We now know who dies in "The Walking Dead" and AAPIs are not happy

SPOILERS AHEAD:

READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 7, EPISODE 1 OF "THE WALKING DEAD."

THE ONLY Asian/American to survive the zombie apocalypse was killed off last night (Oct. 23).

Yeah, yeah, we know it's all pretend. Nevertheless, the death of Glenn Rhee as played by Steven Yeun in The Walking Dead, hurt. It hurt bad. Studies have shown that the emotions we undergo for our favorite fictional characters are real but not as long lasting as the real thing, thank goodness.

For seven years we watched Glenn grow from slacker pizza delivery boy to bad-ass zombie killer. The character is probably the best developed and complicated Asian/American character depicted on American TV. Yeun was fabulous in the role and introduced the concept of an AAPI heroic figure that the viewing audience of all races could cheer for and identify with.

Glenn was the first Asian/American male character to get the girl. Yeah, before Vincent Rodriguez III kissed Rachel Bloom in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Glenn kissed Maggie and don't think that stereotype-breaker went unnoticed in Asian America.

Together, the lovers represented the hope for the future in a world full of death and inhumanity. Glenn was the last good guy in the show in that he never killed a human being and always held out hope for some of the hopeless people that the group encountered in their journeys, willing to give second chances even if it meant putting himself at risk. In that sense, it was inevitable that Glenn meet his end since every character on the show that demonstrated an ounce of humanity was killed off.

Glenn Rhee, as played by Steven Yeun, has killed his last zombie.

In one dream sequence, the group is having a meal and at the head of the table was Glenn holding the hapa son that he never will get to know. 

The writers used the Season 7 opener to kill of another favorite, the macho militaristic Abraham. The double death was a change from the comics, the source material for the show and perhaps took the audience by surprise. The gruesome deaths of two key beloved characters prompted the producers to do an extended special Talking Dead, the show for the fans to talk about the goings-on of The Walking Dead.

During The Talking Dead, Yeun said that he didn’t want the big dramatic death that Glenn experiences in the comic to go to any other character. "Robert wrote such a messed up but at the same time incredible way to take something away, Yeun said. "To make a story as impactful as it is. When you read the comic, you kind of don’t want that moment to go to anyone else. I think I said that, ‘Don’t let that go to anyone else.‘ To do it the way we did it, I think, was brave and super effecting."

Glenn's last words as his head was being bashed in, "I will find you," was heartbreaking.

Lauren Cohan, who plays Glenn's wife Maggie, and wears her emotions on her sleeve, interpreted that dying promise as: “In this life or the next,” Cohan says. “They’re star-crossed lovers. ‘I’ll find you, I’ll be with you, I’ll watch over you. I’ll be there.’” 

“He dies in such a Glenn way," adds Yeun. "Still not thinking about himself. It’s important that he puts those final words out as a way of saying, ‘Look out for one another.’”

These days when there's so much talk about the importance of increasing diversity on television and whitewashing of roles meant for Asians, killing off a major Asian/American character on a culturally iconic show, is a blow to that movement. I hope that the producers of The Walking Dead and its spinoff Fear The Walking Dead will give more opportunities for AAPI characters to be given a strong presence in our pop culture lexicon. Glenn will be missed.

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Addison Russell - a baseball star we can cheer for in the World Series

Instagram

Addison Russel kisses his wife, who is also Filipno/American after the Cubs clinched the National League title.

AFTER 71 YEARS of frustration, the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series and  due - in no small measure - to the play of sophomore shortstop Addison Russell. 

The Cubs won the National League title Friday (Oct. 21) by beating the L.A. Dodgers, four games to two in a best of seven series.

If you're not a fan of cross-town rival White Sox, and you don't have any skin in the game, Filipino/American Addison is a good reason to cheer on the underdog Cubs, (to mix metaphors) the Bad News Bears of Major League Baseball. The first game of the World Series between the Cubs and the American League champions, the Cleveland Indians startsTuesday.

RELATED: The Cubs' Filipino/American All-Star shortstop

Since the still-undiagnosed decline of two-time Cy Young-winner Tim Lincecum - one of my favorite players - Addison may be the antidote to that void. He's an All-Star calibre shortstop and he's just coming around as becoming an offensive threat. 

More importantly, at an age (22) when all the adulation can easily turn one arrogant and boastful, he remains humble and proud of his Asian/American heritage.

TGIF FEATURE: 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,' Season Two premieres tonight

'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' stars Vincent Rodriguez III and Rachel Bloom.

FOR YOU FANS of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the show has moved to Fridays, starting tonight at 9 p.m. on the CW network.

The musical romcom picks up where we left last season, when the two main protagonists, Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III) finally admit their feelings for each other and fall into each other's arms.

But remember what happened, Rebecca inadvertently confesses that she left New York City to move to West Covina to hook up with her teenage crush. The camera zooms into Josh's face of consternation that seems to convey, "Wha'? That's crazy! Is she crazy? What am I getting into?"

Although the show received critical acclaim, it didn't really pick up the audience that it deserved. During the off season, the show received awards from the Golden Globes and the Emmys and people began to notice.

RELATED: 

• Why you should be watching 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'
• The Kiss finally occurs on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 

The new timeslot is evidence of CW's confidence in this quirky, smartly-written show hoping that it will pick up more viewers. CEG made history in a couple of ways in its first season.

The hour-long show occasionally features Josh's Filipino/American family, the first FilAm family shown on U.S. television. Josh's noteworthy role as the romantic lead also broke down some stereotypes about Asian men.

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The time is now! Register to vote

Actor Ken Jeong urges people to register to vote.

OCT. 24 is the deadline for registering to vote in California. 

Besides being the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., Asian/Americans have the highest income and are the best educated – both factors that have traditionally produced high voter turnout.

However, as a voting bloc, Asian/Americans don’t. In fact, they have the lowest voter participation of any demographic group.

The growth of the ethnic group is mainly due to immigration meaning a large portion of AAAPIs are first-generation immigrants. One of the reasons for low voter turnout is the language barrier even though it is required that voter assistance should be given to anyone having difficulty with the ballot.

In 2014, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund received more than 340 complaints from Asian/Americans reporting problems voting. More than 1 in 5 of these grievances involved being asked to prove their U.S. citizenship in states that don’t require ID to vote. Generally, only a few people in those states would have to provide proof of citizenship.

Another common problem among Asian-American voters is mistakes with their names, causing them to not show up correctly on voter rolls. He said Asian-American names may be unusual to people entering the voter roll data.

This election cycle there has been an aggressive voter registration drive among Asian/Americans by the major parties and nonpartisan agencies.

The anti-immigrant and racist tenor of the rhetoric has also driven AAPI to register. It is still unclear how successful those efforts have been.

RELATED: Hateful rhetoric dries AAPI voters to the Democrats

AAPI celebrities have joined other celebrities by lending their time and names to the registration drives including Darren Criss and Jenna Ushkowitz

Because of the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the Trump camp, Asian/American voters have been steadily drifting towards the Democratic Party. This leftward movement has actually been happening over the past several presidential elections. A national survey in the spring by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a nonpartisan research group, showed “a significant leftward shift” since 2012 among Asian-American registered voters,

RELATED: AAPI voters lead towards Democrats

A majority of Asian-American voters – 55 percent overall – supported Al Gore in 2000, while John Kerry garnered 56 percent support from these communities in 2004. More recently, President Barack Obama was re-elected to the White House in 2012 racking up 73 percent of the 4 million Asian-American voters who cast ballots that November – up from the 62 percent support he received in 2008.

Fifteen percent identified as Republican.

The Clinton campaign and Democratic Party have been the most aggressive in wooing the AAPI vote and appointing them to highly visible roles, including long-time Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who has been by the candidates side since her days in the Senate.

RELATED: Clinton targeting AAPI voters

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has a resident staff member in Las Vegas dedicated to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Staff members and volunteers here speak Chinese, Korean, Hindi and Tagalog. The campaign has recently been conducting native language training on how to use voting machines in a local Chinese cultural center. Volunteers are sent to court supporters in Buddhist temples.

Comedian Aziz Ansari who stars in the Netflix hit Master of None, aims his PSA at the undecided voters.

Although the number of AAPI voters is comparatively small, 4-6 percent, in some states and cities, such as swing-states Nevada and Virginia, they make up a larger percentage and could be determining factors in the vote outcome.

In California, people can register to vote online.

Once registered, go out and vote this November.

'We are all hombres!"

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took part in the last presidential debate of 2016.

WHO KNEW that Donald Trump was bilingual?

Hillary Clinton and Trump finally got around debating immigration in the third and final presidential debate held last night in Las Vegas.

The GOP nominee continued to go after Mexicans and doubled down on building the wall on the U.S. southern border. Then he demonstrated his linguistic skills as he repeated one of his common refrains.

"They are bad, bad people. We're going to get them out. We're going to build a wall," said Trump. "We have some bad hombres and we have to get them out."

RELATED: Trump's scary, scary speech on immigration

Latinos were greatly offended but in Trump's mind, all undocumented immigrants are "bad hombres" no matter where in the world they came from. The only Spanish word he has uttered in this year-long campaign and it had to be this word...  in this context.

And as Jose Antonio Vargas, a Filipino/American and perhaps the best known undocumented immigrant, pointed out, most immigrants today are coming from Asia, mainly China and India.

What was astonishing was how the Trump spinmeisters tried to defend their candidate with the usual defense, pooh-poohing "political correctness," or as CNN commentator Van Jones said, what we used to call civility or politeness.

The use of "hombres" conjures up the bandito stereotype of Mexicans and the Twitterers quickly responded. It also reinforces that an entire ethnic group - whether citizen or undocumented - are lawbreakers when actually, the opposite is true.

In Trump's eyes, most of us immigrants, are "hombres" ... to be feared, demonized, hated and dehumanized.

Towards the end of the debate when the topic turned to taxes, more specifically Trump's  tax returns which he wouldn't reveal, Clinton corrected Trump and reminded him that  undocumented immigrants do indeed pay taxes. In fact, they pay more than Trump has apparently paid.

Come to think of it, - I - (little ol' me) pay more taxes than Trump.

MOST OMINOUS ANSWER: Despite all the Tweets and memes about "bad hombres," the scariest line of the night was Trump's refusal to say he would follow the time-honored tradition of the loser graciously conceding.

"I will look at it at the time," Trump said. Then he added, "I will keep you in suspense." When Fox News moderator Chris Wallace repeated his question to perhaps get a more measured response from the Republican candidate. No such luck. Trump repeated his answer.

In other words, he refuses to go along with the most amazing and uniquely American tradition, the bloodless revolution whenever there is a transfer of power from one president to the successor and the coming together of opposing viewpoints for the sake of democracy, for the sake of the country.

After the most divisive and hate-baiting campaigns in U.S. history, American needs to heal but Trump, apparently, would rather let the wounds fester than concede graciously.

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Signs of the scary times we're in

Sign No. 1

Sign No. 2

Sign No. 3

THREE SIGNS tell three different stories, but together they make a sad statement about the state our country is in.

The first sign is located in Dearborn, Michigan, a city with the highest concentration of Muslim/Americans according to the U.S. Census. The message is in Arabic script, white letters with a black background.

Scary?

Well, put those fears away, my friends. Translated into English, the billboard says, "Donald Trump Can't Read This but It Scares Him, Anyway."

It was put up by the Nuisance Committee, a political action committee founded by Max Temkin, founder of the game "Cards Against Humanity. The sign directs people to a website that tracks Trump's major statements about Muslims and Muslim-Americans from the beginning of his campaign through present.

“It’s tongue-in-cheek with a serious message behind the comedy,” said Kitty Kurth, spokeswoman for the Nuisance Committee,

The billboard was placed near Dearborn because of its large Arab/American population, according to the committee. The Republican presidential nominee has come under fire for his comments regarding Muslims. Another reason is that Michigan is a key swing state.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Detroit News he sees the humor in the Dearborn billboard.

“I chuckled,” said Walid, recalling the first time he saw it. “I laughed. Duh. This is how people feel in the community. It’s mocking Trump. It’s funny yet very appropriate considering the nonsense Donald Trump has continued to say about Muslims.”

The committee hopes the billboard — along with two others in Illinois and Florida — helps persuade swing-state voters who are turned off by Trump's "racism and xenophobia" to mobilize against him.

"Throughout our history as a nation, we have been built into a strong nation by the contribution of immigrants, but at the same time, many of our people have had fear of the other and fear of the unknown," Kurth said.

The scariest sign

To me, the scariest of the three signs is the one saying "Make America White Again." Unfortunately, that is a real sign. That's the campaign slogan of Rick Tyler running for the U.S. Congress in Tennessee's 3rd District.

The only saving grace for Mr. Tyler is that at least he makes no bones about where he stands with people of color and immigrants. He's an out-and-out white supremacist and xenophobe but I don't think he'd take that description as an insult.

He is running against Democrat Melody Shekari and incumbent Republican Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

Shekari, the daughter of immigrants, received the endorsement of the Chatanooga Times-Free Press but she is running against the six-term incumbent Fleischmann, who is backed by the influential (in the Bible Belt) Tea Party and poll-watchers see the 3rd District as predominantly Republican. It will be interesting to see if Tyler could take away enough of Fleishmann's base to give Shekari a chance for an upset.

The template for the Church Sign Maker. Note that the
background is exactly the same.

The third sign is fake

In this case, the "Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America" sign is clearly an altered version of the Church Sign Maker's "Classic Design #9" offering (as indicated by the identical nature of the two signs' sizes, shapes, and background objects in their photos): 

This photograph of an outdoor sign has been identified in social media postings as belonging to a mosque (or some other Islam-associated administrative building) with the cumbersome title of "Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America." The sign advertises to viewers that organization's ominous threat "AMERICA WE WILL KILL YOU ALL AND NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT," bracketed by invocations of the exaltation "ALLAH BE PRAISED." 

Neither the sign nor the organization is real, however. The photo is a fake created by using the Church Sign Maker, a web site that allowed users to create realistic-looking images of church signs bearing messages of their choosing. Despite its proven fakery, the sign continues to make the rounds of social media inflaming the fears of whites who see their power, influence and privileges threatened.

Why someone created that message and posted it again and again on social media is anybody's guess, but it was probably intended to get people riled up against Muslim/Americans. In that quest, unfortunately, they're probably succeeding.

It is something Donald Trump would believe as indisputable fact.  

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Kamala Harris not polling well among Asian/American voters in California senate race

Atty. Gen Kamala Harris, left, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez seek the U.S. Senate seat for California.

By Louis Chan

REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

A POLL CONDUCTED of 1,106 Asian Americans in California found that support for Kamala Harris in her race against fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez for U.S. Senate is in no way guaranteed.

The National Asian American Survey found a whopping 49 percent of those surveyed are undecided with 25 percent saying they favor Harris to 15 percent for Sanchez.

If elected, Harris would be the first Indian American ever elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Asian American woman elected by California voters for the Senate.

Support for Harris is strongest among Indian/Americans. Harris leads 56 percent to 35 percent.

RELATED:

• Harris' career inspired by civil rights
• Kamala Harris wants to make history

But in all other Asian subgroups, it’s the undecideds who are in the lead.

Harris is currently the State Attorney General and Sanchez is a Congresswoman from Southern California.

In a recent Field Poll of the general electorate in California, Harris holds a 42 to 20 percent lead. Her lead is much narrower in a poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. In that poll, Harris’ lead shrinks to 32 to 25 percent.

New York Times: Conversation about Asian Americans continues

A WHITE WOMAN'S racist attack telling a New York Times editor to "go back to China" has sparked a dialogue about race, Asian/Americans and America.

First there was a front page open letter written by the affronted deputy metro editor Michael Luo, followed by a video under the hashtag #ThisIs2016 featuring Asian/Americans and the micro and macro aggressions that they had suffered.

That sparked a response from South Asians and Filipinos who felt slighted by not being included in the video.

For the next chapter, the NYTimes brought together some writers, journalists, academics and one politician to continue #ThisIs2016 part three. The conversation was interesting, thoughtful and provides a jumping off point for the rest of us to talk to our children, our co-workers and with each other. 

Here's a sample:

"Can I ask you all a counter-intuitive question?" asks Anand Giridharadas, author of The True American. "What do you think is our role, as members of these communities, in helping white America adjust to its new role in a new America? There is a view out there that says: 'It’s your problem to learn not to be racist, your problem to let go of privilege.' And there is a different view that says: 'We’re not going to get anywhere near equality and harmony without helping white America get there.' Because it is a 400-year-fact that is ending, and right or wrong, the change is hard."

RELATED: An open letter to the New York Times; expand the definition of Asian American

3:27 PM ET

"As challenging as this is," responds sociologist Anthony Christian Ocampo from Cal Poly in Pomona, California. "I think exercising empathy is a start – empathy for the pain that our fellow community members experience, empathy for those who feel we are excluding them, and even empathy for those who aren’t as “woke” for whatever reason. As writers and journalists, our job is to usher people toward the right side of history. As much as we’d like to just rush them, we can’t."

How do you handle the micro-aggressions that seem to be part of our everyday lives? What do you tell your children about the racism that they will encounter throughout their lives? Is it time to redefine the term "Asian American?" Why do brown Asians and South Asians feel excluded in conversations about Asian America? Was it right for Luo to respond to the white woman's attack?

Unfortunately, the participants didn't come up with any definitive answers because these are tough questions. However,  their discussion will definitely get us talking among ourselves as we - along with the rest of the country - struggle with the changes that are occurring in our society.

The New York Times has devoted considerable time and resources to encourage this dialogue. Hopefully, the newspaper will continue to help answer some of these questions because the issue is not going away any time soon.

I recommend that you read the entire New York Times article moderated by Luo. Be part of the ongoing conversation.

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New director at the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center

Lisa Sasaki's work at the Oakland Museum was to make sure that it represented the diversity of California. Last year the Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble, representing the Philippines, performed at the museum.

SMITHSONIAN PRESS RELEASE

LISA SASAKI, currently the director of the Audience and Civic Engagement Center at the Oakland Museum of California, has been named the director of the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center, starting Nov. 14.

Sasaki will report to the Smithsonian’s Acting Provost and Under Secretary for Museums and Research, Richard Kurin. The Asian Pacific American Center provides vision, leadership and support for Asian and Pacific Islander American initiatives at the Smithsonian.

“Lisa is a highly respected museum leader who will bring valuable experience to the Asian Pacific American Center, and I know she will do great things at the Smithsonian,” Kurin said.

Lisa Sasaki

As director of the Audience and Civic Engagement Center at the Oakland Museum of California, Sasaki is responsible for the museum’s marketing and communications, public programs, school and teacher programs, community engagement and visitor services departments. 

She led the museum’s audience development initiative, which helped double the museum visitation in four years.

Before joining the staff of the Oakland Museum of California in 2012, Sasaki was the director of program development at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles (2003–2012), where she directed major institutional projects. 

During her tenure at JANM, she supervised the museum’s curatorial, public programs, web, education, and collections departments and managed and led the strategic planning for programs, exhibitions, audience development and fundraising.

Previously, Sasaki was a museum curator at the Southeastern Colorado Heritage Center in Pueblo (2001–2003) and the assistant collections manager at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Sasaki earned her bachelor’s degree in history and archaeology from Cornell University and her master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Denver. She currently serves on the advisory council for the Council of Jewish American Museums and is the board president of the Western Museums Association. 

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Guest Blog: Having a woman in charge is a sea change in American culture

By Maryam Chishti
AAPI Millennials for Hillary

GROWING UP, I always thought that I was lucky to have been born a woman. I liked “girly” movies more than those action movies catered to boys. I thought that us women were lucky to have such a variety of clothes and shoes to wear, and know how to cook so well. But lately, in the light of this election, I have begun to see what being a women in America is really about.

Here, you have the most qualified, competent, and clever presidential candidate in the history of American elections. On the other side, you have a terrifying, lying, ego hungry man who wants America to be great again with only terrifying and unjust plans on how to do so. This shouldn’t be a contest … but it is.

If Hillary Clinton were a man, she would have already won this election. But people feel uncomfortable with the idea of a woman in charge. Sometimes, I realize that I do too. The idea is so unfamiliar to us that we look for ways to put her down. And I’m guilty of this as well. I watch Hillary talk with incredibly ease about complex policies, and all I can think about is that her voice sounds a little harsh, and why does she only wear pant suits and never dresses? 

While on the other hand, Bernie Sanders yells every time he gets on a podium and Donald Trump thinks a good plan to defeat ISIS is to “bomb the sh*t out of them.”

Then I think about my own life. How even though I love politics, I never thought there was a place for me at the table: because growing up there wasn’t. The only place for a women in politics seemed to be the wife of a politician. 

In high school, women debaters, women in student government, were never taken seriously. I saw it happen to my peers, and then myself. I watched in awe as another girl and I, the only girls speaking at our Model UN conference, tried to advocate for nuclear bomb shelters in war torn areas. In return, we would only get comments back on our apparel and appearance. 

The culture around women in leadership, women trying to draft policies and implement change, is that it is not our place. And I fell for it, because it is all I have ever known. But I won’t any longer.

Because it’s time. Hillary Clinton needs to be President not only because her opponent is an embarrassment and threat to women everywhere, but because America needs to see a women in the highest office in the land. I think back to the Democratic National Convention, where I was one of the lucky people who got to hand out signs on the floor of the convention center. And when they were about to announce the new Democratic nominee, I ran to the foot of the stage. 

As Martha Fudge declared that Hillary Clinton is the new nominee, and the crowd erupted in cheers, I bent down and began to cry. I was so aware of the enormity of that moment, and here I was; 18-years old, an undeclared college freshmen with a whole life ahead of her sitting on the floor of the convention hall as a new chapter in history was made for the very first time. And in that moment, I realized that anything I wanted to achieve was possible. Hillary, after fighting for 30 plus years, had made it so.

And on that day, I again realized how lucky I was to have been born a woman.

Maryam Chishti is an Indian/American student who was born and raised in New York. She is currently taking her first semester of college off to work for the Hillary Campaign. She will vote for the first time this November.

Survey: Jobs, terrorism, racial bias among top AAPI concerns

By Louis Chan
REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

A multilingual survey of 2,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander voters found that the economy and jobs, terrorism and racial discrimination are their three most important issues entering the election.

Both terrorism and the economy ranked high in a recent poll of the general electorate as well by the Pew Research Center , but AAPIs rank racism and discrimination much higher-third versus tenth.

Ten percent of the AAPIs polled by the National AAPI Survey say racism is the most important issue facing the country. Six percent also rank it as the most important issue facing them personally.

It’s impossible to make a direct comparison to the findings of the Pew poll because the question wasn’t exactly the same. In that survey, voters were asked which issues are “very important.” 63 percent named “treatment of racial minorities.” That was ranked tenth, much behind the No. 1 issue, the economy at 84 percent and the No. 2 issue terrorism at 80 percent.

A quarter of AAPI voters in the Asian/American survey say the economy is the MOST important issue facing the country. 12 percent ranked terrorism as the MOST important.

On policy issues, the National Asian American Survey conducted August 10 to September 29, 2016 found 60 percent support the Affordable Care Act. Sixty-six percent support greater government spending to help undergraduates pay for education, 62 percent oppose a government ban on Muslims, 44 percent support accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S. and 35 percent oppose the idea, and only 33 percent support the legalization of marijuana in small amounts.

The poll surveyed by telephone 274 Asian Indians, 59 Cambodians, 281 Chinese, 201 Filipinos, 151 Hmong, 286 Koreans, 147 Japanese, 295 Vietnamese and 291 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

Interviews were conducted in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hmong and Cambodian..

Seventy-two percent of the interviews were conducted by landlines versus 28 percent mobile phones.

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Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap and Liane V release anti-Trump video

Wil.I.Am dons a blond wig to skewer Donald Trump.

FUNNY, after posting the Black-Eyed Peas' videos of "Bebot" exposing a bit of Filipino/American history, will.i.am and apl.de.ap released a new video looking at a more contemporary issue -- the presidential election.

You know it was hastily put together by Funny or Die because it talks about GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's recorded statements about women; his so-called "locker room" comments that that was revealed just last week.

The Black Eyed Peas leader -- joined by BEP cohort, Filipino/American apl.de.ap as a debate moderator -- dons a bushy orange wig and ill-fitting suit to rap the chorus: "I'm a star 'cause I made it/ I'm rich and I'm famous/ Donald Trump said to 'grab'm by the p---y.'"

The woman playing his female opponent, Madam Boss, is social media star Liane V (Valenzuela), a Filipina/American from San Jose, California and now an L.A. resident. The multi-talented Liane has built her brand on social media to the tune of millions of followers. She sings, dances, writes songs and does exercise videos. Check out her Youtube channel or on Vine, where she has 4.6 million followers.

Liane V

“I love everything I’m doing when it comes to being creative,” she says, “but music has and always will be my first passion. I’ve always been around it, and have grown into it. Through music I have even bigger plans, and that is to become an international artist. With continued effort and focus, along with the strong team behind me, I believe that’s going to happen.”

Like the real Hillary Clinton, Madam Boss doesn't put up with her opponent's B.S. She sings:

"I'm a woman and I'm strong / And don't you forget it / Because I am intelligent / I'm somebody's daughter / I'm somebody's boss / I could be the next president / So give me the respect now!"

The parody on the recent presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton is meant to be funny but just in case you don't get the message, will.i.am comes on at the end and says:

"Donald Trump does not look like the president of the United States of America, nor should he be. If this was a TV show, maybe I would watch it, it would be pretty funny ... this is real life with real life problems."

Mike drop.

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An open letter to The New York Times needs to expand who they see as Asian American

The face of the Asian America is changing.

IT'S OCTOBER - Filipino American History Month - but you'd never know it if you read the New York Times.

Once again, brown Asians were marginalized - or just plain ignored - when the Old Grey Lady did a story about Asian/Americans responding to a racist encounter aimed at their Deputy Metro Editor Michael Luo when a passerby yelled at him "Why don't you go back to your f--king country?"

Luo wrote a powerful letter - hash tagged #thisis2016 - in response and the editors placed it on their front page. The NYT also posted a video to accompany Luo’s letter. The video, however, was flawed. It featured all East Asians and only one Filipino/American, Keratin Perez.

It might have passed without notice, but it was the second time that brown Asians were slighted and forgotten by the NYT. It irked some, enough so that five wrote their own letter directed to the New York Times that was published in Huffington Post.

"Your video told us, 'You’re still invisible!'" said the HuffPost letter written by E.J.R. David, Ali Mattu, Razia Kosi, Ernabel Demillo and Kevin Nadal.

"You did this during Filipino American History Month - the month when we are supposed to be most proud of our brown presence in the U.S."

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"And you did this during election season - when xenophobia against South Asians is on the rise and Islamophobia is so overt that Muslim Americans (and South Asian Americans who are presumed to be Muslim) expect to be discriminated in their everyday lives.

"We hesitated for a second and then hustled to confront you. We pulled out our smartphones and started commenting on your social media posts, questioning why seemingly 96 percent of the stories shared were East Asian or non-Brown Asian stories. It was comical, in retrospect, because you probably don’t even read comments on social media. But the pain you inflicted on us with your continued disregard is real. It clearly tells us, once again, that we are unseen, unheard, and unappreciated in this country.

“We are a part of this country!” We yelled back.

"It felt silly. But how else to prove we belonged?"

... "That even though we compose more than half of the Asian Pacific Islander population, even though we have been in these lands now called the United States since 1587, and even though many of us trace our roots back to lands that are affected by U.S. colonialism and imperialism, we still don’t belong," the letter continued. "We’re still forgotten. We’re still not Asian American, let alone American."

The HuffPost letter pointed out that the NYT coverage of Asian Americans favored East Asians even though Brown Asians make up more than half of all Asian Americans. Then the tone changed expressing anger.

"Maybe you don’t know this, but the continued failure to include us whenever you talk about “Asian Americans” is extremely insulting, degrading, and oppressive. It gets to the heart of the invisibility that Brown Asians experience."

The letter writers went on to touch on a topic that isn't often heard outside of AAPI circles, the issue of "colorism" among Asian/Americans. You know, lighter skin is some sort of uniform of superiority.

The NYTimes shouldn't be left off the hook. It needs to take responsibility for its oversight. There's certainly enough Brown Asians in New York City. The editors and writers of the NYTimes need to go beyond the European view of what constitutes an Asian, beyond the Korean, Japanese and Chinese trope that defines what an "Asian" should look like. 

Maybe this video produced by the Media Factory might help:

It was filmed and edited by the award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy. The participants are:

Jose Llana, RJ Kaleo Nadal, Brenda Gambol, Kirklyn Escondo, Stephanie Chrispin, Isabella Villacampa, Lugao Kasberg, Nicole Ponseca, Michael Capito, Ryan Abugan and Hossannah Asuncion.

They were interviewed by Kevin Nadal. #BrownAsiansExist