Monday, November 09, 2009

To Be Kingmakers

To Be Kingmakers

Are you sitting on a pot of political gold like the Asian Ams. in
NJ? They could have easily been the kingmakers in their gubernatorial
election & through that process won themselves equal opportunity in
NJ's state government.

Here is how.

The difference between the winner and the loser in the NJ governor's
race was only 100,000 votes. Chris Christie got 1,148,800 votes, while
Jon Corzine got 1,048,827.

The Asian Am. population in NJ is about 500,000. The number of Asian
Am. voters is at least 150,000. If there was an 80-20 NJ Chapter directing
political traffic, the Asian Am community could easily have delivered 70%
of those 150,000 votes i.e.105,000 votes to its endorsed candidate.

With that kind political capital in a tight race, one could have easily
gotten each of the gubernatorial candidates to give iron-clad promises that
could possibly include the appointment of Asian Am. Cabinet members &
the breaking of the glass ceiling in the NJ state government and
universities! That is, copy what the 80-20 National did nationally in
last year's presidential election.

Will there be a similar situation in your state? Don't let it
pass. Get ready! See a concrete example below.

Our NW Ohio chapter, only 1 year after its inauguration, interviewed
all the mayoral candidates of Toledo, Ohio and obtained a single word
answer (YES) from all the candidates to all its questions in its
questionnaire -- iron clad promises.

To seize such opportunities in your own state, you need to take a look
at a new pamphlet that the National has just placed on its website. It is a
step-to-step recipe about "How To Achieve An Impact On Your
State/County/City/Local Politics."
Visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/action/chapter_pamphlet.pdf .

You only need to read the first 4 pages of the pamphlet to get an idea
of what you and your chapter need to do. Let us know, if you are motivated
to organize a chapter in your own state to have an impact in politics! Reply to
this email and say "Motivated!" We'll assist you.

Thanks to you, 80-20 is very close to an annual
membership record, but NO cigar yet.

To join, go to 
 http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or
send your check to 80-20 PAC PO Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229 

Student: $15, Basic:$35, Family$50, and Life Member:$1,000
Try the "automatic renewal option," (which you can cancel anytime),
your membership will be valid for 1 full year.

80-20 GRATEFULLY acknowledges the following generous donors, who displayed
great support for our Membership Drive of the last 15 days.

Steven Chen of Cerritos, CA: $1,00O
Willian Tong of Ellicot City, MO: $1,000
Mon Yin Lung of Houston, TX: b6d $500
Alfred & Shirley Fong of Woodland Hills, CA: $1,500
Suzanna Lin of Osprey, FL: $500
Hsiao-Mei & Ray Wedmeyer of Columbia, MO: $500
Ved Chaudhary of Morganville, NJ: $1,000
S. B. & Katy Woo of Newark, DE: $3,500
George Ow Jr. of Santa Cruz, CA: $1,000
Albert Wang of Fremont, CA: $1,000
Stella Yu of Denver, CO: $500
Dominic & Ellen Ng of Pasadena, CA (to 80-20 Educational
Foundation): $1,000. Congrats to Dominic whose East West
Bank just acquired the United Commercial Bank of SF.

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)
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.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Continued Appeal & Asian Am. Salary III

Thanks to you, 80-20 needs only 45 more members, instead of the 72 of
4 day ago, and 173 = (23 + 150) of a week ago. We even got 4 more Life
Members and a $1,000 matching fund. Please be one of the 45, if you
are NOT a member yet!

Please empower 80-20. It needs your broad shoulders.

Please arm others and me with the news of the record high membership in
tough economic times, when we go to DOL. It's the kind of news that the political
establishment understands. We are going to the Labor Department for a
meeting. Hopefully, we'll succeed in removing the last major obstacle
to the growth of our community -- less opportunity in workplaces AND less
pay for equal work.

Here is an additional proof of inequity. Remember the Scientist's Salary
Survey?

The reported average salaries for Asian Ph.Ds and MDs are the lowest
when compared with all other Americans. That of the Asian MS happens
to be the highest. That contradiction leads to a question of whether the
the data are reliable.

80-20 communicated with The Scientists. We found that the combined
sample sizes in the 3 categories of BS, MS and MD in the Asian survey is only a
puny 150 persons. That means that those 3 reported numbers are statistically
quite uncertain.

However, the sample size for Asian Ph.Ds is 480 which is statistically large
enough to say that Asian Ph.Ds in life sciences definitely have the lowest
average salary. Why are Asian Ams in the "lowest" categories so often,
in spite of having the highest educational attainment?

Wouldn't you like 80-20 to find out? Wouldn't you like to know if the low
salary phenomenon is limited to life science or extend to many other fields?

So, please EMPOWER 80-20 with the record high membership. Before I
retire
, I like to help remove that last major obstacle for you & your
offspring. If you are NOT a members yet, I need YOUR help!

To join, go 
 http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Or
send your check to 80-20 PAC PO Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229* 

Student: $15, Basic:$35, Family$50, and Life Member:$1,000

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo
Acting Executive Secretarty (a volunteer), 80-20 PAC, Inc.

Helen Wang is leaving 80-20 to become an Executive Office Administrator for the
American Association for Cancer Research. We thank Helen for her dedicated
service to 80-20 for 3 years. Dr. Suzanna Lin, an M. D., a former attending physician
at the Yale-New Haven Medical Center, has joined us. She has already given
80-20 exemplary service.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Continued Personal Appeal

A Personal Appeal from S. B. Woo,
who is 72 and near his swan song

THANKS TO YOU we are closer to our shared goal. 80-20 now
needs 74, instead of 173 members, stated 4 days ago.

However, the need is no less urgent - the goal hasn't been
achieved!

Your membership will last a FULL year even at this late day, if you join
via the "automatic renewal option," which you can cancel anytime.
Go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp

Why this urgency?

Others and I will be going to the Department of Labor (DOL) to discuss
the removal of that final major obstacle to the growth of our
community -- the removal of the glass ceiling -- by enforcing an existing
law (E.O. 11246), which President Obama has promised. Please arm us with
a powerful weapon -- the news of the highest membership ever, in tough
economic times. Political folks understand that message.

Before I retire, I would like to help remove that final obstacle for
our community.

I APPEAL TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU who have supported
80-20 in spirit, but not yet in action, to do so NOW! Ved Chaudhary
of NJ
has generously offered a new matching fund of $1,000. Yesterday,
I've gladly paid my "fulfilled" matching fund of $3.5K to 80-20. ☺.

To join, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp .
Or send you check to 80-20 PAC PO Box 22509 Philadelphia, PA 19110
Student: $15, Basic:$35, Family$50, and Life Member:$1,000

Respectfully yours,

S. B.
Acting Executive Director (a volunteer), 80-20 Initiative

Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Personal Appeal from S. B. Woo

A Personal Appeal from S. B. Woo,
who is 72 and near his swan song

80-20 urgently needs more members.

Your membership will last a FULL year even at this late day, if you join
via the "automatic renewal option," which you can cancel anytime after
1 years. Go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp

80-20 urgently needs 23 more NEW members to get the $3,500 matching
fund which I'll donate. 80-20 needs an additional 150 members to set a
historic high in membership.

Why this urgency?

Others and I will be going to the Department of Labor (DOL) to discuss
the removal of that final major obstacle to the growth of our
community -- the removal of the glass ceiling -- by enforcing an existing law
(E.O. 11246), which President Obama has promised. Please arm us with a powerful
weapon -- the news of the highest membership ever, in tough economic times.
Political folks understand that message.

Give your personal imprint to this historic struggle. Help us succeed in
our meeting with the DOL by joining as a member. Before I retire, I would
like to help remove that final obstacle for our community.

I APPEAL TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU who have supported
80-20 in spirit, but not yet in action, to do so NOW!

To join, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp
Or send you check to 80-20 PAC PO Box 22509 Philadelphia, PA 19110
Student: $15, Basic:$35, Family$50, and Life Member:$1,000

Respectfully yours,

S. B.
Acting Executive Director (a volunteer), 80-20 Initiative

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Part II of Asian Am. Salary

A Courageous Asian Am MD Spoke Up

Are you outraged by the charts showing that Asian Ams come out in
the shortest end, whether in salary or in upward mobility?

Many spoke up but few would allow 80-20 to quote them by name. Hence,
we salute John K Hsiao, MD who gave us the permission to publish
what he had emailed to 80-20. He is a role model.

Speaking against injustice is a good American trait. Not even speaking
against injustice that is against ourselves is a cultural trait that we must
cast away. Here is what Dr. Hsiao wrote to 80-20:

"I've been planning on joining 80-20 for a while now, but
procrastinated until I saw this article in The Scientist. The article is
a review of salaries in the life sciences & one of the figures compares
salaries based on ethnicity. AsAm MD's & PhD's are the LOWEST
paid of any ethnicity, below white, black, or Hispanic. Asian Am MS
holders are paid somewhat better than other ethnicities, & in fact,
make more than AsAm PhD's.

AsAm MD's make only 2/3 what white MD's make & only 3/4 of what
black MD's make. This is really shocking. What is also shocking is
that the article calls attention to this discrepancy but doesn't
comment on its unfairness. Maybe this was just an anomaly from
this year's survey, & 80-20 may want to look into whether other
surveys identify similar discrepancies. As for me, I just signed up at
80-20's website.

I have worked as a psychiatrist at the Natl Institutes of Health for
>25 years, in a number of different scientific capacities. I also
maintain a small private practice. I recently left the Mental Health
Institute (where I had been for 25 years & had been very successful)
after a project I initiated & developed was stolen from me by a new
supervisor. I don't think it was racially motivated, but wonder if
my being AsAm led the jerk to think he could get away w/ it.
Institute leadership, including 2 AsAm Directors were aware of what
had happened but turned a blind eye. I didn't want to get bogged
down in an EEO complaint, & instead, found a new job in the Aging
Institute (where I am quite happy). Seeing this article makes me
wonder if I should have fought more vigorously.
I've attached the article & the figure as a separate pdf. Thanks

John K. Hsiao, M.D.
Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology"

Here is the salary survey chart published by The Scientist:


To verify, go http://www.the-scientist.com/salarysurvey/

JOIN 80-20 to help yourself and your children. Go
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp
If you opt for the automatic renewal, your membership will be valid
till a year from today.
Dues of NEW members will be matched
up to $3,500.

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

Monday, October 05, 2009

Asian American Salary

Do you believe in equal pay for equal work? What if YOU are denied
your due? It'll not happen to YOU? Hope not! However, if it does,
what are YOU going to do about it?

Look at this SALARY SURVEY published by The Scientist in its September,
2009 issue. We again came out on the shortest end. It shows that Asian Am.
M.Ds. and Ph. Ds in life science are paid the lowest salaries when compared
with all other races. Visit http://www.the-scientist.com/salarysurvey/

Combine this knowledge with Chart 1 in 80-20's Washington Post Ad, where
we again came out on the shortest end in terms of the odds to be promoted
to managers, then ask yourself

(1) Which organization brings to you information of such vital bearing
on your life?
(2) Which organization is working effectively to keep you from being
shortchanged like that in the future?

JOIN 80-20. Help 80-20 to help YOU and YOUR children. Using a credit
card, go http://www.80-20initiative.net/ . Please opt for the
automatic renewal of membership. Or send a check to
80-20 PAC PO Box 22509 Philadelphia, PA 19110

Your payment of $35 or $50 is not even 1/100th of your salary. Don't let
yourself get stepped on and be paid less! JOIN 80-20 and forward this
info to every Asian Am. you know. Why? TO STOP SUCH DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST YOU FROM CONTINUING ASAP!

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

Sunday, September 27, 2009

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

Thursday, September 24, 2009

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!!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

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.)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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.

Friday, September 11, 2009

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!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

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.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

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.

Monday, August 31, 2009

2 HAPPY News Items

The building of a community's political muscle in order to protect itself from exploitation has 2 stages. 1) Building the muscle, and 2) having the muscle recognized by the general public. Thanks to you, the second stage has arrived. See the 2 happy articles below, all within 1 month:

1) 8/13/09 article: Latino and Asian Clout in the Voting Booth
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/08-13-2009/0005077137&EDATE=

"Census Bureau data released late last month confirms . . . . In six of the nine states that went from "red" to "blue" in the election (Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina), the number of Latino and Asian voters significantly exceeded Barack Obama's margin of victory over John McCain."

2) 8/17 article: Asian American Community Flexes Political Muscle in Fight for Immigration Reform 
by Seth Hoy
http://immigrationimpact.com/2009/08/17/asian-american-community-flexes-political-muscle-in-fight-for-immigration-reform

"In North Carolina, which went from “red” to “blue” in 2008, the number of Asian Voters was three times greater than President Obama's margin."

To appreciate the true significance of the above 2 articles, answer the 2 questions below please:
o If our votes had been split 50/50, will we still be recognized as having the political muscle ???
o Which Asian Am organization advocated and led our community's bloc votes ?

Join 80-20. It'll be the best investment for yourself and your children. Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp. Or send a check to 80-20 PAC, PO Box 22509, Philadelphia, PA 19110. The dues of NEW members are matched up to $3,500.

Hundreds of YOU sent life blood - e-mail addresses - to 80-20. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!

Respectfully,

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

Monday, August 24, 2009

80-20's Life

THREE vital factors enable 80-20 to serve you effectively:

1) A huge email list (Unfortunately, decreasing in size! ),
2) About 2,000 members (May set a record high this yr. More later)
3) The quality and dedication of its Board (The best in 80-20's history)

Just when we need to inform more and more Asian Ams. about a final push to become equal citizens, our email list has become smaller and smaller -- a decrease of 10 to 15% each year in the last few years, owing to a combination of e-addresses becoming obsolete and laws prohibiting traditional ways to find new e-addresses.

Obviously, we need to, TOGETHER, boost the size of the e-mail list -- a cyberspace organization's life !

We, the undersigned members of the Board, jointly appeal to you to help RECOVER & ENLARGE our email list. YOU can help in two ways:

a) E-mail the following info. about 80-20 to Asian Ams who care about the future of our community, while copying in 80-20 via AsianAmericanUnity@80-20.us. Modify the suggested version, as you see fit.

"80-20 is a national, Pan-Asian, non-partisan political organization that is very effective in serving our community's needs. Please consider receiving its e-newsletters. I've known this org. for years. I highly recommend it. Upon receiving 80-20's e-newsletters, if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe easily. 80-20 does not abuse its email list.

Your friend,
(yyyyy -- your name)"

b) Just email us your friends' e-mail addresses. 80-20 shall invite the owners of those e-addresses to get on our e-mail list.

If you value 80-20's services to our community, then please help feed us our life - email addresses. Do step a) or b) NOW!

A little gusture from you will help win equal citizenship for 14 million Asian Americans, including you and your offspring.

Sincerely yours (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)
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.

PS WHENEVER you receive emails with many e-addresses apparently belonging to Asian Ams., please forward it to sbw@udel.edu. Make it a habit please. :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

CALL TO ACTION

YOU responded in the past, when the challenges were stiff. YOU courageously faxed then presidential candidates, Senators Clinton and Obama, urging them to share our concerns about equal opportunity in workplaces and having more Asian Am. federal judges.

Because of YOU, our political leaders shared our concerns. Just this year, Pres. Obama nominated 3 more Asian Am. District Court judges. More are on their ways including Appeals Court judges, we like to think.

Now, there is a pleasurable job for you. Please fax or call Senators Feinstein and Boxer of California for placing the names of those 3 Asian Am candidates in their lists as potential District judges, submitted to Pres. Obama.

Please keep your message short. Do include your name, city, state, & perhaps title. Copy me in, if you like. Please do it today.

Senator Diane Feinstein:
Fax: (415) 393-0710 ; Phone: (415) 393-0707
Senator Barbara Boxer:
Fax: (202) 228-3864 ; Phone: (559) 497-5109

Along this line, on 8/4, 80-20 faxed all Senior Democratic Senator urging them to "search and place qualified Asian Am. jurists in your state on your short lists of 3, to be submitted to Pres. Obama," when the next vacancy in District judges occur. 80-20's 18 Board Members have followed up and placed personal phone calls with the senate offices. We got very positive responses from many senators, including Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Sen. Arlen Specter PA, & Sen. Dick Durbin of IL who announced on 8/6 recommending Edmond Chang, among others, to Pres. Obama.

Why is 80-20 lobbying the senators? See Sen. Durbin's action. Note that the President normally selects from the list of 3 names submitted to him by a Senior Senator of his party, so far as District Judges are concerned. The President exercises a larger degree of selection when it comes to Appeals Court Judges and the Supreme Court justices.

Forward this message to your friends in California. Urge them to send a "thank you" too. If you copy your forwarding emails to 80-20, we will make sure that your friends receive future 80-20 newsletters like this one.

TO THANK our political leaders is as important as urging them to share our concerns which YOU have done so admirably. Do it now!

Respectfully,

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

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Feedback from YOU, the readers

Many readers commented on the news. They congratulated 80-20 for having helped cause the increase of Asian Am. federal judges from 6 to 11 in its 4 years -- adding 3 just this year. We again thank Pres. Obama, Sen. Feinstein and Sen. Boxer of Calif. Some of readers' feedbacks are shared with you below. None of emails were solicited.

(1) I really appreciate all your work and dedication to make history, one after another, for us Asians. Two days ago, I visited Angel Island, as part of the OCA Annual Convention activities. The bitter stories of Asians' immigration made the progress 80-20 has achieved seems like reaching the moon. I know our struggles are not over yet. Thank God we have committed and courageous leaders like you to carry on the torches. . . . . Marisa Chuang Ming

(2) Congratulation! for your exclusively calculated organizing strategy it's beginning to bear fruits. Ed Ma

(3) Congratulations on your tremendous advocacy and persistence! This is fantastic news. Ted Lieu, California State Assemblyman, Chair of the California API Legislative Caucus, & a candidate for California's Attorney General

(4) Thank you for the great news. How do members of 80-20PAC email Feinstein for the nomination and Obama for making good on his promise? . . . . .LeLeng Issac

(Comment: In response, 80-20 provided Leleng with Sen. Feinstein's fax number. Indeed, partially owing to this reader's comment, 80-20 will soon ask the entire Asian Am. community to express our thanks to both Sen. Feinstein and Sen. Boxer, who has played a role in the appointment of one of the 3 additional judges.)

(5) Thanks for your efforts. Job is well done. W. T. Sha

(6) I am grateful to your work. As a member, I will continue to try my best to support your efforts. Sherman

(7) Grrrreat work!! Thanks for your amazing fore-sight, leadership, and efforts. Astrid

(8) I certainly appreciate the efforts of 80-20. . . Thanks for your efforts, Gene

(9) Thank you very much for your message and for your outstanding work. William

(10) Great Job! I hope you will do the same thing for New Jersey governor election as you did for Obama. Helen

(Comment: 80-20's NW Ohio chapter indeed sent a questionnaire to all mayoral candidates of Toledo and received positive and speedy responses. An 80-20 chapter is the best way to achieve political impact in your own locality. For more information, write Helen Wang, 80-20 Special Assistant helen.wang@80-20initiative.net.)

We like to urge our supporters to remember that "Success has a thousand fathers." We encourage them to spread the credit around -- the only way to forge the grand unity of the Asian Am. community. Unity is much more important than which organization deserves the credit. UNITY 2d9 is OUR quickest path to EQUAL CITIZENSHIP.

Join 80-20. This will be the best investment you've ever made. Can you afford $35/$50 per year for your children's equal citizenship? 80-20 is the ONLY Asian Am. NGO working for you on the political front. You've seen how hard we've worked and how effective we have been. Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net. We need NEW members, that probably means YOU. Thank you.

Respectfully yours,

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

Sunday, August 09, 2009

EXTRA! Great News

Extra! Extra! Great news.

Pres. Obama has just nominated 2 more Asian Am. Federal District Judges, totaling 3 just this year. The new nominees are Edward Chen of Northern CA, and Dolly Gee of Central CA.

The significance of the news is NOT just in having 2 more Asian Am. federal judges. It is the worth of Pres. Obama's promises to YOU through 80-20! (see his reply to 80-20's questionnaire.) We thank Pres. Obama again. We also thank Sen. Feinstein, who as the Senior Democratic Senator of CA, submitted the names to Pres. Obama.

Look at the Table below. Witness the effectiveness of 80-20. "NAPABA," seen in row 2 of the Table, stands for National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

When 80-20 sets out to increase the number of Asian Am. judges, there were only 6. See the 4th row form the bottom of the Table. Now the number has increased 83% to 11. The number [8 + (0)] in the last row, should now be changed to [11 + (0)]. 80-20 also has a feeling that the (0), meaning having NOT a single Asian Am. Appeals Court judge, will soon change also.

80-20 fought for YOU, and won commitments for YOU. The commitments are now being fulfilled by Pres. Obama.

If not now, when will you join 80-20 as a dues-paying member? Using a credit card, go http://www.80-20initiative.net. Or send a check to 80-20 PAC, PO Box 22509, Philadelphia, PA 19110 . We need NEW members -- YOU!

We need your help to get us a RECORD membership, because one important commitment by Pres. Obama is yet to be fulfilled -- the enforcement of E.O. 11246 in workplaces for ALL ASIAN AMERICANS. We aim to win for YOU "equal pay for equal work," and equal opportunity to rise to as high a level as your ability and ambition will take you! YOU need to help 80-20 achieve that.

The fulfillment of that promise POSITIVELY impacts ALL Asian Americans.

"Success has a thousand fathers." We gratefully thank all Asian Am. orgs. which have worked on this issue, including NAPABA and AAJC.

Respectfully,

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

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Pres. Obama's promise

YOU've seen the following table 2 weeks ago. Now a breakthrough!
.
Soon, the [8 +(0)] in column 2 above will be [9 + (0)] i.e. 9 Asian Am. federal District judges! Pres. Obama has delivered the first of many Asian Am federal judges that he has promised to YOU through 80-20. We thank Pres. Obama.

Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, currently a Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles, has been nominated by Pres. Obama to be a US District Judge for the Central district of CA. She is yet to be confirmed, though 80-20 does not anticipate difficulty.

Whose credit is this? "Success has a thousand fathers." If the Asian American community is to unite, all community leaders need to have the capacity to positively affirm the contribution of many other Asian Am. orgs. in almost every success that comes our way. 80-20 wants to thank all Asian Am orgs, including NAPABA, which have worked on the issue of the paucity of Asian Am.federal judges. Let's work together to maximize benefits for our community.

A Congressperson Is An 80-20 Member

80-20 now has a Congressperson as one of its dues-paying members, thanks to YOU who helped Judy Chu win her election. Don't be too elated, however. In comparison, The American Israel public Affairs Comm. (AIPAC) has about 50% of the senators and representatives as its members.

Another Historic Membership Month

In July, 80-20 has another month of highest membership in its history.

Do your share to help your own destiny

Join 80-20. This will be the best investment you've ever made. Can you afford $35/$50 per year for your children's equal citizenship? 80-20 is the ONLY Asian Am. NGO working for you on the political front. You've seen how hard we've worked and how effective we have been. Visit http://www.80-20initiative.net. We need NEW members, that probably means YOU. Thank you.

Monday, August 03, 2009

A movie scene satirizes our opponents

A scene in the movie "The American President" succinctly describes the attitude of some politicians who oppose or want to forget 80-20's push to have Executive Order 11246 enforced for Asian Americans.

Here is that scene, if I recall correctly:

In a White House Christmas Party, a fat lobbyist walked up to the President (a liberal).

He asked, "Have you heard of Title IX*?'
"Yes, what about?" asked the President.
"It's about woman having equal rights to play basketball, volleyball, football and all that other stuff in education programs."
"That law was passed years ago," the President commented.
"Yeah, but now they want it enforced!" exclaimed the lobbyist.

I laughed and cried at that scene. Fellow Asian Americans: Please bear in mind that EO 11246 issued in 1965 is NOT YET enforced for us, otherwise the bars for Asian Ams will not be so much shorter in Chart 1 in the picture. Although its enforcement has been promised (see the picture), we are still waiting for its enforcement.

Are you indignant that the law is, even today, not yet enforced for some American citizens -- Asian Americans? Are you doing anything about it? The least you can do is to join 80-20 to help us push for the enforcement of EO11246. Go http://www.80-20initiative.net . However, 80-20 wishes that you'll do much more. Voice your indignation to your elected officials. Ask them why the bars for Asian Ams are so short in spite of our highest educational attainment as shown in Chart 2?

Respectfully,

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

* Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that men and women should enjoy equal opportunity in education whether it is math or science or athletic programs.