Freedom of speech must be for all
Schumer under fire by Democrats nationally, locally
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For most of my life I have not closely followed the turmoil in the Middle East.
It all seemed so hopeless.
The Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the Israeli response leaves me even more discouraged about the future of the region, despite President Trump's insistence it might make a nice seaside resort.
But the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and lawful U.S. resident, is a chilling reminder of the power the Trump administration is wielding unlawfully.
Khalil supports the terrorist organization Hamas.
He is an activist who has planned protests at places like Columbia.
It is an abominable position considering what happened on Oct. 7, 2023.
But as a lawful resident Khalil has the right to say it.
Just as you and I have the right to condemn him for saying it.
Here is a refresher course with the First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
But what happened this past month should chill every American to their core. The First Amendment was trampled.
On Saturday, March 8 Khalil and his wife Noor Abdalla were returning to their campus apartment at Columbia University after dinner. Abdalla said an ICE agent followed them into their building and asked Khalil to confirm his identity, which he did. The agent instructed Khalil to give his wife the keys to their apartment and go upstairs. When she refused to leave, the agent told her, "I will arrest you too," according to The Guardian.
Abdalla went upstairs to get Khalil's immigration paperwork and gave it to an agent who made a phone call.
"This guy has a green card," the agent said, according to the New York Times, then was told to "bring him in anyway."
Abdalla called their lawyer, Amy Greer, who was told by the agents they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil's student visa. When their lawyer informed them he was a permanent resident with an American wife, she was told they would revoke his green card.
When Greer asked to see the warrant, the agent hung up on her. Khalil was then handcuffed and forced into an unmarked car. The agents refused to give their names and ignored Abdalla's request to identify what agency they represented.
Khalil is not accused of a crime.
And he is a legal resident.
This is a warning shot if you - as an American citizen - were to say or do something this administration does not like, you could be detained and maybe deported.
Khalil was taken from New York, to New Jersey and eventually flown to the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana where he remains.
For his political views.
He had not broken any laws.
Ken Paulson of the Free Speech Center wrote, "The government can't punish Americans for their free speech; it also can't punish anyone in American for what they say."
The Trump administration claims that Secretary of State Marco Rubio can remove non-citizens if "they would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."
Their defense is that Khalil - just one person - can influence and endanger American foreign policy.
Paulson pointed out in his essay that Trump said, "This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other universities across the country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic activity, and the Trump administration will not tolerate it."
Paulson, a lawyer and former editor of USA Today, concluded, "The Trump administration is not alleging crimes by these foreign students. It's charging them with having the wrong ideas, something that is never punishable in our cherished land of the free."
Schumer under fire
Joe Seeman, a former Democratic candidate for state office and an liberal advocate, announced in the Indivisible ADK/Saratoga newsletter that national Indivisible leaders had called on Sen. Chuck Schumer to resign after voting for the Republicans budget deal this weekend.
In a small straw poll of local members, more than 70 percent believed Schumer should resign. Nationally, the number was over 80 percent.
Schumer was in an impossible position and there is some merit to his position that a government shutdown would have allowed the administration to hollow out every department in the federal government - permanently.
Library event
Crandall Public Library will host the "Belong Starts Here" event tonight at 6 p.m.
This event is our opportunity to invite those in our network who may be feeling disenfranchised and fearful during this time where the narrative is divisive and concerning.
The event seeks to provide:
Community Resources that serve diverse populations
Opportunities to share ways we each are doing our part in creating a sense of belonging
Collect ways to keep this momentum going
Trump voters fired
A New York Times analysis has found Trump voters will suffer disproportionately from Trump's tariffs on foreign countries.
New York State has already lost 281,000 jobs from government cuts.
The Times found that 8 million Americans work in industries targeted by the tariffs and the majority are Trump voters.
Democracy cuts
Consider this list of people President Trump has fired and draw your own conclusions.
He has fired government watchdogs, military leaders, prosecutors and national security experts while suing media organizations and suggesting that judges are powerless to check his authority.
Do you still think you live in a democracy?
Education attacks
Trump administration has announced major reductions in federal payments that cover the cost of scientific research such as the cost of laboratory rent, electricity and hazardous waste disposal.
It is also cutting back on weather forecasting and climate change impact.
Attack on history
Axios reported this week that Department of Defense web pages have been scrubbed of any mention of prominent Black veterans, prominent women in the military (including the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II.
A profile of Army Major General Charles Rogers, a Medal of Honor winner in Vietnam, was also changed.
Earlier this week, it was noted that Arlington National Cemetery's website had deleted content about Black, female and Hispanic veterans.
"The erasure of Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, and female veterans from our military history is an attempt to elevate white men as the sole actors in our history," CNN media reporter Brian Stelter wrote. "It is also an attempt to erase a vision of a nation in which Americans of all backgrounds come together to work—and fight—for the common good.
After World War II, Americans came together in a similar spirit to create a government that works for all of us. It is that government—and the worldview it advances—that the Trump administration is currently dismantling."
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
“ Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” - Harry S. Truman
And here we are
I stand with Schumer. His record shows he is not a reckless, fly-by-the-seat of his pants kind of guy. He has more experience than many newcomers do. He makes sure that every year he visits every county in this state. He has gotten numerous government grants for the Glens Falls area. I believe he faced a very, very serious decision, and had to choose the lesser of two evils to stop complete and utter destruction of our government. I also have no doubt he will be using his experience to come up with a plan to right this wrong. Give him a chance!