Pacific Citizen, Sept

Since 1929 70s Icon Hello Kitty ITIZEN Grows Up The National Publication of the Japanese American Citizens League See page 3 #3021/ Vol. 139, No.5 ISSN: 0030-8579 SEPT. 3-16, 2004 Queen of the Pins 'Buddha Bar' Draws Ire of Local Hawaiian native is the Now, the native Hawaiian is the Hawaiian Buddhist Community only female APA on only female Asian Pacific American the U.S. Bowling Team. on the team, smashing down barri By CAROLINE AOYAGI judgment and insensitivity to a large still relevant after almost 2600 ers in the sport that gained U.S. Executive Editor percentage of the population of years;' said Natadecha-Sponsel. prominence in the 1800s, but denied By LYNDA LIN Hawaii," said Poranee Natadecha ''The use of this name for the bar is women's participation until over a Assistant Editor HONOLULU - The Buddha Sponsel, president of the Hawaii inappropriate, offensive, and century later. Bar in Pari~ is the place to be for Association of International demeaning to Buddhism as one of Since becoming a team member, HONOLULU - Holly Hoopii the hip, trendy, nightlife seeking Buddhists. the world religions." Hoopii has scored a perfect game knows what disappointment feels crowd and other cities like Miami Although Buddha Bars in other The Buddha Bar in Waikiki offi and 764 in a series. In late August, like. More than once, she had come Beach, Detroit and Montreal are parts of the world may be seen as ci~y opened Aug. 5 and local the U.S. bowling team swept the within kissing distance of securing a Tournament of the Americas in position on the U.S. Bowling Team, Miami with top individual and team but an obstinate pin here and slight titles. In January 2005, she ball arch there, always kept her goal will be com just out of peting against reach. her teammates At her sec in the National ond tryouts, Amateur she need- Champ ed to ionship. place Not bad for i n a girl who the top never thought five spots she would Buddhist statues and images greet become make the patrens as they enter the Buddha . team. These Bar in Waikiki (right). Fliers premet ing the new bar centinue to. be dis days, the 24- missed tributed despite the pretests. year-old bal b Y ances compe n i n e tition and trav pins. Then following in the trend by boasting nothing more than a hot night spot Buddhists immediately began a el with her day came a with their own Buddha Bars. watering hole, the local Hawaiian letter writing and phone campaign job as an auto drawal period But when another unaffiliated Buddhist community, a religion of protest to local politicians, busi parts deliverer. when Hoopii Buddha Bar opened recently in only second in popularity to Roman nesses and community groups Pacific put away her Waikiki, Hawaii for the young, Catholicism, believes the use of the alike noting their concerns and Citizen: How bowling shoes, trendsetting crowd, loud cries of Buddha for a bar's name not only demanding a name change. did a girl focused on protest from the local Buddhist disrespects their religion but pro The protests forced the removal from Hawaii school and tried community greeted the new estab motes activities entirely counter to of the "Buddha Bar" signs from end up on the U.S. Bowling Team? to forget about the sound of the ball lishment. their beliefs. outside of the business because it HoUy Hoopii: Well, when I was a whirring down the lane. But she was "We want the owner to know ''The Buddha for us is a sacred was discovered that the owners kid and we had just moved into our . not about to stay out of the game for that his choice of the name of this spiritual leader as well as the new house, we got to know our long. Soon, tryouts came around bar reflected his ignorance, poor revered teacher whose teaching is See BUDDHA BAR/Page 6 neighbors who. had kids as well. again and Hoopii was there, for the They were in a league every third time, poised to make the team. Saturday so my brother and I decid "You're thinking I made top five ed to join too. From there came Petition Drive Has after all that, right? Nope. I came in JACL's Response to high school bowling, which put a lit- eighth;' she said. No Michigan Donors Author Michelle Malkin But there is a silver lining to this See BOWLING/Page 4 By ASSOCIATED PRESS story; the tournament committee Michelle Malkin's book "In Congress in 1980. Following a thor also picks three others from the top COMMENTARY LANSING, Mich.- Supporters Defense of Intemment: The Case ough examination, the commission 32 qualifiers to be on the team and of a planned 2006 initiative to ban for 'Racial Profiling' in World War found no evidence connecting the seeing Hoopii's abilities and tenaci A Tribute to affirmative action in govemment IT and the War on Terror" is a des decision to intern JAs to any of the ty, selected her. hiring and college admissions in perate attempt to impugn the loyalty information contained in the cables. Clifford Uyeda Michigan have raised almost all of of Japanese Americans during Furthermore, a finding in the their money in California, according By JOHN TATEISm World War IT to justify harsher gov COmmISSIOn . report, "Personal to a campaign finance report. emmental policies today in the treat Justice Denied;' stated that "not a JACL Executive Director Reports filed last month by the ment of Arab and Muslim single documented act of espionage, Michigan Civil Rights Initiative Americans. sabotage or fifth column activity on Last month, a giant passed from Committee listed no Michigan the mainland was committed by an among our ranks. donors to the ballot drive, The Malkin's thesis depends on The passing of Clifford Uyeda Detroit News reported Aug. 26. WWII intelligence cables for her American citizen of Japanese ances marks for us the end of an era high The committee has raised about argument that the Japanese consular try or by a resident Japanese alien lighted by the $140,000. The Sacramento, Calif. offices in the United States had suc on the West Coast," a view consis incredible based American Civil Rights cessfully recruited JAs as spies and tently substantiated by independent redress cam Coalition, headed by businessman saboteurs, notwithstanding the fact scholars and researchers for almost paign in which and former University of California that those intelligence commu half a century since WWll. Clifford Regent Ward Connerly, contributed niques had previously been exam The JACL finds it offensive that played a cen 95 percent of that total. ined by scholars and govemment Malkin would make the judgmental "It shows this was not an effort tral role. For researchers for decades and rejected leap that any intent by Japan to form that was driven by a need that me personally, _ as justification for the WWll incar a spy network during WWll some Michiganders felt," said Kary Moss, ceration of JAs. how implicates the entire population it marks the who heads the American Civil The Magic cables were reviewed of JAs, thereby causing the necessi loss of a close friend for whom I had Liberties Union of Michigan and by the Commission on Wartime ty for their mass incarceration. The enormous respect and affection. opposes the initiative. 'There is a Relocation and Internment of facts speak for themselves, and Our younger members would not small group from outside the state Civilians, a fact-finding commission President Ronald Reagan concurred See TRIBUTE/Page 2 See PETITION/Page 6 created by the President and See MALKIN/Page 4 2 LEITERS PACIFIC CITIZEN, SEPT. 3-16, 2004 under his guidance that the JACL ation of a federal commission to In my mind, Clifford Uyeda is the PACIFIC CITIZEN TRIBUTE . redress committee produced a book investigate the facts of the intem JACL's "redress president." It was he (Continued from page 1) let entitled 'The Japanese American ment, Clifford was one of the only who was at the helm when the cam 7 Cupania Circle, Monterey Park. CA 91755 Incarceration: A Case·for Redress." ones with courage enough to stand paign was launched to national Tel: 3231725-0083,800/966- remember Clifford and his single In that brief book, he and the com up publicly with me to defend that prominence, who helped bring the . 6157, Fax: 3231725-0064 handed efforts to seek a presidential mittee outlined the basic constitu decision, and certainly was the most organization together on this divisive E-mail: [email protected] pardon for Iva Toguri, the most tional arguments for redress which vocal in defending my decision. issue, who stood firm and supported [email protected] unlikely but· alleged ''Tokyo Rose" served as the foundation throughout Throughout the two years I served my efforts in the face of sometimes of World War IT; or his personal Executive Editor: the campaign. Others would later lay him as the redress .chair as we scathing criticism because he Caroline Y. Aoyagi efforts to curb environmental groups claim to framing the campaign worked together in those early years believed in right, and who gave dig Assistant Editor: that were determined to boycott around the constitutional issues, but to make redress a reality, he played nity to an unpopular cause. Lynda Lin Japanese American stores in San it was Cliff's work that outlined such a critical role in helping drive The JACL is lesser today by the Office Manager: Francisco's Japantown as protest of exactly what the issues were.

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