Ray Hanania on Politics, Media & Life

02-15-24 Interview with Radio Host Mohammed Faheem S6E3

Ray Hanania on Politics for Feb. 15, 2024 interviews Mohammed Faheem, the cohost of The Lightning Strike Radio SHow on WCPT 820 AM Progressive Talk Radio.

Faheem co-hosts the show with former 45th Ward Ald. John Arena and the two discuss a wide range of issues including politics.

Hanania and Faheem discuss the challenges that Arab Christians and Muslims, Muslims and people of color including Indians and Pakistanis and others face in an America that doesn't always have the knowledge about issues they face each day.

01 30 24 Mahnoor Ahmad candidate for the 6th District on bias in 6th District

S6E2

By Ray Hanania

Mahnoor Ahmad, who is running for the 6th Congressional District candidate seat in the March 19, 2024 Democratic Primary Election, has been the targeted of bias and attacks from members of the Illinois Democratic Party.Democrats, fearing that incumbent Congressman Sean Casten will loose to her int he primary election, have been banning her from participating in Democratic candidate forums.

Ahmad participated in the forums hosted by the League of Woman Voters in Elmhurst and in a forum in Naperville, but has been criticized by Democrats because protestors angry with Casten's unresponsive policies over the past two years have demanded that he be accountable. They are blaming Ahmad for the protests -- because she happens to be Muslim, a woman of color, and a minority.

Ahmad also supports a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war to prevent the killing of more civilians. More than 30,000 people have been massacred in Gaza in the past four months.The Democratsare so desperate, they have even blocked her from participating in public forums in Milton Township, which includes the city of Wheaton, and she is being attacked by other Democrats.

Ahmad is the only candidate who is speaking to the voters int he district as an American who believes in free speech and equality for all. Her issues fighting for the rights of seniors, who have been abandoned by Casten, resnotes with senior voters.No wonder Casten and his unresponsive Democratic minions have been angry and are working to exclude her from the election campaign.THIS IS AMERICA, not Russia. Sean. Ahmad is more American than you!

01-30-24 Washington Post attack on Women in Saudi Arabia is political hypocrisy S6E1

By Ray Hanania

S6E1 Jan. 30, 2024

Tennis stars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova co-wrote an Op-Ed for the Washington Post, one of America'smost influential and hypocritical newspapers in the country.

The Washington Post is not the same fiercely independent newspaper of the 1970s Watergate years, but rather is today a biased partisan political platform that slams the Arab World, denigrates Arabs and Muslims, closes its eyes to anti-Palestinian brutality and hypocrisy -- publishing only enough, but not enough -- and pandering to the far Left against mainstream and conservative Americans.

The Evert/Navratilova column urges that Saudi Arabia not be permitted to host the Women's Tennis Association finals because of "discrimination against women."

The problem of course is that Evert/Navratilova are silent on the continued discrimination against women that exists right here int he United States. Are women equal in the United States? American men claim they are but they are not. They don't get equal pay. They are the victims of domestic violence far more often than men. They are not treated equally with men in business and coprorate life.

But American spins a tale of equality that is just not true.

When was the last time a woman was elected President?

The fact is nations in this qworld evolve at different paces.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia began a program to expand the freedoms of women, making them equal.

Every religious society, including Christians, Muslims and Jews, discriminate in some form against women. Saudi Arabia, an Islamic nation, is working to expand women's rights.

Instead of attacking them, they should encourage them.

But the issue really isn't women's rights.

The issue is politics. The issue is Saudi Arabia's politics. The issue is their criticism of Israel, their criticism of some American policies. And, their criticism of the hypocrisies that American politicians impose on others, including the Arab and Muslim world.

Women in Saudi Arabia are leading the freedom movement and they should be encouraged. Nothing happens over night. And it doesn't happen on the hypocritical and politically motivated schedule of the United States, which continues to discriminate against women, Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Arabs and many other minorities across the board.

Here are some of the changes in Saudi Arabia on the rights of Women:

Below are the legal advancements for women as of August 2019:  On equal footing with men, women over the age of 21 may obtain a passport and travel abroad without the permission of a male relative.  Women can now travel outside of the country without a male guardian.  Women may register as a “head of household,” and identified as such on family ID Cards and papers, which gives them the right to legally act on their children’s behalf.  Women may register the births of their children.  Women received increased protection from employment discrimination.  Women’s retirement age is the same as men’s retirement age (60 years of age).  The closest female relatives, who are at least 18 years of age, can report cases of death. o Previously, the responsibility lied on the closest male relative, among others.  Women may claim their own place of residency. o Previously, the place of residency for a woman is where her husband/legal guardian resides.  Women may not be fired for pregnancy. o Previously, women could be fired for exceptions to the law. Those exceptions have been removed.  Women have equal authority to register cases of marriage and divorce. o Previously, the responsibility lied primarily on men.

Here are some links:

11-10-23 S5E4 Ray Hanania Interviews Amer Zahr on Israel propaganda and the war on Gaza won Radio Baladi in Detroit

When it comes to helping Arabs, call me Arab, not MENA, 3-18-23, S5E3

March 18, 2023 S5 E3

Ray Hanania gives an impassioned argument on why the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) category will undermine the effort to provide equal rights to Arab Americans.

State Rep. Cyril Nichols introduced a law in 2022 that would recognize Arabs as an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise category) when it comes to received preferential treatment in the award of 25-30 percent of the state's $100 billion in annual contract awards. MBE status has been given to African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians and Women, to ensure that they can compete for the contract set-aside, with the majority of contracts, more than 70 percent, going to mainstream businesses.

Instead, a group of self-serving Arabs have introduced their own bill in response to the Nichols legislationt o grant MBE status to the MENA category, which is mostly non-Arabs from th Middle East and from North Africa including African Americans who already qualify for MBE status now. That bill was given to newly elected State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, a very good person and legislator who was convinced to sponsor it. MENA is a mistake that will harm Arab Americans.

For ARABS to be helped to overcome the discrimination, bigotry and bias that holds them down the effort must be directed towards helping ARABS. Arabs get NO major contracts from governments today because they are small and have been marginalized by anti-Arab elected officials like former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and anti-Muslim Governor J.B. Pritzker. The MENA catogory will further enslave Arabs to the existing anti-Arab system and even undermine support Arabs have received from African American leaders, who are are closest and most generous natural allies.

By Ray Hanania

Karie Friling the former Director of Development Services and former Asst. Village Manager for Orland Park, Illinois, discusses with host Ray Hanania, the proposed referendum introduced and pushed by Mayor keith Pekau to eliminate the professional Village Manager and Managerial Form of Government.

If passed, the referendum on April 4, 2023 would open the way for Pekau to become a full time mayor with a larger salary.

Friling discusses some of the concerns residents have about changing the system which has been in place since 1983 and helped guide Orland Park through its greatest expansion led by previous mayors.

Radio Baladi Friday December 9, 2022 with Guest Host Ray Hanania WNZK AM 690

State Rep. Cyril Nichols, Democrat from the 32nd District, will join me on Arab American Radio Friday Morning in Detroit at 8 AM Detroit time (7 am Chicago) to discuss the need for Arab Americans and African Americans to work more closely together. He'll also talk about his legislation to grant Arab Americans in Illinois Minority Business Enterprises status to give them access to 30 percent of the state's $40 billion in contracts. The legislation is modeled after legislation adopted in Michigan for Arab Americans.

Rep. Nichols has done more for Arab Americans in Illinois in his first year in office than most other legislators.

If you are not in Detroit you can watch the program stream live on Facebook at Facebook.com/USArabRadio

(7 am Chicago, 8 AM Detroit)

We are broadcasting live on WNZK AM 690 radio and streaming live on the US Arab Radio Network at facebook.com/USArabRadio... check it out and share your comments there

S4 E2, 08-04-22 Thursday

In a live broadcast on Facebook, former Congressman Bill Lipinski and former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania, and producer Brian Broeking, discuss Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, & Biden's recent surge of bill passages.

“Two Guys on Politics” Podcast presents a Reagan Democrat Perspectives from Chicagoland’s Southwest Side and the Midwest.

Liz Gorman vs Sean Morrison in the 17th Cook County District June 28, 2022

Season 4, Episode 1 Ray Hanania on Politics

The heated battle between former Cook County Commissioner and tax fighter Liz Gorman and beleaguered incumbent Sean Morrison in the 17th District is a battle to save the Republican Party in Cook County. Gorman has a proven record fighting for the rights of taxpayers while in his first full term Morrison has done little for the taxpayers. Instead, Morrison has partnered with one of the worst politicians in Illinois history Keith Pekau, the extremist Mayor of Orland Park whose only asset is to turn friends into enemies.

Morrison is a pariah who needs to be removed from office. If he wins the June 28, Republican Primary election, he is certain to loose the seat to a Democrat, eliminating any Republican representation in the 17th District. If Gorman wins the Republican Primary, Gorman can easily keep the County Board seat for Republicans and use it to rebuild the Republican Party that Sean Morrison has abandoned with horrible leadership and a lack of creative ideas.

Morrison has an albatross on his shoulders, his mishandling of the case of his former Senior Vice President Anthony Martin who was convicted of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl. Morrison defended Anthony Martin saying he needed him for his business and werote a letter to the judge in support of leniency and Martin's efforts to get probation. But after Morrison wrote the letter, Martin went on Morrison Security business in Colorado and using a Morrison Security cell phone sexually harrassed another 14-year-old girl, this time who turned out to be an undercover police investigator. Only 19 days after Morrison went for Martin's defense, Martin was arrested and charged.

Two Columns: Congress cares more about Israel than the American People: the war against Christopher Columbus

Season 3, Episode 8, October 13, 2021

Columnist and author Ray Hanania looks at two issues. The first is the battle to pass a $3.5 billion budget to address the needs of the American infrastructure and the social welfare needs of the American people. That bill has been bogged down in bitter internal Democratic and partisan Republican versus Democrat debate. But as it became clear that the package would not be approved as quickly as President Biden had hoped, Biden and the Democrats decided to put the interests of Israel's government ahead of the interests of the American people and removed a part of the stalled budget plan to give Israel $1 billion in American taxpayer money to pay for the "Iron Dome."
Although the Congress could not rally together to pass the important spending plan for the American people, they were able to separate Israel's bills from the bigger bill and vote on it separately. 424 members of Congress voted for that bill to help a foreign country, although they can't come together to help the American people. Nine members of Congress voted against the bill and two others voted present, noting voting for or against it.

It shows you Congress and the Senate care more about the interests of Israel than the interests of the American people.

In the second segment, Ray Hanania talks about the campaign by a minority (not n a racial sense but in a quantitative sense) of fanatic extremists to tear down the statues of Christopher Columbus who discovered America in 1492. The extremists start their hypocritical false narrative of history from that date claiming that Columbus was a racist terrorist who brutalized the indigenous people of North America when he arrived. In truth, they don't talk about the brutality and racism of the so-called indigenous populations that arrived in North America before Columbus and savaged the real indigenous people who were living here, destroying their culture and enslaving their people. 

Among the worst and most brutal Native American tribes that swept in during their invasion and "discovery" of North America were the Comanches who savaged and murdered hundreds of thousands of peaceful people who were living in North America. They enslaved them and stole their lands, only to see those lands taken by the settlers who followed the discover by Columbus.

Other examples that expose the hypocrisy of the anti-Columbus fanatics is the Aztecs.

The difference is that after Columbus, the world's greatest Democracy was formed, America. And in today's America, the remnants of the Native Americans who savaged the plaines long before Columbus arrived have equal rights and benefit from this Democracy that followed in Columbus' wake.

Alderman Lopez says Mayor Lightfoot's failures empower street gangs

Special Column/Podcast Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021

Season 3, Episode 7

15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez in an interview this week told me that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has not only failed to confront street gangs but has empowered them with her rhetoric and failed policies. Coupled with States Attorney Kim Foxx's failed policies, street gangs are emboldened and the Chicago Police have been weakened. Ald. Lopez said that must change.

By Ray Hanania Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez said that Mayor Lori Lightfoot sudden concern to confront street gangs is driven by politics, not by a concern for the or its citizens.

One of several City Council members who have challenged Lightfoot’s failure in confronting street gang violence and the COVID pandemic, Lopez said Monday “anything is possible” when asked if he might run for mayor.

Lopez entered public service in 1996 as a volunteer in the 23rd Ward organization of then Democratic Committeeman and Congressman Bill Lipinski, one of Chicago’s most powerful political organizations and then moved to the 15th Ward where he won office in 2012 at Committeeman and alderman in 2015.

He was not hesitant to criticize Lightfoot accusing her policies of undermining the police noting that during her first two years in office empowered the street gangs which he called “the central issue” facing the city.

Jackie Mason and how he missed the punchline of his life July 26, 2021

Season 3, Episode 6

Ray Hanania looks back at his fight with Jewish Comedian Jackie Mason when Hanania was booked to perform at Zanies Comedy Club in August 2002, nearly one year after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Hanania explains how he turned to comedy as means of helping Americans to better understand Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims and talks about his background. He also discusses how humor is a fundamental talent of great journalists and one of the most powerful forms of effective communications.

Zanies had been working with Hanania through 2001 and 2002 and his comedy performances were getting coverage from major news media including CNN, the Today Show and many regional newspapers. An Arab American performing comedy after Sept. 11, 2001 was a news story.

In July 2002, Zanies informed Hanania that they were going to give him his own show, 9 performances over a six day period. Several weeks before the performance, Zanies owner Rick Uchwat called him to say that Jewish Comedian Jackie Mason needed a place to practice his comedy in preparation for a new Broadway show in late September and October. He asked if Hanania had a problem appearing with Mason, a Jewish comedian. Hanania said of course not. Zanies took 3 of Hanania's shows and made Mason the opening act and Hanania the feature act. When Mason finished the three shows, Hanania would return to be the opening major act for the remaining six shows.

Hanania thought it was big break. But on the opening night on Tuesday, Mason's wife/manager Jyll Rosenfeld called to say that Mason did not want Hanania to open for him because "he is Palestinian."

The performance had been filled with Hanania's friends, family, relatives and even the news media. Linda Moses, the Zanies Manager, called Hanania at home before he left for the show to tell him, only two hours before the opening, that Mason isn't want him to be on the show.

In this audio podcast, Hanania talks about all that the media coverage, Mason's hypocrisy and lies, and why Zanies and the news media sided with Mason, a famous Hollywood comedian and actor rather than with him, a SouthSide Chicago former Vietnam Era Veteran and former City Hall Newspaper reporter.

Support our Police, fight for the Blue Line in Mount Prospect

Season 3, Episode 5

Two Chicago Police officers were attacked by thugs who they pulled over during a routine traffic stop in West Englewood near 63rd and Bell Avenue on Saturday, August 7 at around 9 PM. One of the officers, Ella French, 29, was killed. The other was hospitalized.

Had this been reversed with two minorities shot by police, there would be riots and protests and calls to defund the police. But instead the activists are fighting to defend the criminals and are stepping up their campaign to defund police and weaken police, exposing the majority of citizens who are law abiding to crime.

This week, the radical League of Women Voters -- which claims to be non-partisan but is in fact one of the most partisan political organizations in America, and biased, too -- is helping to organize protests targeting the police in Mount Prospect, Illinois. What are they angry about? They are upset that the police there wear an emblem that supports Police and uses the popular symbol of a "blue line" among the stripes of the American flag. The League of Women Voters asserts the Blue Line is a symbol embraced by White Supremicists, bullying and demonizing law abiding citizens who recognize the Blue line as a symbol of support for the men and women who wear the blue uniform.

The hypocrisy of the Capitol Riot hearings by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Season 3, Episode 4

The protests that turned violent on January 6, 2021 have been turned into a political weapon that is being used to bludgeon critics of the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden. The advocates of the House Select Committee hearings on the so-called riots or the "insurrection" as the Jan. 6 protests are being described by the Democrats and the biased mainstream news media, assert falsely that critics of the hearings are defending the violence.

That's not true of course. Anyone who engages in violence during the Jan. 6 protests at the Capitol should be prosecuted used with evidence and punished appropriately, based on the weight of their crimes.

The real issue however is how the Democrats have closed their eyes to the other riots or insurrection that began on May 25, 2020 when George Floyd was killed by an irresponsible Minneapolis Police officer, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin deserved to be prosecuted but he did not deserve to be sentenced to 22 years in prison, as he was. The killing was unintentional, accidental, not premeditated. But to satiate their political base, the Democrats pushed for the harshest punishment calling anyone who defended Chauvin or criticized the biased, illegal process of the hearings racist.

During the 4 to 6 hours of the Jan. 6 protests, anyone who engaged in violence should be prosecuted.

But the May 25 killing of George Floyd that resulted more than 3 months of violence, looting, arson and even killing, those rioters should be prosecuted fully, too. But they have not been prosecuted fully. In fact, the Democrats who are screaming to Lynch the Jan. 6 "rioters" undermined the police response to the post-Floyd murder protests. Police were ordered in many cities to not get in the way of the rioters or the true insurrectionists who were destroying the fabric of America and posing as a real threat to American Democracy.

Where are the Select Committee hearing son the post George Floyd killing riots and insurrection?

That's the true hypocrisy.

The Jan. 6 protestors who engaged inv ioelcne for four to six hours were Republicans who supported Trump. The May 25 rioters who engaged in violence, looting, vandalism, arson and even killing for more than three full months through the end of August 2020 were Democrats.

Both should be fully investigated or none should be investigated.

Read my column on the topic after listening to this podcast.

Share this podcast and the column to raise awareness of the hypocrisy. We need to speak out against ALL violence, not just the violence that challenges a partisan political party as Nancy Pelosi is now doing. 

The Crisis at the US Postal Service is bringing this country to its knees 7-09-21

Season 3, Episode 3

Opinion Columnist Ray Hanania takes on the topic that so few members of the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Congress and the Biden White House don't want to address, the failure of the US Post Office to do its work, in this episode of Ray Hanania on Politics, July 9, 2021.

Hanania talks about what he has learned from talking to some of the few USPS employees who are still working who complain that many of the USPS employees are at home collecting wages and using the Coronavirus as an excuse to stay home, not work and collect their salaries.

The USPS bureaucracy has failed to provide answers, failed to release documents through FOIA and made every possible excuse to cover up their behavior. The mail is not being delivered. People are complaining about long delays days, weeks and Deven months and the impact is devastating to the public and taxpayers who pay the salaries of these employees who are at home collecting the full wages. The biggest victims are Senior Citizens who rely on snail mail more than any other group. They don't like to use online systems to pay their bills.

And the biggest exploiters of the system are the Banks which charge exorbitant fees to block checks that have been "lost" in the mail. Those letters are not lost. They are sitting in undelivered piles at the US Post Offices around the country because the post office refuses to crack down on the COVID laziness, the COVID excuse. Employees can stay home and collect their money and do nothing thanks to mismanagement from the US Post Office.

What needs to happen is the White House, U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress need to convene investigations immediately into this crisis, and they need to start firing those over paid Post Office executives. Fire them and put new leaders in charge. Promote those few employees who are dedicated and are still working at their jobs and are not using COVID as an excuse. There are many great Postal Workers who deserve praise and they should be put in charge.

The election for Secretary of State: Past races in Orland Park and Palos Township

Ray Hanania on Politics April 23, 2021: 

Season 3, Episode 2

Award winning Political Opinion Columnist and Radio Talk Show Host Ray Hanania looks at the upcoming election battle for Illinois Secretary of State and the recent hotly contested battles in Orland Park and Palos Township in this latest podcast episode.

Alexi Giannoulias, the former Illinois State Treasurer, is leading the field of candidates hoping to succeed popular Secretary of State Jessie White who is retiring. The election is in March 2022 in the Democratic Primary and Giannoulias has already raised nearly $3 million, compared to other candidates that are hoping to win the state's most powerful employee government agency.

That race follows in the wake of the contests in Orland Park where former Mayor Dan McLaughlin came within 300 votes of unseating rightwing fanatic Keith Pekau. And the race in Palos Township where extremist Arab and Muslim activists do what they always do -- drowning out an intelligent and strategic election campaign with yelling, screaming, anger, hatred and protests. The fanatics were fueled in their hatred by words posted by former Palos Township Trustee Sharon Brannigan, who apologized for singled out Arabs and Middle Easterners in her political posts. Brannigan lost her bid to become Palos Township Assessor but not because of the extremists, but rather because the Democrats and Republicans backed Robert Maloney over Brannigan. How badly did the extremists do -- most of whom didn't even live in Palos Township? Well, they backed a decent candidate Marvate Mohammad to run for trustee.Not againstBrannigan but to block the election of moderate and smart candidate Tasneem Abuzir. Abuzir won election and became the first Arab Muslim Palos Township official. But she could have been more except that the extremists divided the Arab and Muslim vote.

01-07-21 Media hypocrisy on the DC protestors vs the BLM protestors

Season 3, Episode 1

Ray Hanania on Politics.

Award winning veteran political columnist and former Chicago City Hall Reporter Ray Hanania analysis the real problem with the DC Protests, the hypocrisy of the mainstream American news media. Hanania argues that the media treated the singled day of protests by pro-Trump activists in Washington D.C. differently from the two month long protests of Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists. Members of both groups engaged in violence but the media blanket stereotyped the DC protestors as all being "terrorists and rioters" to use the words of media hypocrite Anderson Cooper while separating the BLM Protestors into legitimate protests and a small group of aberrant protestors who turned to violence. They turned the one-day Washington DC protest into a riot because some -- not all -- engaged in violence. But in the case of BLM protests that followed the wrongful killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis that lasted more than two months, the separated the violence from the protests, and minimized the violence. The media did that because of politics. The biased media applied their political sense to both issues and emphasized the BLM protests in a positive way and emphasized the DC protests in a negative way. The hypocritical media made this about Trump versus Biden but the reality is it also involves their own partisan and unethical lack of journalism professionalism.

Analysis of the 2nd Trump-Biden Debate 10-22-20 S2 E9

Season 2, Episode 9

Who won the 2nd Debate, President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden

Factors in the Trump-Biden election battle for President

Oct. 15, 2020 Season 2, Episode 8 

Award winning Chicagoland political writer and former Chicago City Hall reporter and columnist addresses the facts that drive regional politics and elections in Chicagoland and the United States in this mainstream podcast, “Ray Hanania on Politics.”

In this episode, Ray Hanania speaks to the factors that have shifted in the battle for president between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and he offers a careful analysis of the battleground states where the election for president will be decided. He talks about the fallacy of the polling and why measuring popular vote doesn’t work, and why the electoral college remains the best way to ensure that all Americans no matter when they live will have an equal voice in selecting a president. Hanania walks listeners through the key Battleground states in the upcoming November 3, 2020 General Election.

The assault of John Kass and the hypocrisy of the Left

July 29, 2020, Season 2, Episode 7

I did not know that George Soros, the billionaire who uses his money to influence American politics from the left, is Jewish.

Apparently, accusing George Soros of manipulating politics is "anti-Semitic" according to the far left which is attacking Columnist John Kass whose column is being moved under the guise of a reformatting of the newspaper from its Page 2 prominence to deep inside the paper with other columnists.

I don't read the other columnists. I read @JohnKass but I am not shocked that the only way to smear Kass because of his strong conservative opinions is to call him "anti-Semitic" ... they can't argue the facts so smear him personally to silence him and shame him and put his career on ugly notice.

I've known John Kass since he first stepped foot in the City Hall press room back in the Jane Byrne years, and accusing him of being "anti-Semitic" is a transparent cheap-shot intended to demonize him and silence his conservative voice ...

Shame of the Chicago Tribune, shame on his critics who can't argue the facts and have to assault a GREAT WRITER by slamming him with an unjustified and vile smear, shame on the journalists who have to resort to name-calling to counter his powerful voice.

Three weeks of the Corona Virus Stay at Home order and I'm already climbing walls

S2 Ep6 April 27, 2020

The Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic has put a lot of pressures on relationships. News reports show that domestic violence is increasing as are tensions in homes between husbands and wives who normally have great relationships.

Audio of the April 6 Orland Park Village Board meeting that appeared to be edited

S2 Ep5 Thursday April 9, 2020

(UPDATE -- The Village of Orland Park has restored the files since the column, podcast and FOIA were published and they claimed the file was not edited or deleted or replaced by the village.)

On Monday, April 6, 2020, the Orland Park Village Board held a Committee of the Whole meeting that began at 6:30 pm to review a proposal by Trustee Dan Calandriello urging the village administration to help local businesses that were suffering because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting lasted about 18 minutes, and was followed by the Village Board meeting at 7 PM.

Both meetings were conducted by teleconference, per the direction of Gov. Pritzker and both meetings were recorded by the Village of Orland Park as per the requirements of State Law.

The full unedited Audio files were placed on the Village website Tuesday morning. 

I wrote a column on Monday night criticizing Mayor Pekau for his harsh, personal and vicious attacks he made during the meeting against Calandriello. I also challenged his inept handling of the meeting which violated the fundamental basics of Roberts Rules of Order, something he did on purpose to prevent Calandriello from responding to his vicious personal attacks.

The politics of viruses Trump vs Obama

March 15, 2020, Season 2 Episode 4

Syndicated political columnist Ray Hanania examines the political hypocrisy and partisan manner in which the news media is reporting not he Coronavirus or COVID-19 virus and how they are treating President Trump differently from how they treated President Obama.

Although President Trump responded to the Coronavirus faster than President Obama responded to the Swine Flu (H1N1) virus, the media is slamming Trump not because he is not doing what needs to be done but because the mainstream news media is willing to severaly damage America so that they can blame that damage on President Trump. Politicians are being partisan attacking Trump while having been hypocrites on Obama who waited until nearly 200,000 Americans died from the Swine Flu before declaring a national emergency nearly seven months after the Swine Flu hit American shores.

Special Edition of The Arab street Radio/Ray Hanania on Politics podcast and radio show. Feb. 14, 2020, broadcast on WNZK AM 690 live radio in Detroit.

Sarah Gad is running in the 1st District against Bobby Rush, who has the worst absenteeism rate of any of the 435 members of congress

She has this compelling story of how she was hit by a DUI in 2011, seriously injured and put into an induced coma for two weeks, comes out of it with serious injuries, and given pain medication to deal with it all and then becomes seriously addicted to it … and turns her life around to help others fight pain medication addiction and those charged with minor crimes.

Gad was released from the hospital and medical treatment with no post-pain addiction treatment and she quickly gets hooked on her pain meds, leading her to be arrested.

The 1st time she is arrested, she is locked up in the Cook County jail with violent offenders for 27 days because the non-violent area is overcrowded … where she is raped, assaulted, stabbed and beaten after she complains to the jail about being sexually harassed -- the guards shared that with the prisoners and sh was punished as a "snitch" ... the case is dismissed but now her problems are even worse …

She gets arrested 2 more times, is convicted of a non-violent drug use offense  … spends 5 days in jail, probation, violates probation by testing positive for painkillers and then overdoses when she is released …

That overdose is what puts her into contact with breaking there addiction …

She then becomes an activist to help others ... goes to DC to raise awareness attending committee hearings as a speaker but discovers Bobby Rush, a sponsor of some of the hearings,  is nowhere to be seen — he has the worst absenteeism rate of any congress member —  and then she decides to run for office …

Her activism is big in the African American community side of the district (51 percent black 49 percent white — Chicago to Orland Park) ...

She is an Egyptian American and Muslim, 33, was a med student before being hit by a DUI and suffering terrible injuries, but is now in law school 3rd year …

Kim "The Fixx" Foxx, Jussie Smollett and the March 17 Democratic Primary

Seasons 2 Episode 2, February 13, 2020

State Dept official details expanded Sanctions against Iran S2E1

Season 2, Episode 1

President Trump’s Senior Policy Advisor and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook offered details Friday on the expanded sanctions on Iran announced by the White House that target eight senior Iranian leaders as well as Iran’s metals industry which he said is funding Iran’s foreign policies.

The sanctions were announced earlier by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin but Hook provided more details explaining the expanded sanctions will include Iran’s construction, manufacturing, textiles and mining industries. He said they will also target 22 Iranian organizations and three shipping vessels operating in the iron, steel, aluminum and copper sectors of Iran.

Hook named one of the eight newly sanctioned Iranian leaders as Iranian Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the commander of the “besieged” Qassem Suleimani.

I this podcast I talk about the details Hook offered about Iran's use of terrorism and also the terrorism crimes of Iran's General Qassem Suleimani who was killed by a US Drone attack ordered by President Trump on Jan. 3, 2020. I also discuss th hypocrisies involved in th eU.S. position historically, our support of Iran when it was run by the terrorist leader the Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi, and then how we changed after the Shah was over thrown, similarly our support of Saddam Hussein in the 1980s when we provided him with weaponry and chemical weapons to fight Iran after the Shah took over, and then when the war ended because the Soviets engaged with Iran, how we turned on Iraq and Saddam Hussein describing him, but not our actions, as a terrorist and lying to the American public that he was engaged in seeking Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD, sending thousands of American soldiers into an illegal and unjustified war of atrocities and war crimes that we today defend out of a false sense of patriotism.

Also, I talk about the hypocrisy of how the U.S. is silent on Israel's massive nuclear weapons arsenal, the heroism of Mordechai Vanunu in exposing Israel's nuclear weapons of mass destruction, while we speak out forcefully about stopping Iran from building a nuclear arsenal as if the two countries are different ... Israel is involved in war crimes against Christian and Muslim Arabs and the U.S. does nothing about it, but we use that hypocrisy as a foundation for our policies against Iran. It makes us look like, well, hypocrites, which we are.

This podcast is 15 minutes, 31 seconds long.

Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson let the people down

Season 1 Episode 21, Dec. 3, 2019

The "Ray Hanania on Politics" podcast

Eddie Johnson was fired Monday (Dec. 2, 2019) by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot said Johnson misled her, and also misled the people of Chicago. I give Lightfoot credit for doing the right thing because Eddie Johnson did mislead the people of Chicagoland, setting a poor example that goes against everything that we expect from someone who serves to protect the public.

Johnson has not been truthful about what happened to him on Oct. 16, 2019 and the early morning hours of Oct. 17, 2019 when police found him slumped over the wheel of his Black SUV. Whose SUV was it anyway, by the way. Why was he slumped over? I don't think the public has ever received an honest explanation from Police Supt. Johnson. He could have given us one, but he did not.

Instead, Johnson released a statement after Lightfoot fired him citing the inconsistencies in what he told her and the public, arguing that he should not be judged for the one incident in his long 30-plus year career as a police officer. I say that since we never received a full honest accounting of what happened -- and what happened to him is very important, that it does matter and he should be judged by that one incident. How do we know he did not use clout to protect himself in past incidents that may or may not have happened? Can we trust him to be honest when he was not honest at this crucial moment as a leader and role model for justice in our region.

Here's my podcast opinion about this mess that Johnson just doesn't want to explain the.way he should explain it. And the idea that he should not be judged by this one incident in the wake of his long and distinguished career raises the issue of how we should judge others. Should criminals, gang bangers, street gang thugs and drug dealers not be judged by the moment that they get in trouble? Is that a defense that can be made before a judge?

The racism of Michelle Obama and White Flight

Oct. 31, 2019. Season 1, Episode 20

Former First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the issue of White Flight recently during remarks at the 3rd annual Obama Foundation Summit in which she castigated White People for the phenomena of White Flight.

But the reality is that African Americans were just as responsible for the White Flight that took place in Chicago in 1969. I lived in the community, South Shore Valley, also called Calumet Heights during that White Flight. And it wasn't as simplistic as Michelle Obama tried to make it, claiming it was the result of White Racism.

White Flight was prompted by greedy realtors who use fear and fear mongering to frighten White homeowners into selling their homes fast and cheap, to run, so the realtor makes a fast and quick commission from the sale. They brought in African American families that aggravated community stereotypes and concerns, including one family on our block that had a handicapped daughter who walked up and down the street after renting their home through the realtor, yelling and screaming irrationally, It was a sad and tragic sight to see, but it fueled community fears about African Americans.

Within six months, more than 85 percent of the homes sold, purchased by African Americans who had no problem buying the "White Flight" homes at cheap discounts caused by fear. They didn't complain. I don't know if Michelle Obama's family was one of them but the fact that she never addressed the full aspect of the White Flight phenomena is disconcerting.

Worse is that Michelle Obama is willing to stereotype and entire race of people, "White people," and blame them for th racism that was a part of the White Flight that she showcased as a symbol of racism.

I wrote a book about the White Flight experience called "Midnight Flight" -- because in many cases, families were ashamed of fleeing and seeking their homes and they moved out in the middle of the night. You can read that free online book online by visiting www.SuburbanChicagoland.com. Go to the menu, select LIBRARY, then MIDNIGHT FLIGHT BOOK and then start with the INTRODUCTION Chapter.

Click this link to SUBSCRIBE FREE to Ray Hanania's mainstream Columns and Podcasts:

The problems with "Made in China" and Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Season 1, Episode 19 Sept. 16, 2019

Veteran Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist Ray Hanania talks about why Americans need to push back against the increasing influence of China in America's economy. And, he also discusses the failings of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in this double segment that explores to of his most recent newspaper columns.

Massacres in America; Great Moments; and Symbols of Racism

August 6, 2019 Season 1, Episode 18

Back from vacation Ray Hanania takes on three important topics.

The first is how the mainstream news media ignores the massacres that take place every week in Chicago. This past weekend, though, the media focused on massacres on Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, pretty much ignoring the ongoing massacres in Chicago. Why? It's politics. The news media doesn't want to make the Chicago massacres politics -- they take place every week and you would have to blame it on the failure of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a leftist (Gay, Black, Woman) and they won't do anything to criticize her. But the massacres Dayton, El Paso are perfect fore their political agenda, blaming it all on President Trump.

Second issue is the issue of why American isn't Great any more. Not in the Trump rhetoric, but in the context of a lifetime of great vivid memories. I remember the JFK assassination as if it happened yesterday. The day we got our first Color TV ... the Challenger explosion, and the death of Princess Di. And there was 50 years ago Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the Moon. I remember all that vividly. But in recent years, it's been boredom. We haven't achieved anything. We had a greater spirit of achievement when I was growing up, one we no longer have. And I ask why? Why is One World Trade Center, the spectacular building we built in the place of the rumble of the terrorism attack not he World Trade Center, only the 7th Tallest building in the World behind the Burk Khalifa, which I visited personally last month?

The third issue is the issue of race and symbols of racial conflict and topics. We're tearing down Civil War statues now that stood as historical markers not as foundations for continued racism -- the slavery era. And yet in 1986 when I was at City Hall, no one wanted to tear down a symbol of racism that was portrayed by the Chicago City Seal. 

I talk about it all.

Another battle in the 3rd Congressional District: Lipinski, Newman, Darwish

Season 1, Episode 17, June 17, 2019

Award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter, and syndicated political columnist Ray Hanania offers a preview of the upcoming battle brewing in the 3rd Congressional District, a seat held by Congressman Dan Lipinski since 2005 when he was appointed to the seat by his father, Bill Lipinski a former Chicago alderman from the powerful 23rd Ward in Chicago who held the congressional seat for over 20 years.

Lipinski was challenged in the March 20, 2018 Democratic Primary election by Marie Newman, a southwest sider familiar with the district and Lipinski almost lost during the Presidential backlash that always follows the election of a new president (the opposition party usually takes the Congress in the 2nd year of a new president term. In this case, Democrats swept the country in the wake of Republican President Donald Trump's election.) Newman almost beat Lipinski coming within 1,600 votes of unseating him. The Democratic Primary IS the election. Whomever wins the Democratic Primary election will easily win the November General Election as the 3rd Congressional District is a hard core Democratic district that cannot be won by a Republican.

In the upcoming election, Lipinski will again be challenged by Newman, but there is a curve ball, the candidacy of Rush Darwish, a smart community activist who hails from the moderate wing of the Arab American community. The 3rd Congressional District has one of the largest Palestinian constituencies in the country. In 2018, many of the Palestinians back Newman, a liberal. But her only problem was the influence of the far left extremists who undermined support she could have received. Lipinski had abandoned Palestinian voters for years. But the near defeat forced him to recognize that they can be a factor in the election outcome. Arab American voters helped Newman come within striking distance.

Lipinski is a Reagan Democrat and the district is majority conservative Democrat. With Darwish in the race, Newman cannot win and almost certainly Lipinski will win a re-election bid.

Ray Hanania looks at some of the factors involved int his podcast preview of this important congressional election contest.

JB Pritzker's Massive assault on Illinois taxpayers

June 4, 2019 Season 1, Episode 16

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has launched what appears to be a successful and massive assault on the taxpayers of Illinois. And Illinois taxpayers are doing nothing about it. We're just rolling over.

Maybe Illinois taxpayers are tired of complaining or fighting against tax increases and seeing nothing happen. Politicians increase taxes to cover the benefits that they give themselves, and to cover the massive pension hikes they give themselves, their relatives, their cronies ands their contributors.

But there is a psychology to all this and I think it has to do with the fact that JB Pritzker is using initials for his name that actually are not accurate. Governor's Pritzker's name is Jay Robert Pritzker ... and his initials should be JR, not JB which would stand up for Jay Bob.

Games of Thrones comes to an end

May 20, 2019. Series 1, Episode 15

The popular HBO Series Game of Thrones came to a pretty lame ending if you ask me on Sunday May 19, 2019.

But what? Are we going to jump out of windows now? No. We soldier on like good Lannisters and Starks ... not so much the Targaryens or the UnSullied. But we live on.

Here's a quick look at how Game of Thrones can be applied to Chicago and Illinois politics, and probably to politics in your city or state, too.

Plus a recap of what the series was really all about.

Now that it is over, we don't want anyone jumping out of windows.

Gov. Pritzker disrespects Lt. Gov. Stratton by creating Deputy Governor Spots 

Season 1 Episode 14

05-18-19 Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker disrespect Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton by creating the "Deputy Governor" posts to undermine his pronise to give her a strong voice

This episode of Ray Hanania on Politics looks at the stumbling policies of Illinois Gov, J.B. Pritzker in undermining the powers promised to Juliana Stratton, an African American woman who he said would paly a significant role in his administration.

That's not the case of course. After Pritzker was elected, he named three men to be "Deputy Governors" and only weeks later named a woman to be Deputy Governor because tagging all men with such a powerful post didn't look good at all.

But the real problem is that these Deputy Governors are actually doing the work that Pritzker promised Stratton would do. Was she just window dressing to appease Black voters Governor?

That's how it looks.

Ray Hanania on Politics is a podcast hosted by former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania. Hanania is a columnist with the Southwest News Newspaper group that includes the Des Plaineas Valley News, the Regional Newspaper, the Southwest News-Herald, and the Reporter Newspapwers, four newspapers that are a part of a lorger chain of community papers covering the Southwest and West suburbs and side of Chicago.

Game of Thrones has been a "Thrilling Disappointment"

May 9, 2019 Season 1, Episode 13

I have been watching Game of Thrones on HBO for more than 8 years. This is Season 8 and there are only 2 episodes left as it comes to a crashing end.

I love the series so much I would watch any level of quality and I have an excitement about this final season that is unmatched with many other season finales. But despite my thrill, the fact is the producers and writers of this last season 8 of Game of Thrones have really been disappointing.

They just haven't made it what it could have been, a spectacular ending. They didn't put the real effort into it. It is almost as if they just shrugged their shoulders and said ok let's end it. They are ending it but not at the level it could be ended at. This final season could have been the most spectacular ending ever for any series but it has been a level of disappointment. It's far less than it can be.

I discuss some aspects of why I feel that way and I hope you enjoy this.

The Hate Show with Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert

May 9, 2019 Season 1, Episode 12

It used to be that after working real hard to take care of our families, we could come home at night and relax in front of the TV set and watch Late Night talk show hosts entertain us with humor and fun. We had Johnny Carson and the Jay Leno and David Lettermen. They were phenomenal.

But today, all that talent is gone from late night television. It has been replaced by vicious, politically-driven, selfish hatred against President Donald Trump Late night talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert spew some of the most obnoxious and vicious garbage that is pawned off as humor but it's just ugly hate. It's not even funny. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert should be called The Hate Show with Stephen Colbert.

Now President Trump is like anypresident. There is some good and there is some bad. Sure he should be criticized but criticized with the intent of being constructive, fair and funny. Instead, Kimmel and Colbert are engaged in a vicious assault that is dragging this country down. But worse, their unfunny hate is actually helping to empower President Trump and their late night hate shows are going to guarantee that Trump will be re-elected in 2020.

Gov. Pritzker's "Fair Tax" isn't Fair at all

Monday May 6, 2019 

Season 1 Episode 11

This is the Ray Hanania on Politcs podcast hosted by former CHicago City Hall Reporter and award-winning columnist Ray Hanania.

In this podcast we look at the hypocrisy of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "fair tax" which isn't really fair at all. The swicth he is proposing from the Flat Tax to a graduated income tax is intended to agive him the ability to target tax income segments of our society like the Middle East class with tax hikes down the road, something he can't do now under the Flat Tax because it would impact everyone.

In addition to the change in the Flat Tax, Pritzker is also proposing a massive hike in the state gasoline tax. He’s planning a whopping 7 cent tax on plastic bags used in retail stores (whether you use a plastic bag or not). He’s going to tax streaming movie services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video. He’s planning “sin tax” hikes on cigarettes and sports betting. 

Worse, Pritzker wants to tax all financial transactions – which impacts your banking fees, stocks and retirement savings.

Ray Hanania on Politics analyzes the media bias in the coverage of the release of the Report on Alleged Collusion with Russian by Donald Trump prior to and after his election as President. The Mueller Report was completed after a staggering 22-month long investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that resulted in a finding that there is no evidence to support the allegations that have been made against the President.

Podcast host Ray Hanania discusses the real problem and how national mainstream American news media bias is empowering President Trump and ensuring his re-election in 2020.

S1 Ep9: How Uber and Lift are destroying an immigrant driven industry

This is the Ray Hanania Podcasta weekly overview of all my opinion columns, my radio interviews, and my reports on Middle East topics and on Mainstream American politics. 

This episode of Ray Hanania on Politics looks at impact that Uber and Lyft are having on the Taxi Cab industry. The Taxi Cab industry is an immigrant driven industry and for the life of me, I don’t understand why the liberals who claim to care about immigrants are not standing up to defend the rights of the taxi can drivers who are being decimated and pushed out of business into homelessness by Uber and Lyft.

Taxi cabs are a heavily regulated industry. It costs a major investment to drive a cab or start your own company. The medallion was a huge investment at one time and was like a stock rising in value from $30,000 to $700,000 or more in recent years. But the rise of Uber and Lyft have pulled the rug out from the Taxi cab industry and medallion costs have fallen dramatically. Owners have lost fortunes invested in hard work and money over the past 30 to 40 years.

The real concern though is safety, the lack of adequate insurance. A Taxi Cab driver has thousands of dollars in insurance on their car. The Uber and Lyft drivers have cheap insurance. Who monitors them?

We need to do something. Maybe require Uber and Lyft drivers to purchase a medallion the same way we forced taxi cab drivers to buy medallions. Put them through rigorous background checks.

My mainstream columns are published at SuburbanChicagoland.com and in seven newspapers in the Southwest region of Chicagoland including The Regional News, The Reporter, the Des Plaines Valley News, and the Southwest News-Herald.

My Middle East columns are published in the Arab News Newspaper, the Middle East Monitor online, and the Arab Daily News online.