\doc\web\98\06\mattpres.txt
From:           	Aardvark <anon6760@nyx.net>
Subject:        	Norman Matloff Update
To:             	arthurhu@halcyon.com
Date sent:      	Wed, 9 Sep 1998 13:23:19 -0600 (MDT)


Hello, Arthur.  Here is the "press release" I encourage you to send to
your mailing list or any interested parties.  Thank you!


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Subject: Norman Matloff, #1 Basher of Asian Immigrants


Congress will reconvene this week to determine the fate of the H-1B bill,
which has so far failed to pass.  The H-1B is a visa program for high-tech
immigrants, largely of Asian origin.


Although there are very many websites against high-tech immigration, there
are almost none advocating it.  My site has become one of the most
comprehensive sites on the Internet regarding the benefits of high-tech
immigration (I've spent a few hundred hours on it). [1]


My site primarily focuses on criticizing UCDavis Professor Norman Matloff,
a longtime marxist political activist who has almost singlehandedly
convinced Congress that there is no IT shortage and that immigration has
many vices.  The common thread behind most of his writings is to attack
Asians or Asian-Americans.


His anti-immigration arguments include:


1) The "vast majority" of H-1B visa workers are "cheap, docile"
   non-innovative labor. (In reality, employers have to spend a *premium*
   of $8K-$15K to hire them).
2) Says asian immigrants exhibit racism at a "higher intensity" than
   natives and that immigration = "importing racism"
3) Criticizes the motives behind Lowell High School (mostly Asian
   campus) students' decisions to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes and
   gifted programs, & argues that "'merit' is an ill-defined concept with
   ill-defined social goals."
4) Immigrants damage the economy, the environment, & spread disease.  As
   for the environmental damage and population growth, he cites
   approvingly his sidekick Suzanne Feinberg, who goes by her original
   name Yeh Ling-Ling when bashing immigrants.  Matloff also advocated the
   election of anti-immigrant activist Alan Kuper to lead the
   environmentalist Sierra Club.
5) Although he clearly doesn't espouse their views, Matloff defends the
   white supremacist eugenics organization, Pioneer Fund, from attacks
   regarding their support of anti-immigration measures
6) Has advocated use of a random lottery (rather than test scores) as a
   deciding factor in college admissions
7) Deflected criticism regarding the poor state of math/science education
   among our youth by saying "one doesn't use math in programming" and
   that it takes only 2 weeks or less for any programmer to be fluent in a
   new language.


He argues that Asian immigration equates to "importing
racism":


"Given Asian prejudice against blacks, it is not surprising that many
blacks resent Asian Americans."


"blacks' attitudes toward Koreans seem to be less negative than the
attitudes of Koreans toward blacks"


"fanaticism among the Chinese political activists" augurs poorly for race
relations.


He even uses a false example regarding UCBerkely Professor Elaine Kim to
demonstrate how "Asian activists are often exacerbating the situation
[racial tensions],"


Unfortunately, Matloff's work has sparked many racists and xenophobes to
cite his work to support their agenda.  When critics have suggested
Matloff himself is a xenophobe, he argues that he cannot be because his
wife is from Hong Kong and he speaks fluent Chinese.


Although Matloff does not condone the work of the many racists who cite
his work, I am concerned that his efforts may contribute to the trend of
China-bashing and the sharp increase in hate crimes against
Asian-Americans.


It is tragic that Chinese-American organizations (e.g. Organization for
Chinese Americans) have refused to address the issue and that the leading
voice in Asian-American media (AsianWeek) has repeatedly portrayed Matloff
in a very favorable light.  Perhaps these organizations are so charmed by
his friendly personality and fluent Chinese that they overlook his poison
pen.


I respect his arguments as his personal opinion.  What is totally
outrageous is that his "research" has garnered tremendous political
support from the media (who always portray him as an *unbiased* CS

professor) and politicians (the Clinton administration and labor union
lobbyists).  He's testified before Congress 3 times, and been cited in
ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/WSJ/NYTimes/WashPost/AsianWeek/Sing Tao/World Journal,
every IT trade journal, etc.


I apologize for the long post, but this is a vital issue that has
reached the boiling point on the political landscape.  I encourage any
feedback and for you to pass this message along to all interested parties.


*** The URL is http://aardvark.tierranet.com/legal/matloff.htm ***


Thank you very much!


footnote: [1] -> Also, see the *original* anti-Matloff page, (by
Arthur Hu) which has much more original research data:
 http://www.leconsulting.com/arthurhu/index/immig.htm
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