Ep.13: "Mommy I Need you," a Mother's Day Memory; and more on Trump/Nixon

Emil Amok's Takeout from Emil Guillermo Media

Ep. 13

Emil Guillermo: "Mommy, I need you," a Mother's Day podcast memory; plus Trump grows more Nixony by the day

May 12, 2017 3:04 PM

From the AALDEF blog:

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-mommy-i-need-you-mothers-day-podcast-trump-nixon.html

I wrote an essay about my mother that was in my collection of Emil Amok columns in my book Amok back in 2000.

I read it here, along with a preamble on the podcast, because I've too often given short shrift to my mom's story, in favor of my dad's. But my mother's story was pretty incredible too. She survived the Japanese occupation of Manila during WWII and found her way to the U.S. with the help of an angel, a Spanish aristocrat who was unrelated, and whom I remember as having so much makeup on her face that she she looked like a ghost. I only knew her as Lola Angelita, world traveler. My mom is in this picture, on the left. Another one of her comadres, my Lola Rosie, is holding me. I'm just horribly disoriented looking for the right nipple. And probably crying. All that and more on the podcast for Mothers Day in May, which is also AAPI Heritage Month. Here's a shoutout to The New Yorker for its funny, satirical cover, the positive yellowfacing of Dr. David Dao, who is replaced by the ousted FBI chief James Comey. It's funny, not racist, as some have suggested. It's a recognition of how we felt about Dao, and how we should all feel about what's happened to Comey. In Trump-speak, the Comey thing is as important as the Russia thing, and so much more important than any email thing. In the firing, Trump as Nixon was pretty obvious from Day 1. But Trump doesn't leave well enough alone. He's compounded it with subsequent steps that only create a growing credibility gap between his White House and the American public. Where is the Truth about the firing of Comey? We have several versions, at this point. One too many for a real democracy. And if Trump isn't getting really Nixony, why did he tweet about the possibility that conversations with Comey were taped? Follow Donald J. Trump ?@realDonaldTrump

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

5:26 AM - 12 May 2017 So our democracy under Trump is getting shakier and shakier, especially when Trump feels his people must be loyal to him and not the American people. King Donald? It leaves us with motherhood to hang on to for now, while we can. Show Log: 00: Opening :20 About our show 1:15 My theater performance 1:56 This episode 3:17 New Yorker spoof: Comey as David Dao 4:29 More on Trump 10:26 Preamble on my Mom, followed by the "Mom's Sundae" commentary from my Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective * * * Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator. Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page. The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies.

Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button. AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.

Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com

Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show.

Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review.

You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

BIO

Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S.

His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country. His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net. His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news. As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist.

Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

http://www.aaldef.org/blog