The Vietnam Veterans of America today described President-elect Obama’s selection of Gen. Eric Shinseki as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs a “promising choice” citing Shinseki’s “integrity and personal fortitude to usher in the real changes needed to make the VA a true steward of our nation’s veterans and their families.”

“Veterans of all political persuasions should take heart and applaud this choice,” said John Rowan, the organization’s national president.

Shinseki would be only the third Asian American appointed to a Cabinet position, following Norman Mineta’s tenure at both Commerce and Transportation and Elaine Chao’s stint at Labor.

Veterans Affairs is the second largest department in the federal government, established 20 years ago this coming March by President Reagan.

The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder mistakenly noted that Shinseki’s name was absent from any speculation of potential nominees. Dale Minami and Maeley Tom both mentioned Shinseki as a superbly qualified Cabinet member.

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The NY Daily News reported yesterday that soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed up an offer to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, which was just relinquished by Sen. Robert Byrd of W. Va. The article failed to mention that Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawai’i was being tapped to succeed Byrd and that the move would have been a seismic break with Senate leadership tradition.

But given that the article cited no sources, even anonymous ones, and that no other news outlet independently reported this, the account was most likely vapornews.

The article’s omission of Inouye and his role in the musical chairs makes me wonder how, or if, Sen. Inouye will break his practice of working mostly under the radar as Appropriations chair. The Senator has never sought the spotlight and he’s not one of those making the Sunday talk show rounds.

Being quiet and effective as a politician is maybe not as lauded today as it was in another era of Hawai’i politics. “Quiet and effective” was in fact a camapign slogan for Hawai’i Gov. George Ariyoshi, who became the country’s first Asian American governor.

Sen. Inouye’s style of leadership on the high-profile committee may be perfect for the new Obama era and our tough economic times: we need more things getting done without all the political posturing.

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s Inaugural Committee launched the official inauguration website today at pic2009.org and outlined plans for an inauguration that will underscore their commitment to change business as usual in Washington and ensure that as many Americans as possible, both inside and outside Washington, will be able to come together to unite the country and celebrate our common values and shared aspirations.

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The Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau now has a Barack Obama microsite on the offical tourism website, gohawaii.com. The page lists some of the places there were part of President-Elect Obama’s life growing up in Hawai’i and also some spots that he visited on his recent trips.

Matt Haney, Steve Ngo, Nate Mezmer have formed a group called Citizen Hope, which seeks to continue the momentum of the Obama grassroots by empowering change through social networking and community action. We’re having a launch party in San Francisco on Dec. 2.

Here in the Bay Area, we’ve created a new vibrant and diverse political community capable of influencing the direction of our country. We feel it is our responsibility to continue to build upon these gains in efforts to impact our collective future.

Citizen Hope will begin by holding regular events around the San Francisco Bay Area, with each event highlighting a specific issue or cause. Many of our events will involve fundraising and/or an associated “action” that we will ask attendees to take part in—-from volunteering at a local shelter or youth program to finding targeted avenues to further the values of inclusion, opportunity, and diversity. By uniting attendees through awareness and service, we will build our political and social community and push forward our shared values and goals.

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This article by Nichi Bei Times English Editor Kenji Taguma originally appeared today on NewAmericaMedia.org.

SAN FRANCISCO — While the mad dash to the finish line ended with the election of the nation’s first African American president, a new race has begun, with perhaps equal if not more flurry: Asian Pacific Americans jockeying for key positions in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

The Nichi Bei Times asked attorney Dale Minami, a member of Obama’s Asian American Pacific Islander Executive Committee, about his thoughts on potential Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) in an Obama administration.

Also providing insight was Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose), who as chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee is arguably the most influential Asian American politician in the country.

“I suspect there’s about close to a couple of thousand appointments that are available,” said Honda, who added that over the past couple of months, Asian Americans across the country have been asked to prepare their applications.

In regards to Cabinet-level appointments, Minami suggested a number of APAs who could lead certain departments: Honda (D-San Jose) at the Department of Education, former San Jose Congressman and Presidential Cabinet veteran Norman Mineta at a variety of posts, Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth at the head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, former Washington Governor Gary Locke as attorney general, U.S. Army General Eric Shinseki or Major General Antonio Taguba as head of the Department of Defense, and longtime U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye as ambassador to Japan.
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AAPI Vote Director Charmaine Manansala’s co-worker Terence Tolbert, the Obama campaign’s Nevada state director, died suddenly of a heart attack yesterday. The 44-year-old was a senior aide to New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein and mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“I was shocked and saddened to learn about the passing of our Nevada State Director, Terence Tolbert. Terence was a strong force in this campaign, with a positive outlook that brought people together,” Obama said in a statement released to the press. “He was much loved by his team, who often repeated his motto of ‘leave no stone unturned.’ His enthusiasm, talent, and warm heart will truly be missed.”

Our deepest condolences to Terence’s wife, Freida, mother, Carolyn, his family, friends and to the Obama campaign staff and volunteers who worked with him.

TheAtlantic.com:
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/11/obamas_nevada_state_director_d.php 

Associated Press:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10887991

Author David Mineta is a social worker in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently serves a president of the Jefferson Union High School District board of trustees.

Tonight at dinner, it became clear to me why Senator Barack Obama is the transformational leader our nation needs. Lauryn, our first grader, said that one of her classmates keeps telling her she was born in China. He’s been telling her this since last year in kindergarten. She always tells this classmate that she was born in Burlingame. As she told us this story, she covered her face with her arms. She continued to talk, but she covered her face from her mom, dad, and four-year-old brother.

Lauryn said that her other classmates also said that she was born in China. She said that she felt “weird” and didn’t like how she looked. The color of her skin, her hair, and the shape of her eyes (and she also has glasses) make her feel different. And being different is not particularly celebrated in all parts.

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CBS5 (San Francisco Bay Area) reporter Thuy Vu highlights the Obama AAPI Blueprint for Change. Story includes interview with Congressman Mike Honda.

Sin Yen Ling is a civil rights attorney in San Francisco. Below is her account of voluteering in Nevada this past weekend.

Over the weekend, 20 of us drove out to Nevada and we all came back energized and enlightened with the incredible experiences over the two-day period. Half of us signed up for election protection and the other half did GOTV work in Fernley County — 1.5 hours outside of Reno.

I signed up for election protection and was assigned to Shopper’s Square. Nevada opened up its early voting on Saturday and the turnout was incredible the first day — each site had 300 plus people show up totally engaged and with lots to say. Nov. 4 will have massive turnout in Nevada because of the number of undecided voters.

I went in with expectations of wondering why people were still undecided. What in the last eight years could make someone undecided about either voting or about choosing a candidate was beyond me. But I was wrong, so wrong to even contemplate that. The common reason behind people’s indecision had to do with their distrust for government.

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