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JULY 2021 ISSUE



EDITORIAL: OVER A CUP OF TEA



Thoughts on Philippine political leaderships and a bit of history
Part 1




Background:

I worked in the Philippine government for more than 20 years, starting from the regime of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, widely known as our government’s “dictator”, right after my college graduation in 1977 up to the beginning of ousted President Joseph Estrada’s regime. I spent most of my public service with the Philippine legislature, from 1978 up to 1998, until I migrated to the United States of America to reunite with my mother and siblings in the Midwest. It is important to note that during the regime of the late President Corazon Aquino, I became the Philippines’ U.S. Congressional Fellow in Washington, D.C., and the first Chief of Division, Publication (Plenary Affairs Bureau) of the House of Representatives under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.


This piece is just a bit of information (culled from various sources) on every Philippine president from Ferdinand Marcos to PiNoy Aquino, focusing on their major achievements as well as criticisms on important social issues of interest to the Filipino people. -- CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE



our STORIES AND FEATURES





Hate Crimes Act now the law of the land



From APIAVote


President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law – a momentous step towards confronting the uptick in anti-Asian racism seen since the pandemic began. Hate crimes have historically been underreported by Asian Americans due to a lack of culturally competent and language accessible resources, among other issues. In response, this bill expedites the review of COVID-19-related hate crimes, makes online hate crimes and hate incident reporting language accessible, and expands the public awareness of campaigns designed to increase awareness and outreach to victims. This bill will also disaggregate victims’ protected characteristics and expand restorative justice practices and alternative sentencing, a step away from the carceral system. In summary, this bill improves the overall infrastructure needed for hate crime reporting, data collection, and justice. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE



The Economic Status of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women



By Robin Bleiweis


The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is a vibrant, diverse, and growing segment of the U.S. population. Yet despite the rich cultural diversity within this group—which together speaks more than 100 languages, practices a wide variety of religions, and represents more than 50 ethnic groups—economic narratives often fall short of capturing the income and employment disparities that exist within it, particularly among AAPI women. It is past time to remedy that oversight, which has roots in racial, ethnic, and gender biases. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE



Biden’s Tax Enforcement Overhaul Would Be A Positive Step Toward Racial Equity



By Lorena Roque and Galen Hendricks


Despite the fact that the United States is losing an estimated $600 billion per year in unpaid taxes, IRS funding has fallen precipitously over the last decade, forcing the agency to shed a large share of its workforce, including 35 percent of revenue agents responsible for examining complex tax returns and conducting audits. Largely because of this steep drop in funding, the agency has dramatically reduced the audits that it conducts on high-income individuals and large corporations. Those trends have meant that a greater share of audits are of lower-income taxpayers, especially the low-wage workers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). These trends have had negative implications on communities of color, as a disproportionate share of EITC claimants are Black and Hispanic. In particular, some of the most heavily audited places in the country are predominantly Black communities. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE



Why DACA Matters



By Claudia Flores and Nicole Prchal Svajlenka


In the near future, a federal judge in Texas will rule on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows certain eligible young immigrants who arrived to the United States as children to access a renewable, two-year work permit and a reprieve from deportation. Since its inception in 2012, DACA has allowed over 800,000 young immigrants to remain with their families and communities in the United States. Although it’s widely popular—a majority of Americans across the political spectrum support a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers—for the past four years, DACA and its beneficiaries have been under attack. The Trump administration made multiple unsuccessful attempts to end DACA, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling that left the policy in place. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE


‘A Plan To Reform U.S. Security Assistance



By Max Bergmann and Alexandra Schmitt


U.S. security assistance is broken and in need of an overhaul. Over the past two decades, the bureaucratic system developed to deliver billions of dollars of military aid to partner nations has evolved and expanded not by design but as the result of a series of ad hoc legislative and policy changes. Though the U.S. Department of State was initially in charge of security assistance policy and accounts, since 9/11, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has established a separate, well-funded security assistance bureaucracy at the Pentagon. This has inhibited effective congressional oversight, harmed coordination between diplomacy and defense, and contributed to the growing militarization of U.S. foreign policy. It has created a dysfunctional and bifurcated security assistance system. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE​



CAPAC Chair Statement on Meeting with President Biden and Vice President Harris



Washington, D.C. — Last April, the leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office to discuss critical priorities for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Meeting attendees included CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu, First Vice Chair Rep. Grace Meng, Second Vice Chair Rep. Mark Takano, Freshman Representative Kaiali‘i Kahele, Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono, and Rep. Doris Matsui.

country since 2005. -- CLICK STORY TO READ MORE



Teenage thoughts



Point of View

By Xirtaidem Acebron



UW VETERINARY MEDICINE PROFESSOR RUTHANNE CHUN RECEIVES 2021 LAMARR BILLUPS COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD



Ruthanne Chun, clinical professor of oncology in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the winner of this year's LaMarr Billups Community-University Engagement Award. The award recognizes a member of the Greater Madison community who has made outstanding contributions to campus-community partnership initiatives.


In 2014, Chun co-founded Wisconsin Companion Animal Resources, Education and Social services (WisCARES), a community veterinary clinic for low income and homeless families.
"One of the pillars of our mission at UW-Madison is to reach beyond the borders of the campus to share knowledge that improves people's lives. Ruthanne Chun is a worthy recipient of this prestigious award. As the co-founder and director of WisCARES, she has created a national model for community outreach and collaboration," says Chancellor Rebecca Blank.


Since its inception, Chun has helped WisCARES grow from a street medicine project led by a single veterinarian to a fully functioning clinic. It is now open five days a week with a full-time dedicated social worker that extends the reach of care beyond the animal to their owner. -- CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE



more news



* AAPI Victory Fund Congratulates Yang on a Campaign Well-Run After Concession Announcement, Rebukes Media for Perpetuating “Foreigner” Trope ​


* #STOPASIANHATE


* COMMERCE DEPARTMENT adds Five Chinese Entities to the Entity List for Participating in China's Campaign of Forced Labor Against Muslims in Xinjiang



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