Op-Ed

Why the GOP's hatred of Muslims runs deep and wide

The Republican Party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party), which was formed in the 1850s, harbors such rabid hatred toward Arabs and Muslims. One has to wonder why Republicans' hatred of Muslims runs deep and wide. One has to wonder if they have met a Muslim in their home state or if their parents are closely related. Either way, those clowns think that they will not be held accountable for their incendiary comments about Muslims. I kept a tally sheet about those Muslim haters over the years. What did GOP leaders say about Muslims? * Former US Rep.

Jimmy Carter – Our Honest President

The late Jimmy Carter was an exemplary man. His honesty, modesty and good works set the mark for what American presidents should be like. He was the quintessential Christian gentlemen and a fine naval officer. Unfortunately, this good man got embroiled in America’s colonial misadventures more often than the social welfare projects and peace plans that he sought to pursue. Chief among these thorny problems was, of course, the Mideast - no place for a decent, honest man - and, as well, the ugly imbroglio in Iran. Carter directed and took credit for his administration’s flagship foreign policy effort, the much-ballyhooed Camp David Accords, a series of agreements that were supposed to end Arab-Israeli hostility, bring peace to the Mideast, and address the festering problem of millions of homeless Palestinians who had been driven from their ancestral homes by the US-backed creation of the state of Israel. Long, torturous negotiations ensued in September 1978 at Camp David, Maryland that finally brought together Palestine Liberation chief Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.

Kareem Badawi: The Palestinian victim of the New Orleans terrorist attack

Hey, hatemongers, there are no sleeping cells in America! It is all in your head. To begin with, investigators who briefed President Biden told him that ISIS inspired the suspect in the New Orleans attack had no outside help. In other words, the suspect was not "realized at his mosque in Texas." We also learned that he had posted videos indicating that he had a “desire to kill” the night before the attack and that al-Qaeda was the one who leaked the information that they sent over 1,000 people into the US to commit acts of terror. However, a former CIA officer named Sarah Adams, who is a self-proclaimed global threat advisor who is a self-proclaimed global threat advisor was interviewed on the Shawn Ryan podcast just two weeks ago, has warned that there are more than a thousand al-CIA-da sleepers in the United States right now who are planning major attacks on the homeland. She implies that Biden's open southern border is an entry point for these terrorists. Other hatemongers also claimed that the driver in the New Orleans attack came into the US through the Mexican border. Wrong again!

Finding a Cure for Humanity’s Cancer

I welcome in the new year with a sense of abstract helplessness, as the headlines continue to bring us dead children, bombed hospitals, torture, rape and, of course, ever more “self-defense” (sometimes known as genocide).

From my safe, secure office space I absorb the daily news – from Gaza, from all across the planet – with a whiplash of guilt and naivete. What the hell do I know what it feels like to have my house, or my tent, bombed, to see my children die, to have no access to water, let alone healthcare? Is it enough to comfortably empathize with the collateral damage of this world at war?

No, no, no, it’s not.

But I empathize nonetheless, and shake to my depths with an incredulity that never goes away: “As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap.”

Hey Rocky!! Donald Trump Ain’t No George Washington…But...

Sylvester Stallone—-the legendary “Rocky Balboa” of cinematic fame—-has recently compared Donald Trump to George Washington. https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/14/politics/video/newsnight-stallone-compares-trump-to-george-washington-tonight Apparently he wasn’t kidding.  But he should have been.  And his comparison offers Trump a clear challenge—-to renounce any plans for a third term, or for making himself a dictator, or for using state power to assault those who criticize him.   George Washington was a towering leader….with huge contradictions.  He became a mega-legend by renouncing absolute power—-first when he resigned his command of the victorious revolutionary army, then by refusing a third presidential term.

Burning Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza is part of Israel's genocidal campaign

Last Sunday, the IDF ordered the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza to close the only hospital operating there. The Hospital's director, Husam Abu Safiya, refused the order by saying it was "next to impossible." He then texted Reuters that obeying the order to shut down was "next to impossible" because there were insufficient ambulances to transport 350 patients and their relatives. Today, Israel Death Forces (IDF) have stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last remaining medical facility in the northern Gaza Strip, setting on fire large sections and ordering hundreds of staff and patients to leave after ordering the closure and evacuation of one of the last hospitals still partly functioning in a besieged area in northern Gaza. The Hospital came under heavy Israeli fire without prior warning, murdering five members of its medical staff, and 50 more people were also slaughtered in an Israeli strike on a building near the hospital. 75 patients forced from the hospital by IDF were taken to unknown locations.

Growing Up Means Claiming Your Own Mind

Dig, ponder, dig some more.

A year ago I wrote a column about some of the early moments of my growing up – not just memories but profound moments of awareness; flickers, you might say, of becoming who I am. I was 77 at the time. Now I’m . . . oh yeah, 78. Can you believe it? Another year is almost over. Holiday season shimmers, the smell of pine is in the air. It’s Christmas: a perfect time to open, once again, the stocking known as memory.

Palestinian Christians are having unmerry Christmas

I hope this letter finds you well. Although we come from different cultures and traditions, I have always admired the spirit of giving and kindness that you represent. As a Palestinian Muslim living in the good old USA, I do not celebrate Christmas. However, I am writing to you on behalf of the approximately 3,000 Christian Palestinians living in Gaza.  Given that over 51% of the population is under the age of 15. Among those people are solid 3,000 Christians also. Statistically speaking, there should be about 1,500 of their Christian children who will have unmerry Christmas this year for lack of basic necessities to survive such as food, water, fuel, and medicine. The children in Gaza face unimaginable pain and suffering. Many lack basic necessities like food, water, and medicine. They live in constant fear, unsure if they will see another day. Over 50,000 children have lost one or both limbs, making Gaza home to the highest number of amputees in the world. Many have also lost their parents, leaving them to navigate this harsh reality alone. I wish for peace and understanding among all people, regardless of their background or beliefs.

The World Owes Palestine This Much - Please Stop Censoring Palestinian Voices

Social media censorship is a global phenomenon, but the war on pro-Palestinian views on social media represents a different kind of censorship, with consequences that can only be described as dire. 

 Long before the current devastating war on Gaza and the escalation of Israeli violence and repression in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices have been censored. 

 Some date the censorship to an agreement in 2016 that, according to the Israeli government, sought to “force social networks to remove content that Israel considers to be incitement.”

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