Readers' Reactions to "Politics the Am. Way"

Readers' Reactions to E-newsletter"Politics the Am. Way"

Thanks for working so hard for the interests of the Asian American
Community. I am really impressed by the results of your hard work.
SK Lo, Minneapolis, MN

Dear S. B.: What wonderful news !!! Three cheers to 80-20 PAC and S.B.
Woo. We are so proud of you to step by step push the right button at
the right time!! Together we shall overcome. I got all our adult sons to
be members (emphasis added by S. B. ) and share the good news. (Little
by little and by hard work, things are improving). My husband and I are
getting old. . . . . . Our sons will some day participate much more
actively. It is their future and their children's future !!
Respectfully, Angela Cheng

Congratulations!!! Betty Tomita

Way to go!!!! Mr. Woo, you have done so much for our community.
We have to thank you. Sherman

Dr. Wu, Thank you for your consisting perseverance with your vision,
wisdom and leadership in the successful advocacy for presidential
appointment for Asian American judges. Ed Ma

Dear Mr. S. B. Woo: I am moved by your effective and generous hard work
for Asian American. And I think this kind of work helps America too.
I decide to be a life member. (emphasis added by S. B. ) If I remember right,
the fee for being a life member is $1,000. Is this correct?
James T C Chen, Hayward, CA

To join 80-20, click on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or send a 

check to 80-20 PAC P.O. Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229.
Place your e-address at the back of your check please.

We need Life Members -- 80-20's life blood. Their names are
on permanent display on 80-20's website. Visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/about/lifemembers.asp .

Respectfully,

S.B. Woo
Acting Executive Director, 80-0 PAC, INC. (a volunteer)

PS I welcome you to connect with me on LinkedIn,
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sbwoo .

Politics the American Way

Edmond Chang of IL was nominated 4 days ago by Pres.
Obama to be another Asian Am. life-tenured US District Court
judge. We thank Pres. Obama.

"What is 80-20's secret in causing this?" asked a member. "NO secret!
We didn't do it all by ourselves either. Other Asian Am. orgs. also worked
on it," I answered. "80-20 just works hard and has the courage to do the
right thing."

Here is what 80-20 did in connection with the specific nomination of an
Asian Am judge from the state of IL. The info may EMPOWER our
community, because it is practicing politics the American way.

(I) Before the 2008 Election:
80-20 got candidate Obama to agree in writing to appoint more Asian
Am. District and Circuit Court judges as a "top priority".

(II) During the Election:
80-20 worked its heart out for Sen. Obama in the battle ground states to
help elect him.

(III) After Obama became President:

a) On 5/28/09, S. B Woo traveled to D.C. to reminded high level White
House officials of Pres. Obama's commitments to the Asian Am.
community, which includes appointing more federal judges.

b) S. B. wrote to Judge Abner J Mikva, Chair, "Screening Comm. for Sen.
Durbin of IL regarding federal judicial nomination," urging him to give
the Asian Am. applicants a good look. The Chair of such a committee
has key input to a senator's short list submitted to Pres. Obama.

c) In July, S.B. wrote to all US senior Democratic senators, who by
tradition recommend a list of 3 names to Pres. Obama , whenever
a vacancy in US District judges occurs in his/her state. It
urges those senators to pay special attention to recommend
qualified Asian Am candidates in their states to Pres. Obama. By
tradition, Pres. Obama selects one of the three persons recommended.

d) In August, 80-20's Board members CALLED the Senior Democratic
Senators or their chiefs of staff or their legal counsels as a follow-up
to my earlier letter to them. Jing-li Yu, former 80-20 staff who is now
an 80-20 Board member, called the office of Sen. Durbin of IL.

(IV) After Edmond Chang's nomination by Pres. Obama:

80-20 sent "thank you letters" to Sen. Durbin of IL and Judge
Mikya of IL, Chair, "Screening Comm. for Sen. Durbin for judicial
recommendations."

We hope that detailing how 80-20 works will help to EMPOWER our community.
Together, we can overcome.

Join 80-20 by clicking on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or
send a check to 80-20 PAC, P.O. Box 603, Osprey, FL 34229. 

Place your e-address at the back of your check please. We
need more members, especially Life Members, in order to help you!

Respectfully yours,

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

Announcements:

1. Thanks to you, 80-20 has RECORD MEMBERSHIP numbers in the last 3 months,
even better than the same months of last year.

2. Dongwoo Joseph Pak, of California was appointed by Pres. Obama to be a
member of the National Council on Disability.

True Story About Circuit Judge D. Chin

Happy News: Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin was
confirmed to be the U.S. Circuit Judge by the Senate.

A True Story of "Paying Forward" by Denny Chin &
other AsAm U.S. District judges:

In 2006, there were only 6 Asian Am judges, all of the lowest rank.
In comparison, there were 863 U.S. District, Circuit & Supreme Court
judges. 80-20 decided that this must change.

So 80-20 began publicizing names of the 6 AsAm judges frequently,
& planned a publicity event in Los Angeles, billed as "A Gathering of AsAm
Legal Eagles." All 6 judges were invited to a fancy restaurant for a
luncheon and a press conference. 4 of the judges came. See the picture
below (2 are not judges).

Two judges couldn't. Denny Chin was one of them. However, he wrote a
very detailed letter to strongly support our initiative to get many more AsAm
judges. See his letter at the bottom. The statistics he provided were used
by 80-20 to convince Am's political establishment that this MUST change.

The rest is history. See the table below my signature line to find how
things have improved in a short 4.5 year, though not yet enough.

Today, Denny Chin has been promoted. The chance for all other AsAm
judges to rise to higher ranks have greatly improved too. Asian Ams' chance
for equal justice might have improved as well.

Would that have been possible, if Denny Chin and the other AsAm
District judges didn't support 80-20's initiative in 2006? You be the judge.

This true story illustrates how paying forward works.

Pay forward. Join 80-20 by clicking on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or
send a check to 80-20 PAC, P.O. Box 603, Osprey, FL 34229. 

Place your e-address at the back of your check please. We
need more members, especially Life Members, in order to help you!

Respectfully yours,

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

A Letter From Denny Chin to S. B. Woo

Subject: Re: Invitation to a luncheon in LA on 2/11
From: Denny_Chin@xxxxxxxxx
Date: January 5, 2006 4:09:42 PM EST
To: sbw@UDel.Edu

Mr. Woo:

Thank you for the invitation, but I cannot make the luncheon in LA. . . .

I wanted to share some information with you. You may know most of this,
but you probably don't have the details.

There currently are only six active Asian-American Article III federal
judges in the country. All are trial judges, and there are no active Asian-
American judges in the federal appellate courts. (Judge Tashima in the
Ninth Circuit is on senior status.) Unless there are new appointments,
when Judge Ron Lew takes senior status later this year, we will be down to
five Asian-American Article III judges. When I was appointed in 1994, I
was the only Asian-American Article III judge outside the Ninth Circuit.
Today, eleven years later, I am still the only one outside the Ninth Circuit.

Other minority groups fair much better. The most recent available
statistics show that, as of September 30, 2004, for Article III federal judges,
0.7% were Asian (6), 10.7% were African-American (88), and 6.5% were
Hispanic (54). These numbers are for active judges and do not include
judges on senior status. (See Adm. Office of U.S. Courts, Judiciary Fair
Employment Practices, Annual Report 10/1/03-9/30/04, at 35).

Hence there are some 15 times as many African-American federal judges
and almost 10 times as many Hispanic federal judges as there are Asian-
American federal judges.

In contrast, there are more Asian-American "legal professionals" at law
firms of 100 or more employees, as of 2002, than there are African-
American or Hispanic professionals. This is drawn from a 2003 EEOC
report (http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/reports/diversitylaw/index.html). The
numbers are: 5.3% Asian-American, 4.4% African American, and 2.9%
Hispanic. In this context, "legal professionals" are predominantly lawyers
but include other professional employees, such as non-lawyer accountants.

In addition, the 2000 Census shows that for lawyers, 2.3% were Asian,
3.9% were African-American, and 3.3% were Hispanic. (See
www.abanet.org/minorities/links/2000census.html). Of course, these
numbers are now five years old, and I would guess that there are even
more Asian lawyers today, on a percentage basis.

The numbers are appalling -- there are a grossly disproportionately low
number of Asian-American Article III federal judges.

So the efforts of you and your group in this respect are most welcome.

DC

Footnotes by S. B. Woo:
1) The emphasis were added by me, and
2) I would NOT have publicized the above letter except that Denny Chin has
already been confirmed. 80-20 is a student of politics.
3) Yesterday, Pres. Obama nominated yet another AsAm, Edmond Chang of IL,
to be a District Court judge. We again thank Pres. Obama.

A MUST!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Send in your completed Census form today!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Why Is It A MUST? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Why must one join 80-20?

Simple! 80-20 can help you secure rights & achieve rightful benefits for
you & your offspring which frankly you individually are powerless to achieve.

Here is an example. 80-20 is helping 2.1 million Asian Ams. to get
rid of the glass ceiling above them. These are the Asian Ams working in companies with
more than 50 employees and in universities and colleges which are almost
all federal contractors & subcontractors.

How is 80-20 helping?

80-20 first got presidential candidate Obama to promise to do so, if elected.
Then, the Labor Dept. under the Obama Administration wrote to 80-20
promising IN WRITING to give those Asian Am. workers equal opportunity
to rise to management/administration by the enforcement of Exec. Order 11246.
Two years from now, when the next election is nearing, 80-20 will meet
with Pres. Obama to review if the promise has been kept.

Note: Asian Ams. presently only get 50% or less the opportunity to
rise to management relative to other Americans, a fact that EEOC & the
Labor Department have acknowledged.

80-20 believes enforcement has begun, and is closely monitoring the
progress. Is the above something that you can get done by yourself?
It takes GROUP political clout!

Help us back?

Join 80-20 by clicking on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or
send a check to 80-20 PAC, P.O. Box 603, Osprey, FL 34229. 

Place your e-address at the back of your check please. We
need more member, especially Life Members, in order to help you!

Respectfully yours,

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

"Barber & Asian Americans"

There is this barber in the US. One day a Caucasian florist goes to
him for a haircut. After the cut, he goes to pay the barber. The
barber replies: "No charge today. I am doing community service."
The florist is happy and leaves. The next morning the barber finds
a "thank you" card and a dozen roses waiting at his shop door.
An African American cop goes for a haircut and gets the same
"community service treatment." The cop is happy and leaves. The
next morning the barber finds a "thank you" card and a dozen
donuts waiting at his shop door. An Asian software engineer goes
for a haircut and he also gets the "community service treatment." 

The next morning when the barber goes to ope 157 n his shop, guess
what he finds there. A dozen Asian Americans waiting for a free haircut.

I welcome you to connect with me on LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/in/sbwoo

80-20's 3 BIG Decisions

80-20 made 3 BIG decisions, after 1.5 days of Board meeting:

1. Strongly Support Senate Confirmation of Goodwin Liu:

80-20 shall strongly support the Senate confirmation of Goodwin Liu as a
federal judge in the 9th Circuit Courts of Appeals, which is just one level below
the Supreme Court of the USA. Owing to Liu's youth and qualification, he could
become the first Asian Am. Supreme Court Justice, if confirmed. 80-20 asked
around a great deal to make sure that Goodwin also shares the rightful concerns
of the Asian Am. community.

2. Strongly Advocate "Family Reunion" and" Adequate Number of
Visas for Skilled Worker":

80-20 is not taking a position on the pending Immigration Reform Act.
However, whatever its final form, it must contain a strong "Family Re-union"
provision & allow "adequate number of Visas for skilled workers."

3. Support the Democratic Congressional Candidates of 2010
with funds and a bloc vote:

The complete resolution is appended below*. In essence, it says that
Pres. Obama had GREATLY helped make Asian Ams. equal citizens of USA,
therefore we must pay back politically by helping to elect Democrats in
the Congressional races. 80-20'll help by devoting resources to organize
bloc votes for the Dem. candidates.

NO LESS IMPORTANTLY, for GOP candidates who have consistently
supported our causes, we'll help back too. A committee is set up to identify
such Republicans. Read the last paragraph in blue.

"America's political establishment already knows that Asian Ams FIGHT
courageous political battles for their rightful concerns," said S. B. Woo. "In
passing the above resolution, we show the establishment that Asian
Ams also know how to express its THANKS politically. That is political
maturity. 80-20 is delighted to have helped set this historic precedent."

Do you approve of what 80-20 has done? If you do, say thanks by
paying your 80-20 membership dues. Click on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or send a 

check to 80-20 PAC P.O. Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229.
Place your e-address at the back of your check please. We need more
members especially Life Members. Many thanks to Peter Mueller &
Gautami Shah who just joined as Family Life Members.

Respectfully,

S.B. Woo
Acting Executive Director, 80-0 PAC, INC. (a volunteer)

- - - - - - - - - -
*"Whereas, Pres. Obama set a historic precedent by appointing Asian
Americans to (1) leadership positions in his Transition Team and his
White House staff, and (2) three cabinet secretary positions , and many
other cabinet and sub-cabinet positions;

Whereas, Pres. Obama, again setting a historic precedent, has taken
action to increase the number of Asian American federal judges from 8
District judges and zero Appeals Court judges, to 11 District Judges and
2 Appeals Court judges in his first 14 months as the President;

Whereas, the Labor Department under President Obama, again setting a
historic precedent, has written 80-20 committing to enforce an existing
law, Executive Order 11246, for Asian Americans in order to provide the 2
million Asian Americans working in private industries and universities
with equal opportunity in their workplaces, i.e. to break the glass
ceiling. Exercising due caution in this matter, 80-20 notes that we as yet
have not seen evidence from the Department of Labor that it is taking
concrete steps to enforce its stated position;

Whereas, 80-20 Initiative wishes to express, on behalf of the Asian
American community, our deep appreciation to President Obama for his
great effort thus far in helping us gain equal opportunity to serve
America,

Whereas, 80-20 is a nonpartisan organization and wishes to work with
all major political parties and any of their candidates who share
the rightful concerns of Asian Americans;

Be It Therefore Resolved that 80-20 shall support Democratic candidates
in the 2010 Congressional races, except for those election districts
whose Republican candidates** have strongly supported Asian American
concerns, and

Be It Further Resolved that 80-20 shall support the above decision
with funds and a bloc vote in coming November."

- - - - - -
** Our Ad Hoc Comm. on Working with Republicans, headed by Prof.
Chenming Hu, sincerely welcomes the application of such Republican
candidates or the submittal of the names of such Republican candidates by
80-20 members. Prof Hu can be reached via hu@eecs.berkeley.edu .

Immigration & Coming Election

80-20's Board will meet to discuss momentous issues.

(1) Time & Location
DATE: April 10 & 11(Saturday & Sunday), and
LOCATION: Stanford Room, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1221 Chess Dr., Foster City, CA.

(2) Major Agenda
(i) Endorsement in the 2010 Election: Which political party or congressional
candidates, if any, will 80-20 endorse in the 2010 election?
(ii) Will 80-20 be involved, for the first time, in immigration issues, given the
importance of the pending Immigration Reform Act to the Asian Am community?

(3) What Guides 80-20?

80-20 is required by its Bylaws to support the political party and/or candidates
having done the most DEEDS to help the Asian Am. community in the preceding
2 to 4 years. Here is the relevant background information on deeds.

During the 2008 presidential election, 80-20 PAC obtained the "signed 6-yeses to 6
questions reply" from then candidates Obama and Biden. Consequently, after the
election, Pres. Obama & Vice President Biden are both committed to helping
Asian Americans attain equal opportunity and become equal citizens.

These commitments have been honored partially. Making history, Pres. Obama
appointed Asian Ams. to leadership positions in his Transition Team, his White
House staff; 3 cabinet secretary positions, and many other cabinet and sub-
cabinet positions. Pres. Obama also doubled the number of Asian American
federal judges. Again making history, he has nominated 2 Asian Ams to become
Appeals Court judges which are just one level below the Supreme Court Justices.

Although those appointments are impressive & have significant symbolic implica-
tions, it directly benefits dozens of individuals only. 80-20's key interest is to win
for the 2 million Asian Americans working for federal government contractors and
subcontractors, which include almost all large companies and all universities, the
equal opportunity to rise to managerial/ administrative positions.

The Department of Labor, setting a historic precedent, has written 80-20 committing
to enforce an existing law, Executive Order 11246, for Asian Ams in order to provide
the 2 million with equal opportunity. While that is a step in the right direction,
concrete action from the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP) is NOT yet apparent. The Director of OFCCP is Patricia Shiu, a San
Francisco lawyer known for fighting for the underdogs before she was appointed the
Director.

(4) A Press Conference: At noon on 4/10 at the same location as above.

80-20 NEEDS your support. "To enable DEEDS benefiting our community,
80-20 has NEEDS!" Join 80-20 by clicking on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or send a
check to 80-20 PAC P.O. Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229.
Place your e-address at the back of your check please.

Sincerely yours,

Directors of 80-20's 2010 Board (titles are for ID purposes only),
Fel Amistad, San Mateo County Commissioner; Analyst (Finance)
Quan Cao, Prof., Florida Atlantic Univ.; a Vietnamese-Am scholar
Ved Chaudhary, General Secretary, Hindu Collective Initiative of N. America,
Rutgers University Board of Trustees (1993-95)
Dr. Beverly Hong-Fincher, Linguistics; currently teaching at the Univ. of
the District of Columbia
Dr. Hilary Hsu, Chancellor, City College of San Francisco, 1982-90
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
Dr. Yueh-ting Lee, Prof. of Psychology at the Univ. of Toledo, OH; Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences, Minot State Univ, ND
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)
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
William Uy, President, PBidet Corporation; Retired DuPont Sr. Research Scientist
with 25 patented inventions
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.