Category Archives: politics

Manti denies he’s in on hoax, speaks to ESPN: “No, never ever would I be a part of this.”

On Friday night, Manti Te’o broke his silence on the dead girl friend prank heard ’round the world. In an off-camera interview with ESPN, he denied being part of the prank, saying that “never, ever would I be part of this.”

The report said three people were behind the prank, led by Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a friend of Te’o’s who confessed to him earlier this week by Direct Message on Twitter (naturally).

Te’o laid out a timeline for ESPN that said the internet relationship with someone named “Lennay Kekua” began three years ago on Facebook.  It was intermittent until 2011, when more phone and web contact took place. A first meeting on New Years Eve 2012 in Hawaii ended in disappointment when Kekua did not show up.

But the relationship didn’t die, and Te’o told ESPN, when he learned Kekua had leukemia, the two conducted long sessions on the phone and internet studying the Bible. Even Te’o’s parents took part.

It was the day after Te’o’s grandmother died that he got a call from someone saying they were a relative of Kekua with news of her death.

He mourned by sending flowers to an alleged home in Carson, California. But a few months later he was stunned when he got a call from someone who said they were Lennay.

Manti gets a big hint here.  It was on Dec. 6th. “I didn’t know what was going on,” he told ESPN.

But he carried on with the tale, and admits to some fudging, his “biggest regret.”  By now he’s thinking what we are all thinking. This guy is in love with someone he never met. Now she’s dead. So he wasn’t absolutely truthful at this point saying, “I didn’t want people thinking I was some crazy dude.”

OK, he’s not crazy. Just a young, gullible kid who got played.

Tuiasosopo wasn’t available to ESPN, so maybe that’s the imaginary interview we should do. If Te’o’s the victim, he’s the perp. But he’s nowhere to be found.

Te’o was in Florida when he talked exclusively to  ESPN.

“I think it started out as a joke, a joke that got out of hand,” said Te’o, who told ESPN his pranksters never asked for money.

And now that Te’o has spoken, do we know the whole truth?  The off-camera interview was recorded for audio, accompanied by still photos.  The restriction wasn’t explained. Why couldn’t he face up to the world? So while ESPN scored a news coup that leaves us closer to the truth,  there are still some questions that remain about the three perps (supposedly a Tuiasosopo and two women)  For all we know, they could be imagined. Like O.J.’s real killers. And Lennay Kekua.

That’s the level of trust we’re left with when it comes to Manti Te’o.

 

See my original post on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manti Te’o? Oh, yeah, I talked to him…sure

OK, not really. But given the imaginary world of Te’o and his recent silence, well making up the truth is the next best thing.  The itnerview was set up by his imaginary girl friend.

Considering how loosely people want to play with the truth these days,  check out my post at www.aaldef.org/blog

Just today I heard former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger say “he never lied” about having that child out of wedlock with his family’s  nanny.

I guess acting a lie is different from actually speaking a lie in Arnold’s world.

And then we have, Lance Armstrong, and even our dearly beloved president. Although is it  really a lie when you say you’re going to end a war, but don’t?

Or when you say you’re going to end the invasive eavesdropping laws, or closed Guantanamo, but don’t?

Find the elusive truth here.

 

 

An Asian American in Newtown, the President’s “Gettysburgian” address, and more on the changing gun control debate

I was hoping not to see it, but in this era of diversity, how could we not expect an Asian American name on the roster of the dead children at Newtown.

Madeleine Hsu, 6 was among the 20 gunned down on Friday.

She was described as “very upbeat and kind” and the “girl who wore flowery dresses” in a Wall Street Journal account. But there was no photo and little else, as the family told an AP reporter they wouldn’t be speaking to the media.

As the facts come in, here’s one thing that stuck out for me after a weekend of news discussion shows.

Except for these mammoth events where lunacy and guns cross paths and innocents get in the way, we are a safe, safe society.

According to latest crime stats, there is no reason to feel you need a gun to be safe.

That is unless you have an issue, about paranoia, criminality, or something else. But America is much safer than everyone thinks.

Only with the addition of guns, does the safety level decrease and the danger level rise.

Another interesting tidbit: On at least two of the Sunday network news chat shows members of Congress who have a pro-gun viewpoint were invited to come on the programs.

There were no takers.

No one had the courage to stand up for their “gun lobby” convictions in the face of 20 children dead.

That’s telling, and how I know we’ve reached a turning point in the debate over gun safety.

It’s the power of the Newtown 20.

The night-capper, of course, was President Obama’s speech on Sunday night.

It was just the right kind of speech. Moving and emotional without being overly so, spiritual without being too religious, although the president did read from scripture (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) and even invoked Jesus’ name at the end.

But he was more in the role of president as national comforter. He was Parent-in-Chief, describing what it’s like to be a daddy. He showed us the real value of the young lives lost. They are all part of us.

The idea of the nation as a family, came to mind. And when he mentioned “love,” I thought the president knocked it out of the park.

But it seemed to give him a bit of courage to say the bold political words that he had yet to say as forcefully in his administration.

When it comes to gun violence he’d visited so many other scenes in his four years, but last night he said it as plainly as he could: “We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.”

He spoke of the “obligation to try.”

And then he laid out the policy path:

“In the coming weeks, I’ll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine.

“Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

“Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

It was already a great speech.

But was it” Gettysburgian,” as one writer suggests?

If we are caught in a modern civil war over guns, it’s an appropriate comparison. We have to come together on this issue, once and for all. The tragedy of 20 innocent children senselessly massacred goes beyond the fatalities of war. We aren’t on the battlefield, we are on Main Street U.S.A.

And then came one last invocation of the religious.

Said the president:  “Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

And then he read the childrens’ names one by one, including Madeleine Hsu’s.

(See my original post on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog).

Pacquiao-Marquez V? Count on it.

After the Pacquiao Bradley debacle, I stayed true to my word. Not another pay-per-view dollar from me. Pacquiao Marquez IV to me seemed like Manny’s “Groundhog Day.” Haven’t we been through that before?

But indeed, there was a new scene we didn’t expect.

Manny Pacquiao lying face down on the canvas.

It’s an image we rarely saw–until Saturday.

He stayed down a long time.

But within minutes our champion was back up, on his feet. Just like the Frank Sinatra song, “That’s Life.”

In one of the post-fight interviews in the ring, almost immediately after (the one I saw was with ESPN) Pacquiao was asked the simple question: Was he ready for another?

Pacquiao didn’t flinch. “Why not,” said the Filipino champion. “My job is to fight.”

And with those words, I think I finally saw the truth.

I don’t think he was punch-drunk. Mind you, I was one of those who for the last three Pacquiao fights have suggested that Manny retire with his brains intact.  What can I say, I’m an ardent fan of boxing, but I value a man’s brains.

I also recognized the charismatic power of Pacquiao and saw him four years ago as someone who could rally the Philippines and maybe even spark the country with a massive dose of the pride that comes from being a world champion.

Isn’t that a bigger challenge than fisting a boastful Floyd Mayweather into submission?

Beyond the ring, there’s real life. Manny Pacquiao could be the leader of the Philippines.

That idea first came to me when I noticed the power of Manny’s charisma rising at the same time another politician was acting like an international rock star—Barack Obama.

Based on charisma and appeal, I even called him the Philippines’ Obama.

That may have been my dream. And maybe it was Manny’s too, for a brief second, as he did run and win a congressional seat in his Philippine district.

But I don’t think it’s Manny’s dream after his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao-Marquez IV has totally changed my view.

Manny Pacquiao is not the savior of Philippine politics. He is not the statesman, the diplomat, the political leader. He’s not the future of Philippine politics or governance.

He’s a fighter. He’s a guy who works in  satin underwear with his name on it.

And hearing him talk from the weigh-in to the post-fight interviews has made me see that all too clearly.

It’s like the knockout blow from Juan Manuel Marquez knocked fans like me to their senses.

I also think it knocked a little reality into Pacquiao’s life.

Pac-man’s passion, his life, and his future is in the ring. Not in the Philippine legislature. Not in Malacanang.

It’s not in movies, nor music, either.

Pacquiao said it himself, repeatedly, even after the most vicious punishment any human could take in a sanctioned athletic event.

“I’m a fighter,” he told ESPN repeatedly. “It’s my job. I’m willing to fight.”

What did we expect after that fight? A cowering Manny? No way.

“I never expected that punch,” Manny said about the right-hand smash from Marquez that Manny walked into squarely in the 6th round. “He got me (with) a good one.”

And then the question came again. Do you want another fight, a rematch?

“Why not?” he answered.

The questioner came back, “Do you want it?”

“Of course,” Manny said. And then he repeated himself, “I’m a fighter. My job is to fight.”

It would have been nice had Manny broken into a bit of diplomatic rhetoric.  A line about “what a great champion Marquez is…” would have worked there, too. Marquez, in his post-fight interview talked about celebrating the victory for Mexicans around the world. Maybe Manny could have responded with a message to all the global Filipinos out there, that despite the defeat, they should all keep their chins up. Surely, there should have been some kind of message to those Filipinos ravaged by the recent typhoon in Mindinao. Now that was a knockout blow.

At the weigh-in, even HBO’s Larry Merchant threw Pacquiao  a softball on the typhoon to give Manny a chance to enlarge his scope beyond boxing.

Manny showed his concern, but it just wasn’t that  rhetorical flourish akin to a jab-straight-hook combo. That’s not who Manny is. But he can do wonders in the ring.

Even after the knockout blow, in his interview Manny knew his business. His true calling.

And you could sense he wanted another round.

Reports indicate that the brutal blow from Marquez may have given Pacquiao a concussion.

But when you are a boxer, concussions are as natural as blood, sweat and spittle. Those punches aren’t love taps to the head.

It’s all part of the world in which Manny belongs and is paid well for being part of. Where else is he going to get a $26 million dollar pay day just for showing up to work. That’s dollars, not pesos. His pay-per-view share, undoubtedly in the millions, is all extra. (You can watch it free this Saturday on HBO).

So I will give up my crusade insisting that Manny quit to save his brains and take on the mantle of being the Philippines’ rock star political leader.

Manny’s role goes beyond politics. He’s above all that. People go from movies and TV to politics all the time. But boxing champions are different.

They are our mythical warriors, cultural heroes. Manny doesn’t need Malacanang. He’s already head datu to Filipinos everywhere. That’s enough burden for one man. He doesn’t need the pettiness of politics. Pacquiao leads from the ring. And when he’s done, he’ll take his role as national folk hero, buddy, and humanitarian. National spirit lifter.

He doesn’t have to be Joseph Estrada.

But why rush things.

Manny turns just 34 on Dec. 17th. He’ll have a good birthday. And I’m sure an even better Christmas.

And, besides, you heard him indicate, he’s not done.

He’s a fighter. So maybe for a change we’ll really see him train like his life depended on it. And dedicate himself to showing the world that the champion can get back up and answer the bell again.

That’s what Pacquiao-Marquez IV has spawned.

Forget Mayweather. Forget the others. The franchise is set and so is the need—for Pacquiao-Marquez V.