On Feb. 17, the San José Day of Remembrance program commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942.

San José, CA – On Feb. 17, the San José Day of Remembrance program commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. 300 people came to the San Jose Buddhist Church hall to remember E.O. 9066, which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. At the beginning of the program the emcee, Will Kaku, said that the official apology from the government stated that the concentration camps “were due to racial prejudice, wartime hysteria and a failure of political leadership. Although those words pertain to events from 71 years ago, they serve as a warning to us today.”

_Economic expansion continues...for now _

San José, CA – On Jan. 30, the Commerce Department reported that Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, fell by a very small amount (0.1% at an annual rate) in the last three months of 2012. The drop in GDP was largely because of a big drop in federal government purchases of goods and services, in addition to a drop in inventories (meaning that stores sold goods that were sitting on their shelves instead of having more produced) and a drop in exports.

U.S. to back Japan in conflict

San José, CA – In the past few days, the Japanese government has accused China provoking Japanese navy ships near the Chinese Diaoyu Islands, which lie about 120 miles northeast of Taiwan. The new nationalist Japanese government is continuing to increase military tensions with China by sending naval forces and military aircraft to the islands, which are occupied by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku Islands. In addition, the U.S. still recognizes the Japanese occupation and says that it will back Japan militarily under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.

Federal Financial Aid to be cut 8.4% starting March 1

San José, CA – On March 1, the automatic spending cuts demanded by the 2011 Budget Control Act are scheduled to go into effect. These cuts were originally scheduled to go into effect Jan. 2, but were delayed as part of the solution to the so-called ‘fiscal cliff.’ Included in the spending cuts is an 8.4% reduction in federal financial aid. While the large Pell Grant program is exempted, other federal financial aid, including the Stafford Loans, Work-Study, Perkins Loans and others would be all reduced by 8.4%. This would lead to less aid to students receiving financial aid, and some would be cut off entirely.

San José, CA – On Jan. 29, one day after a group of eight U.S. Senators announced their bipartisan proposal for immigration reform, President Obama made his own proposal. While the President’s proposal was better than the bipartisan Senate proposal in several areas, in particular calling for recognition of same-sex partners of U.S. citizens or legal residents who are seeking legal residency; overall it offered the same approach of harsh treatment of the undocumented and a pro-business approach.

We need legalization for all starting now!

San José, CA – On Monday, January 28, a bipartisan group of eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans, announced a framework for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” or CIR. On Jan. 29, President Obama will be putting out his position, marking the beginning of an effort to “reform” U.S. immigration law this year.

San José, CA – On Jan. 26, there was a commemoration of Fred Korematsu, one of the Japanese Americans who resisted the World War II U.S. concentration camps for Japanese Americans. The event, held in San José’s Japantown, began with the film, “Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story.”

San José, CA – Starting Jan. 1, payroll taxes paid by workers went up from 4.2% to 6.2%. This increase will affect about 77% of all households. Depending on other deductions and taxes, this will lower the take-home pay of workers by 2% or more.

San José, CA – On Jan. 23, Congressional Republicans caved in and voted for a three-month extension to the Federal Debt Limit. Up until Jan.23, the Republicans in the House of Representatives had refused to raise the debt limit, raising the specter that the U.S. government would have to choose between delaying Social Security payments, Medicare payments, payments to military, and/or interest on the national debt.