but then got kicked out later when I asked a friend why she needed a wristband to come in.

The hot topic of conversation here is how did Obama do? Two critiques have arisen.
1. His points on immigration were kinda weak.
2. His reference to jobs being shipped over to china should have been about jobs being shipped overseas. It's not just china that jobs are going, and china is not responsible for the jobs going overseas. Greedy multinational corporations are to blame, and jobs are going everywhere.

Ok time to peace out!
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Security

Just saw secret service, k9 cops, and other security run by. Scary. Snipers are also on the tops of the stadium. Also I hear there's a 6 mile long line of people still trying to get inside.

But durbin's next and then it's Barack time!
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Text of speeches

Sitting in the press area, we get advance copies of speeches. Here's a fuzzy picture of Barack obama's speech. Well, just the header. Don't wanna ruin it for you.
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Feet are stomping

Woah! People have decided to stomp their feet in addition to clapping and cheering. This place is gonna be rockin! When Al gore comes out, it will get nuts! And of course when Barack comes out, oh man!
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Arena Rock

Now that will.I.am, John legend, and Sheryl crow have performed, it dawns on me that playing large arenas like this is normal for them. The fact that this campaign to change this country has filled this stadium is a perfect example of how things are changing. People actually are getting engaged in ways they never have before.
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Detailed sked

So I ran into my friend Anh, who have me a detailed schedule for the events.

Right now congressman John Lewis is inspiring the crowd, invoking the spirit of mlk's work. We still have a dream!

Then it goes:
Bernice king
Mlk 3
Bill Richardson
Will.I.am with John legend and the agape church choir
Sheryl crow
Ray Rivera
Jab schakowsky
Mark udall
Tim kaine
Stevie wonder
Al gore
John kubiholm, Iraqi vet
Singer Michael McDonald
Susan Eisenhower
Retired generals tribute
American voices program
Dick Durbin
Barack Obama
Benediction
Adjournment

Bernice King and MLK, III are rockin it right now!
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Text of Tim kaine's speech

Just got kaine's speech in the press stands. It should be pretty good! Faith into action :)
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Everything just kicked off!

Ladies and gentleman, the progressive bluegrass band. Ya it's the band that we heard rehearsing earlier. Country, blue grass... Sorry, sounds the same to me.

Stadium is still just a quarter full. I hear the secureit line is brutal. Delegate seating on the floor is about 80% full.
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Verizon text gimmicks

On the jumbotrons are us maps with stars on them. You can text 62262 to vote for the issue that's most important to you. Area codes with the most cell numbers get the biggest stars on the map. The larger the number of texts from your area, the larger your star.

Also you can text a message to 62262 and it might appear on the jumbotron. For example, I texted "Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders in da house for Obama-Biden!"
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Michelle Obama is about 70 yards in front of me

She's being interviewed by Charlie Gibson from ABC
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Schedule for main events tonight

All times in Denver time (mountain)

4:31 call to order
4:58 governor bill ritter
5:10 DNC chair Howard Dean
5:17 rep. John Lewis
6:22 governor Tim Kaine
6:35 Stevie wonder
6:50 Al gore
7:09 Susan eisenhower
7:57 senator Dick Durbin
8:15 BARACK!
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Pregame at invesco...

Here are some pics. The scene of the stadium, me and j squinting cuz the sun is in our eyes, and a girl with a shirt that says "punk voter" for desi chick.
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Baking in the sun

Thankfully there's a bit of a breeze right now, because Denver can be kinda hot. They just opened the gates so now there's a lot more people in here. Up now is a banjo/country band rehearsing.

The stage is set up with fake greco-Roman style columns. It's kinda funny lookin. Like obama-opolis.

Mmm. Yea, I still don't like country music.
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We're in!!

Omg!! We have kick ass seats and access to the floor! We'll be kickin it in our seats during the dress rehearsal. Jennifer Hudson is rehearsing the national anthem now. Shawn Johnson just rehearsed the pledge of allegiance.

We're sitting right below the mile high stadium jumbotron.

Dang! Jennifer Hudson just rocked the anthem!
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Rock band!

Last day and we're finally legit with press creds! They get you through the line without metal detectors and into the specialty media lounge at the convention center, where there is free food, TV's, wireless, couches, and Rock Band!! Nerdy specialty (aka minority/blogger) media types rockin out on the xbox 360. Sweet!

On an ultra nerdy note, we just got geeky excited over meeting George Lakoff, treating him like a rock star. Right before that, we met Willie Brown!
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"Yes we can" and the agape church choir tonight

On my way to Denver at lax, I met the press secretary for the agape church choir, which has been the official performing choir for the dncc. I ran into her again this morning just now. We were both picking up our credentials. She told me that tonight they will be performing "yes we can" with all the stars in the video...LIVE!
Watch for them!

I love agape and their beautiful energy, and that they're reppin Los Angeles!
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Weird Asian American racial dynamics in Denver

So now we're hungry and tired from the extended emotional stress of dealing with the credentials scam. We're not at any parties right now, where people go at night to get free food and drink. We prefer real food while sitting down.

So now we're at one of the last places open for food, and it's a place with an inordinately large number of creepy white men asking us about our angry Asian man shirts. Also it took a ridiculously long time for us to be visible to the servers. We we're invisible.

But then the other day I was hypervisible at a Thai restaurant where I was asked by another patron what he should eat. "you probably know what's good here."

SIGH!
Now there's a white man singing bobby brown songs. Oh lord! Save me from Denver... A city full of racial microaggressions.
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Signs in the hall

You are the flags, tall signs, and square signs? Those get passed out by volunteers carrying them with black trash bags. Priorty goes to delegate on the floor and then the risers directly in front of the stage and then they kinda trickle over to us folks in the nose bleeds on the sides. Am I paranoid? Or are the rows where I am getting skipped cuz a lot of us are Asian American? :-P

Biden's rockin it! But seriously... So proud of Tammy Duckworth! Asian American woman represent! No other Asian American speaker other than Maya acknowledged being Asian American, and my section went nuts!

I like Biden. He's scrappy. I'm tired of losing.
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Moving vets film

This is some powerful stuff and for the first time tonight the hall has a hush over it. I think this is prepping for Tammy duckworth
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John Kerry

Shut down guantanamo! That's what the protesters are demanding outside. Who is this guy? Where was he 4 years ago? He's kinda funny!
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Big bill

Dems love big bill. Dang! What about nafta? Don't ask don't tell? Ira-ira? "work"fare? Better than W, I guess.
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Things to look forward to

Ok now I'm just addicted to and abusing mobile blogging. Harry Reid is speaking now, but I'm more excited about Abhi's upcoming blog about the sikh delegate from cali. Also right before Biden will be Tammy duckworth from Illinois. She is hapa, disabled female Iraqi veteran... Primetime! Asian American woman representing on the primetime national stage tonight! Around 8 PM.
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Born in the USA?

Melissa ethridge is singing springstein's old classic, but what about immigrants? Another observation by dougie fresh... Lots of white people here and they have difficulties clapping to the beat.
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Deleware is sparkly and Melissa ethridge is performing

Ethridge is singing god bless America now and deleware has special sparkly things.

Where's kanye!?
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Mobile blogging

Is this working? Big shout out to desi chick if this works. In case this does, just wanted to share that I finally got credentials for today and tomorrow. I'm in Pepsi center now, and got teary eyed when Hillary suspended the rules and had Barack nominated by acclimation. It was an amazing moment.
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Day 2: Still Credential-less in Denver

J and I left Panda Palace for the Convention Center in the morning. The people who had promised us credentials so that we could blog the experience of first-time Asian American convention goers and what it’s like told us to go to the AAPI Caucus meeting and that things would be straightened out on our credentials. J had gone to the credentials office the day before and our names were not there. We arrived at the caucus meeting and simply got bounced from person to person on getting credentials, and were ultimately told that we would most likely not be getting them. We were infuriated, because they had approached us last week encouraging us to come out, promising that they would have credentials for us. J and I had been resigned long ago to not coming to Denver. So when they outreached to us, we only decided to come out because they promised us credentials. Then the (Asian American) woman we spoke with had the nerve to ask us, “What exactly do you need credentials for? Is there a specific reason you need them for? If you have a specific event you want to go to, we’ll get you in.” I was so pissed. So we are now essentially convention crashers and moochers.

Thankfully, we have amazing friends around in Denver as delegates, community leaders, organizers, etc. They have been bringing us to various parties (“It’s not about coming up with a policy platform and solving the world problems. It’s about what party you can get into.”). Last night they brought us to Senator Dick Durbin’s (Illinois) party. People are still trying to help us out with getting credentials, but the experience has taught us a couple things. First, the AAPI community still has hella weak leadership in political maneuvering on the staffing levels to make things happen. Most of the time, they have no idea what they’re doing. Second, people like to make promises and get our hopes up, so they can look good, but in the end they don’t follow through or don’t know how to follow through on things and are simply dicking us around.

On to more positive things… we were inside the Convention Center (not Pepsi Center) most of the day attending AAPI events. Unfortunately, we missed a lot of the protests outside – anti-war, anti-Guantanamo, anti-abortion, anti-Islam, anti-ICE raids, etc. However, we saw the current Godfather of AAPI politics, Mike Honda. Others we saw on day 2: Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands), John Chiang, Ashwin Madia (super rising star from Minnesota), Howard Dean, Sidarth (“macaca”), and Tammy Duckworth (Illinois rising star).

We went over to the Indian American Leadership Initiative’s event, where we also saw Kamala Harris (San Francisco DA). But no one was more popular than Ashwin Madia. The room could not stay hushed for most of the event, like a Desi wedding, except for when Ashwin took the stage. Then everyone was quiet. Well… almost.

Although ethnic/specialty media outreach has been dicking us around, we’ve been getting good camaraderie and support from fellow bloggers from www.sepiamutiny.com. We’re sharing pictures and stories, tips and info.

No credentials of any kind means no entry to the Pepsi Center for all the speeches. So we ended up watching Kennedy and Michelle’s speeches from Panda Palace. Watching from 3 miles away was such a tease, but WE LOVE MICHELLE! J is a Public Allies alumna and so is Michelle. We definitely teared up when she spoke, and Malia and Sasha were totally precious. I’ve seen Maya speak in person before and she’s great and has good rapport with the audiences, but in her DNCC speech she seemed a little stiff.

After loading up our first AAM post and pictures, we left for the APIA Vote gala event. On our way over, we walked by a lot of cops in riot gear blocking roads and entrances to buildings. I have an uneasy feeling about things. The weather is hot. The protesters are outnumbered by riot gear/swat members. They’re facing off on street corners. It’s only a matter of time. I hope all things stay chill, but there’s a tension in the hot air.

APIA Vote gala:
Good food and limited open bar… I always wondered what APIA Vote spent their money on. Then we finally saw Norm Mineta. If Mike Honda is the Godfather, Norm Mineta is the PIMP! Honda was everywhere getting his ring kissed. Mineta was chill and hard to find. Then he just appeared at the APIA Vote gala. PIMP!

Then it was off to Dick Durbin’s party several blocks away. We saw the Senator a few times, but the best part was asking Ann (the lady who brought us) about her first experiences at DNCC’s. She was so gracious in giving support to us newbies.

PICTURES HERE!

Day 1: Hawaii-California love, Panda ridiculousity, and random VIP sightings

I floated in and out of the AAPI Summit event in the Hyatt Regency, to check on the Little League World Series Championship game with Hawaii representing the USA and Mexico representing the rest of the world. After the Summit, I was able to watch the rest of the game and celebrate the 2008 LLWS champs from Hawaii, in the Hyatt bar with the Hawaii delegation. Andy Winer, the chair of the Obama for Hawaii campaign, and everyone else from Hawaii have always been amazingly generous and supportive of me, ever since I spent 4 days helping them out on the Big Island leading up to their February 19 Primary. Sitting in the bar, they pointed out some VIP’s that walked by, like HRC advisor Howard Wolfson who was in athletic gear finishing up his work out at the hotel.

What's the Little League World Series got to do with politics? A couple weeks ago, Cokie Roberts of ABC News criticized Barack Obama for going on vacation in Hawaii, where Barack was born and raised and where his grandmother, sister, brother in-law and niece still reside. Roberts' argument? "I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii and I know Hawaii is a state," but it looks "foreign and exotic." I wonder what Cokie thinks about Hawaii reppin the U.S. and winning the LLWS twice in 3 years.

Police in riot gear
When I tried to leave the Hyatt to go to Blue Scholars’ performance down the street at the Capitol with the protestors (against war, ICE raids, and the Guantanamo detention center), there was a group of protesters marching down the street, and the Hyatt was on lock down. Nobody was allowed into the Hyatt or out of the Hyatt. So during the wait to get out of the Hyatt, I started taking pictures of stuff outside of the building, through the windows, and of things inside of the building that I thought were interesting. A Hyatt staff member, James, immediately stopped me from taking pictures. I wondered aloud (very loud), “Has the Bill of Rights been suspended? I thought I still had First Amendment rights). James was not amused. All around the building were several police battalions in riot gear.

About 10 California delegates are AAPI out of 241 district-level delegates
According to Jenn Pae, former USSA president and one of the youngest delegates, there are very few AAPI delegates. In fact, Jenn is the only Korean American delegate from California.

California party to benefit areas hit by Katrina: Got FEMA?
Thanks to Jenn, we got into the California party.
Three years after Hurricane Katrina, residents are still recovering. Thanks to Bush’s incompetent appointees in the federal government, FEMA botched things up royally. So the California state Democratic Party decided to throw a big party to raise money for areas hit by Katrina. Randy Newman (think: Toy Story’s “You got a friend in me”) performed and so did a great New Orleans style band. There was great food and an open bar with commemorative beer bottles by Mavericks brewery in Half Moon Bay. The Guam delegation, wearing their red Islander shirts, was the hit of the party. Tons of people came up to them to take pictures.

Famous people:
Governor David Paterson – NY
Mayor Shirley Franklin – Atlanta, GA
James Carville – DNC Advisor
Howard Dean – DNC Chairman
Congressman Mike Honda – CA; DNC Vice Chairman
Judy Chu – CA Board of Equalization
Sam Yoon – Boston City Councilman

Housing: Panda central
Mrs. Angry Asian Man and I found an apartment for rent in town for the convention week for a good price. It’s a great little place about 2 miles from the Convention Center. As nice as it is, J and I are a bit weirded out by the fact that the décor looks like a panda threw up all over the place. There is a panda trashcan, panda soaps, panda pictures, panda puzzle, panda wine bottle, stuffed pandas, panda paintings, etc. etc.

What I learned today:
Each state’s delegation stays together at designated hotels. For example, all of California’s delegates stay at the Sheraton. However, the party’s VIPs stay at one special hotel where security is extra tight. At the end of the day, I finally realized that the Hyatt is where all the VIPs are staying. When I went to any other hotel venue there was little to no security. Even during the protests, when I was in lock down at the Hyatt, other hotels were not on lock down.

When there are large crowds in random places, like hotel lobbies or on the streets, there is likely a political or entertainment celebrity in the middle.

Day 2 is not over yet, but stay tuned for more coverage.
PiCTURES ARE HERE!