80-20 Marks 10th Anniversary Today!

By Dr. Edward Lin, Founding Patron, Life Member & 80-20 Board Member

80-20 Marks 10th Anniversary Today!
A DECADE OF POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT BEARS FRUIT

Ten years ago today in 1999, 80-20 Initiative was born—based on a vision
that in spite of being a small minority group, Asian Americans (AsAm) CAN
flex a BIG political muscle through unity and bloc voting. Against all odds,
80-20’s Founders and early supporters faced mountain-sized challenges &
a near-impossible goal. Undeterred by ridicule, obstacles and attacks from
detractors and naysayers, they steadfastly pushed forward by sheer will
and faith. And made history.

COMPARED TO NATIONAL AVERAGE, AsAm HAVE THE LEAST CHANCE (45%)
OF RISING TO MANAGEMENT RANKS in private industries, universities and
the Federal government despite having the highest educational attainment.
See: http://www.80-20initiative.net/action/equalopp_washingtonpost_wpad.asp
Out of the 864 federal judges, only 8 (0.9% instead of 5%) are AsAm even
though we have proportionally more legal professionals and scholars.

80-20 has steadfastly engaged in principled political battles using carrots
and sticks: rewarding politicians who promise to address our rightful civil
rights grievances by electing them and defeating those who don’t.

In the 2008 Presidential Election, 80-20 made landmark progress in gaining
written iron-clad promises from President Obama to take concrete action to
remedy the dismal inequality facing AsAm. See:
http://www.80-20initiative.net/news/preselect2008_obama.asp

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY, an unprecedented number of
AsAm are serving our nation at some of the highest levels of government.
For example:
Sr. White House Advisor: Peter Rouse (Mother is Japanese American)
Cabinet Secretary: Chris Lu, the point contact person to all the cabinet secretaries.
Steven Chu: Secretary of Energy
General Eric Shinseki: Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Gary Locke, Commerce Secretary;
Aneesh Paul Chopra, Federal Chief Technology Officer
Ivan K. Fong, General Counsel (Deputy Secretary in rank), Homeland Security Dept.
Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Counsel (Deputy Secretary in rank), State Department
Howard Koh, Assistant secretary for Health & Human Services
Rajiv Shah, Chief Scientist USDA & Under Secretary for Research, Education
and Economics
Tina Tchen, Executive Dir. of the White House Ofc of Public Engagement
Eugene Kang, Special Assistant to the President

WHEN EXECUTIVE ORDER 11246 IS ENFORCED, we will all stop being second-
class citizens; 800,000 AsAm government workers, & many more at
universities and private enterprises will finally have a fair shot at promotions
based on meritocracy.

HELP ENSURE A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN
As we reflect on the10th Anniversary of 80-20, let us give thanks to its
visionary Founders including Dr. SB Woo (Former Lt. Governor of DE),
Dr. Larry Ho (Professor Emeritus of two endowed chairs at Harvard) and
the late Dr. Chang-Lin Tien (Chancellor of UC Berkeley). Together, along
with steadfast 80-20 supporters like you, we have moved political mountains.

These great AsAm and patriots have shown us a hard-fought birthright
and a principled path to equal opportunity—charting our destiny
through political empowerment. We must each take the civil rights
challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own, to make
America a more perfect Union.

THE TOUGHEST FIGHT FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN.
It requires unity, dollars, commitment and perseverance from ALL of us to
get the government to DELIVER what has been promised. If you have been
with us in our long struggle, 80-20 expresses its gratitude for your
commitment and support.

If not, please do your share and join our Civil Rights Movement!
Become a dues-paying member TODAY at http://www.80-20initiative.net
Not sure if you are a member? Find out here:
http://www.80-20initiative.net/about/membership.asp

Dr. Edward Lin
Director, 80-20 Initiative
Equal Opportunity and Justice for ALL Asian Americans
e-mail: elin[at]ingenious[dot]com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/EdwardLin001USA

Encourage Inspire Empower

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single
garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
Mahatma Gandhi

My Father was Jailed...by his Own Country

From: Dr. Yuko Julie Nakanishi, Member, 80-20 Board of Directors

To: Prospective 80-20 Members

My father was born and raised in Sacramento in the early 20th century. He
was an American citizen. He followed the rules, didn’t break any laws,
went to school, studied hard, helped his neighbors. Then came WWII and
in the eyes of the U.S. government, he was no longer a citizen. He was stripped
of his rights. They treated him like a common criminal, uprooting
him and his family and placing them in a “camp” with tall fences, barbed
wire, and soldiers with rifles. The word “camp” was used as a euphemism
for jail and imprisonment. All of his rights were taken away because of
ethnicity – his appearance, his surname, the color of his skin.

While the Japanese American and As Am community has come a long way
since then, discrimination still exists in the workplace, in our legal system,
at all levels of our government and society. In this day and age, this
CANNOT be and SHOULD NOT be.

The 80-20 Initiative was established to eradicate discrimination and
win legal and workplace equality for all members of our As Am
community. This includes YOU, your FAMILY, and your FRIENDS.

Read more about 80-20’s recent accomplishments and its leadership – our
Acting Executive Director is S.B. Woo, the former Lt. Governor of Delaware,
who has a great deal of knowledge about the inner workings of American
politics. I urge you to support your As Am community by participating in
the 80-20 Initiative NOW. Simply click on the link below to find out how
you can join. http://www.80-20initiative.net

Once you’ve joined, you’ll find out about our activities and how you can
play an integral part in our growth. If you think you may already be a
member, click on the following link to find out:
http://www.80-20initiative.net/about/membership.asp
JOIN NOW!!!

A very short email

Will you help please?

The world of politics depends on clout. Clout comes with having more
members. To help YOU win FULL citizenship, 80-20 needs more members.

I've pledged to donate $3,500 to 80-20 for 100 NEW members. We now
need only 49 more NEW members and 80-20 will get my pledged $3,500.
So your $35 membership fee may leverage 100 times that amount for 80-
20.

JOIN 80-20 NOW. Using a credit card, go
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or send a
check to "80-20 PAC" PO Box 22509 Philadelphia, PA 19110.

Counting on YOU. Please help me to help YOUR CHILDREN.

S. B. Woo
Acting Exec. Director (a volunteer for 80-20 for the last 10 years & donated
close to $100,000 to 80-20.)

A Table to Remember

The table below tells a clear story.

It tells how things have improved -- the doubling of Asian Am life-tenured federal judges, since 80-20 took up the issue 3.5 years ago.

It also tells that we still have a long long way to go -- even at 12 federal judges, it is just 1.4% of the federal judges. While not advocating a quota system, we want to point out that at least 5% of the lawyers are Asian Ams, many from the top law schools.

You will be seeing this table again -- many more such appointments to come.

Success has a thousand fathers. We congratulate all orgs. which worked
on this project.

NAPABA stands for Nat'l Asian Pacific Am. Bar Assoc.

What can we conclude from our initial success?

1) Getting politically involved pays and is a must to protect our rights,
2) 80-20's political premises are sound -- elected officials are public servants, and that our community should reward our public servants who share our RIGHTFUL concerns and punish those who don't.
3) Is the size of 80-20's GROUP political clout large enough to win EQUAL citizenship for YOU within the next 3 years? No! To become equals soon, we need UNITY. UNITY of the Asian Am. community is an issue that every Asian Am. has a voice. Please articulate YOUR view within YOUR organizations. If we all do that, UNITY may be forged sooner than we think.

Join 80-20. Help 80-20 to help YOURSELF! Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp. Or, send a 
check to "80-20 PAC", PO Box 22509, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Dues of NEW members are matched up to $3500.

Respectfully,
Directors of 80-20 Initiative (titles are for identification purposes only),

Fel Amistad, San Mateo County Commissioner; Analyst (Finance)
Dr. Beverly Hong-Fincher, Linguistics; currently teaching at the Univ. of the District of Columbia
Dr. Laura Hsu, retired university administrator
Dr. Chenming Hu, Distinguished Chair Professor, Univ. of CA, Berkeley; US National Academy of Engineering; Chinese Academy of sciences; Academia Sinica
Dr. Alice Huang, President-elect, Am. Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, retired professor, Harvard Medical School, retired Dean, NYU, Univ. Administrator, Caltech
Frank Lee, former President, Organization for Justice and Equality
Dr. Edward Lin, CEO, Ingenious Technologies Corp, Co-Founder, Gulfcoast Chinese Am. Assoc.
Dr. Yuko Nakanishi, MBA, Principal & President, Nakanishi Research & Consulting, LLC.
Linden Nishinaga, Calif. licensed professional engineer & Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited Professional
Dr. Roy Saigo, Two university presidencies (Auburn Univ. & St. Cloud St. Univ) 387
Dr. Kim Song, Assoc. Prof., Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis
Lena Tam, Vice Mayor, Alameda, CA; MPA, licensed Engineer
Kathleen To, Honorary Texas Commercial Attache (1991-93); President & CEO, KATO Foundation
Joel Wong, President, APAPA-Bay Area Chapter
Hon. S.B. Woo, Lt. Governor of Delaware (85-89), retired Physics prof., U. of Del.
Dr. David Yang, Associate Political Scientist, Rand Corporation
Jing-Li Yu, 3rd yr. law student, Univ. of Chicago; Operation Director, 80-20 (05 -06)
Charles Zhang, President and Managing Partner, Zhang Financial, the only advisor in the nation selected as a top advisor by BOTH Worth Magazine and Barron’s each year from 2004-2007.

Great News: How an AsAm Appeals Court Judge Was Born

Great News!
Add an Appeals Court judge to the 3 District Court judges -- all nominated by President Obama this year.

An Asian Am. District Court judge, Denny Chin, will be nominated by President Obama to serve on the Federal Appeals Court in the 2nd Circuit soon, according to the NY Times. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/madoffs-sentencing-judge-to-be-appellate-court-choice/

Judge Chin was recommended by the Senior Senator of NY, Chuck Schumer. We thank Pres. Obama and Sen. Schumer. Finally, we have an Asian Am. Appeals Court judge again!

Success has a thousand fathers. Here is 80-20's role in this success. YOU may need to know how 80-20 plays its role in order to learn how DEMOCRACY is exercised in this great nation.

1) On Jan. 31, 2008, then candidate Sen. Obama gave 80-20 an iron-clad promise in writing that upon being elected the President he'll appoint more qualified Asian Ams to serve on not only the District Courts but also the Appeals Courts.

2) On Aug. 4, 2009, 80-20 faxed Sen. Schumer requesting that he consider recommending more Asian Am. as judges to Pres. Obama. On Aug. 25, 80-20 Board Member, Alice Huang, who is also the President-elect of AAAS, called Sen. Schumer's Chief Legal Counsel Stephanie Martz urging her attention.

3) Ms. Martz replied by asking for 80-20's input. Dr. Huang suggested a number of names, including Denny Chin.

The rest is history. The real father of the success is Judge Denny Chin himself -- his superb qualification. However, do remember that there had been other extremely qualified Asian Am jurists who, without the efforts of 80-20 and others, didn't get to rise to the maximum of their potentials.

Join 80-20 with a lot of pride. We get things done! Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp. Or, send a 
check to "80-20 PAC" PO Box 22509, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Do it NOW!

Respectfully,

S. B. Woo
Acting Exec. Director (a volunteer), 80-20 PAC, Inc.

PS: A true story of "paying forward" is told below. On 1/5/2006, Judge Denny Chin emailed me to make me aware of the paucity of Asian Am. federal judges that helped to start 80-20's campaign for more Asian Am federal judges. After 3.5 years, he is one of those to benefit from broadcasting that sad information for our community's benefit.

Reminder! Go take the 15-sec poll on Pres. Obama's Health Care Reform: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AX5wrxSJgnyt5ag_2f5J2ORQ_3d_3d. Pay forward!

YOUR view on Health Care Reform?

Take a 15 second poll on Health Care Reform!

Can your views on BIG national issues like the Health Care Reform and Immigration Reform (possibly next year) ever be heard? YES, so long as 80-20 PAC is around. 80-20 will use its political know-how to get your voice heard, IF there is intense interest and a strong consensus within our community. Then you and 80-20 will together make history again.

Go http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AX5wrxSJgnyt5ag_2f5J2ORQ_3d_3d

It'll take 15 seconds only. Do NOT answer to this email. It'll NOT count. You must go the survey site to formally enter your views.

It is an OPEN survey. Please encourage Asian Ams who share your view to take this survey also. Go NOW. Together we'll make history again. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AX5wrxSJgnyt5ag_2f5J2ORQ_3d_3d. [Note: A poll participant's choices are NOT identified with the participant's name. They only add to the statistics.]

Respectfully yours,

S.B. Woo
Acting Exec. Director (a volunteer), 80-20PAC, Inc.

Don't Let Your Vote Go to Waste!

In November 2008, you did it! Because you united behind 80-20 and helped elect Barack Obama, our community is a giant step closer to achieving equal opportunity in the workplace and equal justice.

During the campaign, then Senator Obama made an iron-clad promise to increase the appointment of qualified Asian American judges in the Federal judiciary, and enforce Executive Order 11246.

YOU helped swing former red states to blue states, including North Carolina, where the number of Asian American voters was three times the margin of Obama’s victory over McCain. (See our last e-mail: 2 HAPPY News Items at: http://80-20initiative.blogspot.com/2009/08/2-happy-news-items.html)

Because of YOUR hard work as a united community, 3 Asian American cabinet secretaries were appointed, and President Obama has started fulfilling one of his iron-clad promises by recently nominating 3 Asian American judges (there are only 8 AsAm judges so far).

But, important goals remain for our community. Asian Americans remain underrepresented in the Federal judiciary. A low glass ceiling still hangs over us; E.O. 11246 remains unenforced for Asian Americans.

We can achieve these goals if we continue building our community’s permanent group political clout. To do that, help 80-20 achieve a historic membership record. We just need 100 more dues-paying members in each of the next four months. By joining 80-20 now, you can help make history!

Don’t let all your previous hard work during the election go to waste! Help build that permanent group political clout for our community. Please join 80-20. Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp. Or send a check to 80-20 PAC, PO Box 22509, Philadelphia, PA 19110. 
80-20 gets paid double for NEW members, owing to a matching fund of $3,500. Thank you,

Jing-Li Yu.
80-20 Initiative,
Former full-time staff for 80-20 (2002-2006) and current volunteer Treasurer (since 2007), and 3rd-year law student at the University of Chicago.

Announcements by 80-20:
1) The above is the 1st attempt by Jing-Li at an e-newsletter. Please support him!
2) Two New Life Members: Albert Wang (Fremont, CA) and Suzanna Lin (Osprey, Fl)
3) 80-20 sets another historic record of highest membership as of the end of August. 5 consecutive monthly records were set in tough economic times. It reflects the quality of Asian Ams. in tough times.