Countdown

Ah, The Wisdom of The Founding Fathers

Volume VI, No. 42
Posted on Monday December 19, 2005

Countdown wishes its readers a Happy Holiday and Peaceful New Year. We’ll be taking a short break but will return in January with all the latest news from Washington…

“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.”
-Arab American poet Kahlil Gibran

This is A Time for Serious People…

Last week Countdown reported on the misleading and discriminatory ad campaign of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License (CSDL). Fortunately, the billboard company which originally contracted with CSDL has made the responsible decision not to post the extremely negative ads. But the CSDL continues to mislead the American public. The organization has championed legislation called the REAL ID Act, which links driver’s license eligibility to immigration status, repeatedly (and inaccurately) citing the number of licenses held by the 9/11 hijackers. But REAL ID does not even address the problem because according to the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, the public education campaign initiated by the 9/11 Commission, “The fraud in obtaining driver’s licenses did not arise from them being undocumented aliens.” The national security issues facing our country are too complex and of too great a consequence for people more interested in slinging mud than offering real solutions.

Ah, The Wisdom of The Founding Fathers

As the debate on reauthorization of the Patriot Act reaches a fever pitch, senators are turning to the wisdom of early American leaders to argue their case. Continuing his principled stance, Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) said, “We should not be afraid of a judicial review or setting the appropriate standards of evidence. We need to be mindful of Ben Franklin’s words over two hundred years ago: ‘Those who would give up essential liberty in the pursuit of a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security.’ We could pass a six-month extension or take up the Senate bill which is on the calendar and still respect important freedoms. We need to be more vigilant and we can do better.”…And then there’s Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), whose latest contribution calls to mind Patrick Henry’s famous line, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Cornyn’s bizarre twist…“None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead.”

Ego and Id on Display

Congress displayed a case of schizophrenia this week with an almost simultaneous display of diplomacy and grandstanding on the issue of Palestine. A laudable contribution came from House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA), who authored a joint letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commending her recent hands-on approach to negotiations on the Gaza border crossing. The letter, signed by 108 colleagues, urges Secretary Rice to “make peace between Israel and the Palestinians a personal priority” noting that “breakthroughs come only when the US President or Secretary of State are personally involved.”… Not wanting to be too supportive, the House then passed a resolution 397-17 warning Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to allow Hamas to participate in Palestine’s upcoming elections. Americans for Peace Now wrote of the resolution, “Coming to the House floor barely a month before the scheduled elections, when Hamas participation is by now a foregone conclusion, the purpose of the resolution appears to be less about issuing a constructive warning, and more about laying the groundwork for future sanctions against the Palestinians Authority [PA] and future attacks on US aid to the West Bank and Gaza (which is already forbidden by law to go to the PA unless the President issues a special waiver of restrictions).”

All Hail the Dean…

On December 13, Dean of the House of Representatives John Dingell (D-MI) celebrated fifty years of service to southern Michigan, including over 10,000 Arab American constituents. During his tenure, the Michigan Democrat contributed to legislation that has transformed the country including Medicare, student loans, and the Endangered Species Act. For half a century, he has championed the creation of a national health care system—introducing legislation on the issue every session of Congress. Dingell has been an active supporter of the Arab American community and an outspoken critic of bigotry in all its forms. “We must be vigilant against intolerance in any form, whether it is as obvious as a shattered window or as subtle as a politician’s public suggestion that mosques across our nation be wiretapped,” he said in September. “Protecting minority groups from government persecution is an ideal that makes our nation a symbol of freedom.”

And the Golden Globe Goes to…

Palestine has its first chance at a Golden Globe for Best foreign Language Film with the nomination of Paradise Now, the riveting story of the last 48 hours in the lives of two childhood friends chosen to carry out a suicide bombing. Directed by Hany Abu Assad, the film has received critical acclaim including an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Foreign Film and the Amnesty International Film Award, and is an official selection at the New York, Telluride, and Toronto International Film Festivals. Paradise Now is also Palestine’s selection for the Academy Awards; Oscars nominations will be announced January 31.