A video of Sen. John McCain from the 2008 presidential campaign wherein he disagrees with a woman at one of his campaign rallies about Obama being “an Arab” has gone viral again. It is being contrasted with Trump’s insouciance as his blackshirts chanted “send her home” concerning Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). People who are holding […]
Putting the American in Somali-American: Why does Ilhan Omar put a Scare into the US Power Elite?
Reprint edition. By Juan Cole | – Trump has attempted to depict Rep. Ilhan Omar’s reformism as an expression of hatred for the US. It is not. It is a recognition of the dark underbelly of this country’s history, its entanglement in colonialism and slavery and class oppression. She makes this critique from a unique […]
Notorious Moments in Modern History when Dictators Sent their own Citizens “Back”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s crowds have started chanting “Send her back!” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-American who came as a refugee when a child and was naturalized. The idea that some citizens are less loyal or less patriotic or less deserving of residency than other citizens is not new in […]
Pew: ‘Israel is as Religiously Restrictive as Iran,’ as Ed. Minister backs LGBTQ Conversion Therapy
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Haaretz reports that the PewForum has found Israel one of the twenty most religiously restrictive countries in the world. Indeed, it rivals theocratic Iran on that measure. One of Pew’s criteria is whether a government explicitly favors a particular religion. Israel favors Judaism big time. It also takes account of […]
It isn’t just the Racism: Trump’s Stupid Trade Wars have Driven US Manufacturing into Recession
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It’s official. Trump has put US manufacturing, which is about 14% of the US gross national product, into recession, according to AFP. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline. The recession in manufacturing has many reasons, including a cyclical slowdown in the Chinese economy. But on top of […]
Top 4 Ways the Squad of young Congresswomen represent more Americans than Trump
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump is again making a spectacle of himself, quite deliberately, in attacking the four congresswomen known as “the Squad.” They champion progressive principles like the Green New Deal, describe themselves as socialists or don’t object to the term, and most useful for our neo-Nazi president, they are not white. Trump […]
UK Ambassador: Trump Breached Iran Deal to Spite Obama & was “Diplomatic Vandalism” driven by “Personality Reasons”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Former British ambassador to the US Kim Darroch alleged in a diplomatic cable that Trump’s motivation in breaching the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was motivated by nothing more than spite, according to the Daily Mail , which saw the text. In spring of 2018, then foreign secretary Boris Johnson came […]
Top 5 Trump Officials who Resigned because of Shocking Scandals
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The resignation of Trump’s Labor secretary, Alex Acosta, is only the most recent in a string of such scandals for Trump. In fact, what with all the things Trump himself has done plus those around him, his is surely the most scandal-ridden presidency in history. Let us just review the […]
Bipartisan House Vote Amends Pentagon Funding to forbid Trump to attack Iran
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ed Kilgore at New York Magazine reports that the House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act with a number of riders. One, which passed 251-170, was an amendment forbidding Trump to launch a war on Iran without explicit Congressional approval, except in a case of clear self-defense. […]