Writer Salman Rushdie: “Free Palestine would be a Taliban state” [NOTE: This text was published by Die Bild, a German newspaper, and machine-translated from German into English. ] May 19, 2024 Martyrs of freedom: Writer Salman Rushdie has been threatened with death by Islamists for decades. In 2022, a man attacked him life-threatening with … Continue reading Rushdie on “Free Palestine,” Speaking in Germany
The Economist — Time’s up— Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term ends on May 20th But he has no plans to step down or call an election during wartime Five years ago, on May 20th, 2019, a fresh-faced Volodymyr Zelensky began his presidency with the offer of a contract to his people. “Each of us is the … Continue reading Ukraine Update: Zelensky’s Term Ends on May 20. What Then??
A Weekend Read: Pete McCloskey, GOP congressman who once challenged Nixon, just died at 96. [NOTE]: Pete made a lot of impact, against the Vietnam war, for the (then-new) environmental movement, and in other ways helped save and enrich the lives of many people, both far away and in the USA. One American he changed … Continue reading Communist Champagne for Christmas, and Congressman Pete MCloskey — A Tribute to My Former Boss on Capitol Hill
Here it is: I didn’t vote for Hubert Humphrey for president in 1968. Humphrey lost to Richard Nixon, by less than one percent. And as Andy Young had warned me, it’s been (almost) all downhill from there. Not that I voted for Nixon instead. Or for George Wallace, the fiery segregationist Alabama governor, who carried … Continue reading My True Confession, from 1968: All Downhill from There
AP News: United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy BY PETER SMITH May 1, 2024 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self–avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.