THE PASSING OF GINA HOTTA

Very sad news...

Word comes down from the Bay Area that Gina Hotta died last night, apparently from a heart attack.

If you were involved in Asian American community issues in the Bay Area, it would be virtually impossible that you wouldn't have run into Gina at some point. I first met her as the host of the old radio show, "Inside/Eastside," one of the few Asian American-themed shows on public radio back in the day. (That show eventually evolved into APEX Express which is on KPFA in Berkeley; no doubt, they'll do something very special for her this week.)

She was easily the most consummate AA journalist I knew, constantly producing radio segments and writing for print. She was seemingly everywhere; I can't remember a community event I didn't see her at. I just got off the phone with Jeff Chang who was - shocked like I was - remarked about talking to Gina at the UC Berkeley walkout last week.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that GIna either formally or informally mentored an entire generation of AA journalists, myself included, who came of age in the Bay Area in the 1990s. The difference was that she probably outstripped us all in her passion and dedication; I can't really think of another figure that comes close. I was also always impressed how Gina came from an older generation of post-70s activists but had the open mind to stay current with new trends in culture and politics.

My heart hangs so heavy; this year alone has seen the untimely passings of Al Robles, Ron Takaki, and now Gina. I don't live up north any more but I can't imagine that the Bay isn't far emptier for their absences.

--O.W.

THE PASSION OF YOUTH IN AMERICA

How can one video clip simultaneously be the funniest video ever and the saddest video ever?

(Thanks: Mahmoud M.)

--Junichi

ANY GIVEN SATURDAY

I smell .

--O.W.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HONEST OPINIONS?

I watched the above video of a recent teabagger protest thinking some wingnuts might give me a hearty chuckle.

But midway through the video, I remembered that a majority of Americans now disapprove of President Obama's performance. Which is to say, these teabaggers are making a difference.

By the end of the video, I was so frightened by it that it made torture porn movies look like My Little Pony.

What scares me, however, is not the anti-Obama sentiment, but the nature of the actual words expressed.

I know that there will always be fierce opposition to any American president, regardless of his or her ideology. Dissent is an American tradition. Undoubtedly, the anti-Bush rallies were an even larger assembly of angry people with the same passion as the people interviewed above.

But what shocks me about these oft-repeated wingnut talking points is how much they depend on lies.

In expressing their views, these teabaggers rely on "facts" with no credible support. Obama is not an American citizen. Obama is a Communist. Obama is the first president to have "czars." Obama wants to kill my grandma. Obama is Muslim. Obama is raising my taxes (said a person who is probably not making more than $250,000). Obama is taking my doctor away.

In contrast, most anti-Bush protesters never needed to lie. They either chanted pure opinions (e.g., "The war on Iraq is wrong," "Bush is the worst president in US history," etc.) or expressed beliefs stemming from undisputed facts (e.g., "No Tax Dollars to Halliburton", "How can the White House defend torture?," etc.).

Granted, there were many leftists who passionately believed unproven assertions. For example, thousands (including me) believed that the White House was raising the terror alert levels during the 2004 presidential campaign just to skew support towards President Bush. Sure enough, it turned out to be true. But even if it wasn't true, most Bush critics could articulate their opposition to President Bush's policies without lying (or repeating lies that they believed to be true).

Consider the "You Lie" controversy. Personally, I am not outraged with Rep. Joe Wilson for merely interrupting Pres. Obama's speech and violating so-called rules of etiquette. If he blurted out "Shame!" during one of Pres. Bush's speeches defending the Iraqi invasion, I would have praised him. Instead, what outrages me about Rep. Wilson's statement is that it's a patently false assertion. He's not expressing an opinion. He's stating that Obama's proposed bill would apply to illegal immigrants, when it clearly does not.

Also, the imbalance in what constitutes acceptable dissent blows my mind. Among other things, I don't remember any anti-Bush protester holding up a sign like, "Unarmed, this time," which one teabagger is carrying in the above video. Moreover, any anti-Bush supporter who showed up to a Bush rally in 2002 with a gun would have been immediately arrested.

Another reason I am especially flabbergasted by the right-wing talking points is because I have no difficulty articulating legitimate ideological grounds for a conservative to criticize the Obama White House. Opposed to a strong, active federal government? Obama is probably not your man. Do you think stem cell research constitutes murder? Obama is not your man. Should insurance companies suffer financially by being forced to insure people with preexisting conditions? If not, Obama is definitely not your man.

Although I completely disagree with the fundamentalist in the video who compared abortion to a holocaust, I respect that it is an opinion not dependent upon lies. He believes that the termination of any fetus is murder. Fair enough. He doesn't need to believe or spread lies -- e.g., Obama is forcing women to get abortions -- to articulate his opposition.

Similarly, today, I respect any person who says, "I oppose Obama's health care reform because I do not believe that wealthy taxpayers should have to pay for poor people's hospital bills."

I don't share that view. I find it greedy and selfish.

But at least it's an honest opinion.

*

Do these Glenn Beck supporters see any irony in their criticism of Obama as a leader who has used his charisma to create a blind allegiance among supporters?

*

On a related note, I feel compelled to make two points about the recent surge in Hitler comparisons.

First, I think it is inappropriate to seriously compare someone to Adolf Hitler unless he is responsible for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of people.

(I would make an exception, however, for people who have Hitler mustaches.)

I acknowledge that I am a hypocrite in saying this. I have referred to at least one stringent meter maid or iron-fisted supervisor as a Nazi, which, at the very least, is insensitive to Holocaust survivors.

Thus, I cringe when I see Obama compared to Hitler. Today, I would also cringe if someone compared George W. Bush to Hitler.

But having said that, I feel compelled to make this second point: Obama-Hitler comparisons seem far more indefensible than Bush-Hitler comparisons.

Bush was compared to Hitler when he had unilaterally invaded, in the face of global opposition, the sovereign nation of Iraq and killed at least 100,000 -- and, by some estimates, a million -- civilians. Granted, that death toll doesn't rival the millions who died in the Holocaust. And unlike Hitler, Bush did not systemically calculate to decimate a whole race of people. But I can appreciate the point that 100,000 dead innocent civilians puts Bush on a very short list of people responsible for equally grave numbers.

Obama, on the other hand, is being compared to Hitler for trying to ensure that every American has health care.

Do the protesters drawing Hitler mustaches on Barack Obama's face (fun fact: Obama is not an Aryan) really believe the comparison is valid?

(Credit: Thanks to J. Song for the video)

--Junichi

WHEN MEMES COLLIDE

More here.

--O.W.

WHERE MY BUBBLE TEA DRINKERS AT?

--O.W.

WHEN GOOD INTENTIONS MAKE BAD BAD ART

if you can explain this, you're a better man than me

badpaintingsofbarackobama.com

--O.W.

FUN WITH A GREEN MARKER

As your legal counsel, however, I strongly advise that you only engage in this type of vandalism in the realm of your imagination.

--Junichi

20 MORE FACTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE

That panda has never looked cuter, by comparison

1. A Brazilian ad agency proposed the above ad for the World Wildlife Fund that shows a horde of planes diving towards lower Manhattan's skyscrapers. (The WWF rejected the ad, but somehow it leaked.)



2. A White House report suggests that between 30-50 percent of the U.S. population could catch swine flu during the course of this pandemic and that up to 90,000 could kick the bucket from it.



3. Jay-Z has had 10 #1 albums, but has never had one #1 single.



4. Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Yuiko Hatoyama's wife, Miyuki, once wrote about having ridden in a triangular UFO to Venus.



5. You can now purchase an air freshener that purportedly smells like Nelson Mandela.







6. Prison guards in Florida have now zapped at least 43 children with 50,000-volt stun guns as part of Take Your Kids to Work Day festivities.



7. A Pakistani man drowned to his death during the taping of a Survivor-type reality show.



8. Palo Alto just hosted the United States of America's first National Single Cougars Convention.



Photo by Daniel Britt




9. Kazuo Matsui missed the first few weeks of the 2008-2009 baseball season because, according to the Astros' official website, he was suffering from "anal fissure."



10. 90% of the paper currency in the United States contains traces of cocaine.



11. The band a-ha (of "Take On Me" fame) just released its ninth album.



12. These are just some of the late Don Hewitt's (60 Minutes creator) accomplishments: (1) He invented the concept of B-Roll, (2) produced and directed the Nixon-Kennedy debates, which forever transformed presidential politics, (3) invented the concept of cue cards for news anchors, (4) directed and produced Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and (5) and invented the idea of putting text on the bottom third of the screen.




Divine Miss M Meets G-Unit




13. 50 Cent recently hung out with Bette Midler, who, by the way, once had an affair with Geraldo Rivera.



14. An affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America is training teenage Scouts how to capture illegal immigrants and fight terrorists.



15. Kid (from Kid 'n' Play) is doing local commercials for a suit store in Carson, California.



16. Federal Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske has chosen to abandon the phrase "War on Drugs."



17. Redfoo of LMFAO (of "I'm in Miami, Bitch" fame) is the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy.







18. Ben & Jerry's is renaming its Chubby Hubby ice cream to Hubby Hubby to raise awareness of marriage equality (which is great, except that Chubby Hubby sounds more like a term used in the gay community).



19. Speaking of Jerrys, Jerry O'Connell is a 1L.



20. Finally, both Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny were apparently packing heat:

(with thanks to JT Money)

--Junichi