Category Archives: Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog

Asiana 214’s modern internet racism vs. the old style that young Milena Clarke has felt all too well

Is there any doubt that the racism that came out of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 remains one of the most under-reported aspects of the whole tragedy?

Asian bad driver jokes/bad pilot jokes? That’s old school racism, but the modern Twitterverse exploded almost immediately after the crash with everyone showing off their repressed racism.

If you’re one of those who think it’s no big deal, then maybe the example of the egregious racism experienced by Milena Clarke will be instructive.  The old-school style still lingers as well.

If you need to know the difference between the old style racism and the new modern one, check out my post on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Happy Fourth!

Somehow things seem anti-climactic after the Pride Celebration…. when we really got a chance to see what equality looks like…

http://www.aaldef.org/blog/

Freedom and independence? Post-Snowden, all we know is the government knows everything.

May we all feel some level of comfort and joy from some good old fashioned Chinese fireworks tonight!

 

 

Gang of Eight gets it done in the Senate, 68-32; So why doesn’t it feel so great?

All the talk early in the week of the immigration deal turning into a  “blur” or the possibility of some revolt in the Senate turned out to be just that—talk.  The Senate bill passed handily with all the security to militarize immigration  and none of the humanity that marked the family-oriented immigration policies in the past. Conservatives were appeased enough to show “bi-partisan” support for the bill. Meanwhile, all the items Asian Americans wanted added on to the bill continued to be ignored.

But it isn’t over.

The fight continues on to the House. 

And then the real horse trading begins in conference.

We’ve just finished Act I of a three-act play.

What we end up with may not be very different from what was passed today.

So the compromising isn’t over. 

Check out what I wrote earlier on the proposal on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

 

 

 

DOMA done, challenge to Prop. 8 denied, let the June weddings begin again in California

I could sense something good was going to happen as early as this spring, but you never know.

http://aaldef.org/blog/the-national-coming-out-party-for-same-sex-marriage.html

And today, it happened.

The Supreme Court by it’s 5-4 ruling has declared Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

This really is a states rights issue. How could those legally married in states that allow gay marriages be denied federal benefits given to straight wedded couples? That’s discrimination, and shouldn’t be allowed. The court concurred.

So if you’re in one of the states where same-sex marriage is legal, this is an especially great day.

The DOMA refutation was expected. It wasn’t clear what the court would do with Prop. 8, the same-sex marriage ban voted in by the state.  When it was challenged and California officials wouldn’t defend the ban, the proposition’s leadership went to court to defend its constitutionality. But the high court in the way it acted, chose to sidestep ruling directly on same-sex marriage. It simply ruled that the Prop.8 folks didn’t have standing, or the right to argue the matter. So the case is sent back to the 9th circuit with orders to dismiss the case, and based on reports, same-sex marriages can resume again in California.

The Pride Parade in San Francisco on Sunday is going to be extraordinarily celebratory.

After the disappointing decisions on affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act this week, the Supreme Court gives us something to cheer about.

No warm champagne toasts on these decisions.