Thursday, November 19, 2015

State's rights vs Federal? The Bermuda conference redux? It's had to know where to start.

So far there are around 30 or more governors, mostly the gop, who have proclaimed that no Syrian immigrants will be allowed into their states. And one of our more repugnant gop presidential candidates (a low bar indeed) has said he wouldn't allow Muslims in the immigrant mix. It's unclear if he'd deport those presently here and citizens.

Perhaps if the gop folk would read past the sacrosanct 2nd amendment they might realize that it's not within their purview to decide who gets to live in their state. One of my favorite governors, Tom McCall of Oregon, tried that around 1970 to keep  Californians out of Oregon. Didn't work worth a hoot.  So these bozos politicizing the immigrant plight to further show their dislike for the President is about as valid as my saying "No more Texans in Montana", and less worthy.

In 1943 the US and the UK had an opportunity to evacuate and take in thousands of Jewish refugees, some still in Europe (Portugal, Spain, 'neutral France'), they met in Bermuda and decided that it would be unpopular at home. In 1939 the US had the chance to evacuate 100,000 Jewish refugees, mostly women and children, from Europe. FDR had poll taken, and only 6% of those polled were in favor.

And here we are again. This time, at the gop's urging, the US population seems to be ignoring the facts of the matter, and going on fear and fearmongery.  It's being completely ignored that our situation in regard to immigrants is night and day compared to Europe. None, repeat none, of the terrorists acts in the US have been committed by immigrants. We don't have boats of undocumented refugees landing on the shores of South Carolina, or California (well, maybe the odd Mexican who has a boat). It's the least efficient, and the least likely method that a terrorist is going to use to gain entry to the US. It's much easier and safer to simply get a passport from France, the UK, Belgium, etc and come. Or get a student visa from Saudi Arabia. It takes a minimum of two years, living out of this country, probably in a refugee camp, to get entry as an immigrant. Two years, and likely longer. Why in hell would any terrorist do this instead of getting a compliant Saudi government to issue them a student visa?

Why then is every gop senator, congressman, governor and able to talk spouting the demagogy we're hearing about 'no more middle east immigrants', or even 'no Muslim immigrants'?

Because they know it plays. They know there are enough of us out there who'll  nod and say 'damn right', and pop another budweiser. Facts, truth, don't matter to the gop. Fear and emotions do.

Land of the free, and home of the brave. As long as you aren't one of the groups immortalized in this poem:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”


― Emma Lazarus

Sorry Emma, those days are long gone.

19 comments:

  1. At least five of the Paris terrorists were French nationals, not Syrian refugees. Once again the GOP is trying to scare the bejesus out of everyone to persuade the voters that *they* have the answer. The same tactic used by Bush/Cheney to scare us into making the biggest military blunder in the history of the U.S., which provided the opening for ISIS. It won't be long until they will repeat that and send in troops.

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    1. Only one might have come in with the refugees....the intelligence community viewed finding the passport under the circumstances as highly suspicious, and it was likely a plant by isis to create just the response that's occured. It's interesting that our gop is getting played by isis so well. It's like they are going from a script written at isis headquarters.

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  2. Thanks, I agree with every single word.

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  3. We cannot seem to see outside our individual boxes. If the signs inside indicate that something is dangerous, we can't see over the rim where the facts lie; most of us won't even try. Republicans figured that out and simply started saying whatever they want to say, truthful or not.

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    1. Yeah, Trump is quite the example, eh? Outright scorn for facts and being right.

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  4. gop:love it. My own state tops the red cresent of governors who think small children are terrorists. Bringing myself to today's news item: two Syrian families, 4 adults and 4 children, crossed into a tiny Texas town, and presented themselves to the authorities for processing. I understand they were sent straight on to Immigration, to see if they are terrorists. I hope the children made eye contact and smiled.

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    1. One hopes, but given it's Texas I don't have much hope for fair treatment.

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  5. Cheers, Mike. I couldn't have said it better.

    Some similar talk has been going on here but our new PM is determined to offer the sanctuary he promised to 25,000 Syrian refugees by January.

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    1. Don't suppose you'd like to trade our next prez for your pm? President Trudeau has a nice ring.....

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    2. As you well know he has a number of contemporaries in the US who are quite as sensible and compassionate. If only..

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  6. Nicely put...

    A few days back, Colorado's governor said he'd allow refugees. The comments to the article were just disgusting. Aside from the Jewish refugee parallel, this latest bit of xenophobia makes me think of another bit of blindness toward a particular demographic during that time, the Japanese.

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    1. Our (Montana) guv waffled, but at least didn't outright reject the idea of refugees. Yeah, the internment camps are another example.

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  7. I have never heard so much fear mongering as I have from the cowardly, un-Christian, Republican candidates.
    On the other hand, the funniest bit of outhouse wit I ever saw was on the interstate in Montana:
    Here I sit
    Cheeks a flexin'
    Giving birth to
    Another Texan.

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    1. Ha! I think I heard that one years ago, in Alaska.

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