Wah!

You have to love politicians. O.K. admittedly a lot of the time you don't, but they are the ultimate do as I say, not as I do folks. Neither party gets off the hook on this one, but this week it's the Republicans looking like jerks, something they seem to have honed to a high art.

It looks like the Minnesota Senate Race is finally - FINALLY - over and that Republican incumbent Norm Coleman has lost by a whisper-thin margin - 225 votes from almost 3 million cast overall - to Democratic candidate Al Franken. Now, way back on election day, when it looked like Coleman might win by a nearly as thin margin and Franken was saying he would look at all his options - translation: recount and/or lawsuit - Coleman was saying Franken should accept the will of the people, shut up, give up and go home. Now that the state has certified the results -but (sigh) not declared a winner - Coleman and his party are pulling out whatever stops may be left: a lawsuit and Senate rules and maneuvering. Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), head of his party in the Senate, says he won't allow Franken to be seated until everything is cleared up, which might be next January at the rate things are going.

Now, leaving the nasty winter landscape of Minnesota, I ask that you follow me back to balmy Florida, circa 2000, when the Republicans claimed Al Gore and Democrats were all sore losers for have election results from a far more bizarre election (I should know, being from Palm Beach County). They ranted and railed; democracy was at stake. And we all know how things turned out: I went to bed with Gore and woke up with Bush!

There's no lesson here, just an observation that when you're winning, you're opponent is an enemy of the Republic for questioning election results/filing a lawsuit/etc. and when you're losing your opponent is an enemy of the Republic for...well, for not supporting your lawsuit. The real questions are when will we get candidates strong enough and different enough to, one would guess, prevent teeny-tiny margins and when will more Americans get out and vote?

In the meantime, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) from Kentucky just said on NPR that the Minnesota election will not be over until the people of Minnesota say so. Alright, Minnesota, please step up to the mike and make yourself heard. Please!

Salaam.

Essential Reading

In the midst of tracking news from across the world, I don't want to forget about struggles of a different sort ongoing in this country. I just finished reading a very, very good book about poverty and welfare in the U.S. that was given to me by one of my new professors. I know, I know, you're thinking, "Welfare?!" Don't tune me out!

The book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and A Nation's Drive to End Welfare, was written by Jason DeParle, a reporter with the New York Times, and is so well written it is an honest-to-God page-turner. DeParle does such a good job weaving the macro with the micro. His chapters alternate between a journalistic dissection of the political forces and decisions that led to then-Pres. Clinton signing a bill that shunted 9 million women and children from this nation's welfare rolls and a vivid, painfully honest examination of the lives of three women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Jewel, Angie and Opal - who let DeParle deep into their lives and families, which he traced back six generations into the Mississippi Delta.

It's maddening, heartbreaking, and something I think everybody should read.
Salaam.

The View From the Hospital Floor

A very good report on CBS - yes, wow, C.B.S. - from Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor currently working in Gaza. LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING:



I think he makes to good points to remember - the average age in Gaza is 17 years and that with borders closed this is a bit like shooting chickens in the coop.

Salaam.

غزة/Gaza: See for Yourself

Seeing as Gaza barely registers a blip on the news radar here and seeing as most reporters for major outlets are reporting from outside Gaza and seeing as STILL NOT ONE cable television or major U.S. satellite provider will carry Al-Jazeera International, you have to work a little harder to get news on what's going on right now. One resource is YouTube, where you can subscribe, free, to Al-Jazeera International video clips, including news coverage and their usually excellent documentary features. Here's the latest video post on Gaza:



I also just discovered that you can watch and subscribe to Al-Jazeera in Arabic. To those of you who say it's propaganda, just look at the pictures and understand that this is what millions of people are seeing all day, every day, and very often an image is far stronger than any commentary that could be given. Compare these images from Gaza to the neutered coverage - of Gaza, of Iraq, of Afghanistan - on American television. Remember that these are the images people around the world remember when the U.S. blocks a simple declaration in favor of cease fire at the U.N. or when Pres. Bush opens his mouth...



Seriously, people, you have the Internet so use it and read about and see what you won't get on your nightly news.
Laila al-Haddad is still doing a fantastic job over at her blog, Raising Yousuf and Noor. Like so many, I pray her family in Gaza is able to stay safe.
Dr. Mona El-Farra, though not in Gaza at the moment, is relaying stories of those who are on her blog, From Gaza, With Love.
Other blogs from Gaza include In Gaza and many others. Jamal Dajani, Senior Director and Producer with Mosaic News (also available on iTunes!), is writing over on The Huffington Post. Alas, A Blog has a good post covering the many Jewish and Israeli voices raised against the assault on Gaza and calling for a ceasefire.

Sad news that the American International School in Gaza, which offered an American curriculum-based education for children in grades K-12 and was attacked last year by Islamic extremists for supposedly being too western, has now been destroyed by the Israelis. It's not the only school destroyed in the last 10 days, but the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" story just really gets me.

10 days. 530 killed and 2,500 wounded in Gaza. 5 killed in Israel. Enough?

Salaam.

How do you say "quagmire" in Hebrew?

Before sending ground forces - CNN just claimed about 10,000 - into Gaza the Israelis supposedly dropped leaflets telling Gazans to leave immediately. With all borders closed, where exactly are the residents of one of the most densely populated places on Earth supposed to go?

Make no mistake, I agree with Human Rights Watch - any indiscriminate firing upon populated areas is wrong. It doesn't work in Gaza, Sderot, Afghanistan or anywhere else. Both sides must forge a durable ceasefire and stick to it. Nobody gets off clean in this one. Foreign Minister Livni's quote in the New York Times earlier this week that, "There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and therefore there is no need for a humanitarian truce," is obscene. After being sealed off for months, it's well known what conditions there were before this operation began and one can only image what things are like on the ground at the moment. However, hearing a Hamas spokesman speaking on NPR earlier in the week claim that the rocket attacks on Israel were solely the work of Israeli collaborators, made me scream at my radio.

Now that they've gone in, what's the objective? The Israelis claim they don't want to retake Gaza. What marks the endpoint for this? What will mark for them the point when they have "crippled Hamas' infrastructure"? This will be all out urban guerrilla warfare in the heart of Gaza city and that will likely not favor the Israeli troops. What happens if the ground forces get bogged down in bloody street to street fighting? Intensified air assaults? Where does it all end?

The UN says at least 25% of the casualties - over 400 killed and 2,000 wounded so far - are civilians. Of course, verifying anything is next to impossible since the Israelis are STILL barring foreign journalists from entering Gaza and conditions for Palestinian journalists at work inside Gaza are difficult to say the very least. The world has a right to know.

Salaam.

One, two, three, four...

Just back from another peaceful demonstration for Gazans in front of the state capitol - about 50 to 75 people. Funeral prayers were offered in absentia for those killed in Gaza. A fair number of honks in support from passing cars, but also some one-fingered salutes and many, too many, bewildered stares. There is still such a need for education and outreach on this, but, then again, my mother - a public school teacher - has trouble getting people to care about their own children, so how do you get people to care about children thousands of miles away? And, when the media doesn't even see Iraq as worth covering anymore, how can we get them to take an interest - and dare we even ask for accuracy and impartiality? - in a story as "old news" as Gaza?
421 dead so far and word on the news is the Israelis are ready to send in ground forces. And what will come of all this?

Funny thing that this all happened just before P.E. Obama takes over, isn't it? Some are saying he should speak out, do something. The truth is he has little to no power at the moment and the Israeli government and military knew exactly what they were doing in making this move before Bush leaves office. He may be hamstrung at the moment, but be sure that we will all be watching how the new administration handles this come January 20th. I just hope Gaza makes it to the 20th.

And, as far as demonstrations go...crowds have a strange, unfortunate habit of filtering into their own cliques, which is bad for long-term organizing and actual progress. Mix it up people! Hijabis - walk up to that scruffy socialist and offer up a warm "Salaam!" Fashionista ISMers with your Urban Outfitters kifayas - walk over to the MSA crowd and introduce yourselves. Non-Muslim interfaithers wade and offer up a big "Howdy!" Young people, ask questions of your elders. Come on people! DECAMP! MINGLE! Get OUT of your comfort zone! Nothing changes until we band together.

Salaam.

Day 1 - The More Things Change...

I'm not one for New Year's Eve celebrations, favoring a more solitary, introspective evening. I also have a long, unintentional tradition of going to bed just before midnight. Last night, as I drifted into unconsciousness, I heard the sharp cracks of fireworks signaling the arrival of the new year. My last thought of the previous year and first of the new year was of the civilians in Gaza, who welcomed their new year under a very different barrage.

Salaam.

Not a Good Start on That 'Change'

The talking heads seem to only reference "anger in the gay community" in regards to the invitation from P.E. Obama to Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration and yes, there is plenty. However, I am not gay and I am plenty angry and very disappointed. I agree with Pastor Warren that it is commendable for Obama to invite someone who doesn't share his views to take part. However, it's this guy and these views that gall. Gays may not be members of Saddleback Church, Warren's massive congregation. His church runs a group that tries to "cure" gays. He has compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia. He said on NBC just today that while he is naturally inclined to sleep with every beautiful woman he sees, he is able to control himself and went on to insinuate that gays should just exercise that same sort of control and maturity, the extrapolation being that they would eventually be able to overcome their homosexuality.

I am reminded of my mother telling me why she began turning away from her Southern Baptist upbringing as a child. On one hand, she was being taught in Sunday school that Jesus loved all the little children. On the other, she was growing up in the segregated south and remembers being scolded for playing with the children of the one Jewish family in town. Children can smell a hypocrite at a thousand paces; it's one of the things I love about them. My mother was no different.

I know there are many people who do not understand, accept or condone homosexuality; many who do not see homosexuals as human. Having gay friends and loved ones, it's a tough one to try to understand. And the Warren invitation is tough for those of us so energized by Obama's election and the end of the Bush administration. One the one hand, many of us worked and voted for an attempt at unity, an effort to overcome our differences and work together. On the other, we were promised change and this doesn't feel like the right kind.

I've had plenty of experience with judgemental people. My own grandmother insinuated that I was bound for hell for not sharing her beliefs when I was 17 and I have heard plenty of preaching from amateurs and professionals alike on how things are to be done. I often respond that I'd not seen the help wanted ad indicating that The Almighty had resigned the judicial position.

I doubt the invitation will be withdrawn. What I hope, but doubt, is that this will help spur a substantive discussion about the role of religion in our government - why, with the separation of church and state is there any need for an invocation or pastors at the inauguration? - the basic human rights too often denied gays and their place within their respective faith communities.
One roommate, herself gay, has taken to speaking of Obama like she had been double crossed by her best friend. This is not the way this was supposed to begin.

Salaam.

Rock On, Ladies!

NPR profiled The AccoLade, one of the first all-female rock bands from Saudi Arabia, tonight. Read up and take a listen. Whether you're into their music or not, I hope the interest in them will help support others in finding and using their voices.

Salaam.

Last One Out, Toss the Match!

As though the last eight years haven't been enough for this country and the world, Bush & Co. seem determined to trash whatever is left on their way out the door. These last minute rules are tough for subsequent administrations to roll back. Endangered species act? Gut it! Environmental protections? Bah! HUMBUG! And now, the latest, which is of particular interest to women. Being a woman, anybody deigning to claim sovereignty over my body or better judgement than I on the subject make me angry. I feel the phrase, "my body, my choice," in my marrow. Related to this, people who provide ways for health care providers to get out of providing health care, likewise make me angry. Very, very angry. Quick! Somebody hand me a shoe!

Salaam.

Reason #1 Why I Might Just Stick Around

If my country and this state is so out of whack that a person like Cynthia Dunbar (R-Richmond) can carry all the counties in her district (fie, fie District 10!) and be elected to the Texas Board of Education - yes, put in charge of the education of millions of children in this state! - in spite of spouting garbage like this in a book she authored, according to the Houston Chronicle, then I might just stick around here long-term to make people like her angry and fight back:

"Christians should 'occupy' all countries;

Pres.-Elect Obama is a terrorist sympathizer who will bring tyranny to America. His pro-choice stance on abortion is the same sort of 'fascist, supremacist attitude exhibited by Mussolini and Hitler.'

Public education is tyrannical, unconstitutional and the Satan-following Left's 'subtly deceptive tool of perversion.' And parents who surrender their children to government-run schools are 'throwing them into the enemy's flames even as the children of Israel threw their children to Moloch.'"

If public education is so evil, why run for the board? Heck, leave it to Satan or at least those of us with more than two brain cells to rub together. Really, please. I mean, you're sort of somehow giving Satan a good name, lady! I'm not sure what's more disturbing: her views (which, as a free speech absolutist she is welcome to air); the fact that people knew them and still put her in charge of their children's education; or that people like her are all to common in positions of influence these days and that those of us who believe in such radical ideas as the separation of church and state still haven't figured out a plan to push back and realign this country along it's true founding principles.

I've had it. No more with "this is a Christian country founded on Christian principles" garbage. First of all, read a book written by a real historian and the U.S. Constitution whilst you're at it. Second, most of what you spout is not very "Christian," so don't even try. Second, not all who disagree with this extremist viewpoint are "lefties" or atheists. I know conservatives and people of deep, personal faith who are just as disgusted as I. And, if we're going to go all absolutist with things, when do we get to stone those who work on the sabbath and start keeping slaves and such. I personally can't wait to be reduced in status to a piece of property, if you guys are going Old Testament on us. Good times! Much like with gun control, I really wish we could bring the Founding Fathers back for a little show-and-tell. They would be appalled. I, for one, hope there will be a second coming and that Jesus will immediately host a sit-down with folks like you for ruining his good name and intentions. Dunbar claims her views aren't for the faint of heart. Well, lady, I'm no shrinking violet so bring it on. Let's hope you finally fling one stinking, slimy pile of small-mindedness and hate too many and your district, and others, finally wake up to what they've done. Surely in the mean time the rest of us can find somebody to run against the likes of you.

Salaam.

PS: Please, please read more on the assault on education in Texas here and the makeup of the Texas Board of Education here.

Duck and Cover

I do not believe this is what they mean when they say people are "voting with their feet".... However, you sort of have to hand it to Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, for having the chutzpah to hurl not one but both his shoes at Pres. Bush today during a press conference in Baghdad. The slightly more interesting thing to me was Talibani's reaction - he didn't flinch, merely made a half-hearted attempt to bat one of the shoes away. Yes, it's poor form to insult a guest, even if that guest sort of destroyed your country. Yes, it's a bad idea to hurl anything at the POTUS. But, I must say I think we all sort of wonder what we'd do if confronted by W. after the last eight fabulous years. Would we turn the other cheek? Could we? I'm reminded of all the maddening times my mother exhorted me to not use the word hate as a child because, "it's such a powerful word," which I kept trying to explain to her was exactly why I was using it (usually in reference to the kids who were awful to me in school). I'm sitting here wondering, "Do I hate him?" Suffice to say, don't worry George, I don't own a pair of heels.

Salaam.

Hook 'em Horns

I have been accepted to the the graduate social work program I wanted and will head west after spending Thanksgiving with family in M-I-Double Snake-I-Double Snake-I-Hump Back-Hump Back-I (that's Mississippi for the uninitiated). Very happy to be moving on with life and just need to get settled before school starts in January.

Salaam.

"Post-Racial", eh?

The post-election U.S. is definitely not post-racial.

Salaam.

Florida Still Manages To Screw Something Up

O.K. Florida, yes, we escaped a recount this year and yes, you finally went blue. Yet your voters, who obviously didn't bother to research, much less read, those pesky ballot initiatives managed to prove we are not the post-racial country everybody is now touting us as. Bravo.

Salaam.