Vin Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a leading AAPI civil rights organization in San Francisco, authored an op-ed published in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.  It was a nonpartisan piece, and not an endorsement of Senator Obama.

In Obama’s speech, he writes, "I hear three important principles, which applied to our personal lives and our public policies, can move us in a positive direction, regardless of who wins this fall."

"First, we see the world not as it is, but as we are. Acknowledgement of the limits of our own perceptions is crucial to constructive conversations about race. I must be willing to recognize that your experiences and the emotions they engender are as real as mine, and I hope you are willing to do the same. After that, who knows - maybe a long overdue exchange about our histories, cultures and shared aspirations?

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Vin Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a leading AAPI civil rights organization in San Francisco, authored an op-ed published in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.  It was a nonpartisan piece, and not an endorsement of Senator Obama.

In Obama’s speech, he writes, "I hear three important principles, which applied to our personal lives and our public policies, can move us in a positive direction, regardless of who wins this fall."

"First, we see the world not as it is, but as we are. Acknowledgement of the limits of our own perceptions is crucial to constructive conversations about race. I must be willing to recognize that your experiences and the emotions they engender are as real as mine, and I hope you are willing to do the same. After that, who knows - maybe a long overdue exchange about our histories, cultures and shared aspirations?

Read the rest of this entry »

Calling all film makers!!! 

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have historically been less likely to vote than other populations, but not necessarily because we don’t believe in voting.  We have to acknowledge numerous institutional barriers to voting in the U.S. that we have faced. 

Let’s make this year different!  Do your part to empower our communities to overcome voting barriers.

The San Diego Asian Film Foundation just launched a national Public Service Announcement contest.  Make a 30-second, non-partisan PSA targeting Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders and submit (postmark) by July 31!

Asian Americans for Obama (http://www.asianamericansforobama.com) is a grassroots organization of concerned Asian Americans from all over the country who are working to help elect Senator Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

Though our coalition includes members of diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, class and gender backgrounds, we are united in the belief that Senator Barack Obama is the best candidate to bring this country together
and enact change for all Americans.

Part of our mission has been to communicate the support for Senator Barack Obama within the Asian American community, particularly through new media/blog outlets. You have received this press release because we believe you are a powerful voice on the blogosphere and we hope you will find in this

release writings, news stories, and link of interest to your readership.

We hope that you will post on your blog some or all of the links included in this release.

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Obama:
A Better Tomorrow

By
John Delloro

At age 34, I suffered a heart attack.  My dozen years of countless hours as a union organizer coupled with my genetics had weakened my body.  When the pain shot through my arms and hit my chest, I was on the ground when my son crawled into the room.  It became instantly clear, as I watched my five-month old boy stare at me, that we only exist in relation to other people.  I didn’t just almost die but he had almost lost a father.  Many others almost lost a son, brother, husband and friend.  Activist scholar Derrick Bell was correct when he said that relationships are the foundation of an ethical life.  Unfortunately, the idea that we can only survive as a community has been under attack for the last few decades.  Our nation’s social safety net has been dramatically reduced and economic insecurity has brought a new level mean-spiritedness and scapegoating that threaten to further unravel the fabric of our society.  Public responsibility has been narrowly defined to be a self-centered preoccupation for oneself.  To me, Obama represents an opportunity to return to the idea of community—“we all suffer if the least of us suffers.”

Couple of my progressive friends and mentors have taken the position of “critical support” or cynically dismissed all the candidates as a continuation of “politics as usual.”  They find fault with particular positions taken by Obama and their many years of political battles made them wary of his message of hope.  In fact, I don’t agree with a number of Obama’s proposed policies and I had previously joined hands with the other skeptics.  My years in the field not only hurt my body but left me somewhat cautious of quixotic electoral crusades.  However, when I turned on the television to listen to Obama speak in the aftermath of the New Hampshire primary, these words struck me:

Read the rest of this entry »

Obama:
A Better Tomorrow

By
John Delloro

At age 34, I suffered a heart attack.  My dozen years of countless hours as a union organizer coupled with my genetics had weakened my body.  When the pain shot through my arms and hit my chest, I was on the ground when my son crawled into the room.  It became instantly clear, as I watched my five-month old boy stare at me, that we only exist in relation to other people.  I didn’t just almost die but he had almost lost a father.  Many others almost lost a son, brother, husband and friend.  Activist scholar Derrick Bell was correct when he said that relationships are the foundation of an ethical life.  Unfortunately, the idea that we can only survive as a community has been under attack for the last few decades.  Our nation’s social safety net has been dramatically reduced and economic insecurity has brought a new level mean-spiritedness and scapegoating that threaten to further unravel the fabric of our society.  Public responsibility has been narrowly defined to be a self-centered preoccupation for oneself.  To me, Obama represents an opportunity to return to the idea of community—“we all suffer if the least of us suffers.”

Couple of my progressive friends and mentors have taken the position of “critical support” or cynically dismissed all the candidates as a continuation of “politics as usual.”  They find fault with particular positions taken by Obama and their many years of political battles made them wary of his message of hope.  In fact, I don’t agree with a number of Obama’s proposed policies and I had previously joined hands with the other skeptics.  My years in the field not only hurt my body but left me somewhat cautious of quixotic electoral crusades.  However, when I turned on the television to listen to Obama speak in the aftermath of the New Hampshire primary, these words struck me:

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s share with others why Senator Barack Obama is the best choice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The links below allow you to download documents that can be distributed and shared to voters interested in learning about Sen. Obama’s positions on issues that AAPIs care about.

Organizing Guides & Instructions:

Download Voter_Registration_Drive_How_To_Guide.doc

Flyers for Upcoming Events:

One Page Flyers to Distribute:

Download AAPI_English_Flyer.doc

(National contact info only)

Download One_Pager_Korean_AAPI.pdf

(National contact info only)

Download One_Pager_Tagalog_AAPI.pdf

Download One_Pager_Tagalog_AAPI.doc

Download One_Pager_Vietnamese_AAPI.pdf

(National contact info only)

Download Chinese_Flyer_Traditional_v1.pdf

Download Chinese_Flyer_Simplified_v1.pdf

Download One_Pager_Chinese_AAPI.pdf

(Simplified; national contact info only)

Download LunarNewYear.pdf

Download ObamaLunarNewYearLetterChinese.doc (Simplified)

Download ObamaNewYearLetterTraditionalChineseinColor.doc (Traditional)

Download ObamaNewYearLetterTraditionalChineseinColor.pdf (Traditional)

Download ObamaLunarNewYearLetterChineseColorRevised.doc (Simplified)

Download ObamaLunarNewYearLetterChineseColorRevised.pdf

(Simplified)

Policy Documents:

Download AAPI_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Download South_Asian_Issues_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Download AAPI_Dream_Agenda_FINAL.pdf

Download Fact_Sheet_Health_Care_AAPI_FINAL.pdf

Signs, Posters, & Buttons:

Download obama_change_poster_chinesetraditional.jpg

Download obama_forward_poster_chinesetraditional.jpg

Download Obama_Chinese.jpg

Download ObamaChineseNewYearLuckSignA.pdf

Download ObamaChineseNewYearLuckSignB.pdf

Download ObamaKoreanSign.pdf

Download AsianAmericansforObamaPoster-TexasInfo.PDF

Download TexasforObamaPoster.pdf

Download AustinforObamaPoster.pdf

Download khmer_support_obama__button.jpg

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Barack Obama is scheduled to appear on "The View" this Friday, March 28. "If he survives the chat fest, he’ll probably end up putting it on his resume," writes Veronica Santiago on gearlive.com. The day before on  March 27, Obama supporter and former co-host Lisa Ling returns to "The View" for her first-ever guest appearance.

Lisa’s report, "Sex Workers or Victims," airs Sunday, March 30 at 9 p.m., ET. She reports on the underage prostitution crisis in the U.S. with in-depth coverage on cases in New York, Dallas and Las Vegas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Barack Obama is scheduled to appear on "The View" this Friday, March 28. "If he survives the chat fest, he’ll probably end up putting it on his resume," writes Veronica Santiago on gearlive.com. The day before on  March 27, Obama supporter and former co-host Lisa Ling returns to "The View" for her first-ever guest appearance.

Lisa’s report, "Sex Workers or Victims," airs Sunday, March 30 at 9 p.m., ET. She reports on the underage prostitution crisis in the U.S. with in-depth coverage on cases in New York, Dallas and Las Vegas.

Read the rest of this entry »