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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2016)
QR code for Portland Observer Online When a Space Speaks Holding Ground Iconic locations turn into performance venues Springwater Corridor residents fight eviction See Metro, page 9 See Local News, page 3 ‘City of Roses’ Volume XLV Number 31 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • August 3, 2016 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Khizr Khan, father of fallen US Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan, with his wife Ghazala speaks on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, criti- cizing GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims coming to the United States and challenged whether he had read the Constitution. Denunciation Grows Trump called out for disparaging Muslim military family Donald Trump’s repeated crit- icism of a Muslim military fam- ily whose son died a hero while serving as a U.S. Army captain in Iraq has rocked the presiden- tial race. President Barack Obama slammed Trump as “woeful- ly unprepared” to serve in the White House on Tuesday and challenged Republican lawmak- ers to drop their support for their party’s nominee. “There has to come a point at which you say enough,” Obama declared. Even GOP lawmakers are call- ing Trump’s comments about the family disrespectful, but most of those who have endorsed him are sticking by that stance. Obama has made clear he plans to be an active player in the White House race, campaigning around the country for Dem- ocratic nominee Hillary Clin- ton. He and first lady Michelle Obama spoke at last week’s Democratic convention in Phila- delphia, where the parents of the hero soldier, Khizr and Ghazala Khan also made an appearance. Khizr Khan criticized Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Mus- lims coming to the United States and challenged whether he had read the Constitution. The billionaire businessman challenged that assertion and stoked further outrage by im- plying Ghazala Khan did not speak while standing alongside her husband at the convention because she is a Muslim woman. Trump’s criticism of the Khans is part of a familiar pat- tern for the Republican nom- inee: He can’t let go of a per- ceived slight, no matter the potential damage to his pres- idential campaign or political reputation. Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war, said Trump did not have “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.” The Veter- ans of Foreign Wars, the nation’s oldest and largest veterans or- ganization, called Trump out of bounds for tangling with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son was killed in 2004. “Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression,” VFW leader Brian Duffy said. In an emotional appearance at last week’s convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump for pro- posing to temporarily freeze the entry of foreign Muslims into the U.S. and accused him of making no sacrifices for his country.