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!