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Open thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Oct. 14, 2006 at 12:05 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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27 Comments
National Review Online: The Red-State Freak Show
By European Union standards, Kansas is a hotbed of liberal extremism.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWNlZmVkOTBmMGY3Zjg4ZGRkYjY5OTQwMDM0NDBiMjA
Sebelius Wants to Replace Elected State Board of EducationWith Her Campaign Donors?
http://www.kansasmeadowlark.com/2006/10-13.htm
In case you haven’t read the article on the Eagle website, my colleague, Dr. Nabil Seyam, died in an automobile accident yesterday.Needless to say, we are all in a state of shock about this.I had just spoken to Nabil Thursday, and this has hit me pretty hard. He was a good friend, a valued co-worker, and a believer in the kind of America I’d like to raise my son in (don’t EVEN, bigots, I’m not in the mood).For those of you who knew him, but aren’t sure what to do at a time like this, I found this on the net:It is customary to bury the deceased immediately because embalming is not permitted in the Muslim faith. The body is prepared for burial by performing a ritualistic bath and is bound in a simple white shroud. The funeral service takes place in a Mosque where shoes are required to be removed; women and men sit separately in designated seats; and where women are obligated to wear a headscarf. The funeral service is brief, involving ritualistic chanting and readings from the Koran. Those in attendance will pay their respects by lining up and walking past the body, prior to the deceased being taken to their final resting-place. The deceased will be taken to the cemetery where the body is lowered into the ground, with the deceased’s head pointing towards the direction of Mecca (The Islamic Holy Land).
A meal is later served at the Mosque for all those who attended the Funeral Service. Mourning for family members usually last for 3 days, 10 days for a widow mourning her husband. It is customary to bring food such as, baked goods and fruit or vegetable platters. Those offering their condolences should not bring or order flowers for the family. A food donation or a money donation is more acceptable. Within the Islamic faith it is a religious duty of members to help pay down the cost of the deceased’s funeral expenses in order to help the family. While speaking with family members it is appropriate to listen to their grief and offer comforting words. The Muslim faith encourages family members to face and accept their bereavement.If I hear anything before the Eagle does about the funeral today, I’ll be sure to post it.
Deepest sympathy to the family and friends.
AMERICA HELD HOSTAGE:DAY 2093….
Presidency held hostage:829 Days left.
Congress held hostage:84 Days left.
HAVE A NICE DAY.
Mr. Controversy: Dr. Nabil Seyam was unexpectedly engaging and thought provoking on his weekly TV talk show on your Channel 5. I met him once at your station after an interesting guest interview, but that’s another story. He will obviously be missed by a lot people here in Wichita who did get acquainted with him and his strong views. I am curious, was he a practicing physician?
MrC – I also had the honer of knowing Dr. Seyam; I also have a copy of his book “An American Hostage in Iraq.” He was held hostage by Iraqis after the Kuwait invasion. In mane ways they considered him even worse than us because he had rejected their extremism.
He was a good man and will be missed.
Red State Rabble:Saturday, October 14, 2006The Perfect StormWhat a shame. We really feel for the poor Republicans. They not only have to deal with Foleygate, and the conviction of Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, Randy “Duke” Cunningham and others. There’s the continuing mess in Iraq, as well. Let’s not forget Katrina. And now, to top it all off, they also have to face up to the fact that their scapegoating of gays as an electoral strategy just isn’t working like it used to.
Even RSR wonders what’s happening to moral values these days.
Today, the New York Times reports that “Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue.”
The debate over same-sex marriage was a black-or-white proposition two years ago when voters in 11 states barred gay couples from marrying.
But this year shades of gray are everywhere, as eight more states consider similar ballot measures. Some of the proposed bans are struggling in the polls, and the issue of same-sex marriage itself has largely failed to rouse conservative voters.
When the ruling party can no longer keep itself in power by whipping up the mob to scapegoat the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society it’s a definite sign that the nation’s morals have gone to hell in a handbasket.
Can it be long before some cut-and-run liberal suggests passing a law preventing gays from being beaten in the streets by good, patriotic, red-blooded Americans? What’s the nation coming to?
Great one TRACY. Especially the last paragraph.
Mr.C, I’m very sorry to hear about Nabil. I recall him being a passionate critic of Bush’s post- 9-11 policies, seeing them (correctly) are primarily targeting Muslims. He also gave an engaging and amusing talk at the Stop the Hate rally. And when some idiot in Tulsa suggested bombing Mecca, he had a letter off to the Eagle almost before the guy closed his mouth!
I didn’t agree with him on everything, but I’ve never expected that of anyone. He will be missed.
I can’t get KCTU on Cox Cable.
I’m from the West Coast. Actually from a lot of places. My friends call me a nomad. I want to share something with you. Federal legislation some 20 years ago that allowed one cable company to serve an entire community required it to provide public-access channels.
Wichita, you don’t have any public-access channels. I’ve seen them elsewhere. Public-interested citizens and small groups getting their own cable-broadcast forums. You have government and corporate (religious corporations) channels only. I see that USD 259, given not just ONE but THREE channels, has curtailed the Annenburg Learning Channel greatly.
This is a major problem of being a feudalistic society. Public access programming in Wichita has been totally perverted from its congressional intent. I mean, I don’t mind seeing city and county governments’ meetings, or WSU’s presentation of the Research Channel, or much of USD 259’s programming. It’s really enlightening to see that deals have been done in private, in violation of our open meetings law, so our leaders pass motions they’ve discussed in private. But it’s also discouraging to see feudocracy in action. It’s sad to watch really cool stuff being done by research universitites being done on the West and East Coasts (mainly U Washington, U Southern California, U Virginia) on the Research Channel, but nothing here locally.
If you look closely, channels 8, 20 and 21 run out of enlightening programming quickly and post hours and hours of daily Power Point crap. This wasn’t Congress’s intent. How do I know? Because Power Point hadn’t been invented when the public-access law was passed.
How about meetings with this sites bloggers being shown, i.e. proposals to better Wichita, and debates created by the public, not by government agencies.
http://www.catholicleague.org/06press_releases/quarter%203/060918_proves_pope.htm
nuff said.
Thank you all for the kind words. I’ll be spending tomorrow putting together a retrospective of Dr. Seyam’s shows for Monday night. Suggestions are appreciated.
Contact the Business faculty at Newman University. He was a guest lecturer in my Business Ethics class.
Business ethics? You must feel like you’re pissing in the wind?
There are times …
mrc
My sympathies at the loss of your friend.
CF says hi from the Philadelphia suburbs, home of Rep. Curt Weldon, R-PA, who the AP reports is under investigation by the FBI for influence peddling.
Way to go with that culture of corruption, Republicans!
CF — Does your message mean you no longer live and teach here in Wichita?? Even though we are of different shades of gray in political persuasions, I do enjoy your spirited comments in the WE Blog. JWink
Note: I just turned on my furnace for the first time this season. Might be a test — hope I can turn it down so it doesn’t come back on for another week or so.
JWink, I hear ya. I’m trying to wait this out, especially after hearing that Kansas Gas Service is hoping/planning to raise rates.
As usual, we seem to have skipped the best part of fall. What happened to the seasons where heating and cooling were on hold?
Good luck!
Yikes I just heard that Hawaii had a magnitude 6 Earthquake!
Hey Tara let us know if you are ok when you can.
Jwink,
No sir; travelling on business. Back now for a rainy night in KS.
CF,Can you or Cap’n give me a call this week?We may be able to accelerate your project.
Tara’s probably okay, though not exactly comfortable:
http://www.hawaii.edu/
Noted, Mr. C.
We’re planning on getting together and we’ll give you a call.
Evening Quote:
“In some swerve of logic, Bush has decided for the Iraqis that they see the death of, say, their child or children, husband, wife, the descent of their entire country into chaos and hell—all worth it for the sake of what Bush deems to be freedom. It should go without saying that president’s conclusion begs a question: what choice do the Iraqis have? Does the president really believe that, given such a choice, the Iraqis would choose ruinous war in exchange for his own vision of freedom?”