R.I.P. LONI DING

Damn, first Gina Hotta, now Loni?

I can't even try to guess how many documentarians Loni trained at Berkeley during her many years there; it's safe to say however that she's been one of the giants in the field, a pioneer in every sense of the word.

I first met Loni in the '90s and what first struck me was how brusque her attitude was. She was a real "I don't give a shit/I suffer no fools" force of nature with her work and politics and could care less about being diplomatic or playing someone else's game. In that sense, Loni really carried over from the era of the Asian American Movement without ever feeling like she had to compromise in order to adjust with the changing political times. She was hardly lost in the past but rather, she had her lane and ran it like few other filmmakers I can think of. But her, Bob Nakamura, Renee Tajima, Christine Choy, and Curtis Choy (among others) literally helped forge a nascent Asian American identity and community through their work.

She will be sorely missed but I trust that her legacy is eternal.

More on her work here.

--O.W.

NOT IN THE LEAST BIT

AP: GWB billboard pops up in Minnesota

--Junichi

SLANTING LEFT

Given the news today of a new Gallup poll that suggests Asian Americans are largely left-leaning (as well as secular), Junichi and I decided to "chat" about the findings together.

OW: Were you as surprised as I was by these findings? Let me first say - I think we'd really need to see some disaggregation here by ethnic group, age, geography and immigrant status. But even without that, I would not have thought that Asian Americans would have a higher proportion of self-described liberals than conservatives. Where have they all been hiding?


JS: Well, I am not surprised by the party affiliation data, which I think is the most meaningful survey result. The numbers there largely correlate to my general impression -- today, Asian Americans and Chicano/Latinos lean Democratic, but not remotely as strongly as African Americans.

I think the "Ideological Identification" question, however, sheds more light on how various groups think of the words "liberal," "moderate," and "conservative" -- as opposed to where they actually stand on an ideological spectrum.

Otherwise, how is it possible that the group that votes most consistently for Democrats (African Americans) is not also the group that most consistently identifies as liberal? I realize that Democrats today are hardly a "liberal" party, but they've been more liberal than the Republicans for several decades now.

Here is my theory. (To be clear, I have no data to back this up.) For many in the black community, the word "liberal" has strong associations with white leftists who are pro-choice, pro-union, anti-death penalty, pro-gay rights, anti-war, and pro-drug legalization, to name a few ideological issues. Though they vote for Democrats more than any other group, African American voters aren't very likely to line up with Michael Moore's positions on all social issues and are therefore more likely to identify as "moderate." Plus, the appeal of being conservative, in certain respects, has strong roots in black Christian communities in the South; thus, those self-identified "conservatives" still voted for Obama over McCain.

On the other hand, I suspect Asian Americans, in totality, are more likely to consider the word "conservative" to be one associated with Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and the religious right. With so few Asian Americans an active part of any fundamentalist, Christian-rooted political movement, the percentage of "conservatives" is low.

In other words, I seriously doubt Asian Americans are more "liberal" than every other group if we look at specific issues. If you polled each group and asked the following specific questions ...

* Do you support a more progressive tax scheme in which Americans who make more than $100,000 will be taxed at a higher rate?
* Do you support lowering jail sentences for drug-related crimes?
* Do you support affirmative action?
* Do you support gay marriage?
* Do you believe the government should more actively regulate industry to lower pollution and other negative environmental externalities?
* Do you support a single-payer health care system?

... I would be shocked if Asian Americans were the group most likely to say yes.

As for disaggregation, I do think you'd see some interesting trends if you were to divide between Asian American ethnic groups, as well as immigrants vs. children of immigrants vs. those whose parents were born here in the United States.

One more thought: this poll reminds me of how the Republican Party needs to fundamentally reinvent itself if it wants to regain the White House and Congress again. During the last decade, the GOP did so much to alienate non-whites and non-Christians from its tent that it needs to figure out how to regain the trust of at least one of the three other major racial groups to stay afloat. It will only get worse as we inch closer to being a country with no majority race.

OW: I think you raise a good point about how the terms themselves should be questioned. This is a point Matt Yglesias raises too - that "liberal" isn't a terribly useful political term anymore.

I'm curious why you think Asian Americans associate "conservative" the far-right icons or movements you mention? Why an aversion there and not with other communities?

Here's a question I posed on Facebook...first, let's assume that this polling pool here is actually quite small since, as my friend Oiyan Poon astutely noted, Gallup spoke with "likely voters" which would tend to constrict the pool of Asian Americans based on citizenship rates. If, as you suggest, the wider AA community is less left-leaning as Gallup indicates...BUT that comprises people in the community who don't vote...do they really matter in terms of the political calculus? In other words, what's the more important statistic? How Asian American "likely voters" vote? Or how the whole of Asian America would theoretically vote...assuming they voted?

JS: I think the word "conservative" has been hijacked today to be synonymous "religious conservative." Much to the lament of secular fiscal conservatives, in 2010, the idea of demonstrating one's conservative credentials largely focuses on positions that sync up with Christian theology.

The majority of African Americans and Chicano/Latinos in the United States are Christian. Hence, those groups don't necessarily run away from the conservative label since some vote consistent with their faith-based principles. But as the Gallup poll shows, Asian Americans are the least likely of all four racial groups to attend any church. Thus, Asian Americans are inherently less likely to identify with a belief system that is rooted in the idea that we live in a "Christian nation."

As for your question about the more important statistic, I think that measuring the opinions of all Asian Americans is the most important. The last half-century of elections has produced just enough wide swings in voter turnout to suggest that we're only one hot issue away from having "unlikely" voters turn out at the polls.

Another thought: I wonder about the potential detrimental effects of this survey if both the Democrats and Republicans think of Asian Americans as a "liberal-leaning" group. Generally speaking, that's not a good thing.

Take gays and lesbians, an obvious "liberal-leaning" group. The Republicans know that there are far too few "Log Cabin Republicans" to cater to that group, in any way. Meanwhile, the Democrats feel little need to prioritize the gay and lesbian community's concerns because, well, who else are they going to vote for? President Obama can afford to delay advancing gay rights because he knows that they're not going to vote for Sarah Palin in 2012.

In contrast, Chicano/Latinos are often seen as a swing demographic. Thus, we see pols like Arnold Schwarzenegger and George W. Bush, when running for office, taking stances that are more immigrant-friendly than the GOP's platform 16 years ago. We see both Bush and Obama appointing Chicano/Latinos to high-profile positions (e.g., Alberto Gonzales, Sonia Sotomayor) in the hopes of locking in the Latino vote.

Both national parties have been ignoring Asian Americans forever. However, there's a strange irony that the more the Asian American community is seen as politically unaffiliated, the more likely their needs will be catered to during future election years.

--O.W.

AMBASSADOR SWINGING PIPE

Dick Armey does not approve

Pakistani diplomat Akbar Zeb has now been rejected as Pakistan's ambassador to three countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Why? Because his name means "largest penis" in Arabic.

I bet NASCAR legend Dick Trickle can feel his pain. One wonders how many endorsement deals he missed out on because no company wanted to pay him for saying something like, "If you like Dick Trickle, then you'll love Yoplait yogurt!"

(Thanks: Double D)

--Junichi

HOW DO YOU SAY "I'M WITH COCO" IN MANDARIN?

Now it all makes sense.

--Junichi

AKEBONO vs. STEVE PERRY

When I was in high school, I spent a lot of time listening to Journey and playing their songs on the piano while others sang. (Side trivia: Steve Perry is from my hometown.)

During those days, my father spent a lot of time following Hawaiian sumo wrestler Akebono ascend to yokozuna status.

Our interests didn't overlap much.

This explains why the above Japanese television commercial for Glee (or グリー) is such a trip for me.

If Asashoryu puts a clock around his neck and spits lyrics from "Night of the Living Baseheads" one day, my head is going to explode.

(Thanks to Angry)

--Junichi

HEATROCKS FOR HAITI

The original "heatrocks for charity" campaign came about after Katrina. The folks at Soulstrut.com, a record collecting/hip-hop/whateverelse message board I spend way too much time on got together and auctioned off all kinds of rare records, the proceeds of which went to charities doing work around the disaster.

With the Haitian earthquake, Strut has gotten together once again to help out, auctioning off what will likely be dozens of very cool, very rare pieces, all in the name of benefiting those in Haiti.

This list of LPs will surely grow over the next few days so keep it bookmarked and please bid, bid, bid.

--O.W.

BEST QUOTES OF 2009

As I've done for the past few years (click to see 2005 2006 2007 or 2008), I wrote down all the unbelievable, outrageous, inspiring, insipid, bewildering, or hilarious statements made this calendar year. Enjoy. - JPS


"Um, you guys said that we, um, did this for the show."

- Six-year-old Falcon "Balloon Boy" Heene, on CNN

"You don’t like black people, but you’re working your hardest to get as brown as I am!"

- a black teenager at Charleston High School in Mississippi, on the popularity of tanning beds for attendees at "the white-folks prom" in Mount Vernon, Georgia, where high school proms remain racially segregated, as quoted by the New York Times

"Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. ... There's going to be swift action."

- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, after his wife, Maria Shriver, was caught driving while talking on a cell phone, violating the hands-free law that he signed

“We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage…I think I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there.”

- Carrie Prejean, Miss California, during the 2009 Miss USA pageant

"The Governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail."

- Spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford

"I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light - but hey, that would be going into sexual details..."

- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, in a love email to Maria Shapur, his Argentinean mistress

"Right now, I’d give anything to be hiking the Appalachian Trail."

– David Letterman, after admitting to multiple intra-office affairs

"It's clearly not what my mom wanted."

- Michael Phelps, on the circulated photo of him smoking pot

"I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape."

- Whoopi Goldberg, on The View, on Roman Polanski's rape of a 13 year-old girl

"If only I'd listened to CNBC, I'd have $1 million today--provided I had started with $100 million."

- Jon Stewart, on The Daily Show, mocking CNBC'S reckless advice and predictions

"I think it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way."

- Sean Penn, in his Best Actor acceptance speech at the Oscar

"We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles ... because his father was black"

- Rush Limbaugh, on President Obama

"You lie!"

- Rep. Joe Wilson, during President Obama's address to Congress

"I know the President is black, but this is not Showtime at the Apollo. ... Nancy Pelosi was so shocked, she took out her compact and drew in her eyebrows all furrowed."

- Bill Maher, in his opening monologue on Real Time with Bill Maher, regarding Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst

"How'd you like to try an Australian kiss? It's like a French kiss, but down under."

- Kevin, an unemployed 23-year-old self-described "Southern gentleman" and reality show contestant on The Cougar

"You go from having a mommy website to finding your picture 5,000 miles away."

- Danielle Smith, whose family photo on her webpage was used, without permission, in an ad for a Czech Republic grocery store (see photo above)

"Hey, it's Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. So if you can, please take your name off that. Just have it as a number on the voicemail, just have it as your telephone number. You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."

- Tiger Woods, in a voicemail message to cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs

"She didn't feel a thing."

- Kassim Bakari, about his 14-year-old daughter Bahia, who is the only person of 153 passengers to survive the Yemeni airliner crash

"It may be tempting and more comfortable to just kind of keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand, 'Hey, sit down and shut up,' but that's a worthless, easy path. That's a quitter's way out."

– Sarah Palin, explaining why she was resigning as governor of Alaska

"The human mind is like Van Halen. If you just pull out one piece and keep replacing it, it just degenerates."

- Fran Kranz (Topher Brink), on Dollhouse

"After we warm up before a game, I gotta take a dump. It's a huge benefit to release that gas you don't need. The facilities are beautiful. We're spoiled. If I get a good one, I know I'm gonna score two touchdowns."

- Leon Washington, running back for the New York Jets

"I know some people will see the irony here."

- Rodney King, promoting a boxing match between him and a former police officer

"She wears little eye-patch underwear. So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And so, we had made love Wednesday--a lot! And so she'll, she's all, 'I am going up and down the stairs, and you're dripping out of me!' So messy!"

- California State Rep. Mike Duvall, caught on a live mic boasting to a colleague about an affair with a lobbyist

"I've never wanted kids... don't have the time, don't have the uterus."

- Jane Lynch (as Sue Sylvester), on Glee

"I want to make this statement. This is a real good statement here: Marshall and I — we own a record company."

- Joe Jackson, sneaking in a plug, while being interviewed shortly after the death of his son, Michael Jackson

"Now Taylor, I'm really happy for you. Imma let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!"

- Kanye West, interrupting Taylor Swift, at the MTV Video Music Awards

"I totally understand O.J."

- Hulk Hogan, discussing his ex-wife

"Do I f@#$ing walk around and rip that --- no, shut the f$#k up, Bruce --- do I wa--- No! NO! Don't shut me up! Am I gonna walk around and rip your f@#$in' lights down in the middle of the scene...? Then why the f*@k are you walking right through? Ah da da da da, like this in the background. What the f&%k is it with you? What don't you f@#$ing understand? You got any f@#$in' idea about how... hey, it's f@#$ing distracting having somebody walking up behind Bryce in the middle of the f@#$ing scene! Give me a f@#$ing answer!"
- Christian Bale, during his tirade on set of Terminator Salvation, as DP Shane Hurlbut accidentally walked onto the set.  This also led to one of the greatest video mashups ever.



"Its a ASS suniami!!!!!!!!"

- Diddy, tweeting about callipygian women in Brazil

"Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining-room table. I have no interest in doing it."

- Rep. Barney Frank, to a woman at a town-hall meeting who dubbed health care reform proposals a "Nazi policy"

"Keep f***ing that chicken."
- New York news anchor Ernie Anastos to weatherman Nick Gregory, live on Fox 8



"If our mom knew, she would disown us."

- Adnan Qadeer, who owns an undercover garment business in Pakistan with his brother, which earns more than $1 million a year exporting fetish and bondage products

"Keep your government hands off my Medicare."

- Anonymous protester, according to the Washington Post, at a health care town hall in Simpsonville, South Carolina

"If there's one thing I hate, it's losing. If there's two things I hate, it's losing and getting cancer."

- Kenny Powers, in his motivational audiotape, on Eastbound and Down

"I bowled a 129. It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something."

- President Obama, joking on The Tonight Show, days before he profusely apologized to the head of the Special Olympics

"A book hasn't caused this much trouble since Where's Waldo went to that barber pole factory."

- Tracy Morgan, on 30 Rock

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

- Model Kate Moss, before courting controversy from eating disorder experts

"People wanted bigger weddings, newer carriages ... They were buying things they didn't need."

- Marvin Lehman, Amish father of four, discussing why his community is struggling financially

"It is our duty to defend people’s votes. There is no turning back.”

- Mir-Hossein Moussavi, alleging voting fraud in the Iranian presidential election

"I wanted to tell everybody so you don't think I stole a Korean baby!"

- Katherine Heigl, who adopted a Korean baby, on Ellen

"Oh, Ann, I am so fine. As long as you and me are cool. You know my code. Hos before bros. Uteruses before duderuses. ... Ovaries before bovaries."

- Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope), on Parks and Recreation

"Why? Because I’m a black man in America?"

- Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., to the Cambridge police officer who questioned him about entering his own home

"[Officials] willfully trained and encouraged the dolphins to throw water."

- attorneys for Allecyn Edwards, who is suing an Illinois zoo after she fell and injured herself on a floor made slippery by a dolphin show

"Since 1980, there have been 91 breaches of security at the White House. Well, 92 if you count George Bush."

- David Letterman, on Tareq and Michaele Salahi's crashing a White House state dinner

--Junichi