A glimmer of hope as democracies falter at home and abroad

Aug 19

Florida Times Union, Aug 13, 2021 Concerned about the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19’s Delta variant across our region, on Aug. 3, I joined a group of parents and doctors at a rally to demand that the Duval County Public School Board mandate masks in schools. This small exercise in democracy was instrumental in forcing the School Board to mandate masks, albeit...

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Trump’s Racist Tweets Undermines Historical Progress

Jul 23

A shortened version of this article appeared in the Florida Times Union, July 23, 2019 President Trump’s contention that members of the so called “The Squad”, who are all women of color, with three of them born in the US and the fourth a naturalized citizen, should go back to where they came from is nothing new in the history of America’s racist past. People...

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Do We Still Need the Second Amendment?

Mar 27

Folio Weekly, March 21, 2018 Americans rarely, if ever, agree on anything. But a recent Quinnipiac survey showed that 97 percent support universal background checks for gun ownership. And yet the U.S. Congress remains paralyzed by inaction. The same Quinnipiac survey showed that nearly 7 in 10 Americans want a nationwide ban on assault weapons, including 43...

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“Allahu Akbar” has been hijacked by terrorists

Feb 20

Florida Times Union, Nov 8, 2017 Terrorists who act in the name of Islam, have misappropriated many legitimate and peaceful actions of Islam. The latest kerfuffle is over the New York terrorist saying “Allahu Akbar” soon after he killed eight and wounded 11, running them over with his rented truck. The phrase “Allahu Akbar” is not found in Islam’s holy...

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Denial of Alt-Right Extremism Led to Charlottesville Tragedy

Sep 02

An abbreviated version appeared in the Florida Times Union, September 2, 2017 A few months ago, I asked a former state legislator, why he failed to cite far-right terrorism as a national security challenge during his panel discussion regarding immigration and refugees. He asked me to cite one evidence of far-right terrorism in America. Oklahoma City. That’s just...

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Reconciliation Or Resistance: Post-Election Dilemma

Nov 23

Huffington Post, November 22, 2016 It will be an understatement to say that the world changed in the wee hours of Wednesday, November 9. For some in America, it marked the beginning of a new dawn as the party and ideology they voted for won and won big — not just winning the presidency, but also both houses of Congress and majority of state legislatures. For...

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