Watch Obama’s 100 Days address (courtesy of Hulu):

You may have recently seen me on television or the Internets because of my exchange with Texas State Rep. Betty Brown regarding Asian names. This upset a lot of people, and you may have even contacted Rep. Brown about the incident. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the real issue is much larger than Rep. Brown’s comments; the very right of Asian Americans and others to vote is in danger. If you’ve been wondering what else you can do to help, the Asian American Democrats of Texas have set up a variety of ways you can assist in defeating the legislation that Rep. Brown is championing. Go below the fold to find out how you can get involved!

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A Nation-Wide Conversation on the State of AAPI w/ Konrad Ng and other special guests

Sunday, May 31, 2009
4 pm EST/1 pm PST

Consider hosting a party. It’s easy. Just gather 12-20 friends, family members or co-workers and call into our conference call. You can even provide snacks or make it a potluck. After hearing from our special guests on the call, we encourage you to engage in a conversation with your guests to discuss what issues are important to you, write up a report and post it on the APAP website with pictures. This will become a record of the issues that AAPI’s around the country are talking about. We’ll even submit our report to the Obama administration.

Email Patrice for details or to sign up your house party!

More details at APA for Progress.

As you know, May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  Every year, there are wonderful events that take place around the country to celebrate the history, culture, and heritage of AAPIs.  To help provide a central source of information on events in your area, Asian Americans for Obama is inviting you to send us information on any AAPI Heritage Month events for posting on our online calendar and website.  Just e-mail the following information to events@asianamericansforobama.com:

Name of Event
Location (Address, City, State)
Date and Time
Brief Description of Event (Cost?  RSVP required?  Volunteers, performers, exhibitors needed? Etc.)
Contact Person with Contact Information

And then check back regularly with the Calendar at Asian Americans for Obama to see what events are happening in your area.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Today, Cambodians, Thai, and Laotians all over the world are celebrating the new year - 2553 BE (Buddhist Era). So from all of us here at Asian Americans for Obama, Happy New Year!

Here’s a great article that describes the Cambodian New Year from remarks given by Leng Lim, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Khmer Community in Seattle, WA, at a New Year’s celebration in 2001.

And here’s Secretary Clinton’s New Year’s message to the people of Cambodia.

The LA Times reports:

“Penn, 31, campaigned for Barack Obama last year. Word is the Indian American actor was a big hit on college campuses. Now Penn will become associate director in the White House Office of Public Liaison, an envoy to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, to Hollywood and to young people.”

Personally, I think this is pretty cool - especially since Kal Penn just seems like a guy I could sit down and chill with. Kind of like our president, too. (I’ll just ignore the slight sense of awkwardness and irony with the fact Obama has stonewalled the extremely popular issue around the legalization of marijuana while Kumar goes to the White House.)