Wednesday, April 24, 2002

A Student Saves Money to Pay 80-20 Dues


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If you have paid your dues and have NOT visited web page: http://www.80-20initiative.net/memberlist.html

yet, YOU MUST. If your name is NOT there, it may mean 80-20's
record is wrong, & you will NOT have a vote. ##################

All of us at 80-20 were moved by the following email correspondence:

(A) A Student E-Mailed To Suggest That 80-20 Institute A "Student Membership"
Of $15 Per Year:

Dear 80-20 Staff,

I have been on your e-mail list for a couple of years now, and am very

impressed with what the organization has become with your leadership
and direction. I want to contribute monetarily and becoming a voting member,
but like a lot of the folks on the e-mail list, I am still a student. I
suggest that you create a student membership ($15/year), so that folks
like myself can become an official member.

Respectfully Yours,

Harrison (last name withheld to avoid embarrassing the student)



(B) S. B. E-Mailed Back To Offer An Alternative Solution:

80-20 has considered setting student dues but decided against it because
a lot of students spend more than $35 during their weekends. In your case,
things may be different. Will you send me your address? I'd be glad
to send you a "thank you" gift of $20 personally. Then you
can pay the full fee. I'll do the same thing next year as well, until
you are not a student.

I am very moved by your e-mail. The next time we have a Steering
Comm. meeting, we'll discuss the matter of student dues again.

SB

(C) The Student Decides to Tighten His Belt & Pay Full Dues:

Dear Mr. Woo,

First, I want to thank you for responding to my e-mail. Second, I am
currently studying abroad in China until this June. Going over my semester
budget, I will be able to make the full membership dues 35. I hope
that you and your staff will keep up the great work because we

ARE making a difference.

Respectfully Yours,

Harrison

- - - - - - - - - -

If you are NOT a member yet, please join today.


Basic (1 vote) -- $35
Family (for couples only, 2 votes) -- $50
Any US citizen or permanent resident can be a member TODAY using a credit
card, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html .

PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:

Professor Chun Wa Wong
3780 Keystone Ave.
Suite 106
Los Angeles, CA 90034-6363

Write down your e-mail address in the check. Thank you.


------ Paid for by 80-20 PAC ------


Good News:

1. Peter Suzuki, former Nat'l President of NAPABA (National

Asian Pacific American Bar Assoc.), is now the president
of

80-20's NJ Chapter.

2. A new magazine "MONOLID" (as opposed to double eye lids)

which targets the APA market generously provides
an attractive

full page ad for 80-20, in its back cover-page.
Visit:

http://www.monolid.com

Thursday, April 18, 2002

UNITY IS POWER - another example

Asian Pacific American college students and young professionals
e-mailed 80-20 asking it to take action. They were outraged because
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an upscale retailer, put out a new line
of 4 T-shirts with derogatory portrayals of Asians.

80-20 called Michael Jeffries, Chairman and CEO of A&F this morning.
Two hours later, an executive with A&F responded to 80-20 by saying that those $25 T-shirts have been taken off the market.

80-20 wants to THANK all who e-mailed and assisted 80-20 in this matter. It also wants to applaud those who have already communicated their displeasure with A&F directly. Although 80-20 found those T-shirts offensive, it wants to commend Abercrombie & Fitch for its swift action in realizing its insensitivity and pulling the products immediately.

For those who want to know the events leading to this happy ending,
here is a brief description. One of A&F's new T-shirts depicts Asians with slanted eyes and conical hats. The T-shirt, with two Asian men at ``Wong Brothers Laundry Service,'' carries the logo: ``Two Wongs Can Make It White.'' Another T-shirt, called``Buddha Bash'' has a smiling Buddha figure with the logo: ``Get Your Buddha On The Floor.'' [Pictures of the two T-shirts are available at: http://www.80-20initiative.net/tshirts.html , if you want to view them. The pictures will be deleted in a week.]

APA youths began e-mailing 80-20 on Wednesday
asking 80-20 to take action. 80-20 investigated the matter and decided
to take action. At 10:50 a.m. this morning (Thursday), 80-20 president
S. B. Woo called A&F Chairman and CEO Michael Jeffries. Mr. Jefferies
was out of his office, so Woo left a message expressing the wish for A&F
to withdraw the products. He also requested a call back. About
two hours later, at 1:12 p.m., Mr. Seth Johnson, an executive with A&F
called back. He said that he was calling on behalf of Mr. Jeffries
who was not in town. He said that the products have been pulled off
the market, emphasizing however that the T-shirts were meant to add humor,
without intending to offend anyone. A&F is issuing a press release
to the Associated Press regarding the withdrawal of the T-shirts.
A HAPPY ENDING!

UNITY IS POWER. Here is but one good
example of many.

If you are not a dues-paying member yet,
please DO YOUR SHARE! 1,200 have already joined.

There are six types of 80-20 memberships:

1. Basic (1 vote) -- $35
2. Family (for couples only, 2 votes) -- $50
3. Life** -- $1000
4. Family life** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $1,500
5. Honorary Life** -- $5,000
6. Honorary Family** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $10,000
** Membership names in permanent display on 80-20's web site.
See http://www.80-20initiative.net/members.html
.

Any US citizen or permanent resident can be a member TODAY using a credit
card, visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html .

PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Professor Chun Wa Wong
3780 Keystone Ave.
Suite 106
Los Angeles, CA 90034-6363

Write down your e-mail address in the check. Thank you.

Act TODAY.

Friday, April 12, 2002

A New Immigration Bill May Shortchange You

Do you have elderly parents living abroad? If so, you need to pay keen attention to this 80-20 message.

For many working APAs whose parents live abroad, a lengthy visit by their parents every few years is the only viable option for FAMILY UNION.

That option will no longer be available to you in the NEW immigration policy. In the past such a visa was for "a minimum of 6 months." Now it will normally be for 30 days only. See http://www.ins.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/visa.htm

The proposed new immigration policy aims to deter terrorism. Many are thoughtful provisions. However, some changes may be flawed. Hence, our Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Sate Department are requesting public comments on the proposed changes until May 6. To comment on the proposed changes, you need to provide a reference number (INS no. 2176-01), if you are communicating with the INS. There are several ways:

(1) Write in triplicate (one original and two copies) to:
Director,
Policy Directives and Instructions Branch,
INS, 425 I Street, N.W., Room 4034,
Washington, D.C., 20536
Attention: Public Comment Clerk, and /or

(2) E-mail to insregs@usdoj.gov . You may also want to let the relevant officials in the Legislative Division of the Visa Services Section of the State Department know of your concerns by carbon-copying the following two e-mail addresses: visaregs@state.gov and harperbj@state.gov

SAMPLE e-mail/ letter:

Reference: INS Number 2176-01

Dear Director:

My parents are xx and yy years of age. They live in (Korea, India, Vietnam, China, ..). After saving money for x years for their trip to the US, I was hoping that they will be with my family for at least six months. The new policy may cut it down to 30 days.

Please consider the importance of FAMILY UNION as we combat terrorism.
If the norms of family life of many US citizens can be adversely affected because of a flawed provision in our new policy, then the terrorists would have won twice over.

Sincerely,

Name Job Title, (optional)
Home Address (optional but strongly advised)

Don't bother composing a great letter. Ultimately, it is the volume of the opposing e-mails/ letters that matters. On the other hand, don't just copy the sample letter, it may carry less weight. Briefly state your own reason.

80-20 is e-mailing this message to 430,000 APA households. Only 80-20 can provide such a service to the APA community. If you value 80-20's service, and you are NOT a member yet, please JOIN TODAY.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -
There are six types of 80-20 memberships:

1. Basic (1 vote) -- $35
2. Family (for couples only, 2 votes) -- $50
3. Life** -- $1000
4. Family life** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $1,500
5. Honorary Life** -- $5,000
6. Honorary Family** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $10,000
** Membership names in permanent display on 80-20's web site. See http://www.80-20initiative.net/members.html .

Any US citizen or permanent resident can be a member TODAY using a credit card, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html .
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Professor Chun Wa Wong
3780 Keystone Ave.
Suite 106
Los Angeles, CA 90034-6363

Write down your e-mail address in the check. Thank you.
Act TODAY.

Thursday, April 04, 2002

How "Internment" relates to us today

Mercury News of San Jose published a profoundly thoughtful article on internment and how it relates to us. For the full article see: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/2976198.htm

Some excerpts are provided below. Under the subtitle of "Contradiction seen" there are facts about the internment that are at once sobering and inspirational. Please read on.

INTERNMENT RE-ENACTMENT TO TEACH HISTORICAL LESSON
By Ken McLaughlin

.... On April 27, East Beach Street in Watsonville will look like a movie set, with vintage costumes, sedans and a police car -- even a Greyhound bus built six decades ago. The Mello Center for the Performing Arts will be turned into an internment camp replete with uniformed guards in watchtowers.

It was on April 27, 1942, that more than 1,100 Santa Cruz County residents -- among 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast -- were ordered to report to the veterans hall to be bused to the Salinas Assembly Center at the California Rodeo Grounds. They were then taken to a desolate desert camp in Poston, Ariz., where most lived out the war years behind barbed wire. The last train from Salinas left on the Fourth of July. .....

"It's taken Japanese-Americans more than 50 years to be able to do something like this,'' said Aptos historian Sandy Lydon, who has studied the internment for 35 years. "This is a sign of a mature, very self-assured community. It's not about laying out piles of guilt. It's about warning people how easily something like this can happen."

"And after the backlash against the Arab-American community after Sept. 11, it becomes even more poignant and relevant.'' ....

U.S. `had no choice'

Some local residents and U.S. veterans have griped that they're tired of hearing about the internment and would prefer to move on.

"Vet groups aren't too enthusiastic,'' said Jim Henegen, 67, first vice commander of Watsonville's American Legion post. ``America had no choice. We didn't know who was who.'' .....

Said Navy veteran Art Bailey, 78, of Watsonville: "At least we didn't line them up and kill them like they did our guys.'' ......

Contradiction seen

The well-known part of the story is that most Pajaro Valley residents did not want the Japanese and Japanese-Americans to return -- or even to participate in the U.S. military. Instead, they sent 15,000 telegrams to Congress to ask lawmakers to strip all people of Japanese ancestry of their American citizenship and "return'' them to Japan.

But, Hashimoto said, a lesser-known story is that a small minority of Pajaro Valley residents refused to go along. They spoke out against the internment in letters to the editor. They secretly stored the personal belongings in their attics. They argued -- years before the idea was popular -- that the internment was simply un-American.

Those residents -- attorneys such as John McCarthy, Phil Boyle and Stephen Wyckoff, as well as the Rev. Allan W. Geddes -- will be honored at the April 27 event. ......

The event also will tell the stories of local Japanese-American veterans who served in the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Service and the 100th/42nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in the U.S. Army's history.

The ceremony will close with a song from a choir of elderly Japanese and Japanese-American women: "God Bless America.'' (THE END)

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If you have not joined yet, please DO YOUR SHARE! There are six types of 80-20 memberships:
1. Basic (1 vote) -- $35
2. Family (for couples only, 2 votes) -- $50
3. Life** -- $1000
4. Family life** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $1,500
5. Honorary Life** -- $5,000
6. Honorary Family** (couples only, 2 votes) -- $10,000
** Membership names in permanent display on 80-20's web site. See http://www.80-20initiative.net/members.html .

Any US citizen or permanent resident can be a member TODAY using a credit card, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html .
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Professor Chun Wa Wong
3780 Keystone Ave. Suite 106
Los Angeles, CA 90034-6363
Write down your e-mail address in the check. Thank you.

Act TODAY.