"Strengthening Lebanon with reforms to empower the disenfranchised and working to guaranteed freedom and long denied rights to the Palestinians, would be the perfect places to start. As long as these wounds fester, the region will be a fertile place for alienation, provocation and disruption."

[Rick] Salutin told The Canadian Charger that he had known for two or three weeks his column would end, but otherwise had no comment. The official explanation is that Salutin had had a long run, 20 years, and that his removal was simply part of the redesign. Though this excuse has superficially plausibility, it doesn’t hold water.

"The Obama administration has developed a habitual reflex of moving its policies toward the positions of Republican leaders who do not budge. Meanwhile, the administration has continued to fault the progressive canaries when the policy results are making them sick."

"The bottom line is that if the Texas State Board of Education's (TSBE) warning to textbook companies to provide less information about Islam and the Arab World was intended as a warning shot across the bow, it ought to be viewed as a wake-up call to schools, educators, and all Americans. (Note: the reason why resolutions passed by the TSBE are important is because, as the nation's second largest buyers of secondary school textbooks, they have historically had the ability to influence what the publishers of textbook will and will not publish.)...But if the TSBE has power, so do the rest of us. If the debacle of the war in Iraq taught us anything, it is that we can't afford ignorance - not knowing has bitter consequences. If America is to productively engage the broader Middle East, we must understand its history and culture and its peoples. Our knowledge must grow, and what is taught in our schools matters to our future."

"Arab Americans, who strongly backed Barack Obama, with 67% supporting his bid for the presidency in 2008, still have a favorable, though somewhat diminished view of this President's job performance. His approval rating in the community is 51% favorable against a 48% unfavorable rating. On most issues (Obama's "outreach to Arabs and Muslims", "ending torture", "handling of the war in Iraq", “health care”, and "protecting civil liberties") a plurality of Arab American voters say they are satisfied with the job he has done. A plurality is dissatisfied with the President's performance on only one issue, and that is his "handling of the economy". On his "handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" those who are satisfied and those who are dissatisfied are evenly split, with a plurality saying "it's too early to tell" how well the President has performed."

Tonight on 'The Cutting Room,’ we turn from the silver screen to the small screen to look at the new fall season. Joining us in the studio is WTFN’s resident critic Miriam Kale, and via satellite from Los Angeles, we’re pleased to welcome Larry Levy, CEO of Redundancy Entertainment LLP.

"...I must confess that while I have been in Washington for 33 years and understand the game of politics, I remain drawn to political leaders who demonstrate integrity and a passion for justice. I remember all too well when first seeing "Mister Smith Goes to Washington" how moved I was by that young Senator's insistence that the truth be told and that good be done. Every time I see that movie, I am inspired with the hope that Washington can be more like that and less like the place that it all too often is."

"Today, even more, we live in a time of economic tyranny. The mantra of “hope” has proven hollow when directed toward a political leader; some react to disappointment by pinning their hopes on individual consciousness or cultural transformations. But deep patterns of economic predation, ecological destruction and endless warfare cannot be effectively undermined by transcendent consciousness or cultural radicalism. Realistic hope is not in a political star or in the mere transformation of our individual selves. Our best strategies and our futures are bound together with political engagement that embraces all of humanity."