Category Archives: diversity

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, news

Emil Guillermo: William Hung as the passive aggressive subliminal racist tool of Fox

William Hung just won’t go away nicely.  He’ll gladly extend his 15 minutes of fame. Only it comes at all our expense.

I don’t know folks, but when I saw William Hung being used by Fox on the “American Idol” finale,  I just felt sorry for him.

Stepin’Fetchit  Asian style? Does that need to be memorialized, or just forgotten?

Whenever a non-Asian wants to feel superior to an Asian or Asian American, there’s William Hung as the bad, off-key singer to allow others to feel superior.

He’s the anti-Tiger Asian.

He’s like the antidote to those who are sick and tired of getting  beaten by Asian Americans in school or  on the job.

They can proudly say, “Well, we’ll always have William Hung to kick around.”

And sure enough, Hung will be there on demand, cheering with his arms up.  And Ryan Seacrest will be there patting him on his back,  whispering in his ear.

Read my whole column, including the first one I wrote in 2004, when Hung first burst on the scene, click here to link to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, Filipino, journalism, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: The latest posts and thoughts from me!

Check the latest columns on SCOTUS, Unions, Brussels, Donald Trump and more on the AALDEF blog.

 

The Donald trails in Wisconsin. When he doesn’t talk about polls, what does he talk about? He is about the act of running. Policy? He’d rather outsource that.  By confusing capitalism with democracy, he isn’t taking the time to bother with the issues. If you heard his thoughts on abortion, nuclear weapons, and other things this week, then you know that the Donald sounded like he was channeling Gary Busey on “Celebrity Apprentice.”

BRUSSELS:  Here’s a picture of the Filipino American woman who was one of the victims.  She was with her husband and four children at the airport. They survived. She did not.

SEE my reporting on the NBCNews.com Asian America site.

gailmartinezandkato

blog, diversity, news, politics

Emil Guillermo: The new politics of America? Calif.State Controller John Chiang intros Calif. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, choice of Calif. Democrats to replace U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. While most politicos were wondering about Hillary’s landslide and Bernie’s take on the Black vote, this was happening in San Jose.

Chiang said he was still three months away from announcing a run for governor. But he was at the Calif. Democratic Convention on Saturday to intro Attorney General Kamala Harris, the Dems choice to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer.

California is as diverse as it gets in politics.

Chiang, one of the highest ranking Asian American  in California politics setting the stage for Harris, the  South Asian/African American rising star,  who could be a player on the national stage for a long, long time.

 

 

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: Scalia’s death has made everyone notice this election season.

 

 

If you were on the sidelines waiting for everyone to duke it out, then planning to very quietly cast a ballot in November, that all changed.

Now the stakes are as clear as ever.

The future of the nation isn’t about the presidency, nor the Senate.

But both play a role in choosing a Supreme Court justice.

You may not have considered that as important heretofore.

But you should now.

There’s a lot of guff about the Senate blocking Obama from naming a person.

But there is the constitution which says every nominee deserves an up/down vote. I don’t think the Senate can block an acceptable nominee indefinitely.

If Obama is shrewd, and he no doubt will be, his choice will be someone who has bi-partisan appeal.  Someone who has been supported by conservatives.

A few come to mind. And one is a Filipino American woman who heads the California Supreme Court.

See my column here on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

There’s much at stake in this current court year from Obamacare to affirmative action to union and labor issues.  there have been many 5-4 decisions. If there’s a 4-4 tie, the lower court rulings will stand.

It’s critical to get a replacement for Scalia now.

And that’s why every one will now be glued to politics.

Special interests? It’s in all our interests to get this right–the best interests of our American Democracy.

And it’s not just Scalia’s replacement. With a number of judges approaching retirement age, the next group of appointees to come will impact the nation for the next 25 years or more.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Scalia’s passing demands you pay attention now.