Opinion: In today’s pages
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In today’s op-ed pages, Anna Hurasaka of the International Rescue Committee explains how a victim of terrorism can, by dint of U.S. law, be branded a supporter of terrorism:
The hairdresser is a single mother. She received threats by phone and in writing. She was told to close her salon, judged as unacceptable by Muslim extremists. In 2005, a man in a black hood entered her shop, beat her, pulled the crucifix off her neck and raped her. A week later, her son was kidnapped and the same man called; she recognized his voice. He demanded $10,000. She gathered $7,000 and paid the ransom. Her son was returned, and she fled the country with him. At issue here is whether the rapist/kidnapper is a member of a U.S. government-documented terrorist group. Even ransom can constitute ‘material support’ of terrorists.
Columnists Niall Ferguson and Gregory Rodriguez take on Seung-Hui Cho and whether he’s a black swan or a red-blooded American, while Jeff Chang and David Zirin point out that hip-hop isn’t all racism and misogyny.
The editorial board wants to close the gun control loophole that let Cho slip through and speculates who the next attorney general may be, should Alberto R. Gonzales resign. Finally the board takes on Ticketmaster for being an ‘800-pound gorilla’ but still finding reason to complain about the ticket sale market it rules.