Asian Americans for Obama

Upcoming Voter Registration Events - Austin, TX

Austin BatFest!
Saturday August 30th and Sunday August 31st

Keep Austin weird and voting at BatFest! We'll be registering voters at this huge, two-day community event. Many shifts available! We'll meet on the 1st Street Bridge. Look for our booth.

Saturday 8/30 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Saturday 8/30 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Sunday 8/31 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Sunday 8/31 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!

Saturday Night Fever!
Saturday nights in September along 6th Street, Red River, and in the Warehouse district we'll be doing voter registration. We'll meet at HQ then head out to these hotspots. This is a great way to reach new and young voters. Feel free to dress up and look your best!

Saturday, September 6th, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Saturday, September 13th, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Saturday, September 20th, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!
Saturday, September 27th, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Sign Up Here!

Take Action Against Corsi's Smears

By now, many of you have probably heard about the reprehensible falsehoods being peddled by Jerome Corsi, the slime merchant who brought us the 2004 Kerry-Swift Boat hatchet job, Unfit for Command.  This year, the Obama team has said, "Not this time," and has produced a stinging, thorough debunking of the book available on the Obama website.

As Asian Americans, we should also be particularly aware of Corsi's peddling of his "book" to white supremacists.

Sen. Obama needs our help spreading the word about Corsi's vile lies.  Download the document today and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.  The Obama campaign has also set up a Letter to the Editor tool so you can make the truth heard in your local media.

Let the smear machine know that this year, the American people will not stand for lies and distortions.  This year, the election will be decided on the things that matter - the issues, character, leadership.  The integrity of American democracy is in the hands of us, the citizenry.  We will not be silent, we will not be cowed, we will not be bullied - we will fight back!

Go below the fold for more from the Obama campaign.

Bay Area Filipinos for Obama Launch National Effort to Swing Voters in Support of Obama: Kick Off Event on Aug. 19

(SAN FRANCISCO) – With more than 4 million Filipino Americans living in the United States, pinoys can be the difference in November’s presidential election. Filipinos for Obama will target Filipino Americans in key battleground states like Nevada and Virginia to help swing support towards Senator Barack Obama, help him win those states, and put him into the White House.

The cost to attend the launch party is free, but a donation of $25 or more to the Obama campaign when people RSVP at this site or on the evening of the event, will enter attendees into a raffle for a signed copy of Senator Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope.”

The honorary Host Committee includes Kamala Harris - San Francisco District Attorney and Co-Chair of California Women for Obama, Hydra Mendoza - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Education Advisor, Ray Buenaventura - President of the Filipino American Democratic Club of San Mateo and Delegate to the DNC, and Henry Manayan - President of the Filipino-American Democratic Caucus of the California and former mayor of Milpitas, amongst others.

When:      Tuesday, August 19, 6-8pm
Where:     Zebulon Restaurant and Bar, 83 Natoma Street, San Francisco

To reserve your space at this event, RSVP here today.  Filipinos for Obama buttons and t-shirts will be available at the event.

New Tagalog One Page Flyers Available!

Thanks to volunteer Allan Benamer, we now have a new improved Tagalog one page flyer on our Supporter Toolkit page for Filipino American outreach.  This flyer places more emphasis on Filipino American issues by highlighting Sen. Obama's support for equity for Filipino veterans at the top of the page.

You can download a PDF version here, and a Word version here.  Download it, print it up, make some copies, and start hitting the streets and talking to your family, friends, and neighbors!

Filipinos for Obama March for Hope

The Filipinos for Obama effort hit the streets this past Saturday to spread the message that Senator Obama is the candidate for the Filipino American Community.  With a large contingent, the FFO campaign passed out "Filipinos for Obama" stickers and buttons, and energized the crowed chanting "YES WE CAN" at Pistahan, a jam-packed Filipino culture festival and parade in San Francisco. (More photos here.)

India Day Parade Voter Registration - Aug. 10, Iselin, NJ

India Day Parade Voter Registration Drive

Volunteers needed for voter registration at the India Day Parade. An estimated 80,000 people of all races and ethnicities will be attending this great event. More details to follow including travel and directions, and times. VOLUNTEERS ARE ASKED TO COMMIT TO TWO HOUR SHIFTS. Please bring a clip board if you have one. Voter registration cards and materials will be provided.

Contact: Niki Shah, 202-299-7475 or Shahna@rutgers.edu

Where:
Oak Tree Road - Edison to Islein,
Iselin, NJ 08830
Map Link

When:
Aug. 10, 2008 1:30PM to 4:30PM

Save the Date: India Day Parade in New York City
August 17th:  11.30AM onwards

For more information please visit this website: http://cities.sulekha.com/united-states/new-jersey/events/rally/2008/07/new-jersey-india-day-parade.htm

Voter Registration at the Unforgettable Tour in Atlantic City - Aug. 9

We are looking for volunteers to do voter registration at the biggest South Asian entertainment event of the year. An estimated 30,000 people of all races and ethnicities will be attending this event.

Please sign up on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=66061155082.

Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008
Time: 3:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, West Atlantic City, NJ
Contact: Niki Shah, (202) 299-7475, shahna@andromeda.rutgers.edu

***PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:*****

1) THIS IS A VOTER REGISTRATION EVENT AND DOES NOT PROVIDE ADMITTANCE TO THE SHOW.

2) IF YOU ARE ALREADY GOING TO THE SHOW, please let us know!!! VOLUNTEERS ARE ASKED TO COMMIT TO AT LEAST TWO HOURS.

3) Please bring a clip board if you have one. Voter registration cards and materials will be provided. Bring your family and friends to do voter registration.

4) WHEN YOU SIGN UP,PLEASE INCLUDE A CELL PHONE NUMBER WHERE WE CAN REACH YOU. There may be some last minute changes and we would like to be able to inform you of these changes.

5) IF YOU ARE BASED IN NJ AND ARE AFFILIATED WITH A GROUP THAT WOULD LIKE TO CO-SPONSOR THIS REGISTRATION DRIVE, PLEASE CONTACT NIKI SHAH. If you are in NJ and have questions, please contact Niki Shah at the number or e-mail provided above.

Camp Obama: Learn How to Be an Organizer

The Obama campaign has launched yet another innovative initiative - Camp Obama, a two-day organizer training that will take place at locations around the country.  My town of Austin will be hosting a training on August 15-16.  Not only will learning organizing skills from experienced campaign staff and community organizers help bring change in this year's election, but you'll be able to keep these skills for life, extending this movement beyond just one election cycle.  It's just another example of Sen. Obama's philosophy of empowering citizens to take control of government.

Here are the details from the campaign:

You have an opportunity to play a major role in this nationwide movement for change.

Dedicated volunteers like you have brought us this far. But to execute our strategy for the general election, we need supporters to step into one of the most important roles of our campaign.

If you're ready to take the next step, you are invited to attend a two-day Camp Obama training session near you.

Learn more about this special opportunity and apply to attend Camp Obama right now:

http://tx.barackobama.com/CampObamaAustin

How To Organize Your Own Voter Registration Drive

One of the questions I get asked most frequently by enthusiastic Obama supporters is what they can do right now to help.  In addition to participating in national events such as the Platform for Change meetings and phone calls, the Obama campaign has said that the most important task by far for our community-organizing/grassroots campaign model is registering voters.

By registering voters, we not only dramatically reshape the political landscape for the election this fall, but we bring in new or disaffected voters to the democratic process for the future.  Sen. Obama has stated repeatedly that the goal of this campaign is not just to mobilize Americans to elect a president, but to reinvigorate American politics by restoring and expanding citizen involvement.  Winning the election is only the beginning; as a people, our duty as citizens must be to continue to stay involved and hold government accountable.

So seek out your local Obama or Democratic campaign office, local Obama or Democratic clubs, etc. and find out about any scheduled voter registration drives.  As you may have read on our site, Asian Americans for Obama recently did a drive in northern New Jersey and have several more scheduled for the tri-state area that you can sign up for through the links in this post.

If you can't find voter registration efforts in your area - organize your own!  My friend has written a GREAT How-To Guide for voter registration drives on Daily Kos - check it out today!  It's actually very easy and straightforward.  Our local Vote for Change effort here in Austin was planned and is run by a small group of volunteers.  My friend continues to run the effort here, with regularly scheduled registration days every Wednesday and Saturday, as well as special drives for big events.  Tonight, we will register our 1,000th voter since the May 10 kick-off at the weekly free Blues on the Green concert in Austin.   

As the recent report from UCLA concerning AAPIs and our growing political influence found, AAPIs are improving in voter turnout but still lag behind considerably in voter registration rates.  Targeting AAPI communities with low registration rates should be one of our top priorities.  If you e-mail us at AsianAmericansforObama@gmail.com with the details of your local voter registration drive, we will happily publicize it for you through our website and listserve.  Feel free to submit guest blog entries with pictures and discussions of your experience, and you might see yourself on the blogs very soon!

Recap of New Jersey Asian American Voter Registration Drive

From the wonderful Elizabeth Lynch:

Last Sunday, July 13, we had a great turnout for our Asian American Voter Registration drive in Northern New Jersey.  Paul Lee, local Obama supporter and leader in the Korean-American community in northern New Jersey, organized three voter registration sites among the towns of Ridegefield, Fort Lee and Palisades Park, all predominately Korean-American communities.  With over 15 enthusiastic Obama volunteers, we were able to register over 40 new voters in the span of only two and a half hours, but more importantly, we were able to demonstrate to the Korean American community in northern New Jersey the Obama campaign’s commitment to increasing the diversity of voices heard in the political process.

Volunteers will continue their efforts to register more Asian American voters in the tri-state area by organizing another voter registration drive at the annual Dragon Boat festival in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens on August 2 and August 3.  You can sign up to these events here:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gpym
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gpy9
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gpy8
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gpyc

More pictures after the jump.

Press Release: Asian Americans for Obama to Launch Major Voter Registration Drive in New Jersey

For Immediate Release
July 8, 2008
Contact: Ryan Kim (646) 287-5228, Asian Americans for Obama

Asian Americans for Obama to
Launch Major Voter Registration Drive in New Jersey

On Sunday, July 13, 2008, Asian Americans for Obama will launch a major voter registration drive in New Jersey.  In response to Sen. Obama’s call to bring more voices to the political process and ensure that Americans of all backgrounds are included, this voter registration drive will target the large Asian American community in Bergen County, New Jersey.  Asian Americans comprise approximately 5% of the United States population.  New Jersey has the third highest proportion of Asian Americans at 7.9% of the population, behind only Hawaii and California.

Asian Americans for Obama will register voters at several locations throughout Ridgefield, Englewood, Fort Lee, and Edgewater, including the H-Mart in Ridgefield at 321 Broad Avenue and the H-Mart in Englewood at 25 Lafayette Ave.  Volunteers will be available to register new voters, help voters update their registration information, and answer any questions concerning the upcoming presidential election on November 4.

Vote for Change this Sunday 6/29 @ Milpitas Asian Mall

Hey folks..
Whoever is in the Bay, please join me this Sunday for some Asian-American GOTV, voter reg, and good eatin'!

WHERE: Milpitas Square (a.k.a. the "Asian Mall") Exact location TBD, but somewhere around Ranch 99 entrance.  This mall also has TK Noodle, a good vegetarian spot, and more.
WHEN: Sunday, June 29, 2008.  12-5 p.m.
WHO:  YOU!  (speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Ilocano, and more are especially welcome...)
HOW: I will bring clipboards, voter reg forms and instructions, pens, and an ironing board.  You bring your Obama gear and lots of energy...
WHY: To introduce Senator Obama to our Asian-American constituency, answer questions, spread the word, be enthusiastic, have fun, and REGISTER VOTERS!

Hope to see you there.  Please sign up on MyBO so I can look for you!

Love,

Nina Kahori Fallenbaum
(Berkeley, CA)

A Summer of Voting for Change - Voter Reg Events in Austin, TX

It's time to take back Texas! All summer long, volunteers will be registering new voters to support Barack Obama this November. Our efforts will help grow the Democratic majority here in the Austin area, and help provide the margins that our state-wide candidates will need to win.

We'll be operating out of the Travis County Coordinated Campaign office, with regular shifts on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Volunteers will be sent to specific locations, with all materials provided. Hope to see you there!

Vote for Change Registration Drive
1107 N IH-35, Austin, TX 78702
(The old Safeway building, east side access road)

Saturdays 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Saturdays 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Wednesdays 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesdays 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Here are links to RSVP for events in June and July:

 

Fight the Smears

Have you or someone you know received an e-mail with an outrageous and false attack on Sen. Obama?  Wondering how you can respond to inaccurate rumors being spread inadvertently by the people around you?

Now there's a web resource for researching, responding to, and alerting the campaign to the lies being spread about Sen. Obama.  Bookmark Fight the Smears today, and become part of the grassroots rapid response team to ensure that this election is about the issues and the truth.  Fight the Smears features information about attacks being made, the reality and response, and ways for you to help, including sending copies of any e-mail you receive with false information about Sen. Obama to watchdog@barackobama.com.

For future reference, we've also added a link to Fight the Smears to the "Join Us for Update" link box on the right side of the page.  So join the effort today - it's up to all of us to make sure our friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues know the truth about Sen. Obama!

DNC-APAP Training in Philadelphia a Tremendous Success!

Yesterday in Philadelphia, approximately 150 grassroots activists came together for an incredibly Activist Training organized by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress and the DNC.  The training was led by DNC Director of Training Parag Mehta and Betsy Kim, Deputy Director of the DNC's American Majority Partnership department.  The event was a great success and has even been featured in a recommended diary on Daily Kos!

At the session, the trainers discussed strategies for organizing in every state at every level.  They introduced some amazing new tools, such as the DNC's new online tool for neighborhood organizing.  Research shows that face-to-face contact by friends, colleagues, family, and neighbors are far more effective than any other form of political contact (advertising, mail, etc.) in persuading voters and getting out the vote.  For emerging political communities such as AAPIs, this kind of community-based contact and campaigning can be critical.  And especially useful for this election year, participants were also trained in the critical elements of our message to defeat John McCain.

Thanks to the DNC and all the great APAP folks who worked so hard to make this training a success.

The DNC is planning to hold these trainings every weekend in conjunction with a variety of partners all around the country.  Such trainings, an element of DNC Chair Howard Dean's terrific 50 state strategy, are a natural and critical element of Sen. Obama's grassroots movement.  Keep an eye out for a training in your area soon!

AALDEF Workshop Series - Voters' Rights, Voter Reg., and 501(c)3s

As the Obama campaign undertakes an unprecedented, grassroots driven 50-state voter registration campaign to bring new or disenchanted voters into the democratic process, it's important that all of us become well educated in the ins and outs of the voter registration process and voters' rights. 

To that end, a great group of AAPI organizations led by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund will be providing a series of free legal trainings across the East Coast about the various rules, rights, and responsibilities concerning voter registration, outreach, education, language assistance, and more, focusing on those issues of particular relevance to the AAPI community.  If you have an opportunity to attend one of these trainings, I highly recommend it.  I know Glenn Magpantay, who directs AALDEF's Voting Rights project, and he is not only an amazingly talented lawyer, but also a really great teacher.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

 in collaboration with

   

 APIA Vote  •  National Asian Pacific Americans Women's Forum  •  National Korean American Service and Education Consortium  •  Organization of Chinese Americans  •  Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP  •  South Asian Americans Leading Together 

 

presents a free workshop series on

 *****************************************************************

Voters' Rights, Conducting Voter Registration, and Election Rules for Nonprofits and 501(c)3s

*****************************************************************

AALDEF is providing a series of free legal trainings in multiple cities to assist Asian American community-based organizations prepare for summer voter registration drives and the fall Presidential Elections. Attorneys will provide legal information under local, state, and federal laws for community groups about:

·  legal responsibilities in conducting voter registration drives

   

·  legal rules regarding electoral and voter education activities for 501(c)(3)s

   

· voters' rights on Election Day regarding interpreters, provisional ballots, and remedies to problems.

   

Locations, dates, and RSVP info below the fold.

Asian Heritage Street Fair in San Francisco

"Step right up and spin the Obama wheel," barked enthusiastic Obama volunteer Patrick Wong at yesterday's Asian Heritage Street Fair in Japantown, San Francisco.  Our Obama booth was a big hit --  we had over 20 volunteers helping to register new voters, pass out AAPIs for Obama stickers and buttons , and entertain folks with a fun game of chance dreamed up by gamemaster Patrick.

A diverse group of volunteers registered 73 voters, signed up 35 new supporters, collected over $300 in donations, and passed out over 200 Obama stickers, t-shirts and AAPIs for Obama buttons. And by the end of the day, we still had people coming by begging for shirts and signs. Everyone we registered will be eligible to vote in California's June 3rd election--and of course, in November.  Obama supporters and SF School Board Members Eric Mar, Jane Kim and Board President Mark Sanchez (pictured) came by the booth to say hello and show support.

More photos below the fold.

Presidential Town Hall

I'm recovering from a long day in Orange County yesterday.  Driving down there from Los Angeles yesterday with my friend Jennifer, we both commented on how rare we ever spend time in the "orange curtain."  It takes something special to get us Angelinos to the OC, but to be honest we were also a bit skeptical about the "APIA Presidential Town Hall," by APIA Vote, because there are 2 important primary elections coming up on Tuesday making this weekend a critical GOTV weekend.  So we were pretty sure that none of the candidates would make a personal appearance, but we were looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new people.  Plus, there was a "Unity" event scheduled later that evening at a local lounge, to bring together AAPI's supporting Clinton and Obama.  Yes folks, we need to unify in time for the November general election... for Obama! That's right, I said it :)

The event exceeded my expectations.  It was a hot day, so it was nice to finally get let into the Bren Center. In the lobby there were 3 tables.  The Hillary supporters were already there with all their chum - a huge pile of signs for people to wave inside the venue, stickers, and buttons.  Next to the table were 2 empty tables - the one in the middle was reserved for McCain, and the 3rd table was for Obama. No one was there set up to table! By now, Jennifer and I had reunited with grassroots campaign buddies Emily and Michelle.  I called Van from the campaign to see if he was bringing stuff and to check to see where he was. He was, in true So Cal fashion, stuck in traffic, but said he only had some AAPI for Obama literature.  So in the spirit of grassroots campaigning, Jennifer took charge and said, "Let's go. We're at the table!"  Michelle came over and told us she still had some stuff from February in her trunk.  Next thing you knew, we had some campaign signs for the front of the table, flyers, and a handful of stickers... and most importantly sign up sheets for new volunteers!  Our friend Steve showed up next and had a big home made "Obama '08" banner and about 15-20 HOPE posters. Van showed up with some more AAPI for Obama flyers in different languages, and explained that everything else had been sent on to Oregon and Kentucky.  In the end we looked alright, and we had tons of people come over to our table signing up to help with the general campaign!  Even KABA MODERN from MTV's America's Best Dance Crew came by, and took a picture with Steve's banner.

Overall, there was definitely good energy in the Bren Center.   

Vote for Change Events in Texas

The following are RSVP links for Vote for Change events across Texas this Saturday, May 10.  Please e-mail me if you'd like us to list an event in your area.

Austin, TX - RSVP HERE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page...                

WHERE: Victory Grill (for training and to receive your assigned location)
             1104 E. 11th St
             Austin, TX 78702 

WHEN: Saturday, May 10, 2008
            10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

SPEAKERS: City Council Member Mike Martinez & State Rep. Mark Strama

Dallas, TX - RSVP HERE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page...

Houston, TX - RSVP HERE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page...

San Antonio, TX - RSVP HERE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page...

Vote for Change Event in Queens

Organizing a Vote for Change event in you area?  Let us know about it, and we'll help advertise it on the website and listserve.

From Hrishi Karthikeyan of South Asians for Obama:

Dear friends,

After last night's exciting result, it's now time to unite and strengthen our party for the fall elections.  That begins right now!  We have finalized our South Asian voter outreach plan for this Saturday, and we need your help!

 

Following the Vote for Change Kickoff rally in Harlem at noon, we will register South Asian (and other) voters in Jackson Heights, Queens.  We'll gather at 74th St. & 37th Av. (in front of Patel Bros. & Jackson Diner) around 1:30pm and will register voters all afternoon.

 

Please join us by RSVP'ing here.  If you have questions, or would like to show up early to help set up, please contact me at hrishi1@gmail.com or 646.498.7731.

 

Look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

 

-Hrishi

Vote for Change Events in San Francisco: Volunteers Needed!

From Angelica Jongco, one of our organizers in the Bay Area:

Our goal is to get 100 volunteers to register at least 10 people each.

When: Three hour shifts 11:30-3pm or 2:30-6pm, Saturday, May 10
Where: Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister San Francisco, CA (between Laguna and Webster)

Following a short training session, we will send teams of volunteers to public events in selected neighborhoods.  We'll be sending people to different parts of the city, so please let us know if you are able to bring a car.  Also, please bring a clipboard and an Obama button if you have either. 

To RSVP for the  11:30am-3pm shift, visit: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4cz8

To RSVP for the 2:30-6pm shift, visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4czy

Or email sanfranciscoforobama@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help,
Edward Webster, Linda Leu, Angelica Jongco, Anhoni Patel,  Benji Hunt, Liz Voigt

Info on additional events below the fold.

Vote for Change Events in LA Koreatown: Volunteers Needed!

As mentioned in a previous post, we'll be posting information on May 10 Vote for Change events throughout the country as the details become available, with a special emphasis on efforts targeting the AAPI community.  If you have a local event you'd like us to help publicize, please e-mail me at ramey.ko@gmail.com, and we'll post it on the website and send it out to the AAPI oriented Obama listserves.

Below is information on training and volunteer opportunities for the May 10 Vote for Change registration drive in Koreatown in Los Angeles, CA, from coordinator Jennifer Chung:

1)   Hannam Chain Market at 2740 West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006. (Olympic and Berendo).   

10am - 4pm. 
Needed:  2 more volunteers from 10am - 1pm.

3 volunteers for 1pm - 4pm.

 

2) Ka Ju California Market at 450 S. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020 (5th Street and Western Ave)
10 am - 3pm.

Needed: 2 volunteers from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.

2 volunteers from 12:30pm - 3pm.

3) Koreatown Plaza Market on 9th Street and Western (TBA).

 

We have voter registration forms in Korean and English.  Please e-mail Jennifer Chung at chung.jennifer@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering.

SAVE THE DATE: REGISTER FOR CHANGE TRAINING

Saturday, May 10th, 9:00AM
2092 S. Jefferson Blvd.
(SE Corner of Arlington & Jefferson)

After the quick training, volunteers will head off to their locations.

Vote for Change National Registration Drive - Sat, May 10

On Saturday, May 10, volunteers will kick off a historic 50-state voter registration drive called Vote for Change.  As many people know, Sen. Obama was once a grassroots community organizer, and one of his inspiring accomplishments was Project Vote, "a massive voter registration drive that helped change the political landscape of Chicago."  Many Chicago politicians credit Obama's effort for contributing significantly to the election of Chicago's reformist first black mayor, Harold Washington.

As a further testament to the values of unity, inclusion, diversity, and change that have characterized this campaign, the Obama team is pushing to bring disengaged, disillusioned, and disenfranchised people into the process and change the equation.  So visit the Vote for Change page and find out how you can get involved in your area!

An event is already planned for San Francisco.  Details after the jump.  Check back here for updates on additional events around the country.

San Francisco Events: Grassroots Party May 1st & Phonebank on May 3 & 4

Some exciting events coming up in the Bay Area ...

1) May 1st: AAPIs, South Asians, & Latinos for Obama Co-Host a Grassroots Party featuring close friend of Barack's mother Georgia McCauley

2) May 3rd and 4th: San Francisco Phonebank to Indiana

Make Calls to AAPIs in Pennsylvania for Barack!

Last week, the campaign announced its Asian American Online Phone Banking tool for Pennsylvania.  The tool enables AAPI supporters across the country to call Asian American voters in the following ethnic groups:  Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and South Asian voters.

The campaign has had a great response, but with only a week left and so much at stake in the Pennsylvania primary, more help is always needed!  They want your help – as well as the help of your friends and colleagues – to reach out to AAPI voters in the critical last week and a half in Pennsylvania.  They are especially looking for Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Cambodian callers, who can use the online tool.

Anyone who wants to call and has not yet signed up should email Van Tamom, AAPI Outreach Director for Pennsylvania, at vtamom@barackobama.com with their name and email address and he can set you up.  We are doing calls 10am – 9pm EST.

Sign up today!

Volunteer for Final Week of APA Outreach for Pennsylvania Primary!

From super volunteer Elizabeth in NYC:

Dear NYC Asian American Outreach Team,

This is it – the FINAL WEEK before the Pennsylvania Primary!  I'm nervous.  Remember, the key is to maintain, if not INCREASE, Obama's popular vote lead as well as pledged delegate lead.  And to do this, he needs you!  Two weeks ago, polls, assuming you can believe them in this primary season, had Clinton ahead by 16%.  This week, her lead has dropped to 6%.  Can we win PA?  I hope so and we are sure going to try!  I hope that you will join us in some of them so that Obama win once and for all!

1.       Asian American Outreach in Philly this Weekend (April 19 & 20) & Free Housing

2.       Asian American Phonebanking at Virginia Davies' House this Weekend

Details after the jump.

New Subtitled Versions of Si Se Puede Cambiar Music Video Now Available!

An update from Michael Novak of Captioned Media for Obama:

A multilingual version of Si Se Puede has been posted. A multilingual version has subtitles in 8 languages (Spanish, English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, French, Korean, Vietnamese, and German).

A Chinese version with both simplified and traditional Chinese on the same video, making things easier.

For the best videos look at our media matrix at
http://www.captionedmediaforobama.com/media.html

Go after the jump for direct download links.

Sign Up Today for Online AAPI Call Tool for Pennsylvania

From the Obama AAPI Outreach Team:

Hi all –

We have great news from Van Tamom, our Director of AAPI Outreach for Pennsylvania. We will have an online call tool for our AAPI supporters across the country to call Asian American voters in the following ethnic groups:  Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and South Asian voters. 

We would love to get all of your help – as well as the help of your friends and colleagues – to reach out to AAPI voters in the critical last week and a half in Pennsylvania. Unlike the online AAPI call tools we have used in earlier states, the PA online call tool we will be using does not allow us to upload language-specific scripts so if you or your friends are interested in helping out, please contact Van Tamom directly at vtamom@barackobama.com. Please email Van your name and email address, and he will send directions for the call tool, additional information that will not be available on the online call page and help you walk through the call process.  If you would like to organize phone banks with individuals who will not have access to computers, please email Van that you are interested in getting paper call lists, and please indicate how many volunteers/lists you expect at your phone bank will complete.

Please email Van by 1am EST/10pm PST tonight if you are interested so he is able to get the logistics worked out as soon as possible.

As many of you know, we are in an extremely tough uphill battle in Pennsylvania, and every single call – especially calls to smaller universes like the Asian American community in PA – will make a difference in this primary.  We encourage you all to donate as much time as you can spare to this important effort.

Thanks again for your support!

Madhuri, Eugene, Van, Anna, and the rest of the Obama AAPI Outreach Team

San Francisco Phone Bank This Saturday, April 12, 9 AM - 3 PM

To ensure a solid outcome on the 22nd, we need your help to make calls urging people to vote for Obama.

Details on Phonebanks and Links to RSVP: http://angelicaforobama.com/?page_id=18

When: April 12th - 9am to 3pm

April 19th - 9am to 6pm

April 20th - 10am to 5pm

Where: SF Station - 1475 Folsom Street, St. 200, SF (at 11th St.)  The Palo Alto and Oakland Obama offices are also hosting phonebanks if those offices are closer to you.

Who: San Francisco for Obama, South Asians for Obama, Asian Americans for Obama, Latinos for Obama and other fellow Obama supporters

Please bring your cell phones and chargers. Wireless is available if you have a laptop. Snacks and friends are welcome too!

You can make calls during the week at the Oakland Office. Third floor of Rite Aid Bldg. on 14th & Broadway Downtown Oakland Or log-in from home at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/phonebankmap/

AAPI Outreach Report from Pennsylvania

A report from the ground in Pennsylvania from Anna Perng, one of our three terrific AAPI grassroots coordinators in the Philadelphia area along with Matt Chea and Nina Ahmad (I'm particularly impressed by the volunteers from JAPAN!  Looks like Sen. Obama's support in Japan goes beyond just the town of Obama):

AAPI for Obama rocks!! Huge thanks to Elizabeth for continuing to organize NYC volunteers! We're lucky to have full-time volunteer Helen Liu (Ramey's Yale classmate!) work with Van. This teamwork is just incredible!

Numbers still coming in, but at last count, our AAPI volunteers this weekend:

*knocked on over 230 doors
*called over 500 people, including over 299 AAPI across PA
*recruited 23 AAPI volunteers
*spoke 6 languages
*canvassed AAPI sites: 3 stores, 2 shopping centers, 1 Cherry Blossom Festival event, 1 Cambodian banquet w/ 500 guests (Van spoke!!), and 1 Chinatown.
*500 ppl this week (400 on pateams.barack.com) and API phone call list
*folks came from CT, NYC, D.C
*we are especially grateful to our Japanese volunteers who came all the way from Japan to help out in API outreach

See more AAPI outreach pics from PA after the jump.

Volunteers Needed for Cambodian American Outreach in Pennsylvania

From Matt Chea, South Philly AAPI grassroots coordinator:

Fellow Cambodian-Americans for Obama,

The primary in PA is coming close (April 22nd) and we need to do canvassing in our community here in Philadelphia, PA for the next two weeks.

 

I have several neighborhoods (North and South Philadelphia) and also a couple of shopping centers that we can target.  With our Cambodian New Years approaching this weekend, we can also hit Buddhist temples, churches, and the many parties that the community throws.

 

The campaign has several flyers that we can work on together to translate. I have not a chance to work on the translations nor do I have the fonts. If someone can help me, that would be a tremendous help.

 

I attempted to contact the Khmer Post, the local and National newspaper who might be doing an article on the grassroots efforts of local leaders for the Cambodian-American community.

 

Van, who is the Asian American Pacific staffer for the Senator is Cambodian-American is here in Philadelphia and is working with me here.  We opened a Chinatown office and we are doing our Asian-American outreach from there if anyone wants to visit.  We will be also doing phone bankings and targeting our community if people are interested in helping us out.  It is easy and if you need help Van and I can show you how to do it.  Van also has a letter that the Senator wrote for our community that once it's approved we can send to you guys.

 

We also need any ideas or suggestions that you can offer us.  I know there are several other Khmer communities outside of Philadelphia i.e, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Upper Darby and several other townships and boroughs if you know any else, please forward them to me.  If you know any Khmer supporters here in the Philadelphia and Upper Darby, PA and even Camden, NJ who want to help out financially and become volunteers, please contact me or Van ASAP.

 

If you need lodging and you would like to come to Philadelphia this weekend or the next please contact me, you can stay with me or at my brother's house.

 

Please email me at mattchea@gmail.com or call me at 267-237-8340.

Asian Americans for Obama in Pennsylvania: Contributions Needed!

On Wednesday, April 2, Sen. Obama concluded his six-day "Road to Change" bus tour by thanking volunteers in Philadelphia.  Many Asian Americans were present, thanks to the efforts of our Pennsylvania Asian Americans for Obama coordinators, Anna Perng, Matthew Chea, and Nina Ahmed.  They deserve mad props for their amazing efforts to register Asian American voters and gathering the resources and volunteers to open and run a Chinatown office in Philadelphia.

Right now, they need our help to raise money for phone and Internet lines at the Chinatown office.  To pay for the lines and the bills through the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, they need to raise at least $500.  If you haven't maxed out to Sen. Obama and are looking for a great way to contribute to the grassroots, contact Anna Perng at anna.perng@gmail.com to find out how to donate.  If you're looking to help out in the Philly area, contact Anna, Matt, or Nina through the e-mail links above.

Below are some pictures from the Philadelphia volunteer event.  It's great to see Van Tamom, the Obama campaign's AAPI outreach coordinator with whom I had the pleasure of working in Texas.  He's the guy on the right in the first photo.

Philadelphia: Raising the Bar

Clearly, this is a campaign of inspiration, but one of the most unexpected sources of inspiration for me over the last few months has been how the grassroots continually manages to raise the bar on behalf of Sen. Obama, taking our already legendary, people-powered ground game to new heights for each state.  Over the last couple of weeks, the Pennsylvania AAPI grassroots as part of a diverse coalition with volunteers from many backgrounds and even many from out of state, has accomplished amazing things from voter registration to a very successful Philadelphia Chinatown office opening.

Here's a report from the ground:

In five hours, we registered over a 100 voters, MANY of them Asian Americans and Latinos that needed language assistance. We had voter registration forms in five languages, Obama literature in four languages, and over 30 volunteers from Virginia, Washington, D.C., NYC, NJ, and Delaware. We canvassed South Philly, Chinatown (check out our signs everywhere in the storefronts), West Philly, North Philly, and Upper Darby. In addition to English, the languages spoken by our volunteers included Korean, Cambodian/Khmer, Mandarin, Fujianese, Portuguese, Cantonese, Bengali, and Spanish. Participating groups included AAPI for Obama, South Asians For Obama, NJ for Obama, Asian Pacific Americans for Obama, Latinos for Obama, and United People for Obama.

 

THANK YOU to everyone who made this event a success! After 3/24, the Philly Chinatown office team's GOTV efforts will be guided by Ron Ramos (Camden County Co-chair, NJ for Obama) and his wife Maria. We also have an April 12 tax clinic run by Obama volunteers to help low-income people access the Federal Economic Stimulus Package tax credit. Contact Nina Ahmad (willsresearch@yahoo.com) if you'd like to get trained and help folks file their taxes here in Philly. We want to make sure people know that we Barack supporters take his message and put them into action!

 

Thanks again to our amazing volunteers. This office belongs to ALL OF US. You are welcome any time. Thanks again. You're our inspiration!

Fired up! Ready to go!

Anna, Nina, Matt, HaiPei, Andy

Obama Philadelphia Chinatown Office

924 Cherry Street, 2nd Fl. Rear

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Anna cell: 484 557 2411

3/22-3/31

Mon, Sat, Sun 1- 6 PM

4/1

M-Sun 9 AM - 9 PM

Go after the jump for some eye popping numbers and other stats from volunteer efforts this past weekend, compiled by Anna Perng.

Philadelphia: Chinatown Office Open for Business

Anna Perng of United People for Obama says that the March 22nd grand opening of the Chinatown Obama office in Philadelphia was "a blast." 

Volunteers registered over 100 voters, including many of AAPI and Latino descent.  Participating groups included AAPI for Obama, South Asians For Obama, NJ for Obama, Asian Pacific Americans for Obama, Latinos for Obama, and United People for Obama. 

UPDATE (3/31/08): YouTube video now available.

(Photos by Christopher Gabello)

AAPI GOTV in Philadelphia - March 21, 22, 23

From Matt Chea of the PA Asian Americans for Obama team:

Volunteers, this weekend we will be targeting certain parts of Philadelphia with the highest concentration of our community.

In Upper Darby, PA we will need you to cover the H Mart, a Korean Supermarket which is in a shopping center that has other Korean stores as well as a Vietnamese restaurant.

7050 Terminal Sq.
Upper Darby, PA 19082

Store Hours : 9:00 AM ~ 9:00 PM
Tel : 610-734-1001

Korean volunteers are encouraged to call the HMart in Upper Darby to see if we can do GOTV outside of the shopping center. If we are allowed, we will be using you guys in doing GOTV in this capacity.

I have been to that Supermarket and it shouldn't be problem if you do GOTV outside.

I see Korean ministers giving out flyers for their church events and giving out free sermons to shoppers.

Our Upper Darby resident and API volunteer, Josh Richards will be working this Saturday until 3PM. We can do this GOTV either most of the afternoon on Saturday or we can do it Sunday in which he will be available all day.

In addition, there is another Korean area that we should target which is Olney, Philadelphia which covers North 5^th Street to Abington, Cheltenham as well as Elkins Park which also has another H Mart in a shopping center. 

7320 Old York Road.
Elkins Park, PA 19027

Store Tel : 215-782-1801 Hours : 8:30 AM ~ 9:30 PM

For our outreach in North Philadelphia in the Olney part of Philadelphia:

Hong Kong Supermarket Inc
501 Adams Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19120
(215) 728-1300

Ben City Supermarket

5520 Whitaker Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19124
(215) 537-8938

There are two supermarkets that cater to the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean customers that I would like for our volunteers to do GOTV. I would like as many Vietnamese and Chinese volunteers to help in this capacity. We can do this outreach on Saturday and or Sunday depending on what days in our volunteers can help us out.

I need my Vietnamese and Chinese volunteers to call these two supermarkets and ask
them the policy on doing GOTV outside.

I will be having surgery and will not be able to talk or check email until Tuesday afternoon.

Please email Anna Perng ASAP at anna.perng@gmail.com to follow up on these tentative plans.

Captioned Media for Obama Launches!

As some readers may recall, Asian Americans for Obama worked with a group of grassroots volunteers in the weeks before the Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island primaries to caption and subtitle several Obama-related videos in various Asian languages.  Now, Michale Novak has created a comprehensive website for that effort:  www.captionedmediaforobama.com.

At that site, you can find numerous videos with several different language subtitles available for download. You can also find the links to the YouTube versions.  The page will be continually updated as additional material and languages become available.  The comprehensive YouTube page is here:  www.youtube.com/group/captionedforobama.

We still need help transcribing and translating additional videos.  Here is more information from Michael on the effort:

Transcribers - If you're willing to transcribe videos verbatim, that would be a big help. We caption everything in a unique karaoke style that immediately improves the understanding of the 20% of Americans that speak a language other than English in the home. They may have some capability in English, so if we can show it to them in this style it really helps.

Translators - If you are a native speaker of a language other than English, and also want to help, you can take the work from the transcribers that we have captioned, and translate it into another language for us. It can be any language, as long as you can do a complete video that's what we need. An example of what we give you for translation is at www.captionedmediaforobama.com/translation_masters/Si_Se_Puede.html  Just move it to another language, and send it to us. We'll be delivering the other transcription files to the site soon.

Editors - If you would like to proofread transcriptions, or translations, we need you too. Quality control is vital, and reviewing the work of the first two teams helps to insure quality.

Tech Guys - If you can help us create a podcast, RSS feed, iphone user interface, etc, we need your help. Let's use the geeks out there to full advantage.

We believe that this is the first election where non-native speakers of English will have a very significant voice in the primaries and the general election. So, help us deliver Barack's messages to all Americans. If you don't see your language listed don't worry, it's easy to add another column to the matrix of languages.

So to get involved here are our links:

Barack's site - Join the formal group at http://my.barackobama.com/pagegroup/captionedmediaforobama
If you haven't started a personal page on the campaigns site, now is the time. And join our group to get all the announcements, blogs, and messages

YouTube site - Our YouTube group is http://www.youtube.com/group/captionedforobama
If you see a Barack video that's been captioned or translated with subtitles, add it to the group!

Our Site - Check out our final videos at the site, and see if you can help. or just refer your friends who speak our supported languages to get great bilingual Barack videos from there. In particular check out
"Si Se Puede Cambiar" in Spanish with English and additional language subtitles.

Email: Send me an email at info@captionedmediaforobama.com

AAPI Voter Reg. Efforts in Philadelphia (Deadline March 24)

We need your help to get out the AAPI vote for Barack in Pennsylvania.  The Deadline to register new voters is March 24! Registered voters who are not Democrats must re-register by the deadline as Democrats to vote in the primary for Barack.

API Volunteers who are interested in the API effort in the Philadelphia area can contact:

Anna Perng – (484-557-2411) anna.perng@gmail.com – Chinatown Philadelphia

Nina Ahmed – (267-304-1670) willsresearch@yahoo.com – Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

Matthew Chea – (267-237-8340) mattchea@gmail.com – South Philadelphia

Our priority in the Philadelphia area is Voter Registration and to target our community and register them so they can vote for the Primary on April 22, 2008.

We divided the areas into three areas that have the most areas of API concentration:

South Philadelphia,
Chinatown and
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania which is about 30 minutes west of Philadelphia.

We also need volunteers who speaks languages such as Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and several South Asian languages. If you speak one of them we can use you.

The State Voter Registration's website has voter registration information in aseveral languages:

www.votespa.com

Click on Alternative Language Forms and Information for them.

Obama's Philadelphia headquarters opened at 15th and Sansom Streets and the number is 10-9PM Sunday-Saturday. Their number is 215-564-2010.

In addition, Anna is coordinating the efforts in getting an office space in Chinatown and an office in South Philadelphia will be ready soon. As for Upper Darby, there is a headquarter and once I find out more information I will send them to you.

Austin Obama Office to Stay Open

For anyone in the Austin area, the downtown office will stay open at least through the county convention on March 29. The office will be open from 10AM-8PM and volunteers are needed to phonebank and for other duties, including some flyering at SXSW. Please see the message for more details. (More information will also be coming for supporters outside of Texas, so stay tuned.)

Obama Videos Subtitled in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese Now Available for Download

In response to several requests to make the subtitled videos available for download in addition to viewable on YouTube, Michael Novak has uploaded high resolution and/or "broadcast quality" versions to his web page.  These are very large files, so download may take a little time, but Michael says the download speed on his site is quite high.

To download videos of Barack, Michelle, Maya, and supporter created content with Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese subtitles, please visit http://tertia.mnovak.com/obama/.

Texas South Asian Phone Banking Tool Up and Running!

The campaign has set up a terrific online phone banking tool for calling AAPIs in Texas.  The South Asian tool is up and running, and the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean tools will be available shortly.

If you're interested in calling South Asian voters in Texas, visit the following link:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/contact/splash/calltxsouthasian

Obama Videos Subtitled in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Spanish

Thanks to the heroic efforts of numerous volunteers on tasks from translation to technical production, Asian Americans for Obama has put together a set of videos about Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Maya Soetoro-Ng (Barack's sister), as well as supporter created videos of grassroots AAPIs for Obama and the popular Si Se Puede Cambiar music video, with Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Spanish subtitles.  These videos have been assembled into a DVD that will be distributed by grassroots supporters throughout the AAPI community.  They are also available on YouTube.

Thanks to the cool system of subtitling used by our technical mastermind, Michael Novak, the subtitles are presented below English captions that highlight each English word as its spoken.  So now, people can be inspired by Barack and Michelle and others and improve their language skills at the same time.

Please share these videos with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, etc.

Barack Obama Bio (Traditional Chinese)

Michelle Obama Bio (Traditional Chinese)

Maya Soetoro-Ng Interview (Traditional Chinese)

Kelly Hu Interviews Two First Time Voters from Hong Kong (Traditional Chinese)

Barack Obama Bio (Korean)

Michelle Obama Bio (Korean)

Si Se Puede Cambiar Music Video (Korean)

Barack Obama Bio (Vietnamese)

Michelle Obama Bio (Vietnamese)

Maya Soetoro-Ng Interview (Vietnamese)

Si Se Puede Cambiar Music Video (Vietnamese)

Barack Obama Bio (Spanish)

Michele Obama Bio (Spanish)

Go below the fold for a list of contributors to this project.

LATINO, ASIAN ARTISTS UNITE FOR OBAMA VIRAL VIDEO

Contact:
Eric Byler  323-314-1584, EricByler52@gmail.com

For Immediate Release
February 25, 2008

LATINO, ASIAN ARTISTS UNITE FOR OBAMA VIRAL VIDEO
***Spanish Language Obama Video Goes Viral With Mainstream Audience

  LOS ANGELES, CA -- A pro-Obama music video intended for Spanish-speaking voters in Texas has caught fire with a mainstream on-line audiences across America, racking up over 56,000 hits in less than three days, primarily from English speakers.

  "Si Se Puede Cambiar" (Yes We Can Change)
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U

  "For too long we have been sleeping, but we have been afraid to dream."  So begins the Spanish language song "Si Se Puede Cambiar" (Yes We Can Change) by Andres Useche (30), an immigrant from Colombia living in Los Angeles.  The song's emotional arc expresses Useche's despair over the failures of the Bush administration, and the feeling of empowerment and civic responsibility inspired by Senator Barack Obama's candidacy.

  "The lyrics were thoughts that have been growing within me, and I'm sure, many others," explained Useche, who is fluent in both English and Spanish.  "Volunteering for this campaign focused my thoughts into words that came out in a matter of hours."

  The video was produced by "United For Obama," a team of Asian American and Latino volunteers who have organized road-trips, canvassing, and in-language phone calls (over 20,000 to Virginia from cities around the nation) on behalf of Sen. Obama.   Shot in five different states, the video documents a wave of boots-on-the-ground volunteerism spurred by its producers, Eric Byler (36) and Annabel Park (39), both Asian American filmmaker/activists who work closely with Latinos on the immigration issue.  A swish-pan dissolve links Useche's Latino outreach in East Los Angeles with Park's Korean American outreach in Northern Virginia.   The video was also shot in Maryland, New York, and Nevada and features brief cameos by Asian American celebrities Kelly Hu (X-Men 2), Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar), and Ken Leung (The Sopranos).

  "We don't want our communities to be the last to embrace this movement," said Byler, a mixed race Chinese American best known for the indie hit Charlotte Sometimes.  "For various cultural reasons, we probably will be the last statistically.  But every person we bring into the process is precious to us and precious to America, so this is a precious time."

  The video was co-directed and edited by Chinese American filmmaker Warren Fu (32), who, like Useche, connected with Byler and Park through YouTube.  Fu, who directs music videos for such bands as The Strokes, sent a YouTube message to YouTube.com/UnitedForObama after seeing a video featuring actress Hu.  Park responded suggesting he edit the video being shot by Byler and Useche.

  Fu points to unity across ethnic lines as an essential goal in his artistic and political life.  "We're Asian Americans collaborating with Latino Americans with the goal of electing an African American President," he said.  "That in itself speaks volumes about the power of this movement."

  Webcastr CEO Tim Devine promised to promote the video sight unseen based on a chance encounter with Useche.  "I recognized his passion for what he was doing, which I knew would show through to our Webcastr viewers in the video he made," he said.  Thanks to English subtitles, the video received more than 19,000 hits on webcastr.com over the weekend, and more than 36,000 on YouTube (despite the fact the video sharing website was inoperative most of Sunday).  The largest number of hits were from English language websites like DailyKos.com.

  "Although our target was Latino voters, it's exciting to see so many English speakers embracing the message and sharing the video with friends," Park said.

  ######

Cool Texas Mashup Video

Cool mashup video of pictures and video from volunteer events and rallies around Texas:

Obama Dallas Mashup - Watch a funny movie here

Early Vote Volunteers Needed in Travis County, TX

As many of you know, Texas has a two tiered voting system. There are the primaries and there are the caucuses. Texans have the ability to vote twice. Most voters don't know this.  As volunteers and people in the know, we have a responsibility to inform people about this strange system. After all, 67 delegates are riding on the caucuses, and a few votes can really shift the balance.

Early voters seem like the most obvious group of people who could be misinformed about their voting rights. They may not know what their precinct is, or where their polling station is. We want to let them know how, when and where they can caucus.

To that end we would like to organize people to stand 100 feet from the early voting locations and hand out material on how to caucus.

There are 24 locations open from the 19th to the 29th, the list is here:

http://www.traviscountytax.org/voters-evlocations-main.html

There is also a map available on google maps, just search for "travis county early vote" on google maps.

There are also 4 mobile sites listed here:

http://www.traviscountytax.org/voters-mvlocations-main.html

If you are interested in doing this, e-mail us at travisearlyvote@gmail.com. We can set you up with some flyers and other paraphernalia. Let us know what site and what time you want to volunteer for, We want to try to organize this so that we hit as many sites as possible.

This is an extremely important task, just getting a few more voters to show up on March fourth can make all the difference.

YES WE CAN!

-Shawn Fernando, precinct 152

Banh Mi for Barack: One Voter at a Time

At my office in downtown San Francisco, a Vietnamese sandwich shop opened up on the ground floor a couple months ago.  I look forward to the fragrant coconut waffles in the morning and the barbecue chicken banh mi in the afternoon. 

In the days before California's registration deadline, I stopped by to ask the owner and operator, Jesse, if he was registered to vote.  Even though he told me he was leaning to Hillary, I provided him with a registration form and brought it over to the post office on the day it was due. 

In the weeks that followed, I chatted with Jesse to find out what had him leaning toward Clinton.  It turned out he simply didn't know much about Barack Obama, but was very open to hearing what I had to say.  I left him some information and told him how I was volunteering my free time to secure Obama the nomination. 

By the time Super Tuesday rolled around, Jesse had decided to vote for Barack and hung an Obama '08 sign up in his window in the days preceding the election.

We can change this election one voter at a time.  On the same day I registered Jesse to vote, I also reached out to Hossain, the security guard in my building, who eagerly supported Barack last Tuesday. 

And Barack's message of hope resonated with a 91-year-old woman who said she hadn't voted in ten years, when Michael Lee was able to reach out to her in her native language of Cantonese.  On Super Tuesday, Michael escorted this woman to the polls where she cast her vote for Barack Obama.

Do It Yourself Posters

We've added a new item to our Supporter Toolkit - Do It Yourself Posters!  If you click on the link labeled "DIY Posters and Fliers" under Supporter Toolkit on the right side of the page, you'll find links to various image files and more that you can put together using your computer at home to create your very own customized posters and signs.  These items were generously provided to us by supporter Jenny Jiang in DC. We've also included Jenny's tips for making your own posters and signs.

She also created three posters for Texas - a "Texas for Obama", an "Asian Americans for Obama", and an "Austin for Obama" that all have the March 4 primary/caucus date on them (Texas is BOTH a primary and a caucus).  These are available under the Supporter Toolkit link, under Signs and Posters at the bottom.

Latino-Asian Phone Banking Parties in DC and LA

If you're in the Washington area, please join us!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20857275397&ref=mf

Host: Gening Liao
Sunday, February 10, 2008
12:00pm - 6:00pm

GW Law School, Room S305, Third Floor
2000 H Street, NW
washington, DC

408.757.1699
gening@gmail.com

We will be making calls to Asian and Latino voters in Virginia.  Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese language skills would be greatly appreciated.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, please join us!

Host:  Martin U. Fuentes
5601 E. Slauson Avenue, Suite 208
Commerce, CA 90040
(E. Slauson Avenue and S. Eastern Avenue)
Inside the City National Bank

Sunday, Feb. 10th
10am-6pm

mabejo@gmail.com
323-365-3669 cell

We will be making calls to Asian and Latino voters in Virginia.  Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese language skills would be greatly appreciated.

Women for Obama

It's not specifically AAPI related, but I thought this was one of the most touching videos I've seen during this campaign.  The way the supporters in this video express their concerns about the country, for their family, for their fellow Americans, and what Obama's candidacy means to them, really exemplifies what this campaign is all about.  I really felt moved by it.

Volunteer Opportunities in Northern CA

Monday, Feb 4^th

 

6am-11pm          Phone Banking and Visibility Volunteers needed at ALL BAY AREA OFFICES

 

Contact or visit any of the SF Bay offices:

San Francisco

1874 Market (at Laguna)

415-626-1108

Oakland

14th and Broadway

510-268-1008

South SF

435 Grand Ave., Suite A

650-583-8464

Palo Alto

3892 El Camino Real

650-852-9401

 

San Jose

410 East Santa Clara St.

408-947-1505

See all locations at my.barackobama.com/page/content/caoffices

 

Tuesday, Feb 5^th

 

ALL DAY                     LAST DAY to GOTV (Get Out The Vote)

 

If you can take the day off, we need volunteers!

If you must work, please drop by our office before or afterwards!

And don't forget to vote yourself!!!

 

Contact Linda at lindaleu@gmail.com

The Year of the Organizer

There has been a lot of attention given to the unprecedented scale and nature of Obama's on the ground field operation.  A lot of the ideas driving the campaign's operation stem from Obama's years as a community organizer in Chicago, living and breathing the principles and techniques of legendary organizer Saul Alinsky, author of the organizing bible, Rules for Radicals.  While Alinsky was certainly a leftist, his organizing ideas were unequivocally pragmatic and focused on what worked and what yielded results.  Sen. Clinton also studied Alinsky and wrote her senior thesis on his ideas, but has less of a history of actually employing Alinsky's methods and as years have gone by, has relied more and more on traditional top-down methods.

In an article in the American Prospect, two authors discuss how Obama's campaign may make the real stars of this year's election the organizers:

"The two remaining Democrats in the race for the presidency both have roots in the community-organizing world. Hillary Clinton wrote her senior thesis at Wellesley College on legendary organizer Saul Alinsky. Barack Obama spent three years as a community organizer in Chicago. But it is Obama's campaign that most clearly embodies many of the characteristics of a social movement -- a redemptive calling for a better society, coupling individual and social transformation. This shouldn't be surprising. Obama has enlisted hundreds of seasoned organizers -- including unions, community groups, churches, and environmental groups -- into his campaign. They, in turn, have mobilized thousands of volunteers -- many of them neophytes in electoral politics -- into tightly knit, highly motivated, and efficient teams. This organizing effort has turned out a new group of voters, many of them young people and first-time voters."

Read the rest of the article here.