Free Speech in Montgomery

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, cancel culture, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

Statement to Montgomery Township Committee
100 Community Dr
Skillman, New Jersey
February 5, 2026

Revised for presentation (to better fit the 3-minute time limit), February 5, 2026

On January 7th, Sadaf Jaffer, the former mayor of Montgomery and former head of its Democratic Organization, made public something that this Committee has known for a year. About a year ago, she said, Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan demanded her resignation from the Democratic Organization because Montgomery Township was being denied state and county funds in retaliation for, her, Jaffer’s, criticisms of US and Israeli policy in Palestine. I have an audio file of Mr Barragan’s making this demand.
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Character, Complicity, and the Epstein Files

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under cancel culture, character based voting, Neutrality and Complicity

Monsters rule your world
Are you too scared to understand?
–Motorhead, “The Brotherhood of Man”

The first thing I have to say about the Epstein Files is that at this point, nobody can tell me that character-based voting is a politically-irrelevant fringe idea, and that my banging on about it for the last decade has been a waste of breath. A person’s sheer presence in the Epstein Files is not by itself evidence of guilt, but when the files do furnish evidence of guilt, it’s obvious that the guilt in question is politically relevant whether or not it’s policy relevant. Imagine that we resurrected a version of Jeffrey Epstein whose policy views aligned with yours, and who was running for office. Would you vote for him? Would Jason Brennan?

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Political Speech Threatened

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, cancel culture, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

From the February edition. Click the right side thumbnail to enlarge it.

Hell Is for Children

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under Palestine

This is a few months after the Israelis ambushed the kid while playing soccer in the street, shot him for fun, and left him for dead. He barely survived. He’s 10.

“But surely he must have done something to provoke that response…?” He did. He existed.

I Have a Dream

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under slices of life

I dreamt last night that an army of vampiric clowns rose up to attack human society, but were met with overwhelming resistance, were stomped to death, and were eventually annihilated. Really not making that up.

Regulating Speech at Princeton’s Kiosks

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, cancel culture, migrant defense, moralism, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

This is the statement I gave tonight on the issue of the kiosks at Princeton Council:

I’m here to speak about the replacement of the kiosks on Nassau St with electronic versions. I should say that I was unconvinced by the Council’s arguments for replacing the kiosks, and remain unconvinced, but my comment tonight is more query than statement.

In the debate over the kiosks back in 2024, Councilwoman Sacks was quoted in The Princeton Patch as saying: Continue reading →

Montgomery Township’s Speech Subversion Scheme

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, cancel culture, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

This is a letter to the editor of The Montgomery News–a monthly newspaper published in Montgomery, New Jersey–regarding the case of Sadaf Jaffer that was mentioned here a week ago. If printed, the letter will appear in the February issue. Ms Jaffer’s comment appears at minute 16:30 of this video.

Dear Editor:

I’m writing to draw attention to comments made at the January 7 meeting of the Montgomery Township Committee by former mayor Sadaf Jaffer, also the former chair of Montgomery’s Democratic Organization. Continue reading →

Flat World Meets Flat Mind

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under migrant defense, Palestine

The word “Minneapolis” is a hybrid of Minnesota and Nablus (“Neapolis”). The Minnesota were an indigenous tribe wiped out by the West, itself inspired by Rome, and Nablus is a Roman city in the Middle Eastern colony the Romans starved, ethnically cleansed, conquered, settled, and ruled. The connection you’re looking for, Tom, is called “imperialism.” If you seek its monument, look around. But start by opening your eyes.

Welcome to the Occupation

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under migrant defense, MTSP Discussion: Fuller's Morality of Law, MTSP Discussion: H.L.A. Hart's Concept of Law, Palestine, pedagogy

A Facebook memory from September 2017. I neglected to mention that I got the title and general inspiration from Russell Means’s 1992 lecture, “Welcome to the Reservation.” Unfortunately, both messages have aged well. Here’s The Intercept piece that provided the occasion for the post.

Localize the Intifada

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, migrant defense

The Use of Lethal Force in Self-Defense Against Federal Law Enforcement

I’m gratified to see that there’s been some explicit discussion in the last few weeks of a neglected topic that I mentioned in my post on Renee Good: do residents of the United States (citizens or otherwise) have a moral or legal right (however narrow, contextual, or limited) to use lethal force against federal law enforcement officers when those officers initiate force that endangers the life or limb of an innocent party? The answer is yes on both counts. Just to be explicit: residents unquestionably have a right to kill federal law enforcement officers under certain conditions. The relevant question is not whether there is such a right, but the exact conditions under which it can legitimately be exercised.