More Election Analysis

1) I defeated Tobin Jones again.

I know, I made my so-called last statement on him a while back, but this month proves I was more correct than he is!


I remember back in 2001, I wrote an editorial in the University of Hawaii's newspaper about how the USA has made more progress in freedom, economics, race relations, etc than most countries in the world.

http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2001/11/01/Editorials/U.s-Not.Best.But.Better-2806056.shtml

And Tobin Jones responded by throwing a Hissy Fit at me

http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2001/11/05/Editorials/Letters.To.The.Editor.11.05.01-2806085.shtml

My reply to him

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-conflict-with-jeremiah-wright-wannabe.html



This Election proved me Correct!

Just imagine what kind of hissy fit Tobin Jones would've thrown had I written back in 2001 that within a decade the USA would elect an African-American president. Or be culturally tolerant enough to elect a president with a middle name Hussein, or a president who is from Hawaii! He would've yelled about how naive I was! 

Yet, It Just Happened In Real Life!

Here is Dennis Prager's analysis on all of that

http://jewishworldreview.com/1108/prager111108.php3

Conservatives are not surprised. I have argued for decades that America is the least racist country in the world. By and large, only Americans on the right have believed, or at least had the courage to say, this. Now that fact is obvious to virtually anyone with eyes to see.

To contrast, none of the liberal European countries have voted for a president of African or Middle Eastern ancestry. None of those liberal Western European countries has yet elected a president with Muslim relatives!

I'm still waiting for China to even have an election, much less chose a Tibetan as its leader! Or for Japan to vote a person of Korean ancestry!

In fact, the Luo tribe (the group of which Obama's father is from) is less likely to gain the presidency of Kenya than the USA. This election has proven it!

2) Linda Lingle should've just sticked with Hawaii politics.

Lingle was in the mainland to support the McCain/Palin campaign!

She also questioned Obama's "localness", which backfired! Despite moving to Chicago, the people of Hawaii still loved him! In fact, they supported him more than any other state! (Though DC gave him the highest % of votes, but technically, DC isn't a state)

Not only did McCain/Palin lose, but the Hawaii Republicans lost members in the state Legislature!

I remember when Lingle first ran for governor in 1998, there was excitement about the Republican Party growing in Hawaii!

At the time, Hawaii was run by Democrats for 4 decades, yet it still had a low-rated education system, a business climate so over-regulated that many Hawaii residents found greener pastures in the continental US. Ironically, the greener pastures were in desert states like Nevada & Arizona

I was like "if Lingle can win, we can finally have a 2 party system, and be more like Florida, Nevada & Arizona"

Well, Lingle lost in 1998, but won in 2002 & 2006. The Republicans gained seats in the Legislature but then declined.

So within the last 10 years, we went from an extremely Democrat-run legislature to a ...........an extremely Democrat-run legislature!

Lingle should've stayed home and got more Republicans elected in Hawaii, rather than convince mainlanders to vote for McCain/Palin!

3) The people voted for rail!

I didn't!

My #1 issue was the possible use of eminent domain to confiscate property of those who just happened to be in the way of the rail system!

Hopefully, they can just buy the land, or re-route it to reduce the chance of "needing" to use eminent domain!

4) Proposition 8 was the ballot initiative to re-ban same-sex marriage in California!

It won 53% of the vote!

The religious conservatives were happy! Even in the year of Obama, people still agreed to ban same-sex marriage!

But they shouldn't over-celebrate!

In 2000, the people of California voted on this same issues. 61% voted against same-sex marriage!

So in 8 years, the opposition against same-sex marriage went from 61% to 53%.

I predict in 10 years, this issue would be voted on AGAIN, and the opposition to same-sex marriage will decline AGAIN, but that time to be less than 50%. They will then loose California forever!

However, the same-sex marriage movement is making an idiotic move by boycotting Utah due to the Mormon's opposition to same-sex marriage.

But Utah wasn't voting on this issue, it was the people of California!

Would the gay liberation movement call for a boycott of Rome, Mecca or Jerusalem? After all, the Catholics, Muslims & Orthodox Jews also opposed same-sex marriage!
Also, the majority of African-American Christians opposed same-sex marriage! So would the gay liberation movement boycott Crenshaw (in South Central LA) & East Oakland too?

But that won't happen!

The last thing the Democrats (and Obama) want is a liberal civil war! They don't want a gays vs African-American Christian, or a gays vs Latino Catholics, or a gays vs Jews, or a gays vs Muslims! That would cause an implosion of the liberal coalition important for Democrat victory!

But since the Mormons aren't part of the liberal coalition (despite Honolulu mayor Mufi Hanneman and Nevada senator Harry Reid being Mormon Democrats) so the gay liberation is taking it all out on Utah!

This is STUPID!

There's no need to boycott Utah, Rome, Mecca, Jerusalem, Crenshaw or East Oakland!

The same-sex marriage supporters just need to get their message out! Inform people that sexual orientation isn't a choice! Attraction isn't a choice! And that people should live their lives as they see fit!

Declaring war on Utah (or on Rome, Mecca, Jerusalem or on African-American Christians) WILL BACKFIRE! It will look like a "hate campaign". There's no need for a "hate campaign.

Just keep saying the message - Sexual Orientation isn't a Choice! Attraction isn't a Choice! And people should live their lives as they see fit!

People will eventually get the message!

When I was younger, I used to be against same-sex marriage because I thought homosexuality was gross. But I learned that Sexual Orientation isn't a Choice, Attraction isn't a Choice. And people should live their lives as they see fit!

So even a straight male like me can learn!

Just keep educating the masses! No religious wars neccessary!

This Historic Election

History was made this past Tuesday!


The USA will have it's 1st African-American President! Barack Obama!


This shows this country has gone a long way! A land that once imported Africans as slaves, and had oppressive segregation laws, a land where African-Americans who fought for their rights met with violent resistance, and the land that overcame racist segregation --- Now has given a majority of its votes to a man with African ancestry!

Martin Luther King's dream is now reality!

And one of King's former assistants, John Lewis, who was severely beaten during the civil rights movement, had an emotional statement after it was announced that Barack Obama was going to be the next President!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGIrwctPeiA


Here is John McCain's concession speech. McCain showed a lot of class, though unfortunately, some of his supporters didn't. (which I'll discuss later)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7DZZ1iEnk


Here is Barack Obama's victory speech

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2008/barackobamavictoryspeech.htm

Now on to the election analysis

1) I didn't agree with Obama's proposals on raising corporate taxes or undoing Clinton/Bush free trade policies. I thought it's a counter-productive thing to do in this declining economy! Also, Obama's proposal on withdrawal from Iraq might be counter-productive! I thought McCain made stronger points on those issues during the debate!

I also worried about the Democrat Congress and a Democrat President might go too left on economic policy!

But I accept Obama's victory, and I accept Obama as the Next President!


2) This goes out to all you loosers who screamed about "Obama is a Muslim", "Obama is a terrorist", "Obama's not an American citizen","Obama's brith certificate is fake" mocked Obama for having a middle name "Hussein", and to all you loosers who yelled racist chants against Obama!

USA VOTERS DIDN'T FALL FOR YOUR BULL-FECES! YOU LUNATICS ARE LOOSERS AND you didn't help McCain. In fact, you hurt McCain BIG TIME!

In fact, America voted Obama to give you racist fuckers a middle finger!

And those who booed Obama when McCain accepted defeat? Welcome to democracy! You win some, you loose some! Deal with it maturely!

Even if Obama really was a Muslim, HARDLY ANYONE CARES!

The generation under 40 has looked up to Muslim athletes like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mushin Mohammed!

The generation under 40 looked up to Muslim rappers like Rakim and Q-Tip! Akon was from a Muslim family & Ice Cube was once associated with the Nation of Islam! Akon & Ice Cube have millions of fans of all races, and though their lyrics would offend many conservative Muslims, having associations with Islam didn't hurt their careers!

Salon even had an article titled "Racists for Obama", which mentioned some European-Americans might make jokes about African-Americans, but supported Obama anyways.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/11/03/racists_for_obama/index.html

This is not as unusual as Salon makes it out to be! It's like those in Hawaii who refer to European-Americans as "fuckin haoles" but got a Colt Brennan jersey anyways! Or those who occassionally make fun of the way Chinese people talk, but will order take-out plate lunches from Chinese eateries!

As that article said "If you got to a white neighborhood in the suburbs and ask them, "How would you feel about a large black man kicking your door in," they would say, "That doesn't sound good to me... But if you say, "Your house is on fire, and the firefighter happens to be black," it's a different situation."

Some might proclaim dislike of Africans, Mexicans, Asians, Samoans, Micronesians, Europeans, etc, but if your house is on fire, you don't give a shit what race the firefighters are!

3) Now, this goes out to the Race Card Abusers on the Left!

These are the ones who said "calling Obama a socialist is racist", "McCain saying'that one' on Obama during the debates is racist", "Bill Clinton calling Obama's Iraq rhetoric a fairy tale is racist", "Joe the Plumber's questioning Obama is racist" or "anyone criticizing Obama is racist" -- THOSE THINGS ARE NOT RACIST!

Look, all Presidents get criticized for their policies & short-comings. That was true under the Bushes & Reagan! That was true under Clinton & Carter! It ain't gonna stop under Obama!

It's NOT racist to criticize Obama's policies!

Save the race talk on issues where it's needed!

4) All this talk about the "Bradley effect"? Irrelevant!

At least 51% of the USA voted for a African-American! At least 25% would've voted for an African-American who had different policies on taxes, foreign policy, guns, abortion, etc. So that's 76% of the USA.

The other 24% is too small to win a majority! They might still do things ranging from the annoying to the deadly! They might still make some areas too dangerous for those of the opposite color!

But the good news is they're loosing!

5) Now, the Democrats got a bigger majority in Congress!

They better not get too arrogant!

Obama campaign as a relatively moderate liberal!

Any attempts from Congress to make Obama go far to the Left will only alienate people! As conservative activist Richard Viguerie said "By running as moderates, "Democrats forfeited any claim to a liberal mandate,"

This would be especially true when it comes to gun policy, taxes and any new government programs!

6) So now what for Republicans?

Obama won Bush states like Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and (some still dispute it over 2000) Florida!

Some are calling for Palin 2012!

Never say Never!

Back in 2004, some were calling for Obama 2008, but even then, I thought Obama would've need more experience. But History Happened in 2008!

Though I predict the next Republican to win the Presidency will have to have some non-European ancestry!

The USA is being more diverse, and that's not going to change!

The Republicans can't be a "party of just white people" anymore! Otherwise, they'll loose Arizona (McCain saved it this time), Texas, Georgia and even Utah!

So the future possibilities could include Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor whose parents were immigrants from India!

Maybe Tito The Builder (the Latino version of Joe the Plumber) who was a Colombian immigrant who started a construction company, and made on-stage appearances with Sarah Palin! Maybe he'll have to win a Senate seat first!

See his speech at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKZUzcT-MmQ&feature=related

Or maybe Todd - Sarah Palin's husband - who is part-Inuit! Now, image, a 1st Native American President! Now, that would be History Part Two!

Maybe Larry Elder, the African-American radio talk show host! Or Walter Williams, a free-market economist who happens to be African-American!

Or Star Parker, a female conservative activist of African-American ancestry! Maybe she could be the First Female President! History Part Three!

Just as long as it's not Michelle Malkin, (the Filipina version of Ann Coulter), who has toxic, hateful views towards Latin American & Middle Eastern immigrants! She might be popular among some Fox News supporters, but the Republicans need to distant themselves from Malkin as far as possible!

Coming Soon

My analysis on the historic election of this week.

I've been so busy, but trust me, as soon as I get time, I got A LOT to say about the recent election!

Election News

So far, it seems that Barack Obama has the upper hand in the polls.

But this election seems too close to call!

1) Many on the Left will blame only one thing if Obama looses - Racism!

Unfortunately, we have a bunch of dummies on the Far Right who still believe Obama is the "closet Muslim", and thinks that Obama wants to "oppress the whites". We also have a bunch of dummies at McCain-Palin rallies shouting racist crap at African-American reporters!

There are concern that some European-American union voters (usually Democrats) have racist feelings and wouldn't vote for a black guy, no matter what! This is especially a concern in swing states in the Midwest!


But for some on the Radical Left, any criticism of Obama is considered "racist". Even those who (gasp) express criticism of Obama's proposed policies!

You can't even call Obama a "liberal" without being called a racist!

Obama was accused of "palling around with terrorists"! Those accussations were considered "racist", but the terrorist was European-American Bill Ayers, who planted bombs in federal buildings in the 1970's.

Joe the Plumber was slandered as "racist" for saying that Obama was "tap dancing" around his question like "Sammy Davis Jr.

THAT'S NOT RACIST!

What, if John McCain was being evasive about a question, I can't say "he swam around my questions like Micheal Phelps" or else I'll get called "anti-white?

If you're one of those who call every non-Obama voter a racist, would you vote for African-American conservatives like Allan Keyes, Clarence Thomas, or Condaleeza Rice?

2) Some talk about the Bradley effect, referring to the former mayor of LA, Thomas Bradley (who happened to be African-American) who was ahead in the pre-election polls when he ran for governor of California in 1982, but lost the election!

Some say "some pretended to be for Bradley, but in the privacy of the voting booth, they voted their prejudice, and against Bradley"

But his opponent exposed the fact that crime was increasing in LA during Bradley's term as mayor. Also a handgun-ban initiative was on the ballot which Bradly supported. That got many who either 1) sometimes liberal but isn't for gun bans, or 2) non-voting but owns a gun to vote against Bradley.

Let's not forget that Bradley's career was destroyed in 1992 because of the LA riots. Bradley was still mayor, and people felt he lost control of the city, and that the police wasn't adequately prepared for a large scale riot! He even lost support of many African-American voters at that point!

It's likely, in the case of Obama, many are skeptical of his tax policy, foreign policy, etc, but don't want to admit it because people might then ask "are you against him because he's black?" even if you're only questioning his policies! So they remain silent!

Or in some cases, Obama skeptics might get called "Uncle Toms". I mean back in the primary, the African-American politicians & activists who supported Hillary Clinton were called "race traitors" and in some cases, even threatened!

Kathleen Parker says a "reverse Bradley effect" might happen! Those in conservative areas might want to vote for Obama but are silent because then they might be asked "why are voting for that Muslim?" or "why are voting for that (n-word)?". So it's possible that many Obama supporters in conservative areas are pretending to support McCain, but in the privacy of the voting booth, end up voting for Obama

http://jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker102208.php3

Parker was the same conservative writer who expressed skepticism of Sarah Palin's readiness to be Vice-President. She ended up being accused of being a "closet liberal" and recieved threatening emails!

3) Some say Obama is a Radical Leftist because he associated with Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and other left-wing extremists!

I think Obama, like other politicians, panders to whatever can help him at the moment.

When he ran for office in Chicago, he felt he had to pander to Ayers, Wright, etc. in order to get votes.

He felt he needed to support handgun bans when he was an Illinois senator!

Now that he wants to be President, he disassociated himself from those left-wing extremists and now says he's against handgun bans!

McCain isn't guilt-free on pandering. In 2000, when he was trying to be the Republican nominee for President (which George W. Bush end up winning), he pandered to South Carolina racists by not taking a stand on the issue of the Confederate flag on state grounds. Months later, McCain later said he was against the Confederate flag but didn't express it when it mattered in the primary election, because he didn't want to loose.

Afterwards, after loosing to Bush, he wanted the image of a "guy who rebels within the Republican Party". He was the "liberal's favorite Republican" So he voted against Bush's tax cuts.

But guess what? To re-take the Republican Party, McCain flip-flopped! Now he's a big tax cut man!

So both are politicians who pander!

4) Now on to policy!

On economics, Obama said he'll cut taxes for 95% of Americans and give many tax credits to those people.

Being that I'm one of the 95%, I'll be happy!

However, McCain pointed out in the debates that the Obama wants to increase corporate taxes. He also pointed out that the US has a corporate tax rate of 35%, whereas Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 11%.

McCain is right that a lower corporate tax rate is good in bringing more investments.

However, McCain wants to tax health benefits! Wrong Move!

5) Joe Biden (who had a long reputation for saying stuff without thinking it through) mentioned that foreign enemies could test Obama in his first months!

The irony is that Biden is Obama's running mate! If McCain-Palin said it, they would've been accused of "fear mongering"

It wouldn't matter, any new president is going to get tested!

Bill Clinton was tested when the World Trade Center blew up early in 1993, whereas Bush was tested by 9/11 in his first year!

So regardless of who's president, something's going to happen in 2009! I just hope North Korean nuclear missiles can't reach Hawaii!

6) My previous blog post talked about the Internet and how recent it is!

McCain has admitted he doesn't know how to use the Internet by himself!

At his age, he's been an adult LONG before the Internet became popular (around 1996), so the thought is "if I spent so many years without it, why would I need it now"

McCain defenders said "he can't type because his hands were severely injured during his POW days". If that's true, can McCain hold a pen?

7) My 2004 predictions came close to true!

Here's what I said in 2004

http://pablothemadtiger.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_archive.html

From my Nov 8 post under #5

For the GOP, the results show that from now on, they'll need their Presidential candidates need to be from Texas (like Bush) or Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico or Utah. Why? Because a politician from those states would have experience speaking to both white conservative voters AND Latino voters.

So, yes the GOP chose an interior West guy in 2008. I just didn't expect McCain. Back then, McCain was known as the guy who rebels against his own party. I didn't expect him to take over!

As for the Democrats, they'll need someone from the Midwest. There, the politicians will have the experience of talking to union voters, inner city African Americans, college-town liberals and traditonally conservative rural voters. Barack Obama fits that profile, but I think he needs to serve a full-term in the Senate and win re-election to prove that he is capable of being elected President. Either that or run for governor of Illinois if that seat opens up. Either way, it can help Obama be the 1st African American President.

Obama didn't need to serve a full-term, and he's the one the Democrats chose!

8) Earlier this year, I mentioned that because Bob Barr was the Libertarian Party this year, I won't vote Libertarian for President!

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html#1589278334887116242

AS I researched the other 3rd party candidates (Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin) I am now resorting to choosing between McCain & Obama! Choosing between the Big 2 parties wasn't something I wanted to do in 2000 & 2004, but now it's the only thing I have left, not because of anyone's chance of winning, but the 3rd party guys are even worse!

28 years of life

That's how long I was living last Wednesday. Only now, 5 days later, am I blogging on it , due to time constraints.

1) my older brother called me and jokingly called me an "old man".

So much ironies.

He's only 4 years older than me, but he is balding! That gave me motivation to grow my hair longer over the last year, because I get the feeling I'm going to be loosing my hair soon.

I got my hair in a ponytail right now. I thought about braids, but I wonder if showing up to work with braids would be a good idea!

My father is 56 years old, but lost no hair. He claims that it's because he just use regular soap instead of shampoo!

But I think it has more to do with genetics. Some scientists say the "balding gene" comes from the mother's side.

My father's mother is of Zapotec ancestry (a native Mexican group common in my father's birth-state of Oaxaca). My father's father is of Spanish ancestry, really white-skinned, and has lot's of body hair.

Whereas in my mother's side of the family, has more European DNA (German, Portuguese, Spanish). While my mother is "50% Puerto Rican", it seems to be a mix of Spanish and indigenous Puerto Rican.

And all my uncles in my mom's side got balded heads, and body hair!

So I'm growing my hair in my final years of having hair on my head.

I just wish my body hairs would bald a lot faster!

2) Another sign I'm getting old.

Watching a teenage rapper (Soulja Boy) mocking a rap veteran (Ice-T) as "being so old, you were born before the Internet was invented"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr8B2dnIvR4&feature=related

That was the 1st time I heard anything like that!

Soon, all the young kids would be mocking my generation (& older) like that!

The Internet became a popular thing back around 1996. I was in high school back then!

But now, those who are in school are getting Internet lessons in elementary school, and some were surprised that I mentioned how relatively new the Internet is! I even told them "if you take someone who died in 1990, bring that person back to life, and just tell him to do Internet search, that person would not know what to do!"

3) Recently, I've really spend a lot of time listening to the funk music group Zapp!

Zapp had a lead singer by the name of Roger Troutman. Troutman passed away in 1999!

His use of a talkbox has inspired current vocalists like Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West!

But what got my attention back in the 1990's was that Zapp's music was constantly sampled by West Coast rap artists! It was the sound heard out of lowriders, ghetto house parties, and picnics! It was the sound of fun, even in the most dangerous neighborhoods!

Zapp had a song that basically predicted the future!

That song was called "Computer Love" and it came out in 1986

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KAJe7HNN44

In 1986, computers were mostly used to type papers and play video games. That was it! There was NO myspace, NO facebook, NO online dating websites! There was NO i-tunes, NO Napster, NO watching movies online, NO online music sharing! The Internet was still in the process of being invented. It wasn't in middle class homes, nor was it accessible in public libraries! Almost no one in America had access to e-mail. People had cell phones, but there were NOT the kind that can easily fit into pockets like the ones today! There were no "ringtones", it had no "memory", it couldn't take photos, it was used for calling and that was IT!

Yet, Roger Troutman was singing about finding his sweetheart on the computer, seeing her face on a computer screen!

Roger Troutman would be amazed by how his futuristic fantasy came true if he came back to life today!

Pablo in the Media

I have made 2 recent appearances in the local media recently

1) In the October edition of the Hawaii Hispanic News, there is a section called "Adonde Estamos? Where are We?" In it, those of Latino ancestry get to show their face and tell the readers who they are.

http://www.hawaiihispanicnews.org/index.html is the Hawaii Hispanic News website, though my info was only in the print version!

I was solicited to post some info by the editor Marie Villa!

This is what I orginally sent

----

Hi, I am Pablo Wegesend, a 27 year old lifelong resident of Honolulu . My father is from Oaxaca , Mexico . He is of Zapotec and Spanish ancestry. My mother is born & raised in Honolulu , and she is of Puerto Rican, Spanish, Portuguese and German ancestry.

I attended Lilioukalani Elementary (preschool-kindergarten), Lanakila Elementary (grades 1-5), Kawananakoa Middle, McKinley High, and the University of Hawaii-Manoa!

I grew up in Kalihi, and currently live in Mo'ili'ili.

I am currently a substitute teacher for schools in both the public and private sector!

My interests include bike riding, supporting U H sports, collecting articles from the Internet, exercising at the Nuuanu YMCA, and listening to various styles of music.

--

What's with the orange words? That's all that was printed in Hawaii Hispanic News!

The editors edited a lot of stuff out! I've mentioned that I've got Puerto Rican, Portuguese and German to the editors, they took it out! It now makes me look like "this guy only emphasizes his Mexican side"

I understand editors have to make decisions based on available space, but it leaves out stuff I told them! :(

It reminds me of those who've been interviewed on TV for hours, but only 5 minutes of what they said was televised!

Well, at least they spelled my German last name right! :)

2) I also had a guest appearance in a recent Honolulu Star Bulletin story.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081009_Isle_tourism_chief_resigns.html

I was quoted in saying the following!

Rex Johnson being the head of the Hawaii tourism agency is like Michael Vick in charge of the Humane Society. It's like Amy Winehouse in charge of DARE," said Honolulu-resident Pablo Wegesend, who has been an advocate for Hispanic rights.

I did say that, but I did NOT say it to anyone at the Honolulu Star Bulletin. It was something I sent in an email to a member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority board, after someone sent an email out to encourage people to send emails to Kelvin Bloom (a member of the board in charge of the Hawaii Tourism Authority) on the Rex Johnson controversy!

That email was supposed to just sent to a member of the board. I did NOT expect it to be mentioned in a newspaper.

But now that it's on the paper, I stand by everything I said. I'm just surprised it appeared on the Star Bulletin, since I didn't contact anyone on the Star Bulletin on this issue!

#2 - an "advocate of Hispanic rights"? Wow! I'm not a member of any organization, but I guess all my blogs and articles (which focuses on many issues, NOT just those relating to Latino issues) paid off!


Well, I guess the last few days reinforced a few lessons!

1) you can tell someone in the media a lot, and they'll only show a tiny portion of what you told them (as was the case of Hawaii Hispanic News)

2) anything sent in e-mail can be published in a well-known media outlet, even if you never sent it to a media outlet! ( as was the case with the Star Bulletin story)

Anyways, I guess that's the price of being an opinionated person :)

In Memory of Aunty Alice

Aunty Alice passed away this past Monday.

So who was Aunty Alice?

Aunty Alice is what my family called Alice Melito. She was my grandma's sister.

She was born Alice Caban, in a Kauai plantation village. She (and my grandma) moved to Kalihi when they were still growing up.

Aunty Alice later moved to New York's Staten Island, and married into an Italian-American family and became Alice Melito.

I've met Aunty Alice a few times when she visited Hawaii, though unfortunately, I never got to visit her in New York!

I also learned things about New York from a resident perspective while talking to Aunty Alice!

The funny thing about her visits to Hawaii, was that even though people can sense my grandma & Aunty Alice were related, their skin color was different (Alice was lighter) and Aunty Alice sounded like a stereotypical New York Italian, whereas my grandma's voice sounds like a mix of Hawaii pidgin with a hint of a Puerto Rican voice mixed within. You'd have to hear them both talk to believe it!

Aunty Alice was a very nice person, and it was a pleasure to have met her! She will be missed!