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We’re #1: 2012 Election Was An Election Of Firsts For AAPIs
This year’s election was an election of firsts. Not least of all for our people, who are often left out of election and post-election talk altogether. A brief recap:
MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI) becomes the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate, and the first woman senator representing Hawaii. She’s also the first Senator born in Japan, and she’s Buddhist. Plus her name is Mazie–from the Japanese “Meiji,” pronounced “May-zee”–which officially gives her the coolest name in Congress.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), who will represent the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, becomes the first Thai American and the first disabled woman veteran elected to Congress. She’s fluent in Thai, Indonesian, and before she was deployed to Iraq in 2004, she was pursuing her Ph.D. She was a US Army combat helicopter pilot in Iraq when the Black Hawk she was co-piloting was hit by an RPG, causing damage to her right arm and the loss of both her legs. Now, thanks to prosthetics, she is fully mobile. So yes, she is more badass than anyone you know.
GRACE MENG (D-NY), from New Yorks’s 6th Congressional District, becomes the Continue reading We’re #1: 2012 Election Was An Election Of Firsts For AAPIs
Filed under: 2012 election, 2012 Presidential Election, AAPI Vote, Asian American Vote, Asian Americans and Voting, Asian Americans in Congress, Asian Americans in Government, Asians Voted Democratic 2012, Badass Women, Badasses, Barack Obama, Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, Congress, election, firsts, GOP, Grace Meng, Heroes, LGBT, Mark Takano, Mazie Hirono, Mike Honda, Most Asian Americans In Congress Ever, Oh The Times They Are A Changin', Openly-Gay Politicians, Pacific Islanders, President Barack Obama, Tammy Duckworth, Tulsi Gabbard, United States Congress, US Congress, War Veterans, We Love Being First, Yay Us
Intern Jasmine’s Links Of The Daysian
Wonder what Yoko thinks of Herman Cain‘s pizza version of “Imagine.” Yup, you heard us. A pizza version of “Imagine.” [Daily Intel]
Gautam Raghavan is the new LGBT liaison in the White House Office of Public Engagement. [Metroweekly.com]
The Society of Professional Journalists urge newsrooms to stop using the terms “illegal alien” and “illegal immigrant”.[mije.org]
Amit Gupta of Photojojo has acute leukemia. Everybody, especially South Asians, please get tested to see if you’re a bone marrow match! [Laughing Squid]
Actor Harry Shum, Jr. wrote a tender blog tribute about the time he met Steve Jobs after the Apple pioneer passed away last week. [shumbodynamedharry.tumblr.com]
Meanwhile, Sanrio came up with a Steve Jobs version of Hello Kitty. What? [Crunchyroll]
Super cool or super crazy? This dude in the Philippines totally got a bunch of plastic surgery so he’d look like Superman. [The Well Versed]
“She ran up the wall and made it look easy.” Internet, meet your new wall-climbing champion. [The Daily Mail]
Our friend Karen Tongson wrote a book! It’s called Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries (Sexual Cultures) and you can buy it on Amazon. [NYU Press]
William and Kate who?! JIGME + JETSUN 4-EVA! Congratulations to King Jigme of the Kingdom of Bhutan and his lovely bride. [Life]
Urban Outfitters selling “Navajo panties” is not only tasteless and offensive, it may also be illegal. [Racialicious]
Oh my! Star Trek alum and one of our favorite gaysians George Takei is going to be a contestant on the next season of Celebrity Apprentice. [The Advocate]
Filed under: acute leukemia, amit gupta, Bhutan, Celebrity Apprentice, gautaum raghavan, George Takei, Hello Kitty, Intern Jasmine's Links of the Daysian, Karen Tongson, LGBT, navajo panties, Steve Jobs, White House, White House Office of Public Engagement
DISGRASIAN OF THE WEAK! Meow-ing At Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong
Don’t fuck with Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong. She’s the first openly-gay member of the Australian cabinet and the first Asian-born federal minister, not to mention the first person who’ll cut your dick off if you meow at her like a pussy during a parliamentary hearing.
Watch below as Wong takes Senator David Bushby to school Wednesday for sexist behavior:
Meow? More like RAWR.
[HuffPo: Penny Wong, Australian Senator, Gets 'Meowed' During Debate (VIDEO, POLL)]
Filed under: Australia, Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong, Australian Parliament, Australian Politics, Australian Senator Penny Wong, Catfights, Cattiness, Cutting Your Dick Off, LGBT, Liberal Senator David Bushby, Meow, Openly-Gay Politicians, Penny Wong, Pussies, Rawr, Tough Asian Bitches, Weird Australian Behavior
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Jeff Sheng’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Photography Exhibit
On Friday of last week, the day after Veterans Day, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to lift the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, even though a lower court had ruled that the law which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military is unconstitutional. It’s estimated that 66,000 gays and lesbians–or 2 percent of all U.S. military personnel–are currently serving our country. That’s 66,000 people who are making sacrifices, sometimes leaving their loved ones, and often risking their lives for a country that continues to tell them that their sexual orientation is a problem.
L.A.-based photographer Jeff Sheng has spent two years making portraits of a few of these 66,000 good men and women. His “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” photos were on display last week at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington, and they’re also available in book form.
Because of DADT, however, Sheng’s portraits are portraits where his subject’s faces have been blurred, obscured, shadowed, and hidden.
“If this person got outed, they would lose their pension, their retirement benefits — their 20 years of service in the military would be gone,” Sheng said.
By hiding their faces, his subjects assume the posture of shame. The real shame isn’t in Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Jeff Sheng’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Photography Exhibit
Filed under: DADT, Discrimination, Discriminatory Laws, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Ask Don't Tell Photographic Exhibit, Don't Ask Don't Tell Photography Exhibit, Equal Rights, Gays in the Military, Jeff Sheng, LGBT, LGBT Discrimination, Military Policy, Photographers, Repeal DADT, Shame, Shameful Laws, Supreme Court Upholds Don't Ask Don't Tell, U.S. Military, Veterans Day
Gay Is Not a Bad Word
STAR TV, the Hong Kong-based satellite TV service that reaches over 300 million viewers in 54 countries and is owned by Rupert Murdoch, censored the words “gay” and “lesbian” from the Oscar acceptance speeches of Milk‘s screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and lead actor Sean Penn in its re-telecast of the Academy Awards in Asia Monday evening. The sound from those speeches was reported to have dropped out when those words were uttered in Malaysia, Singapore, and India. Jannie Poon, a STAR spokeswoman, defended the company’s decision, saying STAR has “a responsibility to take the sensitivities and guidelines of all our markets into consideration.”
Adding, “Unless you’re gaysian, in which case, fuck you.”*
*Not actually uttered, but obviously implied.
Filed under: Dishonoring the Gaysian, Gaysians, India, Lesbians, LGBT, Malaysia, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, Silence = Death, Singapore, STAR TV, STAR TV Censorship, STAR TV Oscars Censorship, This is Bullshit
An "Other" to the "Others"
CNN conducted exit polls yesterday of 2,240 California voters on Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban, breaking down the yes’s and no’s by age, sex, income, education level, et al. Here are the results by race:
Pretty depressing stuff. But, hey, let’s look on the bright side. There’s a new “Other” in town–other than blacks, Latinos, and Asians. (Scientologists? Martians? Crab People?) Anyhoo–sucks for Them! Let’s go kick sand in their faces and pass laws discriminating against the new Other since we’ve climbed up the ladder! Yeah!!!
Source
Thanks, BB!
Filed under: California, California We Have A Problem, Elections, Exit Polls, LGBT, Otherness, Prop H8, Proposition 8, Racial Breakdowns, The Other, the Others, Unfunny Stuff, We Heart Gaysians
Californiasians Say ‘I Do’ to Gay Marriage
Good news: the majority of Asian-Americans in California support gay marriage, and will vote “no” in November on Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban. A recent poll conducted by researchers at Cal, UC Riverside, USC, and Rutgers shows 57% of Asian-American voters voting against Prop 8, with only 32% for and 11% undecided.
Well done, people. And I say this for your sake. Because I know that Diana was not kidding around the other day when she said, “Prop 8 is a disgusting, insecure, unfair resolution to the problems held deep by an ignorant sub-population crippled by fear,” and threatened to drunk-dial the bigots who support it. I like to think of her as the warmer and fuzzier half of DISGRASIAN, but that’s only if you’re on her good side (plying her with gifts of Marni, cool cigarette lighters, anything related to owls, single malt scotch, and coasters–girlfriend loves a coaster–does help).
As for the 32% voting for Proposition 8, I strongly recommend that you unplug your phones starting now.
Source
Thanks, Margie!
Filed under: Civil Rights, Fear the Wrath of Diana, Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage Ban, Gay Unions, LGBT, Nguyens Rule, Proposition 8, Proud of Our Peeps, Unplug the Phone, VOTE NO ON PROP 8
BABEWATCH: Ashwin Madia
Name: Ashwin “Ash” Madia
Age: 30
Occupation: Congressional candidate & Iraq War veteran
Hails from: Minnesota
Why He’s a Babe: What’s really hot in Minnesota right now? Ashwin Madia, that’s what. The former Marine Corps Captain is currently running for Congress in the 3rd District of Minnesota. Born in Boston to immigrant parents from Mumbai, Ash grew up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes before going to NYU Law School and serving in Iraq. And you know we love a man in uniform. We also love that he’s a former Republican who’s realized the error of his ways. And the fact that when he talks about patriotism, he gets all Clint Eastwood-squinty, like he’s going to kick your ass. Also, Ash hearts the gays (and LGBT rights), and so do we! So, yeah, basically he’s our dream boyfriend. Er, we mean, candidate.
Filed under: Ash Madia, Ashwin Madia, Brown Minnesotans, Congressional Candidates, Democrats, Gay Rights, Indian-Americans, Iraq War Veterans, LGBT, Minnesota, Semper Fi, U.S. Marines
