Notebook

By: Elsie Sy-Niebar

 

*Gong Hei, Fat Choy! (Happy New Year!)

*Ley Ho Mah? (How are you?) According to the Chinese Zodiac, this is the Year of the Dog; President Trump is a ‘Fire Dog, Intelligent, hardworking, and sincere’; comes out a ‘Winner’ in his State of the Union Address emphasizing Unity ‘ONE PEOPLE and ONE AMERICAN FAMILY’

*Philippine Senator Sonny Trillanes speaks at FAHRA assembly; Vows to advocating peace and order, anti-corruption, to alleviate poverty in the country

*Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough, for Clerk of Cook County: ‘I am committed to public service to safeguard our families’ important records’

*Former IL Gov. Pat Quinn on the road for next IL Attorney General, ‘Advocate for Woking Families and the ‘Voice for Ordinary People’

*Chris Kennedy meets his Asian Indian American supporters

February is the month the Chinese celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year. This year, their Zodiac sign declares 2018 as the Year of the Dog, which officially starts on Friday, February 16. According to the Chinese zodiac signs, President Donald Trump was born in the Year of the Dog; he is classified as “Fire Dog.” Ironically, the Year of the Dog story explains that — of all American presidents, Trump is the only president who does not have a dog???

The Chinese Zodiac description of the Dog is: “Dogs are human’s most loyal friends protecting their owners. On the street, you can see the dogs helping the blind to cross the street. The renowned Temple of Eighteen Deities on the northern of Taiwan is sacred to a dog saving his master. Dog people have a strong sense of justice. They are brave, forthright, friendly, loyal to his friends and like righting wrongs. Loyal and honest, they have the most profound sense of duty. They are also good working partners. In love, they are fiercely loyal to those they love.”

“Shortcomings of people under the dog sign: they easily get angry and irritable. Too often they borrow trouble. They are stubborn…usually pay much attention on the theory while lacking action and judgment. They are fond of getting to the bottom of matters, criticizing others, suspicious and fussy, sincere, reliable, considerate understanding, communicative, serious, responsible, brave, self-centered, seemingly selfish; and well-versed in dealing with financial issues.”

Does this description fit President Donald Trump? Go figure. Have you watched his very long but well-listened to “State of the Union Address” last Tuesday, January 30. It was his first formal State of the Union address at 9 p.m. Eastern time, before a joint session of Congress. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) presides in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, with Vice President Mike Pence beside him in his constitutional role as president of the Senate. Congress, Supreme Court Justices, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President’s one “designated survivor” left after Trump’s “firing squad”. Considered one of the longest presidential SOTU address, I believe it was one of the most-watched address. I was glued to the tube myself. Very interesting. Specially Donald Trump’s mannerism. He appeared humble and compassionate. Several Dems boycotted the speech. Those who attended were easy to identify as Democrats because they did not applaud and their faces look so miserable in that jolly huge arena. I felt sorry for them. Surprisingly, President Trump was mellow as he delivered his speech. He sounded like a very good Christian imploring God’s mercy, underscoring UNITY among the people. Oh, yes, even without the help of the Democrats present, President Trump got resounding applauses! I love his Message.

KAREN YARBROUGH, FOR CLERK OF COOK COUNTY: Karen A. Yarbrough, a very humble and friendly Lady, who currently serves as Recorder of Deeds, is running for County Clerk to ensure an efficient merger with the Recorder’s Office, and to become the first female, and first African-American, to hold that position. “This merger will result in an office that must safeguard our families’ most important records. Whether it’s birth, marriage, military service, voting or home ownership, these records tell the stories of our families and of our County. That’s why I am running, and that is why I am committed to public service,” said Karen Yarbrough. As Clerk, Karen will focus on cybersecurity, accountability, and fiscal savings through increased efficiencies. She will use her commitment to public education and advocacy to ensure the combining of the Recorder and Clerk Offices does not eliminate community outreach programs.

Though Yarbrough is recognized as one of the most fiscally-disciplined officials in Cook County, needing only a small portion of the revenue her office generates to operate, the County’s current overall fiscal situation and pension obligations have forced a reduction in services throughout Cook County government, at a time when residents are struggling. Yarbrough has actually expanded services during this time, with the number of documents submitted electronically climbing to over 50%.

Because residents are fed up with losing time and money to hackers and data breaches, Yarbrough will continue to use her position as an internationally-recognized blockchain technology leader to promote a new way of using our vital records to prove our identity. Yarbrough will lead a push away from a system where residents must give their personal information over every time they wish to interact with a business or with government, a practice that leaves their information vulnerable on thousands of servers throughout the world. Those wishing to support her campaign or contact her can visit KarenForClerk.com. Donations can be submitted online at PayPal.me/Karen4Clerk

Atty. Pat Quinn, for ILLINOIS STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: former governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn is no stranger to us – Filipino Americans and the Asian American community in general. His political career are as follows — former Governor of Illinois (2009-2015); Lt. Governor of Illinois (2003-2009); State Treasurer (1991-1995). When he first ran for State Treasurer, he got the huge support from the Asian Americans like our ASIAN AMERICAN POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF IL (AAPEI) and the FILIPINO AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION OF COOK COUNTY (FADOC) for which this writer was vice chair.

This coming Election Primary on March 20, please vote for Pat Quinn as candidate for the office of IL State Attorney General. So befitting in his impressive political services, as a long-time champion of progressive reforms, consumer and environmental rights, and standing up for everyday people. Throughout his career Pat Quinn has fought to protect middle-class families. As a private citizen, Quinn founded the Citizens Utility Board that works to lower electricity rates and provide better service from the state’s investor-owned electric, gas, and telephone companies. It is now the largest consumer group in the state. Quinn is against Donald Trump’s unconstitutional and hateful policies that hurt Illinois residents and families. As Attorney General, Pat Quinn will forcefully defend the rights of all Illinois residents against Donald Trump and his shameful culture war.

Pat Quinn will promote affordable healthcare for all and stand up for jobs and a living wage. He will protect families from unfair utility rate hikes. Pat Quinn will honor our veterans and voting rights while promoting integrity in government always. As Atty. General, he said he’s “most concerned that the federal government under President Trump has abrogated its responsibility to enforce important laws that protect public health, safety and welfare.

On gun violence, Quinn said: I believe that the Attorney General is the people’s lawyer, enforcing the law to vindicate the public interest and to halt wrongdoing. Protecting Immigrants. “immigrants are vulnerable in many ways, under Trump’s governance. I will join with other state Attorneys General who are working to protect the rights of immigrants and oppose President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. As former Governor, I signed the DREAM Act; signed legislation to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses, and was the first Governor in America to return the Secure Communities program back to the federal government, which would have used Illinois law enforcement to act as federal immigration officers. Human Rights. Everyone has a fundamental right to be protected from discrimination and harassment. As Attorney General, I will challenge unlawful discrimination whenever it appears.”

HUMAN RIGHTS FIGHTER, PHILIPPINE SENATOR ANTONIO “Sonny” F. TRILLANES shares his advocacy work against abuses of human rights in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, hosted by FAIHRA-Chicago: Very similar to the activities of former MOVEMENT FOR A FREE PHILIPPINE (MFP) group in the early ‘70s, fighting the Martial Rule of the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, a group of Chicago Fil-Ams today is fighting a similar human rights war against current president Duterte. Spearheaded by the FAIHRA-Chicago or the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance (FAHRA-Chicago), three more organizations joined: the Filipino American Grand Parents Association of Chicago (FAGPAC); Circa Pintig Community Theater, and the Pilipinos United for Progress (UniPRO). These three conducted a series of human rights education and actions.

Last December 9, 2017, the alliance commemorated the United Nations universal declaration of human rights by affirming that human rights are essential to securing healthy, safe and peaceful lives for all. The outcome of the commemoration was an urgent appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the killings in the Philippines and respect every person’s right to life. Moreover, the alliance launched the campaign to pass the Senate Bill S.1055 or the Philippine Human Rights Accountability and Counter Narcotics Act of 2017. The bill aims to restrict arms sales to the Philippine National Police (PNP), provide Leahy vetting reports on foreign assistance cases related to PNP, provide annual State Department report on Chinese and other sources of narcotics to the Philippines, provide $25M of aid for human rights, democracy, and public health promotion, and provide State Department report on US military assistance and arms transfers to the Philippines. Then in the month of January, the alliance provided a safe space for Fr. Albert “Paring Bert” Alejo, visiting professor and lecturer at Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, in exposing the gruesome impact of extra judicial killings happening in the Philippines.

What really disturbs him, Fr. Alejo said, is the support extended to Duterte by some church people, like the priests and the nuns, “given all the lying, fake news, brutality, both in action and in words.”

Last February 9, the alliance welcomed Philippine Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes in his US round Table talks. Members of the Alliance expressed their pride of the rich social justice history of Chicago, where workers demanded for better working conditions. The labor movement in the 1800 made Chicago the place where struggle for civil rights got recognized and became a law. One of the outcomes of the civil rights struggle was the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. FAHRA also is concerned with the proposal of President Trump to stop the family-based immigration. His proposal is against the cornerstone of our immigration history. FAHRA is determined to fight the reversal of the gains of the civil rights movement. FAHRA also takes offense to President Duterte’s abandoning his obligation to protect the rights of the Filipino overseas workers even telling them, “If you are caught and deported, I will not lift a finger.”

“Duterte forgets that in 2015, remittances to the Philippines accounted for over 10 percent of the country’s GDP and nearly half of that came from the United States,” FAHRA said. FAHRA also supports a legislative solution for over 2.1 million immigrant youth and young adults who came to the U.S. as children, protecting them and their parents and providing a pathway to U.S. citizenship. Just recently, the Filipino human rights advocates, the Filipino domestic workers together with the local and national alliance of domestic workers won the passage of the Illinois Domestic Workers bill of rights.

Senator Trillanes pointed out that, “ The TRUTH is the strongest weapon to fight fake news and hate campaign of Duterte’s rabid supporters.” He is confident that International Criminal Court preliminary investigation about the allegation of Duterte’s crime against humanity will help the Filipino people. Now on his second term, Sonny vows to serve his country by continuing his advocacies on peace and order, anti-corruption, and poverty alleviation. He is the Chairman of the Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation. During the 15th and 16th Congresses, he was the most productive senator as he ranked first in terms of number of national bills passed into law as principal author and principal sponsor. To date, he has filed a total of 1,404 bills and resolutions filed. Of these, 76 have been passed into law. Foremost of which are the: AFP Modernization Law; Archipelagic Baselines Law; Universal Healthcare Law; Immediate Release of Retirement Benefits of Government Employees; Salary Standardization Law 3; PAG-IBIG Fund Law; Magna Carta for Disabled Persons; Expanded Senior Citizens Act; Anti-Bullying Act; and the Increase in Subsistence Allowance for Soldiers and Policemen. He impressed FAHRA and the attendees who promised their support for a good cause for the Filipinos back home.

SEN. ANTONIO F. TRILLANES IV, graduated from De La Salle University in Manila; joined the Philippine Military Academy, graduated cum laude in 1995. He finished his master’s degree in Public Administration major in Public Policy and Program Management at the University of the Philippines; a recipient of two University Scholar Awards for obtaining two semestral GPAs of 1.0 to 1.25. Just recently, he finished the National and International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (30)

“State of the Union Address” last Tuesday, January 30, President Donald Truump’s first formal State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. With the president are Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker Paul Ryan.

Former governor Pat Quinn, who’s running for Illinois State Attorney General come March 20 Primary, speaks to Illinois residents about the importance of protecting our environment. Photo by Christopher Dilts.

On Flag Day, Cook County Recorder of Deeds (CCRD) Karen Yarbrough, candidate for Clerk of Cook County, thanks the Veterans for their services during the inauguration of the new Veterans Service office, and affirms the CCRD’s commitment to serve them. Recorder Yarbrough appeals for our votes in the March 20 Primary election. Thank you.(esn/photo by CCRD office)

Asian Indian Americans MULTI ETHNIC ADVISORY TASK FORCE (MEATF) held a press conference for CHRIS KENNEDY for ILLINOIS GOV. last February 5, at Hema Restaurant in Devon Avemue. Kennedy’s vision is to fix Illinois and restore opportunity in the state. He wants to CHANGE the way Illinois tax the people, by making sure the wealthy pay their fair share. (Photo by Elsie Sy-Niebar)

Kishor Mehta, MEATF Chairman introduces Chris Kennedy (ESN photo)

IL for Governor aspirant, CHRIS KENNEDY poses with VIA TIMES senior editor/ columnist, Elsie Sy-Niebar