On Sunday, Amir Mohammed Siala brought the healing of my small town of Corvallis, Oregon, full circle to Pioneer Square in Portland—the scene of the recently foiled Christmas Tree Lighting bomb plot.

After the candlelight vigil in Corvallis which was organized to/… Read full post »

There was no fear last night at the Corvallis Salman al-Farisi Islamic center.

A drenching November rain fell as hundreds of townspeople sheltered their candles against the wind, standing with our Muslim neighbors as we took back the Mosque from those who had tried to destroy this… Read full post »

I am hurting.

At 2:30 a.m., an arsonist set fire to the Salman al-Farsi Islamic Center. The police found “plenty of evidence” to confirm that it was arson.

This is the Masjid where my Muslim kids worshiped. This is where I visited post-9/11 for an open house. This is in… Read full post »

This year, we are having a frybread Thanksgiving. Daughter mentioned frybread a few days ago and made me hungry for it. Also, I like the idea of honoring Native Americans to whom Thanksgiving has a whole different meaning. It is the Native way to give thank… Read full post »

Jose Feliciano quoted by the AP from a statement that he released saying that he is "revolted beyond words" that the song Feliz Navidad which he wrote in English and Spanish to be a bridge between cultures was used by a conservative Website as a "vehicle for a political platfor/… Read full post »

Daughter brought me a nestling that had fallen 35 feet from its nest to the horse arena. Impossible to return to the nest, these nestlings usually keep the barn cats fat. Except for this one.  Judging by the mother that dive bombed the rescuer, it is a starling.  And, judging/… Read full post »

This AP news release reports that House Republican leader John Boehner has gotten wind of the fact that Homeland Security is monitoring the rising right-wing rebellion groups for possible recruitment of veterans for violent extremism as a risk to national security. Proving tha/… Read full post »

I received an email today from the head of the GOP--Michael Steele (the black figurehead guy of the GOP not the fat, white idiot). He explained very carefully what the census was and how it determined congressional districts as if his audience had never heard of it.

“…… Read full post »

  CLICK ON KOAKUMA'S LAMP TO FOLLOW SHELLEY ZINK TO THE VOODOO QUEEN'S TOMB IN HER LA PERLA PANTIES...

(THEN COME BACK AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT)

The short story inspired by one of Koakuma's street art posts, begun by Robin Sneed, and written in 48 comments by… Read full post »

And you thought Alexie only did poetry and prose!

Dan Savage writes an excellent sexual advice column for The Stranger out of Seattle. When he got a letter lamenting the dearth of Native American pornography, he went to the source and contacted Alexie who graciously weighed in on that… Read full post »

 The most inspiring book I have ever read was a two-inch thick tome containing the personal stories, and eye witness accounts, of men who have been awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Honor. Their stories revealed that all the men had certain attributes in common; they experienced a… Read full post »

 Obama may be doing much better than the polls may suggest.

A report released today (Cell Phones and the 2008 Vote: An Update) by the nonpartisan PEW Research Center refutes an earlier finding that cell phone usage had a negligible impact on poll accuracy.

Researchers concluded th… Read full post »

 Fry bread is as quintessentially native as the buffalo used to be. I have been served fry bread in a Miccosukee village in the Everglades and also been told by my Yu'pik student that fry bread is a great favorite in Alaska. However unlike the buffalo, this Native American staple/… Read full post »

My most indelible image from both conventions came during McCain's acceptance speech. Central casting could not have given us a more perfect embodiment of the anti-Iraq War movement than Iraq War veteran, Adam Kokesh. A survivor of the Faluja battle, he stood stalwart and intense, demanding an accoun/… Read full post »