Editorial

Editorial | Illinois’ anti-BDS legislation in 2015; now U.S. House rejects BDS

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

Support for universal basic human rights should be an easy position to defend and promote. Support for Palestinian basic human rights apparently is not. Palestinian human rights cannot honestly be conflated with anti-Semitism, but that’s precisely what’s happening. The Boycott,…

Editorial | The War: Black Genocide in the Black Community

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

“Is genocide taking place in the Black community? Are African American males unconsciously committing genocide against themselves and their communities?” Those questions were posed by Agbara Bryson at a recent forum hosted by Bryson’s New Millennium Institute. The answers to…

Editorial | Terminate the flawed Hyde Amendment

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

Thankfully, most Democratic candidates for the presidency are calling for the abolition of the Hyde Amendment. The amendment was passed in 1976 shortly after Roe v. Wade established the legal right to abortion. Hyde restricts federal funds from being used…

Editorial | Vaccinations and the Anti-Vaxxers

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

“Vaccine refusal is like a big pile of tinder waiting for a lightning strike.” Dispute resolution is foundational to civil society. Whether that means speed limits on the roads, individual gun rights or mandatory vaccinations –– individual versus societal rights…

Editorial | Rabbi calls for justice for Palestine

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

Rabbi Brant Rosen is a scholar who has patience, empathy and courage in his activism for Palestinian people and social justice. He proves it is possible to love Israel and the Jewish faith and protest human rights violations in Gaza.…

Editorial | “Your Loyalties Are Your Life”

S.A. Shepler (c) 2019 Community Word

That was the headline on a recent New York Times opinion column written by David Brooks. While nothing was mentioned in the column about unions, hedge funds or newspapers, the column speaks loudly to the Peoria community, our daily newspaper…

Editorial | Diversity in Congress

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2019

Here’s a tally of the number of women in the U.S. House. In 1989: 16 were Democrats; 13 were Republicans In 2019: 89 are Democrats; 13 are Republicans Why is that of any significance? Because diversity matters. History has proven…