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Edited on Tue Jan-24-06 05:29 PM by NanceGreggs
... and take a lot of cabs. So I've gotten to know many of the drivers in the area.
One of my regular cabbies is a Muslim, originally from Egypt. He is married and has two small children, and he and his wife have made several trips 'back home' to show off the babies to their grandparents.
We were talking a while back about how difficult it is to make that flight with two children, and asked why he doesn't fly a direct flight instead of having lengthy lay-overs. (All-told, they're travelling for about twenty-four hours).
He said the only direct flights are from US airports, and he is TERRIFIED to fly into or out of a US airport. He and his wife are both Canadian citizens now, as are their children. They have never been politically active, here or at home; they are very quiet, law-abiding people -- and yet, they are TERRIFIED of even stepping foot in my country, for fear of being arrested on some false charge because of their Muslim names, fear of something happening to their children.
The United States of America, Cradle of Freedom, Beacon of Democracy ... and, under G.W. Bush, a place people are TERRIFIED of, both inside the country and without.
Heck of a job, Bushie!
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