The prominent Muslim cleric offering prayers at the Democratic National Convention

Ta-Nehisi Coates has a piece at The Atlantic that got me thinking. For a white person to vote for Obama is racist. The one drop rule means that they are voting along racial lines. Normally I like Coates’ writing, and I agree with his general sentiment. However, it still seems like we are stuck in the same mode of racial thinking. Obama has one white parent and one black parent. Why is he still considered black? I know there is an element of self-identification involved, but as a society, we treat him as black because of the one-drop rule. Black…

This interview is very good and worth reading all of it. Reflections on Osama bin Laden, and his continuing relevance – Threat Matrix. 7. In the past few years, many people have begun to perceive bin Laden as an uncaring terrorist who has no hesitation about spilling the blood even of fellow Muslims. Does he still enjoy important support among Muslims?  And there is good reason for this perception. In December 2009, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point released a report finding that only about 12% of al Qaeda’s victims are Western. Those who had to live under the…

They say that when you kill the head vampire, the others die as well. Don’t let the door smack you on the ass on the way out.