Emanuel apologizes for father’s anti-Arab comments
November 15th, 20080 Obama's newly appointed Chief of Staff calls ADC to repudiate statements President-elect Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Just a week after he was announced as President-Elect Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff, Congressman Rahm Emanuel was back in the media spotlight on Thursday, November 13th after he...Pumping up Muslim voter turnout
SAN FRANCISCO — American Muslims are feverishly working for the largest-ever Muslim voter turnout on Nov. 4, with a particular focus on battleground states. Muslim civic organizations have worked in coalition to generate dozens of rallies, town hall meetings and neighborhood get-togethers, all geared toward voter mobilization....Next president will inherit Guantanamo dilemma
NEW YORK (IPS) — Leading human rights groups reacted with outrage Tuesday to media reports that the administration of President George W. Bush has decided not to close the iconic prison at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Quoting anonymous senior Bush Administration officials, The New York Times reported that the issue...
Third party and independent presidential candidates
October 26th, 20080 In last week's issue of The Arab American News, we took a fair look at Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, detailing where they stand on several issues, as the two major presidential candidates that voters have to choose from. This week, we explore other options. In most states, the ballots for the Nov. 4 election will list the names...Powell marks latest Republican defection
WASHINGTON (IPS) - The announcement by former Secretary of State Colin Powell Sunday that he will vote for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Nov. 4 marks the latest and most prominent, if not entirely unexpected, defection of a major Republican figure from his party's election campaign. Former Secretary of State Gen....“We have to share this pain”
PORTLAND, Oregon (IPS) - Veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, along with Iraqis, Afghanis, Vietnam veterans, and family members of U.S. military personnel converged in this west coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the "Winter Soldier"...
Weighing the candidates
October 17th, 20080 With only two weeks left before the election, and after the two major US presidential candidates have debated for the third and final tme, The Arab American News takes a fair look at both major candidates.John McCain's campaign has done little to engage Arab Americans, but the Arizona senator still commands respect as a war hero and...Going out with a whimper, not a bang
WASHINGTON (IPS) — With only three months left in office, U.S. President George W. Bush appears increasingly determined to calm the international waters he so vigorously churned up, especially during his first term. U.S. President George W. Bush makes a statement on the economy in the Rose Garden of the White House, following...Coalition speaks out against anti-Muslim DVD
Los Angeles — Sheriff Lee Baca, actor Mike Farrell and nearly 20 members of the newly formed Coalition for Renewing American Democracy held a press conference last week to voice their unified opposition to an anti-Muslim DVD called "Obsession." Since mid-September, roughly 28 million copies of a DVD called "Obsession: Radical...Two American journalists held in Syria released
Two American journalists who were missing for more than a week were released by Syrian authorities and reportedly on their way home Thursday, after being detained while trying to sneak into the country with smugglers, Syrian and embassy officials said. An undated handout photograph provided by the Jordan Times newspaper Oct. 9...America’s right-wing zealots will not fade away
In 1964, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona ran for president as a rock-ribbed conservative who yearned to roll back both the Soviet Empire and FDR's New Deal. He carried only six states with 52 electoral votes, and Lyndon Johnson remained the commander-in-chief that an entire generation loved to hate. Yet, even after suffering a stunning...Come to the polls Nov. 4 with knowledge — and confidence
While the results of the Nov. 4 election won't be known until the polls close, one thing already is certain: All eligible Michigan voters have the opportunity to cast ballots and can do so with confidence that their votes will count. My assurance is based not only on Michigan's distinguished record of election...
Hathaway aims for state Supreme Court
October 3rd, 20080 Candidate for Michigan Supreme Court Diane Marie HathawayWhen people go in to fill out their ballots on November 4th, most of the attention will be on the presidential election. But a race that some feel is just as important locally is the one for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court, which can be found further down the ballot....
McCain gives up on Michigan in major retreat
October 3rd, 20080 John McCainJohn McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play. McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive...
November ballots will be loaded
October 3rd, 20080 All the attention right now is on the monumental upcoming presidential race, but when the moment of truth finally comes and voters are presented with the ballots they've been waiting for, they'll be looking at dozens of names to choose from in a whole lot of races. State and national congressional seats, influential county positions......
America must prepare for a declining economy
In most of the populist energy plans offered by the Democrats and Republicans, there is an assumption of economic growth that is going to follow off-shore drilling of oil. The implied assumption is that we will have natural resources with which to do more. This is blatantly un-true. I don't understand why it's so hard for...
The crash of 2008
September 26th, 20080 The Crash of 2008, which is now wiping out trillions of dollars of our people's wealth, is, like the Crash of 1929, likely to mark the end of one era and the onset of another. The new era will see a more sober and much diminished America. The "Omnipower" and "Indispensable Nation" we heard about in all the hubris and braggadocio......
The Bush Legacy in Michigan
Washington — In what supporters of the President have dubbed his "legacy year," Americans United for Change, the progressive issue-advocacy group best known for leading the successful fight to beat back President Bush's effort to privatize Social Security in 2005, has hit the road with its latest effort – the Bush Legacy...Third party and independent candidates present unified platform
Ron Paul held what he described as a "very important" press conference on September 10th in Washington, DC. The event brought four third party and independent candidates "together in unity" around a statement of principles. The event came as polls showed the presidential race tightening and third party/independent candidates getting...
Poll: Arab Americans favor Obama by wide margin
September 26th, 20080 WASHINGTON (IPS) — With less than two months before the November elections, Arab American voters in the United States are poised to vote heavily Democratic, according to a poll released here by the Arab American Institute (AAI). The poll, which was conducted by Zogby International for AAI, a Washington-based lobby and public...
Neo-cons, ex-Israeli diplomats push Islamophobic video
September 26th, 20080 WASHINGTON (IPS) — A group of hard-line U.S. neo-conservatives and former Israeli diplomats, among others, are behind the mass distribution, ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, of a controversial DVD that critics have denounced as Islamophobic. The group, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), is working with......
Obama advisor stresses carrots over sticks
September 19th, 20080 DETROIT (IPS) — Dr. Susan Rice, senior foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, says the U.S. would make every effort to avoid resorting to a military attack on Iran under an Obama administration. Tough diplomacy would be used to curtail Iran's reach for nuclear capability instead of rushing to...Michigan office sued over unlawful voter purging
DETROIT – Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging two statewide voter purge programs that could potentially disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters in advance of the November 2008 presidential......
Remembering 9/11 and moving forward
September 12th, 20080 America must move from the errant, retributive justice of 9/11 to a healing, restorative process of truth and reconciliation. Before the Congress adjourns, I will bring forth a new proposal for the establishment of a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, which will have the power to compel testimony and gather...Lose your house, lose your vote
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP's effort to challenge some voters on Election Day. "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will......