PIVOT Fall 2018 Newsletter

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PIVOT Fall 2018 Newsletter

November 25, 2018
During this season of thanksgiving, we are thankful for the hard work that PIVOTers and our allies have carried out to take back our democracy. The 2018 mid-term election was the focal point for the Resistance in general and for PIVOT in particular, and the results more than met our expectations and validated our approach. Control of the House of Representatives will enable Americans to stop the march toward single party autocratic rule by Trump and his supporters. Taking back governorships and control of state legislatures hold out hope that we will be able to prevent gerrymandering and other voter suppression activities for 2020 and beyond.

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AAPI Voters in 2018 Congressional Elections: Bigger Impact than Anticipated→

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AAPI Voters in 2018 Congressional Elections: Bigger Impact than Anticipated

November 20, 2018
Sono Shah
Heading into the midterms, our analysis at AAPI Data found 27 congressional districts in 11 states where Asian American & Pacific Islander voters could have maximum impact in 2018. We identified these districts as places where AAPIs represent at least 5 percent of eligible voters, and where the Cook Political Report had declared the race to be competitive.

How did these races turn out, and can we declare that AAPIs were likely influential those races? One way to answer this question is to compare the margin of victory for the winning candidate, and compare it to the AAPI share of the voting-eligible population.

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I Love America. That’s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It→

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I Love America. That’s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It

November 15, 2018
Viet Thanh Nguyen, as published in Time Magazine
Love it or leave it. Have you heard someone say this? Or have you said it? Anyone who has heard these five words knows what it means, because it almost always refers to America. Anyone who has heard this sentence knows it is a loaded gun, pointed at them.

As for those who say this sentence, do you mean it with gentleness, with empathy, with sarcasm, with satire, with any kind of humor that is not ill humored? Or is the sentence always said with very clear menace?

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Public Charge Information

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October 24, 2018

One of our members, Linh Chuong, created these infographics to explain the proposed public charge rule and how important it is for us to all submit our comments to oppose it. Please disseminate.

PDF versions are available here and here.

Vietnamese PDF version is available here.

My Take: Am I a burden on America?

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My Take: Am I a burden on America?

October 18, 2018
David Duong, PIVOT member
I grew up in an immigrant family: We were poor and on welfare.

My family immigrated to Holland, Michigan, from war-torn Vietnam in 1991. Our story relied heavily on the generosity of the American people and her government. Our plane tickets from Vietnam to America were purchased with a loan from the government that my parents paid back in monthly installments of $50 over five years.

For 1.5 years, we rented a home that was government subsidized. We were nourished because of the multi-colored food stamps that my mother used at Meijer. I received free hot lunches from Van Raalte Elementary school. Medicaid helped pay for our visits to the doctor. After my sister was born, through the Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) food subsidy program my mom bought fresh fruit, milk, cereal and cheese for our family. Looking back, I wonder what we would have done without these critical government subsidies. We were a burden on America during our initial three years here — my family was a public charge, we used public resources.

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PIVOT Endorses My-Linh Thai for Washington State Legislature

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PIVOT Endorses My-Linh Thai for Washington State Legislature

October 9, 2018
PIVOT is proud to endorse My-Linh Thai in her race to represent Washington State Legislative District 41, Position 2.  As a Vietnamese refugee who fled to the United States in 1983 at the age of 15 and a proud public school graduate, My-Linh understands the critical role that supportive teachers and counselors played in her educational and professional development. She first ran for Bellevue School Board Director in 2013 to help create a supportive environment that enables all children to develop to their full potential. Currently, she serves as Bellevue School Board President and Vice President for the Washington State School Directors Association. She is now running to be a state representative to continue to serve her community and it remains a welcoming one that celebrates diversity and protects the rights of all people to thrive. Her priorities include funding public education, protecting the environment, and building a community that centers equity, affordability, and sustainability. Learn more about My-Linh or find ways to support her by visiting her website.

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