Where the Hell is Matt?

I remember watching this in the Bat Cave in the Toledo office and getting overly excited whenever an Arab country would come up. I would jump up and down and shout "OMG YOU GUYS THOSE ARE ARABS!!!". And I did it for every single time an Arab country was shown. And every single time, the guys looked at me and as calmly as they were talking to a two year old reply: "Yes, those are indeed Arabs."

I was in Ohio too long. Clearly.

And I Thought We Had it Bad

The HuffPost (love of my life) did an expose on PurpleGate-gate. At least we got to see it! Thousands of people were turned away, and even worse stuck in a tunnel for hours.

Here are a few more links so satisfy the masochist in you: WashPost, and a documentary - for your viewing pleasure.

But lets look on the bright side - look at who we call Mr. President now. Or even better - who we don't =)

A New Day

Its a cliche title, I know. I'm too exhausted to attempt to think of anything creative and unique at the moment that will draw your attention to this post. I'm OK with that. And besides, Will.I.Am's tune is kinda growing on me.

I'm sitting on my girl Nas' couch in Vienna. Va just woken up and feeling the need to say something about today's events. The others are sprawled on the floor and couches not haven awoken from their slumber yet. I don't blame them - I feel like I could sleep for days. Nura and I got up at around 4am to head out to her office. The ride to McPherson square was crowded - fortunately Vienna being the initial stop awarded us seats. It was a reflective 45 minutes. It was a great historic expectation that threatened to overtake us - so we listened to some dhikr and anasheed to remind us. God is Greater. That gave us a sense of calm that set the tone for the rest of the day. Thank God for that - the chaos that ensued later would have set us into a frenzy if we let it.

We got to the LDF office (where Nas works and strangely always reminds me of IDF..I wonder why..), hung out for a bit and headed out towards the Purple Gate area. We got to First and D around 7 and stood with other Purple Ticket holders. The ordeal that ensued is not so affectionately dubbed as Purplegate (Purplegate-gate?), or to my fellow 2 thousand ticket holders stuck in the mob as the D Street Massacre.

Thousands of people, holding tightly to those coveted tickets waiting in what felt like subzero temperatures (I don't care what the actual temperature was, it felt like 30 below to me) until the gates opened at 830am. It was so packed, i could barely register where my body ended and ten others connected to me began.

830 came and went.

So did 9.

And 10.

We barely moved. We barely could. The gates weren't open. We had no idea what was going on. People were frantic. This was history and many of them had come thousands of miles to witness it. and dammit they had tickets. People were getting testy and belligerent. There were no officials in sight to guide us or answer our questions. The police came thru a few times, escorting Samuel L Jackson and Jesse Jackson and some elderly ticket holders, but provided no assistance otherwise to the rest of the oversized crowd. Nura and I clutched each other as if we were each other's lifelines. Which I guess we were. we saw 3 ambulances pass - each entailing us to somehow move so it could pass. I remember vaguely thinking that this would be a molester's wet dream. Personal space was a luxury sacrificed for the view the purple tickets held. Or so we thought.

The clock inched to eleven. I texted some of the Who's Your Maumee team trying to see if this was the norm. Jesse answered he was still in the tunnel. I was wondering what he was talking about when a police officer told us, somewhat nonchalantly, that the gate was a block over. Asked if he was sure, he replied that he'd been there three times. I briefly wondered if these protectors of the people thought we were standing here, risking life and limb, cuz we loved each other so much. Eh, no time. It was eleven at this point. I grabbed Nuras hand and ran to the next street over. Within 30 minutes we were through the metal detectors and running to witness history in the making. I'm full of cliches today.

I have to admit, the calmness was wearing off at this point. Cuz when we entered the Purple Ticket Area, it was overflowing. We couldn't even see the jumbotron. We ran to a few places to see if we could see anything - jumbotron or otherwise, but to no avail. We saw people jumping over a stone barrier and push thru bushes to get to the other side, where hopefully a decent view awaited them. Did I really like Barack thaaaat much? Nura apparently did - she was halfway over already. I said a quick prayer to preserve my limbs, and at least some of my dignity if I fell, and hopped over. The crowd that greeted us was like the D Street mob we hung out with for 4 hours. But a lot more testy for some reason. We attempted to maneuver through the crowd and ignore the nasty glares and rude comments in search of a decent vantage point. Giving up, we just stood we were and tried to make the most of it.



its funny how the people you are around shape your experiences. people around us had this sense of entitlement, sense of privilege - they seemed almost pissed off to be there. there was no euphoric reaction from the crowd. it made me wish I was in the mall, where I was sure people were hugging each other, crying, singing, dancing.

I wonder if fumbling the oath is allowed. Barack's speech was phenomenal - sobering. The man knows how to talk to an audience. The best part was definitely seeing Bush off as the crowd broke into a rendition of Na na na na na na na na hey hey goodbyyyyye.

The experience wasn't overwhelming. I didn't get my aha moment that I wanted. But I was with one of the people closest to me. Nas and I actually voted (early) together in Toledo at the EMS Station. It was fitting. I'm thankful I had her to share that experience with. In all its moments of insanity.



So now what? I've always been realistic about the change promised. There's only so much you can do at once. But we're on the right track. There will always be things to criticize - Barack never promised utopia and those who expected it are only setting themselves up for major disappointment. The Gazan nightmare will still go on, Palestine will still be occupied, poverty and drugs will continue to decapitate communities, and bad senseless things will still happen. But still. Its a step in the right direction.

In regards to Muslims...Sh. Hamza mentioned at RIS how we've stopped believing in miracles. or forgotten how to. We've become so cynical and jaded and devoid of hope. we need to stop the protester for life mentality and be part of the solution. I think the first step is getting over this us vs them mentality. For most of us, the us and them are the same. But thats another conversation.

For the first time in a long time, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to the days ahead. We have kids in the White House. We have a President who is absolutely enamored with his wife. And we have a people who are daring to believe again. Hope has been renewed. Its an exciting time to be alive. Alhamdulillah =)

I miss home

"Welcome to Detroit. We know you won't stay long, because nobody good stays for long, but we hope you like it while you're here."

Neo-Nazis for Israel

Albert Memmi called this a long time ago (Check out Decolonization and the Decolonized) - Muslims have become the new Jews.

Great Article

in the huffpost that tears apart common attacks against Hamas.

Cohen sites an old gaurdian viewpoint by Khalid Mish'aal that really hits home. I intend to send a copy to Hosni.

Nasrallah was not joking

I just didn't think it would be this soon.
Lebanon hit Israel with rockets after their airspace was violated.

So this is how WWIII starts...



7asbiya Allah wa ni3m al-wakeel...


UPDATE:
From Haaretz -

08:51	Lebanese sources: Palestinians fired rockets at north Israel, not Hezbollah (Ch. 10)
08:50	Lebanon: Rockets fired by Palestinian groups, not Hezbollah (Channel 10)

im so confused.

إليك بسطنا أكف الرجاء

فرحمتك يا أرحم الراحمين

Rough translation:

To You we have extended our palms in hope
So [please extend] Your Mercy, Most Merciful One

Stewart in 2010

I love him. So so much.
I may have a bit of a crush on Rick Sanchez as well.


Things have reached a surreal level. Over 700 dead, over 3000 injured. I feel like I'm having an out of body experience, watching this from a different dimension. Cuz this reality has taken an unreal turn.

He Speaks

I'm glad 700 lives lost has finally gained his concern.

Saam3eenkum

We hear you.

A dope amazing song for Gaza from Narcy.

Download it here. Post it, spread it, sing it, love it, be it.

quote of the hour

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm

Its easy to be apathetic

when reading about a holocaust happening oceans away.

what about when you see what our media won't show or even hint at?


I should warn you how graphic this is...how the screams don't go away long after the video is over. But who warned them? Force yourself to watch it. See exactly what the rest of the world is ignoring.

Its 1948 all over again

I'm sick. I can't taste. I can't talk. I can barely hear. But unfortunately, I can still read and feel. Where exactly are 1.5 million people supposed to go?

I keep thinking its a typo when reading the death count. 440+ vs 4? I'm not debating the value of life on either side, but the clear disproportionate and imbalance of power is completely ignored.

So the leaflets have been dropped and the ground invasion has started. And Abu Mazen is chilling in Egypt (fittingly with bff Hosni - too disgusted to even go there) and blaming Hamas for everything and "threatening" Israel by halting peace negotiations.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.