Dog Days of Summer
August 15th, 2009
August has been a tough month for President Obama and the Democrats. Can they make up for two weeks of inaction to regain the upper hand and get the country back on message for Health Care Reform?
1. Whose the Alpha Dog...Bill or Hillary
Hillary's melt down at a student forum in the Congo presented an interesting window into the Bill/Hillary rivalry. Even with Hillary in Africa and Bill in North Korea, is the world too small a stage for the two outsized personalities?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxkrtzRqcQE
2. Who Didn't Let the Dogs Out...Slow Response to Healthcare Lies
Why in the world did the Obama team and the Dems allow the right wing quacks to run amuck with lies and more lies for the first two week of August and hijack the healthcare debate? Outrageous lies from demagogues and idiots like Sarah Palin's claim that Obama's reforms would create "death panels" leaving seniors, and babies with Down's syndrome, vulnerable to not receiving any care have dominated the discourse or lack thereof.
DON'T LET OBAMA & THE DEMOCRATS DROP THE PUBLIC OPTION!!!!
Get the facts at: www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
3. You Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog....
The wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has moved out of the Governor's mansion with their four boys...is anyone really surprised after he publicly claimed that he is trying to fall back in love with his wife but that his mistress is his soul mate?
The National Enquirer reports that John Edwards has taken a paternity test and that results prove he is the baby daddy of Frances Hunter (Rielle Hunter's daughter). Now, you may ask, who is going to believe the National Enquirer?...well they were right all along about his affair so if I were to place a bet, I'd put my money on the National Enquirer over John Edwards
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Verbal Diarrhea - Shut up already!
July 3rd, 2009
1. Politics & Sex Scandals - Too Much Information!
Democrats and Republicans rarely see eye to eye but getting caught in sex scandals is a common foible for members of both parties (yes pun intended:-) However the recent string of confessions has left us aghast - WAAAAYYY too much information!
What's up with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" confessional that he "found his soul mate but is trying to fall back in love with his wife"? Then there's ongoing sordid story of John Edward's affair with Rielle Hunter, rekindled by Elizabeth's book tour and now his former aide Andrew Young is publicly coming out saying that John asked him to lie and claim he was the baby's daddy.
2. Icons of Our Youth: The Passing of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett
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Blog updates - Congrats Mark Keam!
June 9th, 2009
No podcast audio but a quick blog update.
1. Congratulations to Mark Keam, the winner of the Democratic Primary for the Virginia House of Delegates 35th District! Mark won 55% of the vote in a crowded field of 4 candidates. Keam will now face the Republican opponent and should he win, would become the first APIA elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Listen to our podcast with him dated April 7, 2009.
Learn more about Mark Keam at his website and if you would like to support him, Virginia law permits any legal US resident, US citizen, or PAC to contribute.
2. Sotomayor Picking up Support
Sonia Sotomayor in making her rounds with Senators appears to be picking up support from a couple of Republicans:
- Maine Republican, Senator Olympia Snowe said that she left impressed by Sotomayor after their meeting
- Florida Republican, Senator Mel Martinez, wouldn't out right say he would vote in favor of her but read between the lines and keep in mind that he's not going to run again for Senator so he's free to vote they way he wants. Martinez said, “I am going to withhold any judgment about her nomination until after the Judiciary Committee hearings,” Martinez told reporters today, then adding: “I am very, very impressed with her — not only her personal qualities but also her qualities as a judge.”
- Laura Bush isn't a Senator but she's been supportive saying that she's happy to see a woman nominated and that Sotomayor "looks like a winner." BTW, Laura Bush gets much kudos as she's always been very gracious and shown class, like the time she defended Michelle Obama from criticism.
3. The Irony of Rangel Playing the Race Card
Is it just us or does it seem a little ironic that Congressman Charles Rangel is playing the race card to discourage NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo from entering the NY Gubenatorial race against incumbent David Patterson, the first African American Governor of NY? Rangel claims that Cuomo's challenge of his old friend Paterson would cause a black-white split among New York Dems...Not according to the polls which show that Gov Patterson is across the board unpopular with the people of NY State, and that among African Americans, only 22% approve of him.
Hey, wasn't it Charlie Rangel who was among Hillary Clinton's top partisans against upstart challenger Barack Obama? Clearly it's Rangel who is oblivious to the sentiments of NY's voters then and now.
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Pushing the Reset Button at Home & Abroad
June 5th, 2009
Wow, the first 100 days of Obama's Presidency has come and gone and who would've expected so much thrown at Obama at the same time! Sure we all knew coming in that he'd have to deal with Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and a the banking crisis but on top of that Souter's retirement, GM bankruptcy, H1N1, and Pirates....everything but the kitchen sink! Despite all these curve balls, the Obama Administration is steadily marching ahead with a Supreme Court nominee and his trip to Egypt to reshape America's image in the Middle East with the Islamic world.
llustration: John Shakespeare
1. Obama's Wise Choice - A Wise Latina
Obama announced his Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor, a 17 year veteran judge on the Federal courts. Sotomayor is the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants who rose from humble beginnings in the Bronx housing projects and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Princeton and got her degree at Yale Law School where she was Editor of the Yale Law Review. Conservatives like Pat Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich have made outrageous claims that she's a racist, a lightweight, a dumb loud mouth, etc when in fact she has had more judicial experience than any of the sitting Supreme Court Justices in recent history.
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2. Obama's Balancing Act in the Middle East
President Obama followed up on his initial address in Turkey to the Arab and Muslim world with his speech at the University of Cairo. His speech was inclusive and affirmed the positive role of Muslim Americans in American society as well as the importance of the Arab and Islamic world's contributions in culture, science, and history of tolerance. Obama performed his classic balancing act of addressing the grievances of the Middle East as well as America's challenge in addressing extremists. Most importantly, he addressed the concerns of both Palestinians and Isrealis, acknowleding that progress in the Middle East requires a peaceful two state solution. Being even handed isn't easy and to further reassure Isrealis and the Jewish Americans that he is committed to Israel's safety, he went to Buchenwald to reaffirm the horrors of the Holocaust. Getting the Isrealis to stop expansion of settlements on Palestinian land is his next battle but with Sec of State Hillary Clinton and Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, he has some powerful players in place who have strong credentials with the Jewish community.
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Mark Keam - Candidate for Virgina House Delegate
April 7th, 2009
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Mark Keam is one of four Democratic candidates vying for an open seat at the Virginia House of Delegates 35th House District (ie Fairfax, etc) for the June Primary. If elected, this Korean American immigrant who came to the US at age fourteen would be the very first APIA elected to the Virginia General Assembly.
Mark is an attorney who has served as Chief Legal Counsel to Senator Dick Durbin and in the Clinton Administration at the FCC and Small Business Administration. As a long time Democratic activist involved in local, state and national elections, Keam was one of the founders of "Fairfax for Obama" a grassroots organization which formed following Obama's announcement to run for President in Feb 2007. Mark says that Obama's call for change at all levels inspired him to run for public office for the first time.
Learn more about Mark Keam at his website and if you would like to support him, Virginia law permits any legal US resident, US citizen, or PAC to contribute.
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The Score at Half Time: Obama’s First 53 days
March 14th, 2009
1. The Score at Half Time: Obama at 53 Days
We're only just past the half way mark on the first 100 Days of the Obama Administration and yet, what a flurry of activity. President Obama promised change and it seems that he's had a big announcement every week and here's just a partial list of what Laura and Yoko are pleased about.
New Initiatives
- Passing a $787 billion Stimulus Package
- Creating a White House Counsel on Women and Girls
- Memorandum to heads of Executive Dept and Agencies on Transparency & Open Govt: governments should be transparent, participatory, and collaborative. CTO in conjunction with the OMB and GSA to provide recommendations on implementing this within 120 days
Overturning Bush Policies
- Allowing states to enforce stricter environmental standards than the federal govt
- Halting off shore drilling
- Declaring to close Guantanomo by year end
- Withdrawing the US combat brigades from Iraq by Aug 31, 2010
- Approving federal funds for stem cell research
- Supporting a UN resolution to ban the criminalization of homosexuality
- Rescinding the global gag rule to allow family planning agencies to provide information on abortion and committing the US to support the UN Population fund
APIA friendly moves
- Deploying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to East Asia as her first trip, emphasizing the importance of relations with Asia
- Appointing THREE APIA Cabinet Secretaries (Stephen Chu, Eric Shinseki, Gary Locke)
2. LogoPalooza: The Obama Marketing Machine
It was a fight to get the $787 Billion stimulus package passed but continuing to sell and gain the confidence of the American public is an ongoing challenge. President Obama and his team have brought their marketing savvy to the White House and unveiled two new logos to brand projects funded by the stimulus package: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (Tiger). They have even set up a website Recovery.org which lists the projects funded under the stimulus.
p/s What's up with Pepsi copycating the Obama branding?
3. Updates on APIA Appointments - Word is that there are seven APIA's working in the West Wing!
- Tammy Duckworth - Assist Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dept of Veterans Affairs
- Nancy Ann Min DeParle - Director of the White Office on Health Reform (Health Czar)
- Ivan Fong -General Counsel, US Dept of Homeland Security
- Tina T'Chen - Executive Director, White House Council on Women & Girls (White House Director of Public Liaison)
- Anna Ma - Chief of Staff, Small Business Administration
- Vivek Kundra - Chief Information Officer
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Obama’s Going for the BIG Picture
February 28th, 2009
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CARPE DIEM?
1. Is Obama taking on WAY too much or is this indeed the time to seize the day?
Progressives who were nervous about whether Obama would honor his campaign promises should be breathing a sigh of relief after Obama's Congressional address on Feb 24, 2009. Obama announced his goals of reforming healthcare, supporting renewable energy, investment in education, and even overhauling Social Security!
Now the battle begins not just with the Republicans but within the Democratic Party as to how much Dems should take on and how far to go with it. Is Obama's agenda overly ambitious or is it fool hardy to be overly cautious when the American public seems ready for a major change?
2. Commerce locked onto Gary
Wow, after two disasterous nominees (Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg - why in the world was Judd Gregg even considered??) the nomination for Commerce Secretary goes to former Washington Governor Gary Locke! Gary, whose grandparents were immigrants from China, would be the third APIA Cabinet Secretary in the Obama Administration joining Veterans Affairs Secretary and four star General, Eric Shinseki and Energy Secretary and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu.
3. Bee in our Bonnett
a. Burris IS A Bad JOKE: Yoko's been fuming about Blago's cheap race card ploy to appoint Burris as well as how undeserving Burris is of Obama's former Senatorial seat. Yoko stands by her words - Burris was never the right person for the job and should step down!
b. RNC and their pathetic pandering: Republican Party is slowly confronting the fact that it has marginalized and regionalized itself as a party of white, southern, conservative men. So what have they come up so far to remedy their lack of gender and ethnic diversity?
- Sarah Palin as an answer to Hillary Clinton...PUH LEEEZE!
- Bobby Jindal as the RNC's answer to Obama...Jindal more suited for 30 Rock, than the White House.
- Michael Steele as the first African-American Chair of the RNC. Steele and his lame promises to present conservative values in a "hip-hop setting" promising that it will be "off the hook." When is the last time someone used the tired old term "off-the hook"...we're embarrassed for him.
Get a clue: Barack Obama was NOT elected President of the United States of America because of the color of his skin, but in spite of it. The November 2008 election was monumental because the majority of Americans elected someone based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
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Mike Lux - Progressive Strategist and Author
February 18th, 2009
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Mike Lux is currently CEO and co-founder of Progressive Strategies. We interviewed Mike at a book signing for the launch of his first work, "The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be" Despite years working in politics professionally, Mike's impressive resume demonstrates a steadfast commitment to Progressive policies of bettering the lives of working people.
(2WayMirror sponsored the refreshments at the book signing which was held at Manika Jewelry a fabulous jewelry store on 11 Maidan Lane in SF. Yoko treated herself to a pair of beautiful gold earrings:-)
Mike has worked on over 5 Presidential campaigns and served on the Transition teams of Clinton-Gore and as well as Obama-Biden Transition team. He served as Constituency Director on the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and the presidential transition team. In the 1988 cycle, Mike was a member of the senior staff for the Biden and Simon presidential campaigns. In the 1984 cycle, he played a major volunteer role in the Iowa Mondale campaign served as Special Assistant to President Clinton for Public Liaison in the White House fromJanuary 1993 to mid-1995.
Mike has launched a number of important projects, including American Family Voices, and the Progressive Donor Network. He was a co-founder of Americans United for Change, Center for Progressive Leadership, Grassroots Democrats, Progressive Majority, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, and Women's Voices/Women Vote. He also played a role in helping launch the Center for American Progress and Air America. Mike was Senior Vice President for Political Action at People For the American Way (PFAW), and the PFAW Foundation. He oversaw lobbying and legal advocacy, field operations, state and regional offices, voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. He helped launch the PFAW PAC and the PFAW Voters Alliance in 1997. He was also responsible for coalition building with other organizations and interest groups.
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Inaugural Wrap-up
January 25th, 2009
Laura and Yoko were constantly on the go and weren't able to posts podcasts while in Washington DC, but here's our wrap up on our busy activities.
- Jan 16 - arrived in DC. Our hosts had flooding followed by water being turned off for 24 hours
- Jan 17 - Dinner at Daphnes
- Jan 18 - Hawaii for Obama Inaugural Gala at Hays Adams Hotel. Hung out at the hotel bar until a false fire alarm complete with firetrucks forced us out.
- Jan 19 - APIAVote Policy Briefing in the morning. Pearl Gala Ball at the Mandarin Oriental.
- Jan 20 - Inaugural Swearing Ceremony
- Jan 20 - Laura goes Hawaii Illinois Home State Ball (President and First Lady attend) followed by Hawaii Society Ball
- Jan 20 - Yoko goes Western States Ball (VP Joe & Jill Biden and President and First Lady attend)
1.Inaugural Highlights:
- Pearl Gala: Yoko and Laura agreed that this was the most fun ball. Great food, drinks (Laura had 4 martinis and Yoko had 5 cosmos), dancing and friends. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Maya Soetoro and Conrad Ng (Barack's half sister and brother in law), Cabinet Secretary Chris Luo all spoke briefly.
- Swearing In Ceremony - Yoko teared up as Obama took his oath.
- Hawaii Illinois Home State Ball - Laura enjoyed seeing old friends there
2. Logistical Challenges...Navigating DC with 2million other people
Yes, whether you went by foot, metro, cab or car, it was not easy getting from point A to point B with all of the street closures and several metro stops closed as well.
We had a preview of the crush of crowds on Jan 19th at Union Station when they closed ALL exits and entrances except for one for both incoming and outgoing traffic. The result was a sardine can crush of people trying to come in and out at the same time from a couple of doors - it was CRAZY! We were traumatized as it took us over 25 minutes just to exit Union Station.
On Inaugural Day, Yoko and Laura had Blue Tickets which meant we got entry to the Capitol lawn area. Fortunately, we actually made it through the security line in time to hear the official start of the Swearing In Ceremony but many who had tickets did not. The logistics were a nightmare as there weren't enough signs and lack of security personnel or volunteers directing people to the right area. The crush of people created at times a very dangerous situation as people became increasingly anxious and impatient and pushy. It was like being in Mecca during the Haj only it was miracle that no got crushed to death. After the inaugural, there was a line 3 blocks line to get into the Metro. At least we didn't get stuck in the Purple Ticket Tunnel of Doom.
Security in DC consists of just blocking streets to cars and pedestrians. The Convention Center where many of the official balls took place had a security perimeter of 3 blocks where no car or pedestrians had entry which forced everyone to walk 4-6 blocks in the freezing cold in gowns and heels just to get to the entrance.
Bottom line: We're grateful that we got to participate in such an historic event but Washington DC does not know how to handle pedestrian directioning and crowd control.
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Dr. Nina Ahmad - Philadelphia community activist
January 25th, 2009
(Interview took place Jan 19, 2009 during the APIAVOTE Policy Briefing)
Dr. Nina Ahmad is chair of the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs in Philadelphia. She is a founding member of APA for Progress, a grassroots, internet-empowered, national network of Asian Pacific Americans and friends for Progressive Action (APAP). In real life, she is a scientist and biotech entrerpreuner as well as a wife and busy mother of two daughters. Nina took time off of work to devote 24/7 to the Obama campaign and got her entire family involved. The entire Ahmad/Nasratullah family came to DC to celebrate and attend the Inaugural ceremonies.
Nina's then 15 year old daughter Joya was featured on a Nickelodeon Channel's "Tales from the Trail" as one of the Obama kids. Linda Ellerby hosted this program which featured youngsters under eighteen who were campaigning on behalf of Obama and McCain. Joya's project was getting high school seniors at her school to register absentee ballots so that their vote would count in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state which went to Obama.
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