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Letters to WIP

When they come for you…

Dear WIP,

Here is a recap of the July 17 hearing in Seattle, where the issue is removing Zahid Chaudhry from the country.  Judge Paul deFonzo spent some time to mark exhibits and make sure each party had the same documents; then government side wanted Zahid’s witnesses “sequestered”. Ann Chaudhry and two other witnesses were told to leave the courtroom.

Government’s long cross questioning of Zahid caused court to run out of time at 4:30 pm!  On the next and final hearing Judge Paul deFonzo wants to hear from Ann. So this hearing has been “continued” to a later date. Judge Paul deFonzo first suggested September 11th; and a groan went out from supporters in the courtroom!

Ann and Zahid want to express their gratitude to the following –

To all the folks from Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, Chehalis & south, and Seattle area and up north; To all the drivers for the car and van pools; To Elissa Goss for her tireless energy, time and care for detail, activity & Press release; To all the writers of letters of support; To all the feverish texting, creators for facebook event, calling, & emailing; To all the slogan and sign makers, sign holders, & chanters; To all the impromptu speakers; To all those waiting in and out of the courtroom, those waiting in hallways, & those remaining with signs in front of building;

To all those handing out snacks; To all those providing shoulders, hugs, & hand-squeezing; To all those holding us in the light, praying for us, sending blessings, prayers for the judge, and for the attorneys.

Just one question… why don’t they let this awesome, wonderful, fabulous, loving, caring, marvelously, supportive community run the United States???? Hum

Learn about USCIS’ illegal, immoral, unethical, and previously secret Controlled Application Review & Resolution Program (CARRP) –  also known by the ACLU and others as “Muslims Need Not Apply.”

Ann Chaudhry’s presentation on CARRP is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1kRqQuA8tI  To see more on the over 15 years-long endeavor for EARNED citizenship through Qualified Military service (in United States Armed Forces), check out our websites:  www.keepzahidhome.org  http://keepzahidhome.org/ and http://justice4chaudhry.info/

When they come for you, who will speak up for you? 

Ann and Zahid

 

No discrimination based on religion

Dear WIP,

On June 26, the Supreme Court gave a ruling on Trump’s Muslim travel ban. The decision has been touted as a partial win for Trump and as a partial win for Muslims. In reality, this decision is a great loss for America. The Supreme Court has ruled that in some situations it is legal for the government to discriminate on the basis of religion.

One of the main reasons this country was founded was so that people could practice their religion without any interference from the government. The Trump administration has not produced any detailed or specific evidence on the national security threats posed by visitors from the six countries and refugees targeted in the order, despite requests made during continued litigation against the order. This makes it very clear that these people are being targeted solely because of their religion.

If this travel ban was actually about terrorist threats from Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia would be first on the list. The six countries listed have no natural resources US corporations covet nor do they have the wealth to make large weapons purchases from American arms merchants.

At a time when the US President openly flouts the law, racial and religious prejudice is seen as a winning political strategy, and spurious national security issues are used as a potent justification for eroding basic constitutional protections.

According to a recent poll released by the Arab American Institute, since 2010, American attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims, have had a continued erosion of the favorable ratings given to both communities, posing a threat to the rights of Arab Americans and American Muslims. Favorable attitudes have continued to decline – from 43% in 2010 to 32% in 2014 for Arabs; and from 35% in 2010 to 27% in 2014 for Muslims.

The current climate of Islamophobia in America is reminiscent of the anti-Semitism that was rife in early twentieth century in both America and Europe. Hitler and the Nazis promoted racial and religious hatred as a means of manipulating the willfully ignorant population who could tell themselves that it had nothing to do with them.

This looks an awful lot like the subtle and not so subtle message we hear and see daily from those who control the propaganda machine in this country. According to George Orwell, “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”  Think about it.

Larry Kerschner
peacepoet@gmail.com

 

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