Calling Sen. Barack Obama a champion for working families, the top leaders of AFL-CIO unions on Thursday voted without opposition to endorse him for president of the United States, thrusting the labor federation’s largest ever grassroots mobilization effort into high gear, including the launch of MeetObama08.org.

More than 600,000 Asian Pacific American workers have joined unions and are seeking better pay, improved benefits, dignity on the job, and a voice in the workplace.

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Hey folks..
Whoever is in the Bay, please join me this Sunday for some Asian-American GOTV, voter reg, and good eatin’!

WHERE: Milpitas Square (a.k.a. the "Asian Mall") Exact location TBD, but somewhere around Ranch 99 entrance.  This mall also has TK Noodle, a good vegetarian spot, and more.

WHEN: Sunday, June 29, 2008.  12-5 p.m.

WHO:  YOU!  (speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Ilocano, and more are especially welcome…)

HOW: I will bring clipboards, voter reg forms and instructions, pens, and an ironing board.  You bring your Obama gear and lots of energy…

WHY: To introduce Senator Obama to our Asian-American constituency, answer questions, spread the word, be enthusiastic, have fun, and REGISTER VOTERS!

Hope to see you there.  Please sign up on MyBO so I can look for you!

Love,

Nina Kahori Fallenbaum
(Berkeley, CA)

U.S. Senator Barack Obama yesterday released the following statement on the visit of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the United States:

"I welcome the visit this week of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her delegation to the United States. President Arroyo’s visit is an opportunity to strengthen our historic alliance, and to discuss a host of issues of mutual interest.

"I wish first to express my sympathies through President Arroyo to the victims and families of typhoon Fengshen, which has just hit the southern portion of the Philippines, leaving tremendous devastation in its wake. I urge the U.S. government to provide emergency support to alleviate the suffering caused by this catastrophic natural disaster.

"The bond between the United States and the Philippines is strong and enduring. The Philippines has been an important ally of the United States through World War II, the Cold War, and now the fight against terrorism and extremism. The 1954 Manila Pact formed a cornerstone of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia during the Cold War, and the Philippines continues to be one of only two U.S. treaty allies in Southeast Asia today. After the events of September 11, 2001, the Philippines has worked closely with the United States to root out Al Qaeda and its affiliates in the region.

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This past Saturday, June 21, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Sen. Obama’s sister, joined State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, State Senator Martha Escutia
(ret.), State Board of Equalization Chair Judy Chu, Los Angeles City
Controller Laura Chick, Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes, L.A.
Unified School Board Vice President Yolie Flores-Aguilar, and other leaders and members of the diverse communities of LA for a SOMOS FAMILIA/WE ARE FAMILY reception.

Despite the sweltering triple-digit heat, over 100 enthusiastic supporters joined Maya at the Hecho in Mexico restaurant to hear her stories about growing up with Barack and the inspiration he has been to her.  Here are some excerpts from an LA Progressive story about the event:

"’There’s no nepotism in Barack’s campaign,’ remarked the multi-lingual
Soetoro-Ng, who peppered her mostly English talk with Spanish. ‘I don’t
get paid by the campaign, but I’m delighted to come here to help you
get to know Barack.’

Soetoro-Ng, who is nine years her brother’s junior, spoke beamingly
of her big brother, who served as a surrogate father, guiding her as
she made major life decisions about boyfriends, college, and careers. ‘I made a few bad choices about boyfriends. Barack would warn me and he
was always right,’ she laughed.

She also talked about their mother and their upbringing, which was
occasionally short on money but never short on love. Soetoro-Ng will
return to her teaching job at Hawaii’s La Pietra girls school in August
and will make time to campaign in the fall."

LA activist and supporter Evelina Alarcon presented Maya with a poster commemorating the work of Cesar Chavez, whose birthday Obama supports making a national holiday.  Many of those in attendance noted how like Obama, Maya is an inspiring, warm speaker who really makes people feel a sense of oneness.

More photos from the event are available below the fold (thanks to Cate Park):

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Leaders, Friends, and Family-

Hafa Adai.

I wanted to let you know that I have been brought on board to serve as AAPI Vote Director for the Obama Campaign.  The national AAPI voter outreach program is a priority for Obama for America.

I look forward to working with you in the upcoming months as we engage the Asian American and Pacific Islander community nation-wide, as well as in key battleground states.  As you all know, Democrats turned out in record numbers during the primaries and caucuses to show their support for all the amazing candidates.  We hope to carry that excitement forward into the fall, united for the purpose of turning the White House (along with as many states, Congressional Districts, and state legislatures as possible) BLUE, and, of course, electing Senator Obama as the next President of the United States!

The Obama campaign acknowledges the extraordinary contributions of the nearly 13 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have helped build a strong and vibrant America.  As you know, the AAPI community has been no stranger to Senator Barack Obama.  It is a community that he became a part of while growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia and living in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.  We realize that despite the growh of our community, there are challenges we still face. For increasing numbers of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the American dream is in danger of slipping away.

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Orange County is the birthplace of a number of conservative initiatives that have swept the nation. So one can imagine the sudden hush in the room when Scott Flanders, CEO of the company owning the Orange County Register, announced at a corporate staff luncheon his support of Obama for president. Flanders joins a nascent cadre of premier conservative theorists disaffected with the Bush administration. The advance of conservatives favoring Obama, aka the “Obamacons,” suggests a major shift in the national narrative and consciousness.  Bush’s War in Iraq has led to a tactical realignment of leading conservative thinkers, progressive activists, young people, African Americans and new voters of all races. With Jerry Falwell’s former chief of staff Mark DeMoss predicting 40% of evangelicals may possibly line-up behind Obama, the Age of Reaganism may face its final curtain call this coming November. 

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One of the most enjoyable parts of a campaign (at least to a political junkie such as me) is the schwag, or as some call it, chum.  That’s the catch-all term for signs, bumper stickers, buttons, pins, and any number of other products branded with a candidate or campaign.  While there are limits to the variety of “official” campaign products, the campaigns that really capture people’s imaginations, such as Sen. Obama’s or Governor Dean’s in 2004, often inspire the grassroots to create their own entertaining array of products to show their support.

Buttons are typically the most desirable items because they’re durable and last a long time, are easy to store, and have a lot of variety.  It’s also easy to make your own.  (Tip: If there are any of those big, circular lapel stickers you really like, making them into buttons is a great way to preserve them.)  A grassroots supporter has created a really cool Khmer Support Obama button that includes Khmer writing.  You can download the design here on our Supporter Toolkit page to make your own.

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Photos by Jerms Estrada. More photos below.

More than 250 enthusiastic supporters attended our fundraiser last night for Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama’s sister. The crowd loved Maya’s talk and embraced her — literally — for spending time with us during her visit to the Bay Area.

The event would not have been possible without the support and diligent efforts of a large team of campaign staff and volunteers.  A special thank you to the following groups and individuals:

• The AAPIs, South Asians, Latinos and LGBT for Obama grassroots organizations and to Anhoni Patel, Maria Blanco, Jose Torres, Myrna Melgar, Rebecca Prozan and Doug Sabo for their support in co-hosting the event.
• Obama for America campaign staffers Marissa Hopkins, Tammy Paster, Madhuri Kommareddi and Amanda Brown for their guidance, coordination and logistical support.
• Danny Phelan and the owners and staff at Roe Restaurant for again allowing us to host an event in their beautiful lounge. We always get incredible service from Danny and all the staff at Roe!
• San Francisco assessor Phil Ting, Richmond City councilmember Harpreet Sandhu, Myrna Melgar and Doug Sabo for their passionate and heartfelt introductory remarks.
• The event organization team of Brian Wang, Angelica Jongco, Michael P. Lee, Jenn Pae and to our volunteers - Daphne Kwok, Yoko Nakagawa, Ada Yoshida, Brandon Yee, Gail Vue, Lorelei Patricio, Sara Tessema, Kimberly Shinjo, Terri Slaughter, Judah Margolis, Stephanie Chen, Lauren Shinjo, Katherine Basconcillo and Angela Tseng - for pulling the event off on short notice.
• Sean Tamura-Sato for again DJing - his tunes always helps keep the party alive.
• Jerms Estrada for again taking awesome photos of the event.  Some are below and we’ll post more up on Flickr and Facebook.
• David Chiu, candidate for San Francisco Supervisor (District 3); Eric Mar, San Francisco school board member and Supervisor (District 1) candidate; and Hydra Mendoza, San Francisco school board member for their outstanding support and participation in all of our activities.

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South Asians for Obama buttons are now available in the Obama Store for $3 each or 2 for $5 (additional discounts available for bulk purchases of 25 or more).  Because these are official campaign products, any purchase is credited directly to the campaign as a contribution.

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UPDATE: Here’s a YouTube video of Gore’s endorsement speech:

Former Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Oscar winner Al Gore just sent out an e-mail announcing his endorsement of Sen. Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan, tonight at 8:30 PM EST.  You can watch it live online at www.BarackObama.com.  VP Gore has been an incredible inspiration since his controversial loss in the 2000 presidential election, advocating passionately for fight against global warming.

Here’s the e-mail:

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