Capt. Jim Peitrangelo II (middle left) and Lt. Dan Choi (middle right) leave the courthouse with their attorneys after charges against them were dropped.

On Memorial Day Weekend, I blogged about Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay member of the U.S. Army who voluntarily placed himself in violation of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” by declaring his sexuality on Rachel Maddow. In protest of DADT, Choi was arrested twice this year while participating in a peaceable, non-violent demonstration in front of the White House.

In a possible sign that the federal government is trying to distance themselves from DADT, civil disobedience charges against Lt. Choi and a fellow protesters were dropped today. Even the prosecutor in the case against Lt. Choi was caught unawares by the decision not to prosecute Choi and fellow serviceman, Capt. James Pietrangelo II. From the press release issued by GetEQUAL.org:

WASHINGTON – Although the prosecution was ready to move forward and the arresting officers were present in courtroom 120 of DC Superior Court this morning, the government decided at the last minute today to drop the charges against Lt. Dan Choi and Cpt. James Pietrangelo II. Apparently, Prosecutor Christine Chang was unaware of the government’s decision as she stated, “I was ready,” and wasn’t able to explain the last-minute decision not to prosecute.

“Today, truth was the victor against a demeaning, discriminatory law known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” said Lt. Dan Choi. “We won’t stop pressing for repeal and pressuring those standing in the way until the day comes when not one more gay or lesbian servicemember is fired. And, as of today, the President refuses to tell us when that day will actually come.”

“It is clear that the government was embarrassed and we were prepared to make them defend this antiquated and homophobic law. The government is afraid of having to defend this issue,” said Cpt. James Pietrangelo II. “The subpoena was an embarrassment for them, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an embarrassment for them and, after three months of discovery and preparation, the government dropped the case because they know it’s an embarrassment.”

I think it’s clear that the White House requested that the charges be dropped, because they are in the process of repealing DADT. They don’t want to deal with the political backlash of appearing to be in support of DADT by prosecuting this case, particularly while Congress votes to phase out this discriminatory policy. Regardless of how one feels about the military’s efforts to figure out how to repeal DADT, we can all agree that it’s bad politics for the federal government to have to go on-record defending the policy in a court of law while they simultaneously press for the policy’s repeal in the Legislature.

In any event, today is a victory for Lt. Dan Choi, and all LGBTQ servicemen in the military. It’s also certainly a sign that the political winds are shifting — and thank goodness for that.

Sulu DC's promotional flyer for their 1st annual hip hop concert

Got a press release this morning about Sulu DC’s 1st annual hip hop concert, featuring some amazing Asian/Pacific Islander American talent. Sulu DC is a Washington D.C.-based group of spoken word and multidisciplinary artists whose mission is to “foster relationships with local and national organizations, nurture the artistic development of emerging AAPI artists and build inter-generational alliances with cities across North America.” And who could not love a group that named themselves after Star Trek’s Sulu?

This year’s hip hop concert co-organized by Sulu DC and Kollaboration DC will feature some incredible underground names in APIA music and comedy.

Performing live are hip-hop acts and community celebrities, Magnetic North and Taiyo Na (MNTN), the Stone Forest Ensemble and local artists SNRG. HOME: WORD is the highly anticipated collaboration album between Magnetic North and Taiyo Na, and will be available for purchase at the July 17 concert. Soulful, organic and lush, HOME: WORD is a hip-hop concert album about the journey for home. It’s the rare record that helps to create a new American music, one rooted in American traditions yet re-imagined by global immigrant experiences. Of HOME: WORD, popular blogger angry asian man raved, “It’s one of my favorite albums of the year.” 

Co-sponsored by Kollaboration DC, July’s concert performance features sounds by The Pinstriped Rebel (DJ) and will be hosted by New York-based comedian Jen Kwok, whose work has been featured on CNN, MTV and Rolling Stone Magazine. Jen was a national finalist in NBC’s Stand-Up for Diversity and will make her feature film debut in the movie Eat, Pray, Love.

I’m particularly excited that Magnetic North and Taiyo Na will be featured at the showcase this year.

Magnetic North (left) and Taiyo Na (right)

I had a chance to chat with Taiyo Na several years ago while I was on Fallout Central — and, immediately, I fell in love with his music. Taiyo is an amazingly soulful artist (although, perhaps not so surprising if you’ve had a chance to meet him — dude is deep, man), and several of his singles from Love is Growth are still on my playlist (particularly Lil’ Tookie). 

Recently, I took some time to listen to a few of the songs off Home:Word, the collaboration album between Magnetic North and Taiyo Na, and I was astounded by how the artists were able to seamlessly blend their respective sounds, while still staying true to their unique styles (check out Postcards via the link, and Summertime below). In particular, I was struck by the range demonstrated by these two songs: Postcards has the kind of spiritual, introspectiveness that I loved most about Taiyo’s first album, while Summertime is an infectiously upbeat, fun-loving, radio-playable hip hop track that one could easily imagine as this year’s next mainstream summer pop hit.

I think Magnetic North and Taiyo Na have a great future ahead of them – I firmly believe that they’re among the best that underground, contemporary Asian American music has to offer right now. 

If you happen to be in the D.C. area this month, this is the concert to be at. It’s all going down Saturday, July 17th, 6:30pm at the U Street Music Hall (1115A U Street, NW DC). Tickets are $10 online or $15 at the door, with proceeds benefitting the artists and helping to sponsor Sulu DC’s monthly showcases, open mics and artist workshops.

I was just chatting with some friends last night, saying that I wished I had been less of a dork and more of an athlete in high school. Little did I know that the math geeks are actually trying to reclaim the term “athlete” from the jocks. Maybe knowing that would have made my high school experience a little less traumatic?

President Obama met yesterday with a group of “mathletes” from California, who won the national MATHCOUNTS competition this year.

I wonder if Obama took the time to ask these kids how to stop the Gulf Coast oil spill; they've probably got more combined smarts than all of the engineers over at BP.

I’m not sure whether to celebrate or cry that four out of the six beaming “mathletes” were cute little Asian boys. I mean, way to represent — but isn’t this a little model minority, too?

I’m so conflicted…

I’m hearing on Facebook that John Delloro — community activist, educator and mentor — has passed away from a sudden heart attack. Delloro was an influential voice in the APIA community, most recently serving as the National President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). He was honoured last year as #2 in APAP’s Top Asian American Unsung Heroes list.

My prayers go out to John’s family; the entire Asian American community grieves the loss of a vital and passionate voice this weekend.

This is the last post in a three-part Memorial Day Weekend series honouring Asian American veterans.

Who?

General Eric Shinseki is a retired four-star General, who has served in the United States Army from 1965 – 2003, including tours in Europe and two tours served during the Vietnam War. While in Vietnam, Shinseki stepped on a land mine and lost part of his foot.

Upon returning to the U.S., Shinseki held a variety of command positions, ultimately being promoted to serve as the Army’s 28th Vice Chief of Staff in 1998. In 1999, Shinseki was again promoted, serving as the Army’s 34th Chief of Staff for four years before his retirement in 2003.

Why He’s Awesome?

General Shinseki holds the distinction of being the first Asian American to receive the rank of four-star general, and he is also the only Asian Ameican to ever serve as the Army Chief of Staff. He is the recipient of multiple military awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the nation’s highest peacetime award.

While Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki made national headlines when he publicly disagreed with then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee over how many troops would be necessary to re-build Iraq after the Iraq War. Shinseki estimated that several hundred thousand troops would be needed, in contrast to the much lower estimates made by Rumsfeld and the Pentagon. Although heavily criticized by the Bush White House at the time, Shinseki’s testimony has since proven to be accurate.

In 2009, Shinseki was sworn into President Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary for Veteran Affairs, a position he currently holds.

This post is the second of a three part series on awesome Asian veterans, written in commemoration of Memorial Day.

Who?

Tammy Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Guard in 1990 while a graduate student in George Washington University, following in the footsteps of her father, who served in the military from World War II to Vietnam. In 1992, Duckworth joined the United States Army Reserve and trained to be a combat helicopter pilot, because it was one of the few combat jobs open to women. In 2004, Duckworth was serving with the Illinois National Guard in Iraq when the helicopter she was co-piloting was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. Though Duckworth survived the subsequent explosion, she lost the lower parts of both legs.

Why She’s Awesome?

Returning to America, Duckworth received a Purple Heart, an Air Medal and an Army Commendation Medal. Following her experiences in Iraq, Duckworth also formed the Intrepid Foundation, which supports and advocates on behalf of injured veterans. Indeed, since returning from Iraq, Duckworth spent much of her time working to improve veteran care, speaking openly in criticism of the Bush Administration’s mishandling of this issue.

In 2006, Duckworth ran for, and won, the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 6th Congressional seat, despite having never before held an elected office. Unfortunately, later that year, Duckworth lost the seat to Republican challenger, Peter Roskam, by only 2% of the vote.

After losing the election in November 2006, Duckworth was appointed Director of Illinois’ Veteran Affairs, and in 2009, President Obama nominated Duckworth to the position of Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veteran Affairs, a position she currently serves in the Obama Administration.

For Memorial Day Weekend, I’m writing three posts that will profile three awesome Asian American servicemen and veterans of the United States Armed Services. Today’s spotlight: Lt. Dan Choi.

Lt. Dan Choi, at the National Equality March in 2009

Who?

Lt. Dan Choi is a former infantry officer who served in the United States Army for ten years, including two years in Iraq between 2006 and 2007. A graduate from the prestigious West Point Academy, Choi is a Arabic language specialist. In 2009, after a decade of service in the U.S. Army, Choi transferred to the New York National Guard.

Why He’s Awesome?

In March 2009, Choi appeared on The Rachel Maddow show, where he uttered three little words on-air: “I am gay”.

Because the act of disclosing your homosexality is a violation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, which was implemented by the Clinton Administration, Lt. Dan Choi received a letter of dismissal from the New York National Guard. Choi fought the decision, and faced a military trial that ultimately again recommended Choi for dismissal for being gay. However, discharge procedures were never finalized, and Choi continues to serve in the New York National Guard to this day. 

Meanwhile, Choi has become one of the most prominent critics of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, a policy that forbids “homosexual conduct” in active servicemen and that disproportionately affects women and minority officers. He has repeatedly urged the Obama Administration to repeal DADT, and he founded “KnightsOut” an advocacy group for LGBT memebers of West Point. Choi was arrested twicethis year for chaining himself to the White House fence in order to raise awareness about DADT’s negative effects on gay military personnel.

Signs are that Choi’s efforts are gaining ground. Although Choi remains in violation of DADT, he was recently invited by his commander to participate in active drills with his National Guard battalion for the first time in over a year. One of President Obama’s primary campaign promises was the repeal of DADT within his first term in office. And, this past week, both the Senate Armed Forces and the House voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

For their vocal and ardent activism regarding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, Choi and all the other LGBT APIA servicemen who have taken a brave public stand against DADT definitely deserve recognition this Memorial Day Weekend.