There seems to be quite a bit of confusion around Proposition 8. After talking to several friends, I think we should clarify the following things I commonly hear when supporting the right to marry whoever we fucking want:

Proposition 8 is about having laws to prevent same-sex couples from marrying. Therefore, voting “no” means you believe the government has no business in who we choose to marry.

Voting no on prop 8 to support gay rights does not make you gay (or gayer). It’ll only make you sexier.

Voting no on prop 8 and standing against bigotry will not affect the outcome of your children’s sexuality or anyone’s sexuality. Being gay is not contagious.

Any outcome of prop 8 will not affect the way sexuality is treated in schools (in the same way public schools aren’t allowed to teach a particular religion). And until about age 11, girls have coodies anyways.

Banning same-sex marriage does not make a heterosexual family stronger—it victimizes other families. And it makes your family look mean and grumpy.

Voting no on prop 8 will protect families and help families live fulfilling married lives… or even dreadful ones.

Voting no on prop 8 supports equality for everyone and a more perfect world. Don’t be a hater.

Vote no on Prop 8.

-Mark

Dear Young Gifted Black and Brown Folks, and their ill White allies,

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to get trained on Green Building, Permaculture, and hella other shit through work. Over the past weeks, coming home from these discussions I’ve then had the task of translating what these words actually mean to me.The official idea of permaculture in short is to take lessons from our ancestors and how they lived, combine it with our present-day technologies and find a realistic way for people to thrive? Permaculture also encourages a critique of trade laws, labor practices…But really yo, that ain’t the bottom line. You want more than just cleaner air, you have to go to a far bigger word - Revolution. But that’s for another day.

One of the most incredible parts of permaculture to me is the big picture. If I give in to a craving and I buy some red licorice, I am not just doing horrible damage to my brain (sugar), my blood sugar levels (corn syrup), and risking cancer (red 40 food coloring). I’m also using up plastic, paper, water, and other resources needed to make the candy and the packaging. Then whatever waste comes out of my body from that food - that same poison is going into the ocean and soil. And guess where that ends up - in the crops that someone else is going to eat. Crazy, right?

But beyond some candy I might eat, let’s get to whole way of life that permaculture is about. It’s really not that new of an idea. In the Philippines we make bags out of candy wrappers, houses out of scrap metal, and kitchenware from tin cans. While sitting on Bart I thought to myself…

-How can I live like recent immigrants do? How did Mom and Lola use resources when they first got here and were livin in somebody’s basement in Daly City?

- How do I live like a Filipino in the Philippines, even though I am now a Filipino in the States?

(more…)

…it’s all power to the people.

Sometimes with all the Obama posts, I get weary that I might come off as one just another fanboy who jumped on the hype.  But I am also not just a hater.

I’ve volunteered time and effort to phone bank to swing states, and this coming weekend, I’m planning to mob to Reno to make sure that the swing state doesn’t end up in the hands of the grumpy old white man.

Thing is, I am a supporter because of the potential that he has created for change; not for the change that he could possibly make in office but for the change that he has inspired the masses to make by organizing.

Folks need to remember that after November 4th, shit’s still gonna look like November 3rd.  Which is why as a people, we can’t stand by and get complacent.  Accountability needs to be placed on Obama, especially since he comes at us talking about “change”.  As important as it is to vote next week, it’s just, or maybe even more, important to continue the grassroots work that has taken place this past year.

While every other rapper has released a pro-Obama track, it is nice to hear something that takes a critical look at the candidacy.

dead prez doesn’t want to discourage their community, but want folks to look beyond the smoke and mirrors of Presidential campaigns.  Off their upcoming album, Information Age (props to the homie Andres for the link):

dead prez - PolitrKKKs

Also, from Rebel Diaz:  An Open Letter to Obama

-Ninoy Brown

Mama was a Black queen, Papa was a Latin King

Over a year ago, I posted a video that consisted of a slew of Fresno rappers with their rendition of DJ Khalid’s “We Takin’ Over”.  Sadly, for those of us that are generally ashamed of being a Central Cali native yet cross our fingers that something dope will emerge from the area, Fresno Hip-Hop failed to over take anything last year.  A glimmering light might still be in sight for 2008, though.  Considering the underdog story of Fresno State in this year’s 2008 College World Series, up and coming rapper, Fashawn might give the 559 another reason to be proud.

The Fresno/Central Cali remix to “WTO” [1] was my first introduction to this kid who was barely out of high school.  Appearing as the third rapper, he was the person on the track with whom I knew nothing.  While his verse was far from mind blowing, hunger could be felt.  That hunger is evident in his work ethic, dropping several mixtapes, doing shows up and down Cali, and still finding time to perform at local Fresno high schools.

I should have kept paying attention to him, but on a rare occassion, I fell asleep.  Now it seems like the kid is slowly blowing up.  Thankfully the homie Carlos insisted that I peep the “One Shot One Kill! Mixtape”.

With “Excuses” and “I Feel It” he takes a route that usually situates a rapper in the whole “hipster rap” category and raps over some hipster favorites, Ratatat and Feist, respectively.  But something sets Fashawn’s style apart from Kid Cudi, Wale, etc.; a stark street swagger is noticeable that sets him apart from the other Hypebeast clothed rappers.  Who knew someone could still sound hard over a Feist track?  He even raps (well) over a Ting Tings track; I’d actually like to see what he could do over CSS or Bonde de Role.

On “24-7″, Planet Asia is also featured for something more backpack friendly.  A standard rap grind story, but infectiously head-nodable.

Fashawn - Excuses

Fashawn - I Feel It

Fashawn - 24-7

All the tracks are available on the free Orisue, “One Shot One Kill! Mixtape”

myspace.com/fashawn

[1] I wonder if DJ Khalid had the World Trade Organization in mind when he put together his posse cut?

-Ninoy Brown

Discussion has been called regarding the tendency for some Pilipino Americans to lean towards the red-state side of America’s two party system.  The Pil-Am voter lean, which if it were dance would be an offshoot of the “shoulder lean”, towards McCain likely has to do with the social conservatism generated by Catholicism as well as with roots in the military.  Much more can be added to the algorythm, but that can be discussed in your Pilipino Studies classes… errr… Forgot, there’s that whole “we’re still fighting for it” thing with Pil Studies in our universities.

But let’s take it back to the Philippines, where a Gallup poll tried to see what our folks across the Pacific think about the US elections:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Philippines is one of only a few countries Gallup surveyed where citizens preferred Republican Sen. John McCain to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama as the next U.S. president. In late May 2008, Filipinos slightly favored McCain (28%) over Obama (20%), though a slim majority (52%) did not express a preference.

Whaaat?!  Is that f’real?

Of course, the poll was conducted back in May, so things might be a lot different.  Also, one should note the lean towards Obama for individuals in the National Capital Region.  I also wonder how the pollsters selected those that participated.

What do y’all think?

Also, upon doing a quick research, aside from McCain and GMA’s picture above, any mention regarding the Philippines was virtually non-existent from McCain.

As for Obama, he dropped a well-intentioned press release a couple weeks ago commemorating Filipino American History Month, mentioning the Veteranos and talking about the need for family reunification.  Though, more reading shows that Obama is likely to continue the same foreign policy with the Philippines, using the islands as hub for U.S. military engagement and possibly maintaining the existing Visiting Forces Agreement.  Something to marinate on.

-Ninoy Brown

I’m trying to grasp the reality that on November 4th, the well-known tendency of Filipino voters consistently voting Republican (though largely of my parent’s generation) will be casting their ballot for a McCain-Palin presidency. Trying to understand this perspective, I stumbled upon the page “Filipinos for McCain” from the Asian Americans for McCain website. The comments left are seriously troubling:

Obama “promotes abortion.”
Obama “is the Anti-Christ.”
“Do you want a president who sympathizes with the religion that commanded the 9/11 attacks?”
“The [Qu'ran] is a very deceptive book.”
“Satan is behind Obama”
“This is America ConcernedFinoys! Time for you to learn English.”
“Obama is a Muslim even though he pretends to be a Christian. …BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA AS PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA.”

I was immediately shocked and offended. Obviously, racism and intolerance is not color-blind condition or a symptom of just white people. People in my own family share this same misinformation. However, the statements on this website are problematic on so many levels that I couldn’t even begin to grasp exactly what I was offended with. With only a few weeks left, my cynicism for the campaign circus would guide my commentary to be heavily satirical and humorous (c’mon, my last posts have been on Flo-Rida on MTV—give me a break).

I also know that showing validity to comments left by anonymous people on a blog would be like validating YouTube comments as productive political discourse. However, as statements recently remarked by Colin Powell, a Republican, these comments are exactly the intended results of methods used by even senior officials of the Republican party.

It is absurd that the Republican party, or any polical party, would permit the litany of this level of racism and religious hatred that occurs at McCain-Palin rallies or at the table of Republican campaign strategy. I do commend Colin Powell for holding his own political party accountable for the indecency of their campaigning:

Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn’t have a Christian cross. It didn’t have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.

And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.

Clearly, we need to be reminded that what’s at stake for country are issues bigger than a presidential term for Barack Obama and that voting is the least we can do to build a better country.

-Mark

Aside from Manny Pacquiao-boxing related posts, I rarely delve into fighting sports, particularly my fascination with the misunderstood sport of mixed martial arts.

A perception exists with MMA being a chauvinistic sport built around the need to tout one’s own machismo, but a unique science occurs when two strong opponents meet in the ring or octagon.  Adisa will vouch for the self-discipline with which skilled fighters adhere, self-discipline in both mind and body.  And it’s not just a bunch of dudes either, as Gina “Conviction” Carano has arguably had some of the most exciting fights in the primetime CBS cards that EliteXC has put together.

Now, one might be wondering what the hell MMA has to do with the realm of politricks.  Well, aside from the monopolistic elite control that punkass Dana White has tried to make, there was a period when the upstart was on an uphill struggle to continue.  The battle with the corrupt world of boxing still continues, but their lobbying efforts back in the late ’90s nearly killed it.  A death that almost came with the current GOP Presidential candidate pulling the trigger:  John McCain.

“Human Cockfighting”, a term McCain used to describe UFC.  Although rules back in the day were basically nonexistent, the simplisitc description was basically a shock tactic used to assist McCain’s personal ties to boxing’s biggest sponsor, Budweiser.  So, McCain went on a crusade to help his boxing buddies and ban UFC.

Funny thing about UFC is that it seems that a lot of its fans seem to be the type who are proud to live in a red state, yet, aside from McCain, there has been a strong push by conservatives to do away with the sport.  Of course, nobody should vote for a candidate based on their stance on a sport, but it’s interesting to know about it.

For more: “Fight Clubbed” &  McCain Fact Check

And just cause, Jeff Monson on anarchism (start at 3:40, especially since the idea of him standing a chance against Fedor is kinda ridiculous):

Barack Lesnar pic via the homie, Jaymar.

-Ninoy Brown

Earl Stevens has the dreads going.  Just add the tie-dyed clothing, and he’ll be a spitting image of the dude from PM Dawn who KRS allegedly bumrushed.

-Ninoy Brown

-Ninoy Brown

While most people are caught up in the election hype surrounding the race to the Presidency, it’s important to remember that there’s a hell of a lot of other things on the ballot to research.  There are the congressional elections that are taking place for each person’s respective district, 12 state propositions, and whatever other propositions and local offices exist in one’s district.

To reitirate, there are 12 propositions on the state ballot.  For the Presidential undecided voters, who confuse me more than Republicans, this means you need to figure out that part of the ballot yesterday and start researching the other important things that in many aspects affect you even more.

Ideally, I would l would like to drop some knowledge on each of these propositions, but I’m busy as hell with classes and have to select the ones that I feel an urgency to speak.  In this case, it’s regarding Proposition 6 aka the Runner’s Initiative: Police and Law Enforcement Funding. Criminal Penalties and Laws. Initiative Statute.

In a state where the institution criminalizes the youth and tracks them to become products of the prison industrial complex, such an initiative further perpetuates the cycle of injustice.  Prop 6 essentially mandates nearly $1 billion each year towards a failing criminal justice system.  This would in turn cut funds in education, healthcare, and other vital social programs that work at the roots.  Instead of pumping more money to place even more folks behind prisons, what is needed is community-based solutions to curb the crime and violence.

What is ironic about the initiative is that the biggest contributor towards Prop 6’s passage, Henry T. Nicholas, has his own justice problem as he has been accused of securites fraud and multiple drug crimes.

Don’t let the name “Safe Neighborhood’s Act” fool ya’.  It’s just going to make the problems that exist even worse.  The anti-gang talk just further promotes the war on the youth, allowing more 14 year old to be tried as adults.

Learn more:

No on Prop 6

Ella Baker Center:  Books not Bars

-Ninoy Brown