The debate that wasn’t

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER and By NAYABA ARINDE

Talking loud and saying nothing is a phrase some armchair and professional pundits alike are using to describe last Monday’s gubernatorial debate. Little was gained or learned, “unless you appreciated the comedy of it,” State Senator Bill Perkins told the AmNews.

To call Monday night’s event a gubernatorial debate would be an overstatement, considering the fact that the candidates vying for the governorship barely spoke to each other but, rather, answered questions about what they would do if elected governor.

One Nation united

By HERB BOYD
Special to the AmNews

The 83-year-old Harry Belafonte spoke of Martin Luther King Jr.’s opposition to the Vietnam War and reminded the crowd of Dr. King’s words, saying, “America would soon come to realize that the war that we were in at that time, that this nation waged in Vietnam, was not only unconscionable, but unwinnable.”

With a voice strained yet strong, Belafonte declared, “Now today, almost a half-century later as we gather at this place where Dr. King prayed for the soul of this nation, tens of thousands of citizens from all walks of life have come here today to rekindle his dream and once again hope that all America will soon come to the realization that the wars that we wage today in faraway lands are immoral, unconscionable and unwinnable.”

Paladino’s “racist” politics

By HERB BOYD
Special to the AmNews

Carl Paladino stunned the state’s GOP when he won the Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this month. Now, he’s stunning the nation with his toxic tongue full of venom and denunciation of Black and poor people, to say nothing of his e-mails laden with racism and pornography.

With apparently no limits to his wacko demeanor, Paladino has even shared e-mail images of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle, portraying them as a pimp and a prostitute. While the candidate has apologized for these “misjudgments,” as he termed them, it still leaves a question about his judgment as a potential state leader.

September 11- Nine Years Later

By Amity Paye: Special to the AmNews

This Saturday, on the anniversary of the attack on the world trade center, Pastor Terry Jones of Florida plans to burn copies of the Quran in memory of the attacks. While Jones’ plans have filled the news this week his anti-Muslim sentiments are not abnormal.

Since September 11, 2001 there have been stories of Muslims across the
nation being targeted nationwide. This is partly because of American’s
sentiments against the people who flew the planes into the twin towers
being identified as Muslims. But nine years after the 9/11 terror
attacks the country’s “Islamaphobia” itself has expanded past dislike
of Park51 – the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, to include some other 
terrifying events.

People across the country are not only targeting
terrorism but perpetuating it as well.

On August 24 an Islamic center in Madera, CA, was vandalized with
signs that read: “No temple for the god of terrorism at Ground Zero,”
and “Wake up America, the enemy is here.”