Institutional Neutrality and the Problem of the Faculty Administrator

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement

When I taught philosophy at Felician University (2008-2020), I was first Assistant and then Associate Professor of Philosophy, but I was also Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Coordinator of the Pre-Law Program, and Director of the Felician Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs. The first two were specifically academic titles, the last three administrative or quasi-administrative ones.

When George Abaunza, a professor of philosophy, became the Dean of Arts and Sciences, he insisted on retaining a 1:0 teaching load in philosophy, “just to keep his hand in the teaching game.” That request was granted, so he was, during his tenure as Dean, both an administrator and a member of the faculty. He also led the University’s General Education overhaul, which led to the complete overhaul of the Gen Ed curriculum as well as the University’s curriculum as such–just one of several quasi-administrative positions he held. Continue reading →

Iran as a “War of Choice”

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, War with Iran

Wherever you go, you’ll find imperialist wars described, particularly by their self-styled liberal opponents, as “wars of choice.” Having described a given war as a “war of choice,” the critic will then go on to criticize it as ill-conceived and ill-executed while conceding the underlying reason for going to war. The unspoken implication is that the same war, conceived and executed more competently, would have been perfectly justified. It’s just that this particular iteration is not. Continue reading →

The Carlson-Huckabee Interview (1)

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under Palestine

There are many things to be said about Tucker Carlson’s remarkable interview with Mike Huckabee, too many to say all at once. So I’m going to take my time to say them, and say them in bite-sized portions.

There’s a distinction in ancient Greek philosophy that’s useful here, between virtue and skill. A virtue is a specifically moral disposition to thought and action, like honesty or justice. A skill is a pragmatically useful but morally neutral sort of know-how, like knowing how to play the guitar or ride a bike or swim. The possession of a skill is not the possession of virtue, and virtues in turn aren’t reducible to the possession of a skill or sets of skills. They’re just categorially different things. That said, both virtues and skills are objects of praise, just not the same kind of praise. They’re both achievements, just achievements of different kinds. Continue reading →

Iran and the Perpetuity of Empire

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, War with Iran

The Intercept reports that Trump is menacing Iran with a massive armada capable of prolonged war. The Times of Israel is talking about a “countdown” to war. The Washington Post reports that satellite imagery shows a rapid increase of US military planes near Iran. Responsible Statecraft’s lead story concerns the inadequacy of airpower to achieve Trump’s stated goals in Iran: ground troops would be required. The Guardian’s top five stories concern the imminence of a US attack on Iran, same with Reuters. The Financial Times has a top story on the imminent Iran war as a crisis of Trump’s own making. Continue reading →

When Self-Defense Is “Terror”

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, War with Iran

A recent article in The New York Times by its so-called “national security correspondent” is an indication of how incompetent mainstream journalists are, and how unreflectively eager they are to do the bidding of the national security establishment they supposedly cover. The article is “Iran Could Direct Proxies to Attack U.S. Targets Abroad, Officials Warn,” by Eric Schmitt. Nothing in it is newsworthy or news. All of the work in it is done by its brainless and tendentious reliance on the term “terrorism.” Continue reading →

Jesse Jackson, RIP

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, Memorials and Obituaries

I missed the opportunity to say something about the passing of Jesse Jackson, who died last week at the age of 84. Jackson was a childhood hero of mine, and my point of entry into politics. I was fifteen when he gave his famous speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, was electrified by it, and went on to become a card-carrying member of the Rainbow Coalition. Continue reading →

Jim Crow for the 21st Century

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism

The Politics of Affordable Housing in New Jersey

As you read the feel-good love-fest linked to this post (whose warm fuzzies I don’t begrudge anyone, least of all myself), bear in mind that over the last few weeks, twenty people have died of exposure in New York City, and twenty in New Jersey. Though it’s difficult to count, there are by some estimates 13,748 people experiencing homelessness in New Jersey right now, an increase of some 57% since 2022. The homeless have become a recognizable presence not just in larger cities, like New Brunswick, where they’re mostly taken for granted, but in affluent towns like Princeton, where many ride mass transit all day to keep out of the cold.

Continue reading →

The West Orange Anti-Semitism Task Force (2)

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Irfan Khawaja under activism, Neutrality and Complicity, Palestine

Second Statement to West Orange Town Council on its Proposed Anti-Semitism Task Force
66 Main St
West Orange, New Jersey
February 10, 2026

Last time I was here, I criticized a proposal for an anti-Semitism task force. In response, some speakers suggested that I was being insensitive to the dangers faced by Jews in West Orange. I don’t agree, so I’m going to respond. Continue reading →

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.
Continue reading →

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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