“You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think”

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has apparently banned two Democratic U.S. congresswomen, Ilhan Omar (left) and Rashida Tlaib (right), from visiting the country and the Palestinian territories this weekend, after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged “Bibi” to deny visa to the two progressive congresswomen — in fact the only two Muslim women in Congress — for their (supposed) pro-Palestinian tendencies. Israel’s decision to block visit was condemned almost unanimously by U.S. Congress as unjust and inopportune. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA.

Mandela Day

Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whose safety is constantly at risk because of the racist “calls” of the President’s most extreme supporters, chose a symbolic day — today’s 2019 Nelson Mandela International Day — to vindicate her right to be free from ethnicity-based discrimination in Donald Trump’s America.

Dangerously Equal

The House’s lawmakers voted to officially condemn President Donald Trump’s remarks on the four Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar (right), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (centre), Rashida Tlaib (left), and Ayanna Pressley, with four Republicans joining Democrats. The resolution states the House of Representatives “strongly condemns” Trump’s “racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color”. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.

The Four Seasons

From left to right: Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley just spoke at a press conference about President Donald Trump and his harsh remarks against not directly named “‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen” — widely interpreted as a reference to them — who have been asked to “go back” to their “corrupt” and “broken and crime infested” countries. “The President can’t defend his policies so what he does is attack us personally”, Ocasio-Cortez said, while Pressley warned the American public to “not take the bait”, because the systematic distraction of the people from the real issues is the only aim of Trump’s rhetoric. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.

The Flag in the Wind

In an emotional testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Friday, July 12, 2019 Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib described conditions at an immigrant detention centre, decrying alleged mistreatment happening “in front of the American flag”. During Ocasio-Cortez’s testimony a congressional staffer fainted. The testimony came as Vice President Mike Pence was due to travel to Texas on Friday to tour a holding facility and participate in a roundtable with border patrol and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Balancing the Chakras

Democrats won back the House majority, seizing the 218 seats needed to break Republicans’ eight-year monopoly, while the Grand Old Party (GOP) managed to keep Senate. It was a parade of women first-timers, most of them by Democrats: Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib in Michigan, Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, and, of course, the superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who, together with Tlaib (House) and Bernie Sanders (Senate) raises to three the number of declared Socialists in Congress — the highest number in U.S. history.