Daily Archives: June 13, 2021

Sen. Chuck Winder had it right when he recently said the so-called Idaho Freedom Foundation was one of the biggest threats we have to our democracy in our state.

Winder, a Republican and president pro tem of the Idaho Senate, had just witnessed the disruptive role played by the Freedom Foundation in one of the worst legislative sessions on record. He bemoaned the fact that so many legislators had followed the Freedom Foundations lead in making it such a fiasco.

The Freedom Foundation is a member of the State Policy Network, which supports operations like the Freedom Foundation in the 50 states with the objective of driving state governments ever further to the right. The Freedom Foundation and its companion organizations and financial supporters conduct cultural warfare as a means of winning elections and growing their power.

The Freedom Foundation has established itself as one of the most powerful drivers of policy in the state of Idaho over the last several legislative sessions. Its acolytes in the Legislature regularly vote Freedom Foundations party line on divisive issues. Some of the most disruptive legislators in the recent session have the highest scores on Freedom Foundations Freedom Index.

One of the primary goals of the Freedom Foundation is to dismantle Idahos public education system. Its president, Wayne Hoffman, spelled out the groups antipathy to public education in a February 2019 op-ed: I dont think government should be in the education business. It is the most virulent form of socialism (and indoctrination thereto) in America today. He claimed Idaho teachers and students were victims of Idahos Constitution, which requires the state to maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.

Idahos public schools, guided by local school boards, have been responsible for properly educating Gem State children since statehood, even though they have been chronically underfunded in recent decades. Despite that fact, the Freedom Foundation and its cadre of legislators wreaked havoc on public education at all levels, from preschool to college, during the just-concluded legislative session.

Even though numerous studies have established the value of early childhood education, the Freedom Foundation was responsible for the states failure to accept a federal grant of $6 million for that worthy purpose. Hoffman crowed about rejecting the grant, falsely claiming it would have led to the indoctrination of babies and toddlers.

Even though the Legislature has failed for many years to carry out its constitutional responsibility to adequately fund public schools, the Freedom Foundation sought to divert public monies to fund private schools and students this year. The legislation passed the House but was narrowly defeated in the Senate. It is likely the Freedom Foundation will be back with a similar proposal next year.

The Freedom Foundation falsely accused Idaho public schools and universities of indoctrinating students, which resulted in chaos with education funding bills. A jury-rigged bill, purportedly prohibiting the teaching of an undefined racial theory, was approved so that the funding bills could proceed. As a result of the Freedom Foundation-caused chaos, Idahos universities were undeservedly deprived of $2.5 million of needed funds.

Freedom Foundations most egregious act during the legislative session was to raise its unfounded indoctrination claim. It produced no credible evidence to support the claim. The fact that local school boards oversee the operations of their schools would indicate the falsity of the charges. We will probably never know whether the Freedom Foundation actually believed that its claims were valid. That was not likely the point of making them. The point was to smear public education in hopes of discrediting and weakening our education system. That is a direct threat to the economic and social well-being of our wonderful state.

The time has come to dispense with the Freedom Foundations legislative zealots in next years primary and general elections. The future of our state depends on culling the legislative herd.

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Opinion: The Idaho Freedom Foundation is a threat to the future of the Gem State - Post Register

New Orleans musician Jon Batiste just released his new song "Freedom," and his video makes the streets of New Orleans sing. Batiste, clad in a pink suit, gets New Orleans community members on their feet, singing and dancing throughout Treme, the Seventh Ward, City Park and under the Claiborne Expressway. Colorful houses throughout also embody the beauty of the Marigny and Bywater. The St. Aug Marching 100 were also prominently featured, which is where Batiste went to school. Batiste's music company tweeted the link to the music video Friday, calling it a "tribute to New Orleans."The song's lyrics lend itself to be a happy anthem calling for acceptance in all forms. According to Apple Music, Batiste described the song "Freedom" as "like an old movie," comparing the likeness of the video's movements to James Brown and Elvis. If you think about movies back in the day, you wouldnt show a Black man with a white woman, or you wouldn't show a Black relationship, or you wouldn't show a woman in a certain role. That is our sexuality and how people are represented. That's what people like James Brown, or when we saw Elvis with the twist in the hips, did. They were unlocking something in people that they were trying to hold in. These people became beacons of freedom, and you look at the way they move and the way that they express who they are onstage. That becomes the way that you want to be in life," Batiste said. 'Freedom' is one of the songs on Batiste new album "We Are."Watch the video here.

New Orleans musician Jon Batiste just released his new song "Freedom," and his video makes the streets of New Orleans sing.

This content is imported from YouTube.You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Batiste, clad in a pink suit, gets New Orleans community members on their feet, singing and dancing throughout Treme, the Seventh Ward, City Park and under the Claiborne Expressway.

Colorful houses throughout also embody the beauty of the Marigny and Bywater.

The St. Aug Marching 100 were also prominently featured, which is where Batiste went to school.

Batiste's music company tweeted the link to the music video Friday, calling it a "tribute to New Orleans."

The song's lyrics lend itself to be a happy anthem calling for acceptance in all forms.

According to Apple Music, Batiste described the song "Freedom" as "like an old movie," comparing the likeness of the video's movements to James Brown and Elvis.

If you think about movies back in the day, you wouldnt show a Black man with a white woman, or you wouldn't show a Black relationship, or you wouldn't show a woman in a certain role. That is our sexuality and how people are represented. That's what people like James Brown, or when we saw Elvis with the twist in the hips, did. They were unlocking something in people that they were trying to hold in. These people became beacons of freedom, and you look at the way they move and the way that they express who they are onstage. That becomes the way that you want to be in life," Batiste said.

'Freedom' is one of the songs on Batiste new album "We Are."

This content is imported from Twitter.You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Watch the video here.

This content is imported from YouTube.You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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New Orleans' Jon Batiste new song 'Freedom' an ode to everything New Orleans - WDSU New Orleans

Stroll into any fly shop in Eastern Oregon and chances are the person that walks in behind you has never fly-fished before. Theyre looking to get into the sport and dont know how to start.

Heres what happens. Somebody has invited them on a trip. Perhaps its a bucket list thing they need to check it off as something theyve done. Maybe they just moved here from California and have always wanted to fly-fish. Maybe they saw a movie with the young Brad Pitt casting a fly on a rollicking cutthroat stream.

For whatever reason, they are here and ready to fly-fish. Theyre a bit scared, afraid what other people might think when they see them hang a fly in a tree.

Heres the thing. We all start at zero, ground level. No one is born knowing how to tie a knot or execute a roll cast or dead-drift a dry. We have to learn it. Sometimes at an early age. Sometimes later. Fly-fishermen, despite our self-righteous tendencies, are welcoming. We like to see people learn to cast, select a fly and take it to water.

Yet the first-timers fear, it lingers.

Picture the president of a successful company. He does everything well, he is admired, successful and now he wants to fly-fish. He knows he has no skills, he knows he has to start at ground level and work his way into a sport in which he is a latecomer. Some people never get past this point. It is time to face the fear, pick up a rod and learn a new way of life. Thats what it is.

Lets say you are fishing next week. This might be the first time, it might be the first time in a long time. If you want to hide the fact you are a rank amateur, here is how to get ready for the first trip.

Take a casting lesson

Youre going to have to admit to someone that you dont know how to cast. Go into a fly shop. Schedule a lesson. Learn the simple pick-up and lay-down, the basic overhead and the roll cast. It can all be taught and absorbed in an hour.

Learn a knot

Go online and learn to tie the improved clinch knot. Thats the only one you really need to know right now. Later on you will want to learn the blood knot and the surgeons knot, but that can wait.

Get a fly rod

Dont borrow someone elses gear. Get your own. It doesnt have to cost a lot of money. There are combo outfits on the shelves at sporting goods stores. Put it together, watch some YouTube videos and practice simple casts in the backyard.

Hang out in a fly shop

Wander around, buy a fly box and a few trout flies, look at the recommendations of where to fish that are usually posted on the wall. Listen to other anglers. You need to pick up a few buzz words to know what theyre talking about. Lines, line weights, rod actions, leaders, tippets, wet flies, dry flies, nymphs. There is a lot to learn, but it is easy to pick up.

Read a comic book

This is important. Curtis Creek Manifesto was written in a style that appeals to the 11-year-old in all of us. Pick it up and read it cover to cover. Other options: The Secrets of St. Anthonys Creek by Michael Rahtz or Get Started Fly-fishing by Craig Schuhmann. All are available from Frank Amato Publications and can be found in any fly shop. Either book will help to lay a foundation for a fly-fishing future.

Buy a funny hat

Stick a fly in it. Stick another fly in it. You need a hat anyway, to shade the eyes while you watch for fish. If you have flies in your hat it implies you have fished before and rejected those patterns for something better.

Get a fishing license

And not just a day license. Dont wait for Free Fishing Weekend. Get a license for the whole year. Youre either a fisherman or youre not.

Last summer my youngest daughter bought her fishing license and we packed the canoe in the back of the Ford. At the lake, I made her leave her spinning rod in the truck.

Its time to continue your fly-fishing education, I said.

She frowned when I handed her a 3-weight fly rod. But she remembered what she knew about fly-fishing and caught and released nine trout.

You have a fly rod of your own, I reminded her as we put the boat back on the truck.

Yes, I should use it more.

Thats what I was thinking.

Gary Lewis is the author of Bob Nosler Born Ballistic, Fishing Central Oregon and other titles. To contact Gary, visit http://www.garylewisoutdoors.com.

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On the trail: Seven steps to fly-fishing freedom - East Oregonian

Prepare for a disappointment. No prime minister who is committed to an irreversible departure from lockdown and who has told world leaders that the same mistakes must not be repeated can now end it on 21 June. A delay is certain, given the dramatically worrying figures released by Public Health England on Friday about the growth and deadliness of the Delta coronavirus variant, first identified in India.

Hopes that large gatherings such as weddings might be given the go-ahead if everyone attending is tested, even while the rule of six, mask wearing, working from home and social distancing rules remain, are looking wobbly. The US Food and Drug Administrations scathing criticism on Thursday about the effectiveness of Innovas lateral flow tests, widely used in Britain by NHS Test and Trace in a 3bn contract as part of Operation Moonshot, has forced a review that may lead to their suspension. Spending billions on a testing process only supported by scant and partial data was a risk too far.

As the EUs vaccination and testing programmes rapidly catch us up, the bloc is less exposed to the deadly Delta variant because the EU never risked the same volume of incoming travellers from India in April. (We were overly anxious about a potential post-Brexit trade deal.) And suddenly the UKs pandemic management is exposed as more erratic and the performance overall more ordinary.

Why, it will increasingly be asked, is there an ideological resistance to a Covid pass? Had there been one in use now or at least one planned the almost 30 million adults who have been fully vaccinated could have spearheaded a return to normality and so permitted the transitional risks on the way to a full relaxation to be much better handled.

The Delta variant is now the driver of the pandemic nine out of 10 new Covid-19 cases are Delta, reports Public Health England. It is 64% more transmissible than even the Alpha variant, first identified in Kent, which so worried us earlier in the pandemic. Yes, those who are fully vaccinated are better protected but not completely. Twelve who have died from Delta were fully vaccinated.

In any case, only 54% of the adult population is fully vaccinated. Not even the World Health Organization can indicate what proportion of a population needs to be fully vaccinated to stem the spread of Covid-19, but it is certainly above 70% and may be above 80%.

Given the extraordinary transmission rate of the Delta variant, it would surely be prudent to get the proportion as close as possible to 80% by immunising another 15 million people.

Hence the imperative of delaying the ending of lockdown by at least four weeks to give the remaining 12 million people who have had their first jab their second, a feasible inoculation rate of about 3 million people a week, while giving some millions more, mainly the under-40s, their first jab that offers some protection. Then, and only then, can a further easing of lockdown rules be safely considered.

With the economy recovering, if more slowly than other industrialised countries, the economic costs compared with the risks of deaths and hospital admissions are trivial. The case for a four-week delay is open and shut.

It is all about the management of risk, as the Tony Blair Institute for Global Changes recent Less Risk, More Freedom paper argued, also proposing that the government should bring forward a Covid pass. Even when we hit, say, an 80% full-vaccination threshold, Covid will still be in circulation and the risk of catching Covid and suffering long-term consequences will remain very real, even if the risk of dying for the fully vaccinated will be tiny compared with now.

Here, the gulf between the political classs opposition to the idea of a pass and the view of the public is yawning and exposes the acute dysfunctionality of our democracy and the quality of its decision-making. It has become literally a matter of life or death.

The libertarian wing of the Tory party portrays a Covid pass as a menace to civil liberties, a forerunner of Big Brother surveillance that should be resisted to the last. The Labour party, meanwhile, climbing on what it imagines is the union jack bandwagon, proclaims the idea to be not very British and promoting vaccine apartheid. Both stances are wildly divorced from everyday experience.

What are you and I supposed to do in everyday life going to a pub, a concert, a sporting event, catching a train, shopping? At the moment, I know the rules, accept they work and can expect others to follow them and know that I am expected to follow them too. The risks are being collectively, socially managed. But when lockdown is over and the virus is still circulating,even though 70% to 80% of us may be fully vaccinated, I no longer have that assurance. The man without a mask coughing on the train or restaurant table next to me? Even if I am fully vaccinated, I run a risk and for many people that will be a risk too far. Recovery will be inhibited, not advanced.

Which is why the EU is introducing its digital Covid certificates for all its citizens from 1 July, leaving Britain behind. When the Office for National Statistics reports that 95% of us would accept vaccination if offered a number that is surely higher now given the evidence of vaccine effectiveness the threat of vaccine apartheid is wildly overstated.

It has not stopped Wembley, quite rightly, requiring everyone at Sundays England-Croatia game to provide evidence that they are either vaccinated or have tested negative. These checks should be improved and made universal.

Of course, the now 3% or 4% who dont want vaccinations on principle should be respected, but that cannot veto the freedoms of all, including the freedom to travel. This is not Big Brother or unBritish: it is the social management of risk for all our betterment a cardinal Labour principle.

Lets delay the end of lockdown for at least a month. Lets vaccinate at least another 12 million people before we do. And lets introduce a Covid passport.

Will Hutton is an Observer columnist

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Its too soon to end lockdown. But give us the best route to early freedom Covid passports - The Guardian

Its very like a mirage, isnt it, the route out of lockdown? From Aprils distance, freedom day, 21 June, seemed likely to the point of being inevitable. It was so obviously going to happen that there wasnt much else to be said, beyond: Oh ho, thats convenient, isnt it, so close to the prime ministers birthday on 19 June?

I was planning a housewarming, delayed since November. Mr Z absolutely loves parties gigantic ones. His ideal scenario is to pack a room so tight that somebody will definitely get set alight because, in the end, with enough candles and enough bodies, its just a numbers game and the only creature who can move around freely is a cat (which we dont have), like in Breakfast at Tiffanys. You can raise any objection 200 people? Really? What will they all eat? and his answer is always: Frazzles.

By May, we were talking about the Delta variant and Boris Johnson was saying there was nothing to worry about, which is a very decipherable code for: This is the point to start worrying.

The mirage was still very much intact, for me. Its just the orientation of my character. There was the bright, sparkling pool though, OK, it was starting to shimmer suspiciously and maybe those distant wildebeest were looking a bit hazy. Last month, we were still very much having a party we just hadnt invited anyone. Your basic Kevin Costner play: if you build it (in your mind), they will come. They just dont know it yet.

It wasnt the only event hanging on the road map. A young relative is getting married at the end of June and counting on the government lifting the 30-person limit on English weddings. Its my family reunion at the start of July, when all the core Williamses from across the country congregate in a house and go: This was much more convenient when we did it in Nottingham, and: Ah, but when we went to Newport, the Isle of Wight contingent was there and theyre the funny ones. Then we start to rank branches of the family in order of conviviality and then we have a fistfight. Im least worried about the reunion, as we didnt do it last year, for the first time that I can remember, and relations between us all have never been better.

Im most worried about the wedding. In your middle years, on your second or third marriage, you have quite a lot of flexibility around nuptials. They can be delayed, or the wedding breakfast can be replaced with a scone at the last minute, and nobody minds, because its more or less what they expected of you.

In the first flush of youth, a wedding is like a planet: loads of satellites hanging off it, hens and stags, honeymoons and rehearsals, post-match analysis barbecues. Six months ahead of the event, youve already been arguing about the guest list for what feels like half your life. If you have to knock down the numbers, you will inevitably lose untold deposits to marquee suppliers and macaron-mongers, whose contracts are so watertight they ought to have a side-hustle in international law.

The UK Weddings Taskforce estimates that 50,000 weddings have been planned for the four weeks from 21 June. It helpfully calculated the number of individual stems of flowers that would go to waste if the lockdown doesnt end (300m), the amount of food in tonnes (275). If you picture the volume of cake, the tragedy of cancellation becomes mountainous. But its so much worse than that it knocks the stars out of alignment. Some time soon, therell be a plague of mice.

By the start of June, the government was still gung-ho, but key newspapers broadly speaking, the ones that you should always take with a pinch of salt except when they are delivering bad news while the official line is still good news were speculating that, on a data not dates approach, the data wasnt in our favour. Rishi Sunak signalled to this paper that he was comfortable with a four-week delay, which is chancellor-speak for: If anyone makes the wrong call and we end up in a third wave, dont stick it on me. At least someones thinking ahead.

Now, were almost close enough to touch the freedom. The most up-to-date rumours are that the full lifting is unlikely, but the rules for weddings will be eased, so maybe the prime minister is of my mind about the cake (and the mice). People up and down the country are making the best choices they can with the information in front of them, of which there isnt any.

Johnson is in Cornwall for the G7 summit, nosing up to the hardest of hard deadlines to make the decision. He took a plane there, which doesnt have the best optics the carbon profligacy of air travel and all that but he probably didnt mean to. Most likely, he meant to get a train and missed it only after a cascade of other, also missed, appointments. You should beware of thinking about this too deeply, since youll land on: A man who finds it this hard to say whether or not a party will be allowed next week realistically, how useful is he going to be on the global challenge of the climate crisis? And then youll really be spooked; freedom or no freedom, mirage or no mirage, youll forget you were even thirsty.

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist

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Were almost close enough to touch freedom. But is the end of lockdown a mirage? - The Guardian

Will oppose fringe politicians trying to create barriers to voting

With some politicians spreading lies about our elections to divide us, Governor Tom Wolf today vowed to protect the freedom to vote and oppose legislation that would create barriers to voting and silence the voices of some Pennsylvanians. These are the same lies that led directly to the appalling assault on our U.S. Capitol and our democracy on January 6, and now, just a few short months later, the same people who fomented, encouraged, and joined that mob are again emerging to undermine the fabric of our nation.

Pennsylvanians deserve leaders who deliver for our families and uphold our rights, said Gov. Wolf. Today, I reaffirm my commitment to the people of this commonwealth that I will always uphold our democracy. I will stand up for your freedom to vote, and I will not allow bad actors to put up barriers to voting.

Not only will I stand against any efforts to roll back our freedoms, I will continue to push for changes to take down the barriers that still exist.

Some bad actors in the legislature and across the country are spewing debunked conspiracy theories as they try to undermine confidence in the November election and its outcome. In Arizona, fringe politicians have forced a sham audit that is an embarrassing and chaotic mess, and it is dividing the public and Republican politicians.

Some Republicans are wasting taxpayer money so they can spew dangerous lies to divide the people and spread doubt about an election. The infighting theyve created, the lies theyve spread, and the public money and resources theyve wasted to do it is shameful.

Pennsylvanias 2020 election was fair and secure, and the results were confirmed by two separate professional audits that were scientific and transparent. There was no evidence of fraud in Pennsylvanias election, and state and federal courts have extensively reviewed the allegations and repeatedly dismissed legal challenges. Politicians who continue to imply otherwise are disrespecting every election worker and volunteer who carried out their duties in November during a pandemic and historic turnout.

The governor was joined by Acting Secretary of State VeronicaDegraffenreid for a press conference at the Camp Curtin YMCA, which is a polling place in Harrisburg.

Election officials in each of Pennsylvanias 67 counties already have completed two audits of the 2020 election results, said Secretary Degraffenreid said. Audits follow processes and procedures. They are scientific. They are bipartisan and they are transparent.

Gov. Wolf also reaffirmed to the people of Pennsylvania that he will protect our democracy and will oppose efforts to roll back mail-in voting, impose unnecessary voter ID limitations or encourage the same dysfunction and chaos occurring in Arizona.

It is wrong to pass laws that take away someones freedom to vote for your own political gain, said Gov. Wolf. We have not forgotten the insurrection that took place in our nations capital less than six months ago. Lies and disinformation about fair elections drove our nation to the brink of disaster on January 6, and now the same people who spread those lies, who encouraged the mob that attacked our nations leaders, are attacking the freedom to vote.

Pennsylvania voters have embraced the new freedom to vote by mail, which is made possible by Act 77, the landmark voting law passed with bipartisan support before the pandemic. In the November 2020 election, more than 2.6 million mail and absentee ballots were cast, 38 percent of the 6.8 million ballots cast in the election.

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Gov. Wolf Vows to Protect the Freedom to Vote Amid Attacks on Our Democracy - pa.gov

In previous years, Muslims in America faced various obstacles on the path to the American dream ranging from Trump-era policies, such as the controversial "Muslim ban," to widespread racist statements and remarks from both politicians and ordinary citizens.

As Anti-Muslim hate infiltrates the U.S. Congress putting pressure on lawmakers the row between one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress, Ilhan Omar, and a Jewish group of Democrats peaked on Thursday following a tweet in which Omar seemingly compared the United States with the Taliban.

"Freedom of speech doesn't exist for Muslim women in Congress," Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said on Twitter. Her tweet came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats said in a joint statement that drawing any comparison between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban "foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all." Tlaib said the House Democratic leadership should be "ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color."

"The benefit of the doubt doesn't exist for Muslim women in Congress," she wrote, adding that she was tired of colleagues "demonizing" Omar.

"Their obsession with policing her is sick," Tlaib said.

This week's flareup involving Omar, 38, was the most recent instance in which she has clashed with fellow Democrats over the Middle East. Two months after she arrived in Congress in 2019, the House approved a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry without mentioning her after she made remarks that critics say accused Israel supporters of having dual allegiances.

The latest confrontation between Omar and fellow Democrats began when she tweeted a Monday exchange with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a video conference in which she called for justice "for all victims of crimes against humanity. In remarks that drew the most attention, she said, "We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban. I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Late Wednesday, Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill. and 11 other Jewish House Democrats issued a statement labeling those remarks offensive and misguided. They said she should "clarify what she meant.

On Thursday, Omar tweeted that it was "shameful that fellow Democrats who sometimes seek her support on issues did not ask her for an explanation by simply calling her. She also states that her comments were "not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel."

"The islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable, she wrote.

"Every time I speak out on human rights I am inundated with death threats, she wrote in another tweet where she posted an excerpt of an expletive-laden voice mail she said she had just received with a caller saying he hopes she gets "whats coming for you.

Muslims are terrorists. And she is a raghead n*****. And every anti-American communist piece of s*** that works for her, I hope you get whats f***ing coming for you, the man's voice could be heard saying.

Omar also said her comments did not reflect prejudice and she cited an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation on the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas.

"You might try to undermine these investigations or deny justice to their victims, but history has taught us that the truth cant be hidden or silenced forever, she wrote. In her later statement, Omar said her conversation with Blinken "was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel. I was in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems.

Omar, an immigrant from Somalia, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018. In April 2019, she said she faced increased death threats after President Donald Trump spread a video that purports to show her being dismissive of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She also became embroiled in controversy following her remarks criticizing Israel's influence on U.S. foreign policy. Omar is part of a group of like-minded congresswomen known as "The Squad," who are admired on the left for challenging the Washington status quo since taking office in January 2019.

Mehdi Hasan, a host on "The Mehdi Hasan Show" on MSNBC and NBC's Peacock TV, also defended Omar Thursday by saying that "Muslim Americans are fed up of constantly being accused of supporting terrorism including by liberals and Democrats! when they/we simply make factual points about international law or foreign policies or war crimes. Its cynical, dehumanizing and, yes bigoted."

In 2018, Tlaib and Omar became the first Muslim women elected to Congress.

Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush, also a member of The Squad, said she expects criticism from Republicans, but it was "especially hurtful that Omar was facing backlash from Democrats. "Were your colleagues, she tweeted. "Talk to us directly. Enough with the anti-Blackness and Islamophobia.

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No freedom of speech for Muslim women in Congress: US Rep Tlaib | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah