Jefferson Corner

Unable to search the linage of Congressman Virgil Goode (R-7VA), to learn of when his ancestors arrived in this country, but from what I read he is popular in his district not because of the outstanding job he’s done for this constituents but because he is the son of Virgil Goode, Sr. a very popular politician. However I assume he is not of an American Indian origin and his ancestors did not arrive before Columbus and certainly not before the Muslims who arrived here from Spain and West African centuries before Columbus. As such it is safe to assume that Congressman Goode comes from an immigrant family, as such he and Congressman Keith Ellison have something in common, both are sons of immigrants to the US.
It seems that Congressman Goode is living to the good old tradition of the South and is living up to the good old traditional Christian values that allowed the lynching of Leon Frank, an innocent Jew, who was kidnapped from prison and was lynched in 1915 by a group of prominent White and no doubt devote Christian in Marietta, Georgia.
Those same good old American values that he and the like of Prager and Beck speak of that was responsible for the hanging and lynching of thousands of Blacks and it was the same values that also discriminated against the Irish, the Italian, the Jews and of course now the Muslim. I salute the Anti-Defamation League for taking on the bigots of this country and for taking on the a long tradition of anti-Semite, way before White, Christian Hitler came to power and introduced the massive killing and murder of Jews and million others. Yes, the old traditional American values of the time past there is nothing to be proud of, as it was full of hate, full of bigotry, full of anti-Christian values that we those who immigrated from the Middle East. Certainly these values that Congressman Goode, Prager and Beck talks about are not the one taught by Jesus Christ and are not the values that are inscribed in the Bible and in the Old Testament. These are no relations and no connections between the Christian values of the Bible and those taunted by the likes of Congressman Goode, CNN and the Prager Report.
It is an insult to both Christian and Jewish values when someone like Prager claims that Congressman Keith Ellison decision to swear the oath of office on the Quran “undermines American civilization”. Now I do understand Western Civilization, but American civilization this is the first time. I am sure the American civilization that Prager talks about is not the one that lynched Leon Frank and hundreds of Blacks and certainly is the not the one that discriminated against the newly arriving immigrants from Ireland, and Italy. Prager continues to say “ But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what boos its public servant take their oath” My question is who appointed and anointed Prager as the cardinal of American values and patriotism. I have read the US Constitution many times and have read many history books by the founding fathers, and have done some research, but I did not see where Prager, Beck and Congressman Goode have been appointed the guardians of America’s value and tradition, let alone America’s civilization and certainly not the guardians of the America’s Christianity. These days, every Tom, Dick and Harry claim to be the guardian of America’s value and civilizations. Somehow all of these “guardians” fail to read the US Constitution and failed to read the many letters exchanged between the Founding Fathers, were such values and traditions were discussed at length and where the true value of freedoms and democracy are clearly pronounced. I am sure if the Prager, Goode and Beck were the Founding Fathers, this country will not even exist. This country is a great country, because it has giants, not midgets, as the founding fathers, and is has great believers in the human worth and respect for the rights of people, and not bigots who falsely claim they are the guardian of our freedom and civilizations. Yes, some of America’s history of slavery, bigotry and anti-Semitism is best to be forgotten, nothing to be proud of.
The Muslims of this country should learn well from the Anti-Defamation League that made the costs of any anti-Semitic or bigoted statement very costly for any one, and made sure that those who defame the Jews pay well for their behavior. Again, I do salute and tip my hat” turban” to the Anti-Defamation League. It shut up the bigots and racists and rendered them irrelevant to America’s values and “civilization”.

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The late Yaser Arafat thought he was very bright and smart when he was nothing but a clown and fool who thought he used Palestine as a a game, a game between himself and some of his sponsors at the time, the likes of Hafiz Al-Assad, Saddam Hussein and of course that lunatic of all times, Muamar Qaddafi. Arafat was proud of the fact he was playing the game of politics with the big boys, who were losers to begin with. The Palestinians lost a chance back in 1977 of being free from the Israeli Occupation because Arafat could not stand up to Assad and make his own independent decision and accept Jimmy Carter’s offer for a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, a settlement much more generous than his stupid, ill advice, and reckless Oslo Accord.
Arafat for over 40 years used the Palestinian cause as a game, a chess game, and now Hamas is doing the same thing, using the Palestinian cause and all that it entails as a pawn in the hands of the guys sitting in Damascus, and in Teheran, repeating the same mistake Arafat committed for over 40 years.
The Palestinian cause and its leadership must be independent of any regional politics and must be independent of any personal aspirations for a wider role in regional politics. The Palestinian leadership have to put the Palestinian people and for the first time ahead of any thing else, ahead of any competing regional interests and games and must give liberation and ending the occupation the top and only priority.
Today the Washington Post came out with an editorial in support of Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party and against the “enemy of peace” Hamas. Also in the Post, Secretary Rice admits that Arafat stole the Palestinians blind, forgetting that Arafat was head of Fatah and Abbas is head of Fatah and nothing has changes.
More troubling is Ismail Henyia offer of “blood money” to settle the issue of those innocent people gunned down by Hamas and Fatah thugs and gangs, as if the “blood money” will bring back the lives of the three innocent children gunned down or the livers of the innocent that were lost. Equally troubling is the offer made of a long term “Hudna” truce with Israel that he offered today. The offer of the Hudna or truce tell us where his mind is, in time past as if he is trying to live the days of early Islam. The Israelis and the Palestinians do not want a long term hudna, they want a long term peace that is workable, give security and peace to both parties and people, one that opens the area for development and progress and more importantly, one that also address the issue of the Palestinians exile in a logical and fair way. This is what the people want Mr. Henyia, not you’re proposed long term “Hudna”.
The Post like Dr. Rice and of course with support from key people within Fatah and inner circles of President Abbas, the liked of Saeb Euraikat, Nabil Amr, Yaser Abed-Rabo made the issue one of competition between Fatah and Hamas and all forgot to put on the table with Israel and the US the main issue which is ending the Israeli Occupation. Hamas think that their Hudna and bedding the Syrians and the Iranians will end the Occupation and Fatah, after some 45 years of fleecing the people and total incompetence and failure of leadership and so called institutions, is only thinking of coming back in power to steal and rob the people blind and giving the people the left over crumbs believing this will quite the situation down and will allow Israel to continue to do what it does best in the Occupied Territories, stealing and confiscating property, building the Wall, expanding the settlements, continue targeted killings, jailing of innocent people and keeping and expanding the humiliating check point, while Fatah leadership enjoy the generous funding coming in from donors so that they can pick up where they left off.
Hamas is repeating the same mistake Arafat made that caused the people so many years of suffering one of the most cruel and criminal occupation, and Fatah is only thinking of how to get back the bank to steal from it, and both forgot the people and the Israeli Occupation.
Small minds do not make great leadership and it is proven fact that Fatah leadership for the last 45 years is made of small minds without any intellectual depth and without any clue of what is needed and now the situation for the Palestinians is even worse with Hamas coming to power with no clue of what needs to be done and speak as if time has stopped in Medina some 1,400 years ago. With both committing murder, it is time not for a new election that brings Fatah back, but for a courageous call by the people of Palestine calling on the UN to take over from this imbecile leadership.

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Back in 1978 while working in NY City, I used to meet for lunch and on regular basis with my good friend Jonathan Kuttab, a very bright and successful Palestinian lawyer who left a very promising career with one of the top Wall Street law firm to return home to Palestine. Jonathan a devout Christian always starts his lunch with a prayer and blessing of the food and as a decent Muslim, I followed his model and kept it that way.
The interesting thing about Jonathan is that he was a committed “peace maker” and committed to non-violence as a way to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It was at that time that I was first introduced to Jonathan friend, Mubarak Awad, a leading pacifist and long time advocate of non-violence. My wife hosted a large group of peace activists at our home in Virginian and Mubarak and his brother were among them. This note is a salute to Mubarak and to my old friend Jonathan Kuttab for their persistent and long-term vision for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Below is a statement issued by Mubarak as he was exiled from his town by an Israeli court. Of course for being Palestinian. I got this message today from our friend Mark Braverman.

“I am a Palestinian in an enemy court.I am a Christian in a court of Jewish justice.I am from occupied Jerusalem in an Israeli High Court.I accepted coming to court knowing all the odds. I gave you legitimacy andrecognized your High Court of Justice because I am searching for true peace.Only peaceful means can achieve peace. If peace is the sign of victory,victory has to be for both Palestinians and Israelis. Both must be winners;there can be no losers. This would be the great measure of justice.Moral and judicial responsibility is not a historical or religious debate.It is the reality that I face today with the rest of the Palestinian people.You have the power, the law and the gun pointing in my face. I am armed withhope, truth and nonviolence pointing toward your conscience. If the uprisingwill not open your eyes and soul to tell you we need freedom I don’t knowwhat will.I am here to fight my deportation order. Uprooting me from my family, land,friends and culture is a disgrace. As a government Israel is doing all itcan to rid Palestinians from their land. It is deliberate,, through unjustlaws that we can’t change, with tricks and unfair practices. You aredepriving me of my basic human and religious rights.As a Palestinian I never hated you. I don’t hate you now. And I will neverhate you.But as a Jerusalemite I am telling you — I will be back.”

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The conference on the Holocaust sponsored by Iran’s president Mohamed Ahmadinejad in Tehran from December 11-12, 2006 was a simply act of stupidity, ill advised and with no purpose other than to give anti-Muslims more ammunition on how retarded Islamic politics have become. Of course the turn up of the likes of the former KKK David Duke is nothing to be proud of.
While as Arabs and Muslims we have lots of issues to pick with Israel and Zionism, the Holocaust must not be one of those issues. It is time for our people to simply admit the fact that, yes, Hilter’s Germany did kill more than 6 million Jews, simply because they are Jews and of course Hitler’s army also killed many more millions. Never the less, it is a simple fact that no one can deny and documents of liberating US Army is but a proof of that. Moreover it is also stupid and unethical to argue about the numbers, whether it is 3 millions, or 5 millions of 6 millions is irrelevant. The simple fact that the Holocaust was a crime against the Jews and against humanity and we all must, once for all honor the memory of all those who died.
Of course we also know that key Zionist leaders made the Holocaust an “industry” a cash machine for the benefit of Zionist causes and for the State of Israel to squeeze money, sympathy and black mail out of Germany and Europe. Anti-Zionist Jewish intellectuals take issue with how Zionist used the Holocaust to advance the agenda of the Zionist and Israel and how the money generated did not serve well those who survived.
While the Holocaust will remain a “unique” crime against humanity, there are similar and perhaps equally compelling crimes committed against the Armenians, the Blacks of Africa arising out of colonialism and of course centuries of American slavery of Blacks that resulted in tens of millions of dead victims. Yes, no one should ever forget nor forgive the Holocaust and those who committed it, but we also must remember the many innocent millions who were killed and murdered simply because they are Black or Christian Armenians. That does not ever give Israel and the Zionist the right or the excuse to expel more than 700,000 Palestinians from their home lands and deny the more than 6 million Palestinians the right to their own free state and does not give any excuse to Israel and the Zionist for insisting on keeping some 4 million Palestinians under armed and criminal occupation that not only jails them, kills them, humiliate them, but confiscate and steal their property as well, for the benefits of Jews. That is simply wrong.
Perhaps it was much better for the President of Iran to sponsor a conference on Zionism and its crimes, and its racist ideology, rather than sponsor a conference on the Holocaust. It is time for even the worst enemies of Israel to stop denying the Holocaust and admit that 6 million innocent Jews where put to their deaths simply because they are Jews. The crimes of the Holocaust is not a crime against Jews, it is a crime against Muslims, and more so a crime against German Christian who committed this horrible crime and a crime that should shame Christendom for all of the crimes committed in Europe, in African, in the Middle East, in Latin America and of course here at home in the USA. The president of Iran proved that he is of simple mind, and simple view. There is no honor in being in the company of former KKK the like of David Duke, and there is no honor in being in the company of anti-Semite. Yes, denying the Holocaust is a form of anti-Semitism, criticizing Israel and taking issues with Zionism is not and must not be acts of anti-Semitism, a label used to threatened any discourse on Israel, its policies, practices and of course on Zionism, its history, its ideology and practices. Here in this country, we are free to debate God, whether he/she exists or not, we can debate, whether God is a man or woman, we can debate Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Mohamed. We can even debate George Bush how smart or how not so smart he is, we can debate the creation, we can debate any and all issues without ever getting in trouble, but God forbid, we debate Israel and Zionism. There is nothing wrong with Arab leadership and intellectuals and the people on the streets to recognize and denounce the Holocaust a crimes against humanity, a crime against the Jews, and their is nothing wrong with Jewish intellectuals and civil right leaders to also recognize that the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine and the continued ethnic cleansing of “Arabs” are also a crime against humanity. The Arabs have to recongize the wrongs done to the Jews and the Jews have to recognize the wrongs done to the Arabs, then and only then, there will be room for understanding and certainly room for reconciliation.

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Secretary Rice is taking her cue from Tel-Aviv Ehud Olmert and is refusing to open talks with both Syria and Iran. It seems that the Secretary of State of the most powerful country is not her one boss, and is waiting for instruction to come not from the White House but from Tel-Aviv.
It is difficult to understand why Secretary Rice is insistence on not talking with Iran and Iraq if that will help this country and will help stabilize Iraq and perhaps if not putting an end to the mayhem in Iraq, at least slow the bloodshed in the street of Baghdad. Saving the life of one single American soldier should be worth all the efforts, but not for Secretary Rice and her masters.
As Secretary of State she is able to open talks with so many enemies of the US, especially with North Korea, but to open talks with countries in the Middle East and especially countries that are odd with Israel is another story. The interest of the US always takes a second seat to that of the State of Israel. Not talking with the enemy does not solve the problems at hand.
While I have been consistent with my outspoken critic of Syria and the Ba’athist regime sitting in Damascus for the last 40 years, not opening dialogue with the enemy is an absolute wrong. It is an absolute wrong for Israel not to open channel of discussions with Arab countries, and it is wrong for Arab countries not to open dialogue with Israel if such a dialogue will help in one way or the other break the impasse in peace talks between the Arabs and Israel. The same is true of the failure of Secretary Rice to open a dialogue and a channel of communications between Washington and Damascus and Teheran. I know that Conservative Republicans and AIPAC will go into frenzy and mental seizures if such a channel of communications is open, but the question is what is wrong with that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking with the enemy. Absolutely nothing.
For the last few years, Secretary Rice action and decisions has proved the country is much better off with her at some academic instructions where her decisions do not affect the lives of American or for that matter any human being, and it is time for her to retire.
More troubling is her philosophy of building democracies under occupations where people lives are threatened by the occupiers every day and where people not only lose their dignity at check points but their lives as is the case in Occupied Palestine, but she also promoted and sponsored the dropping of over 5 million cluster bombs over Lebanon so that she can force Hizballah to talk of disarming. While she was supporting the Lebanese government of Fouad Sinyoura, she was prompting Israel to drop more bombs and kill more civilians and destroy more building and infrastructures. Never one could understand such a policy and decision maker. Rice is nothing but trouble for American and for the world. American and the world will be much safer if she was in some class room, where she can talk of politics but not make decisions that results in death and destruction of American, Arabs and Israeli lives. He attitude toward talking with the enemy does not serve any one. President Bush is making a big mistake following Secretary Rice refusal to open a dialogue with both Iran and Syrian if such talks can help bring our troops home and if such dialogues will bring an end to the bloodshed that claimed the lives of over 650,000 Iraqis.
Perhaps the families of the brave American soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq due to fraudulent case for war should travel to Tel-Aviv and lobby Rice masters to giving her the green line to open dialogue with both Syrian and Iran.
I have to conclude with the caveat, that I was never a great fan of these two nations. Perhaps American and the world are safer with Rice in the classroom.

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Once a while I sit down and do some “googling” sound like George Bush’s “Internets”. Tonight I did just that and I ran into a posting where someone by the name of Cliff Kincaid, who present himself as editor of AIM, Accuracy in Media made the false and in-accurate statement that I in one of my bloggs in support of Al-Jazeera International denounced him and quote” A pro-Arab blogger named Sami Jadallah has denounced me as “the appointed and anointed cardinal on patriotism” for opposing Al-Jazeera. …” Read the rest of this entry »

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