This is what a politician looks like when the media have him under an intense spotlight for a controversial statement.
Nice work by 9News investigative reporter and 9 pm anchor Kyle Clark, who contacted me yesterday to confirm that Republican Congressman Mike Coffman had indeed sent a surrogate to attend an Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month event over the weekend that Erin and I emceed.
What was Coffman thinking, baiting birthers and saying “in his heart, Barack Obama is not an American” to a room of conservative donors?
UPDATE:
Rep. Coffman published a mea cupla in The Denver Post in which he flatout retracts his birther statement and says it was a “boneheaded” thing to say:
Last Saturday, at an event in Elbert County, I made an inappropriate and boneheaded comment. I misspoke and I apologize for doing so. I have never been afraid to admit when I am wrong, and I was wrong here.
…
More importantly, I was also wrong in another respect. I should never have questioned the president’s devotion to our country. The president and I disagree on many issues — his approach to health care, jobs and energy independence, to name a few. But disagreeing on these issues was not license for me to question his devotion to our country.
I believe President Obama loves this country and wakes up every morning trying to do what is best for our nation, even if I disagree with his approach. To question the president’s devotion to our country based on the fact that we disagree over policy issues was wrong of me and I am sorry.
That’s progress. Kudos to Coffman for coming clean. It’s still a bizarre statement, so we’ll see if it’s enough for the public — and the media — to move on.
President Obama never fails to inspire with his speeches, and for me, especially his speeches in support of the Asian American community. The video above is from his speech in Washington DC on May 18 at the 18th Annual Gala of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
And while I’m at it, I’m embedding Obama’s historic interview yesterday with Robin Roberts of ABC’s “Good Morning America” yesterday, during which he states that he now fully supports gay marriage. Here’s the entire segment and a transcript.
Although I’m sure he and his staff weighed the political pros and cons of making such a statement and decided the cons may not significantly affect his re-election campaign (it may help it, particularly with independent swing voters), I think it took some guts to say it. And for GLBT people everywhere, I can’t imagine the power such a statement of support from the President of the United States must convey.
This just in from Joni Sakaguchi of the Japanese American Resource Center of Colorado: Here’s a list of PBS programs being shown for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month through Rocky Mountain PBS. These documentaries appear a bit heavy on Pacific Islander coverage but that’s cool. Especially here in Colorado, there’s a great deal of interest in Pacific Islander history and culture. JARCC is the organization that has a small museum and exhibit space on the 2nd floor of Sakura Square at 19th and Lawrence that’s open by appointment only or on the second Saturday of every month from 11am-2pm (303-650-0708):
– Japanese American Resource Center of Colorado
PACIFIC HEARTBEAT
PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER
Sunday, May 6 › 1pm
on Rocky Mountain PBS
In 1974, Hawaiians sailed the traditional voyaging canoe HÃ…ÃŒkÅ«le’a from Hawai’i to Tahiti and proved to the world that their ancestors had explored the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean by navigating with the stars. Papa Mau: The Wayfinder is the story of critical role that master navigator Mau Piailug played in that voyage, and the rebirth of Polynesian unity and pride that followed. The HÃ…ÃŒkÅ«le’a was built by members of the newly formed Polynesian Voyaging Society, who dreamed of sailing in the way of their ancestors. Shortly thereafter, a search began for someone who could teach them the art of non-instrument navigation, which had been all but lost until they met Micronesian-born Mau, who agreed to share his knowledge. Follow the remarkable journey of an iconic voyaging canoe and a new generation of Hawaiian navigators who, under the guidance of Papa Mau, revitalized and reclaimed Polynesia’s voyaging tradition. High Definition | Anamorphic Widescreen
Lim is an introspective songwriter with a mellow voice with a deep and wide emotional range that pulls you in. If you like artists such as Nora Jones and the new generation of atmospheric singers who walk the line between alternative, folk and pop, you’ll like Lim.
She’s been writing music on the piano since she was eight years old, and when MySpace (what’s that?) was all the rage, she obsessively recorded tracks and posted them online. She has a couple of albums including a 2010 seven-track project, “The Hunted,” and a few remixes available for purchase online on her Music page on the website, or visit the Connie Lim Store on Amazon (which includes her edgy, nicely-produced 2008 album, “Shifting”).
I love her music best when she adds an edge to her voice and the production has fuller instrumentation. Although her voice pairs perfectly with just a piano or a quiet art-chamber arrangement, I really get fired up listening to the rocking title track of her “Shifting” album, which closes out the six tracks on the release, where she pushed her voice through a variety of soulful textures from a whisper to a scream.
Lim will perform at the V3con opening reception presented by NBC Universal on Friday, Aug. 24 at the Pacific Asia Museum, and also be a panelist the next day during the actual conference, which will be held at the Japanese American National Museum.
There’s two reasons right there to attend V3con!
Here are several terrific videos from Lim’s official website: Continue reading →
Program yer DVRs, folks. here’s an email from Yu Kwon that hints that if enough viewers tune in and let PBS know how cool the show is, the show may get a new lease on life after its mini-series debut:
I’ll no longer be on TV (clothes notwithstanding)
Actually, that’s not technically true, but I won’t be on America Revealed anymore. Tomorrow is the final episode. It’s a really good one – we explore how America builds things like cars, microchips, aircraft carriers, Martin guitars, and social networks. I don’t fall out of any airplanes or dangle off any wind turbines, but I do get my ego crushed by a chess-playing robot. Here’s a preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78EVBWvitcY
I want to thank all my friends for the tremendous support they’ve given me. Filming this series has been one of the highlights of my life, and I’m proud to have been part of creating such a high-quality program. If you’ve enjoyed watching the series and would like to see more programming like this in the future, please encourage your friends to tune-in tomorrow or record it on their DVRs. Unless we get a big bump up in viewership tomorrow, I’m guessing this will be the end of the road for this series. You can also show your support by watching it online (http://video.pbs.org/program/america-revealed/), ordering the DVD on Amazon, or sending a note to PBS (http://www.pbs.org/about/contact/viewer-services/).
I’ll be live-tweeting tomorrow night and answering questions on Twitter (#AmRevPBS) for both the east and west coast airings.
Thanks so much for inviting me into your living rooms this past month, it was an honor going through this experience with all of you.
