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
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.
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.
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.
Third Statement to Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners
75 Bayard St
New Brunswick, New Jersey
January 15, 2026
My name is Irfan Khawaja. I live in Princeton but work in Iselin. This is my third statement here on the matter of what was previously called the Immigrant Trust Act. As everyone knows, we’re in the home stretch toward passage of a version of the Act, but not there yet. To that end, I want to address some issues raised by the last meeting on that topic back on December 18. Continue reading
All three bills of the Immigrant Protection Package (previously the Immigrant Trust Act) have passed both houses of the New Jersey State Legislature, and now await the signature of the governor, which it’s presumed he’ll give (here’s Politico, New Jersey Monitor). In addition, adoption of the so-called IHRA definition of anti-Semitism has been thwarted, meaning that the bill to codify the definition did not advance to a vote. Continue reading
Since I last wrote on the subject, New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) has been divided into three separate bills, has gotten through a series of committee hearings, and is up for vote in the state legislature on Monday. It’s been sixteen solid months of efforts by a cohort of smart, tough, and dedicated activists. Win or lose, I’m proud to have played a bit part in this effort, and at this point can only urge New Jersey residents to call or text their legislators for the final push (see contact information below). Continue reading
Having spent time under the Israeli occupation, where killings of the sort we saw in Minneapolis are a commonplace, I have just a few simple observations to offer about the killing of Renee Good. The first is that we should re-assert the obvious: that all human beings have an inalienable right of self-defense, including lethal self-defense, against initiatory assaults on their person that threaten life or limb. This entails that every person in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, has the inalienable and indeed legal right to use lethal force against ICE agents who engage in initiatory assaults that threaten life or limb.
Continue readingPolitics and the Problematics of Fun
I started my “Stirring the POT” series earlier this year as a vehicle for announcements, but it gradually morphed into a series of ruminations on conferences I attended. The latter turned out to be the more interesting enterprise, so I’ll close out the year with a belated conference rumination. This past April, I went to San Francisco, at the invitation of Roderick Long and the Molinari Society, to be on an Author-Meets-Critics panel on Gary Chartier’s Christianity and the Nation State. It promised to be a good time, and it was. Continue reading
I’ve been pleased to see that my blog posts here have generated a bit of press coverage in favor of an Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) resolution in West Orange. This piece, in the November 20 issue of TapInto West Orange, covered my initial statement to West Orange Town Council. This one, in the December 23 issue of The West Orange Dispatch, essentially brings things up to date. Continue reading
Policy of Truth 