Last updated on 2015-11-19
State Representative John Wiik (R-4/Big Stone City) tries to parlay the Paris terrorist attacks into anti-immigrant sentiment. He responds to his phone going off with Fox News alerts (’nuff said?) by putting mock quote marks around the “refugees” and shouting “invasion!”
The “refugees” from Syria that are pouring into Europe, and now arriving in the US didn’t look like waves of refugees from previous disasters around the world. These “refugees” are mostly young healthy looking males. Exactly the kind of people one would send in an invasion. I even mentioned it to some friends… “If it’s that bad there, why did they leave the women and children behind?” But, I was overreacting or I was seeing things. We’ve already learned that at least one of the Paris terrorists was from Syria and rescued in Greece from a sinking boat and found his way to France with other refugees.
Syrian refugees are starting to arrive in New Orleans this week. We are expecting 15,000 or so in the United States. The administration doubled down over the weekend on their commitment to receiving Syrian refugees. They have no papers, we know nothing about them, and some of them will eventually be settled in Sioux Falls and Huron, among other places nearby. I sure hope for all of our sakes that these in Paris slipped through the cracks… [Rep. John Wiik, “Have We Forgotten?” wiikfor4, 2015.11.16].
Wiik is repeating a charge from often confused Presidential candidate Ben Carson that the majority of Syrian refugees are (dangerous, evil, coming for your women) young males. Wiik and Carson are both wrong:
Carson is entitled to his opinion about whether or not the United States should allow more Syrian refugees to enter the country, and we take no position on that. But his comment that “the majority of them are young males” is contradicted by the best data available on the Syrian refugees’ demographics.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — which refers refugees for resettlement in other countries — says there are more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees. Its figures on the demographic makeup of refugees is based on available data on the 2.1 million who were registered by the UNHCR in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. (Another 1.9 million Syrian refugees were registered by the Government of Turkey, and more than 24,000 were registered in North Africa.)
UNHCR’s data show that 50.5 percent of refugees are women. Females age 18 to 59 make up 23.9 percent of the refugees, while males in that age group make up 21.8 percent.
Even younger males — age 12 to 17 — represent 6.5 percent of refugees, while females that age are 6.1 percent. The majority of refugees — 51.1 percent — are under age 17, including 38.5 percent who are younger than 12 years old. These numbers were as of Sept. 6 [Lori Robertson, “Stretching Facts on Syrian Refugees,” FactCheck.org, 2015.09.15].
I invite Rep. Wiik to fact-check that fact-check updated figures, though preferably not from Fox News alerts.
Fact-checking be darned, GOP spin blogger Pat Powers piles on, noting the strain that invaders refugees place on state and local governments and fake-question-mark-encouraging us to close our state to people fleeing for their lives from ISIS. Powers also commits his chronic claim inflation, citing one blog post from one author—me—as evidence that “South Dakota’s Liberal Democrats”—plural—“are out there saying ‘We should take more refugees from Syria.'”
If I adhered to Pat’s blog standards, I’d say, “Wow: South Dakota wingnut Republicans are dancing on Parisian graves. How shameless.”
But instead of using emotional tragedies to hide the real failure of my party’s failures, I will own my words and reaffirm my position: Syrian men, women, and children are fleeing brutal theocracy. As Americans, as South Dakotans, as children of immigrants, we have a moral obligation to help them (and Pat’s Pope agrees with me). The United States has means to screen immigrants, and we should be cautious, but we must not let our fear override our humanity. We make America safer and stronger by helping people.
The terrorists want us to be afraid. So do Wiik and Powers. I want us to be America, a beacon of hope for all humanity.
p.s.: I haven’t heard Governor Daugaard express fear of bad Syrians sneaking in with refugees, but he’s sure working hard to make sure wealthy foreigners from Communist China can stay in America on the EB-5 visas they bought.
America’s S—-iest States Begin Formally Barring Syrian Refugees
I think that’s a slippery slope we don’t want to go down. Who do we keep out next? Mexicans, Norwegians? Germans? Democrats? fat people (I’d be in trouble)? people who don’t own a gun? or people with low IQs?
I understand one of the bombers in Paris was a Frenchman. How do we stop someone like him?
I agree Cory if we give in to that then ISIS has already won.
It’s a quagmire of our own doing. We invaded other countries, detain some for years, they schooled one another and exchanged contact information to meet up later and formed ISIS. It is true some radicals are leaving Syria as refugees. They think one of the eight Parisian terrorists entered this way. We have multiplied problems in a most horrific way but still arrogantly think we are do gooders. We’re dumb stupid meddlers motivated by self interest.
Governors of states don’t have any legal right to refuse refugees, Cory. Immigration was defined by the US Constitution as a Federal power, and reaffirmed as it pertains to this current circumstance by the 1980 Refugee Act. I do see Mr. Powers trying to start some kind of a goofy drumbeat on DWC but so far not too many (if any) of his readers seem to be dancing to it.
Yes, exactly. Plays right into the hands of ISIS/ISIL. Exactly what they want, er go, ISIL loves folks like Wiik. Since many in this state/country worship football, they need to think of it in football terminology. Playing into the other’s teams plans and strategies, then the other team will win.
Another great post, Cory. Here’s a good read ref why the Islamic State wants “the west” to hate refugees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/16/the-islamic-state-wants-you-to-hate-refugees/?postshare=4541447701591426&tid=ss_tw
Pat Powers at the Dump Site is lazy, he doesn’t bother to write a blog he only posts a Reuters news article.
William Beal, the single poster in the comment section, lists the states opposing refugees.
I liked Cory’s link to Pat’s Pope, doesn’t the Pope have a Syrian refugee family living with him. And Powers calls himself a Catholic.
FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Committee hearing on Homeland Security stating “We can only query against that which we have collected and so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.” He continued pointing out the differences between our ability to screen Syrian refugees vs Iraq refugees after the Iraq War. “And with respect with Iraqi databases, we had far more because of our country’s work there for a decade,” he said. This is a different situation'”
In other words, we have no way to effectively screen Syrian refugees for terrorist ties. And Bernie and Hillary want to up the ante to 60,000 refugees.
dumbass dubya’s foreign policy nightmares coming home to roost. We displaced,made homeless and killed 20% of Iraq’s population with an illegal,unnecessary war for oil. We took out a stable,but brutal dictator and now the whole region is unstable and at war. You did good,Brown,,,,,er…bushie.
Never let a terrorist act, and act of war, or an outbreak of a deadly disease go by without making a political issue out of it.
We interred Japanese Americans during WW-II without cause. Recently we had political leaders trying to block or quarantine anyone coming from a country that had an Ebola outbreak despite the medical community presenting the facts on how it spreads.
I see that Hackers Anonymous has issued a statement that they are declaring war on ISIS. I wish them lots of luck in hacking ISIS’s social media and financial sources.
Then it is patently obvious we need to illegally occupy Syria for at least a decade under martial law and we still won’t be able to identify the terrorists.
This is going to take a political change like Russia pressuring Assad to step down so rebel forces can form a coalition government and fight ISIS without western boots on the ground. Our presence won’t help.
Don Coyote, don’t you imagine that will always be the case? Those in most dire need of sanctuary from violent religious/political oppression will be fleeing the most chaotic of circumstances, oftentimes with nothing but the shirts on their backs, if even that?
“”Never let a terrorist act, and act of war, or an outbreak of a deadly disease go by without making a political issue out of it.””
I think that is, never let these acts go to waste for the political gain, WR.
And now we have this, I just read on Yahoo News that the teaparty presidential candidates want to have a religious test for Syrian refugees, to which President Obama said, “that’s shameful”.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/paris-backlash-governors-reject-syrian-refugees/416151/
The war criminal. George W. Bush, started this with the first bomb on Baghdad. The “refugees” are proving a point, they are running just as hard as they can from the very people we are now bombing there. Make no mistake, war always hurts and kills the poor. The rich always land on their feet, i.e. Darth Cheney, W.’s war criminal partner in crime. France warned us before 2003 of the powder keg that Bush, Cheney, Rummy and the rest were preparing to light. We sow what we reap and our world is in much poorer shape because of war mongers. If we are to end this, we must get away from the oil that finances terror. I am looking at you Saudi Arabia, you who sent the bombers on 9/11 to our shores, where is the nit Wiik’s concern about that?
The American war criminals have always had close kissy face ties with radical Islam, that is what makes it kind of a kinship between the two. Check out how they behave towards women as the first clue. If you want to stop ISIS, we need to stop thinking Saudi Arabia is our friend and ally. http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/11/wahhabism-isis-how-saudi-arabia-exported-main-source-global-terrorism
wow. this afternoon SDPB carried an NPR story interviewing a George Mason (Koch “owned” major university in VA or someplace) professor as an expert at war-time strategy. here we go folks, NPR is now clearly a FAUX News purveyor–bullsheit walks….
It’s common for refugee families to send a young male to establish a home and a job in a new land before the women and children follow. Wouldn’t you do it the same way? PS…the stoners aren’t afraid but Republican fear mongers are peeing their pants.
DENVER – Colorado will not join the growing number of states that have refused to accept Syrian refugees in wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Monday.
“We will work with the federal government and Homeland Security to ensure the national verification processes for refugees are as stringent as possible,” he wrote in a statement. “We can protect our security and provide a place where the world’s most vulnerable can rebuild their lives.”
PS … I’m personal friends with and have worked with dozens of undocumented workers from Mexico, Central America, VietNam, Italy, Germany and France. They’re ALL welcome here in CO, also. Proud to live in a “sanctuary city”.
iowa’s Terry Braindead put a halt to Syrian refugees. I don’t think he can legally stop it.
Louisianna’s Piyush Dingballs says they have one Syrian in state somewhere and has ordered state police to watch that person for terrorist activities.
Braindead was open to Vietnamese refugees who could easily have been commie spies or some damn thing.
Bill, to Don, I’d say we probably lack data on all sorts of new immigrants. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. If we want to vet refugees, we can. And we apparently do… with a process that lets refugees in in a year if they are lucky, but quite possibly not for three years.
Roger sent me this article alerting me to Rep. Elizabeth May’s bandwagoning on this issue. Her constituents know all about the danger she and Rep. Wiik are spotlighting: take pity on a few seasick refugees, share turkey with them, teach them how to plant corn, and before you know it they take over your country and force your kids to adopt their religion! Where’s Homeland Security when we need them?
Is this Wiik the guy who took out Kathy Tyler in the ’14 election? He and some of the other crazies better learn a little bit about the situation in Syria before they shoot their mouth off.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/inside-assads-syria/
Happy Camper hit the nail on the head. Most, if not all of the terrorism is our own doing. And oh by the way, THe Former School of the Americas, now Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, at Ft Benning, GA, is the oldest terrorist training site in the world, still in operation. The annual protest for its closing is this weekend.
Ah, yes, the usual faux Christians are turning their other cheek again. Spurning the literal Samaritans; the orphans, the widows. These faux Christians and their 24 sub-American governors do not deserve US citizenship.
@adamwinkler 44m44 minutes ago
“Supreme Court in Truax: ‘The authority to control immigration-to admit or exclude aliens-is vested solely in the Fed Government.'”
John Tsitrian proves that not all Republicans have given in to fear. He says in his blog post today that banning Syrian refugees is both a futile security gesture and a rejection of the essence of America:
John Tsitrian for Governor 2018.
john tsitrian is a rino who listened to me and registered in sdgop.
Hear, hear Mr. John Tsitrian.
All of these knuckledragging republican governors are full of Wiik. A state can no more ban refugees than South Dakota ban corruption, it is not possible. What a bunch of nitWiiks. Bobby Jindal speaking about banning immigrants is drunk talk. Where would he be if we would have banned his anchor baby ass?
Who are we trying to free in Syria if the refugees from Syria cannot be trusted?
Beyond the obvious, the tragedy in Paris has a very sad twist to it, does it not? Over twelve years ago, when “Dubya” commenced the war against Iraq, the French were some of our greatest critics in the West for this action. We all remember the “French/American Fries” war, do we not? The French knew then as many Americans opposed to the Iraq war at the time did as well, that the war was not justified through honest facts and would merely result in a ugly power vacuum in the Middle-east, which Isil has since helped to fill.
Now the French find themselves on the frontline of a tragic new reality caused from a by-product of the Iraq War, which they opposed. Parisians now suffer because of American actions from the last decade…. While “Dubya” is in Texas spreading paint on a canvas, Parisians are being asked to wipe blood from their streets…..
If Democrats bothered to vote we wouldn’t have constant wingnut wars and terrorism and refugee crises, Get off your ass and vote wingnuts out of every office in every state and county.
No, Lar. He listened to me. ;)
I could handle JT for the big job!
The US has become the bully of the world, what are we to expect.
Les, we should have coffee or cocktails. Blizzard over eastern Colorado so after that: k?
Shiite: my bad, Cory.
Yeah, Syrian refugees, go home. I believe we have a war going on, and we have to stand up for Jesus, against the infidels. After all, Jesus taught us to hate our neighbor, and treat him or her they way we wouldn’t want to be treated. I’m a huge believer in what Jesus said, particularly when he said, “Hate your enemies.” Jesus taught us not to feed the hungry or care for the sick. He called them “scum” saying they would “inherit my dust.” Yeah, I’m a really good Christian.
Lanny, yes: Wiik and Deutsch pushed Tyler out of the District 4 House.
Les, you remind me that such a primary would be JT vs JT.
Donald, didn’t Jesus’s parents also have trouble finding room at the inn? Hmm… remind me who’s waging the real War on Christmas?
Hell must be freezin or pigs flying, Donald. Isn’t much you’re saying anymore I could disagree with.
Yes, Cory. In this topsy turvy world anything is possible!
So is Tisitrian kind of our Donald Trump with a brain?
Christians who hate middle east people should recall that they worship one.
Cory, I’ve said many times that Jesus is fine, but I can’t stand the so-called Christians and absolutely cannot stand their anti-Jesus stances.
And, yes, the real War on Christmas is being waged by Republican governors, and the Republican idioti. Jesus probably looked more like one of those Syrian refugees than, oh, Chris Christy, Scott Walker or Bobby Jindahl.
If Jesus was coming back, I suspect he would be among the refugees. He would have a little test for us, and it would ask, “How many refugees will you accept?” What would you say?
By the way, all of the attackers in Paris are homeboys. They were all native Europeans. Not an immigrant in the mix, just like Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City murders.
Don Pay yup, both St. Paul and St. Thomas were from Damascus.
Bill, that Jesus guy is trouble. Look what he did to the Roman Empire.
Link to support Jerry: most of the identified attackers grew up in France or Belgium: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11996120/Paris-attack-what-we-know-about-the-suspects.html
@Winston: While radicalized Muslims in France may have embraced ISIS, most come from or are descendants of North African stock, in particular Algeria. It was the 1950 North African colonial wars of France that provided the feedstock for today’s terrorist in France not the Mideast.
@Don coyote, please explain Timothy McVeigh then. Do you travel to Europe and France in particular to get that knowledge? France was a colonial power that not only was in Algeria, they were in America as well. There once was a place that was found near a French fort on the Missouri, why are we not radicalized Catholics, or Baptists, or Hutterites?
These young guns are just thugs, they are not radicalized anything other than being a bully.
It doesn’t matter one damn bit what John Tristan is or isn’t, that was a top notch post on immigrants and refugees.
Roger, John T. is an old grunt so he is used to taking incoming. He wrote a very good post that is well worth the read.
While spouting platitudes and bromides about welcoming the “wretched refuse” and of “America’s essence” and being a “beacon of hope” might make for a better kumbaya moment, an honest look at history shows that US immigration policy was anything but especially during times of war.
During WWI the US instituted an immigrant literacy test denying entry to any alien over 16 yo who was unable to read 30–40 words in their own language. WWI also saw the enactment of the Emergency Quota Act setting quotas from every national origin group at the baseline of 3% of the foreign-born population of that country in 1910.
During WWII the US State Dept implemented strict policies for Europeans, in particular Germans, Jews, Hungarians and Italians, out of the fear that those refugees could be blackmailed into working as agents for Germany. It wasn’t until early 1944 that restrictions were loosened for European Jews. Even after the War relief was slow in coming and it wasn’t until 1948 that Congress enacted legislation to admit 400,000 displaced persons of which only 20% were Jews and 80% Christian. By then many European Jews had emigrated to the new state of Israel. Ironically all of which occurred under three Democrat Presidents.
YEAH!! Over on the Powers Dump Site, Kristi Noem just joined the cattle call for “no more refugees until they can be properly screened”.
The Powers puppets also seem to be upset that Daugaard hasn’t jumped in with his refugee denouncement.
Jesus was of German ancestry and was born in Davenport, Iowa. That’s why we don’t want no Syrian people here.
Kristi Noem. Just one more person who would crucify Christ. What would Kristi do? Well, it wouldn’t be anything like what Jesus would do.
Is the Republican Party made up of cowards? Remember Ebola and the Republican freakout? It just seems these guys are scared of their own shadows.
@Don Coyote, you are not mentioning or maybe never knew of one of the most disgraceful parts of our immigration policy. After the Chinese (the coolies) had built the railroads across the Western United States, their immigration number was lowered to 0 and we good white Christians, drove out the ones that were already here.
Where’s the “national” clergy, as in the “leaders”, the self-important religious bishops, et al., who even more than most are supposed to stand with the downtrodden? Hiding behind their collars, that’s where – espousing through their timidity to ‘(cower) do as I do, not as I say’. Same applies to religious ‘leaders’ in this state – most are false prophets.
Another kumbaya moment for Coyote. That time when the little family took refuge in Egypt because their government was slaughtering innocents. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_into_Egypt
Also during World War Deuce, the United States welcomed Mexicans by the tens of thousands, also under a Democratic president. If you add it all up, you will see that there was a lot of immigration to one place or another, which all goes to show that immigration is a necessity in order to complete some task or another during and after World War II. Not so long ago, In South Dakota, we have the Karen as proof that we can accept immigration for the good of the whole.
when did we become such a bunch scaredy cats. https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/oklahoma-man-shot-by-cops-after-threatening-to-fire-on-anything-that-looks-muslim/
Good grief, we speak of World War II in posts and in the same posts behave like a bunch of bed wetters. Now we want to send in the boots on the ground to get stuck in the shifting sands there, the only smart guy in the bunch is Obama.
for conspiracy theorists i understand after WWII nazi and other german scientists (Werner Von Braun) in the missile business ect were brought to the US and South America, i guess, often with the assistance of the vatican. i dont know any details. Am not so sure i trust coyote’s irony concerning 3 dem presidents, of course both parties values have changed since then.
Yes leslie, Albert Einstein was a WWII refugee.
Not quite so fast, jerry, Obama is the one who stuck his foot in the ground 4 years ago and said that Assad had to go, in essence giving credence to the rebels who were then joined by what has now turned out to be ISIS or ISIL and or Nusra Front and joined by al Qaeda in Iraq. Had he not joined the regime changers from the previous administration who have been doing the bidding of the zionists, things might be a whole lot different in the Middle East.
hi bill. yeah einie is kinda of a heavy weight. wiki says he renounced german citizenship in the early thirties and was guest professor at Caltech.
wenhner von, otoh was active for the nazis in some capacity thru the war (V-2), but was arrested by gestapo in 1944 and surrendered to ruskies in 1945. it is not a stretch to say he put us on the moon, i think.
coyote’s comment was really the reason for the post, and the very high number of german immigrants science-trained, that lived out their lives in the west after the war. curious times, curious politics, as always. “money and guns”. wonder how many german “butter” scientists came here? but i am not a student of this part of our history.
today a USD history professor, i think, is studying, with his students’ assistance, the 6000 confederate combat veterans that apparently settled in new sparse counties by 1885 in SD. It would be nice if they would study the battle of the blue water. Perhaps our previous discussion here of the confederate flag badge on law enforcement in Gettysburg, as a possible symptom of SD racism, was his origination. i suspect that SD history professionals have been approached by daugaard in the Harney name change matter. it sounds like somebody (lisa furlong maybe:) filed ANOTHER name change app. w/ the feds for “Thunder Peak” sometime after SDGNB flip flopped on Black Elk/Hin Han Kaga peak application submitted by my friend Basil Brave Heart. Delay is expected. I do not trust this administration and thus continue to urge on Mickelson’s Reconciliation. I always found troy’s initial comment so disingenuous-“Hin Han Kaga is an odd choice”. How about Mt. Everest? Odd
I believe this issue is vital to our Indian friends’ welfare, as is MCEC, EB5, Hot Springs VA, 1200 acres of western rapid city “Indian Land” taken in the 30s-50s by Rapid City, and so many other issues on daugaard’s ignored plate. Allender could make a difference by supporting the name change. Pushing it thru the 10-2 republican city council.
The tribal chairs are asking for supervision of Gear Up as they should, imo. I have never seen stonger people than Lakota and the many tribes I know,…like all “refugees”! :)
always enjoy and am enlightened by your posts, bill. stand your ground!
lanny, i hear you, but assad was/is an incredible problem. 4-5 years ago. perhaps if republicans had not wasted their entire political capital on obstructionism then (imo), a better US response could have occurred. i am not ready to submit obama was mistaken then, yet of course he was wet behind the ears, and what big ears too, the better to hear…. :)
Don Coyote, based on your assertion then, “Dubya” should have invaded Saudi Arabia after 9/11 and not Afghanistan and eventually Iraq, because most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis, but we couldn’t do that could we, because they are our alleged moderate Arab/Muslim friends…
Your Algerian history lesson is academic at best. What you call “feedstock” is merely their ancestry. However, Isil is there mentor. I choose to chase or blame the accomplice and not the parent of the initial suspect.
No doubt France has had its problems with assimilation of races and religions in their homeland in modern times. They have even passed laws regulating the infiltration of the English language and phrases into everyday life in France, in terms of slang, signage, and literature, but to suggest without the Bush Doctrine that last friday would have still happen is wrong and sadly wishful at best.
Interesting article, and a good side note to the discussion here. Aerospace and Defense stocks are going up. Perhaps the sharks smell blood in the water?
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/16/stock-prices-of-weapons-manufacturers-soaring-since-paris-attack/
Joe K, I am afraid you are right. It is time for our Republican/conservative friends to heed the comments of President Eisenhower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg-jvHynP9Y
Caution is required. One young woman was so disturbed because the terrorists at the concert were joking and laughing about a cute girl 45 minutes before killing people and blowing themselves up. They weren’t recognizable. They’re religious fanatics that see the world very differently from peace loving people. One of their body remains match a Syrian passport used to enter Greece in October. Their goal to spread their terrorist cells around the world so you can bet they’re coming across open boarders. What a depressing mess.
Suspect Mossad and IDF first. Daesh was created to destabilize Iran’s Shiite leadership: note they haven’t attacked the illegal state of Israel.
America was colonized by christian refugees who ultimately massacred 52 million indigenous people in the name of god.
When did wingnut pols get hearts?
Blue states will get federal money to house these people fleeing a tyrant and his oppressive regime regardless of what the earth haters like Wiik want.
Detroit has blocks and blocks of empty houses and Dearborn has a huge Muslim population yet Michigan’s governor is holding out for federal cash just like the other earth hater governors like Susana Martinez are doing.
The Russians say that Assad must go as well, not just Obama. The problem is who will replace him? That is what was going on in Vienna with the talks. We must understand that there is not a religious thingy going on, it is about power. Like in South Dakota, when you have power, you have thugs and corruption.
Sorry Lanny, here is the link on what our Russian allies think. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-idUSKCN0SS0TY20151103#A0uQSy0pTY0qA6ZB.97
Two days before Paris, Beruit happened. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/world/middleeast/beirut-lebanon-attacks-paris.html?_r=0
These murders were reported long after they had happened and only because of Paris.
“It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings just two days before Paris, is not covered in the press. A world in which a bomb goes off at a funeral in Baghdad and not one person’s status update says ‘Baghdad.'”
We hate these people because we got lied to. We were lied to by President Bush and his henchmen to go into a totally unnecessary war in 2003. Instead of calling out the bastards that bled us of our blood and treasure, we hate the people whom we are still killing, while blaming them for our ignorance and denial.
Russia has never said Assad must go and quite to the contrary been supportive of his regime. Where’s the UN in all this? Maybe, possibly, UN sanctioned relief efforts if Russia changes their mind and helps push Assad out. Even then don’t assume the rebel groups will get along. These are countries with fundamentalist sects not tolerant of differences. Not that they are radicalized, but highly fundamentalist. They don’t want to be like the west.
Sorry jerry, you are reading that a little differently than I am. “Zakharova said Russia had not changed its policy on Assad and that his fate should be decided by the Syrian people.”
Before this all started over 4 years ago, in spite of not having a real democratic election (the way we do, haha) Assad had 55% popularity, in spite of the fact that he is an Alawite, which is a faction of Shiite. The majority population is Sunni. Two years into the war, he was still over 50% popularity.
Do you remember W’s “axis of evil”? It was Iraq, Iran and N Korea. Since the zionists had toppled Iraq, using our military, they wanted to go after Iran next, but Iran had popular support in Egypt, Syria and Libya. So the zionists wanted first Libya, then Egypt and finally Syria’s government toppled so that they could then topple Iran. The zionists can cut this cake any way they would like, but all of these regime changes were/are to destabilize the entire Middle East so that Israel will have no enemies strong enough to come to the defense of the Palestinians.
What the zionists, both in Israel and within our own government, are not realizing, there will be no peace in the Middle East, until the Palestinians are treated like human beings.
Historical fact does not constitute moral imperative, Don Coyote. Or, more simply, is doesn’t make an ought. The fact that America treated immigrants unjustly in the past does not excuse treating immigrants unjustly now.
Sad how, in Don’s world, basic founding principles of our nation and human decency become mere “bromides” when they conflict with his easy fear and hatred. Yes, Donald Pay, the Republican Party appears to be made up of many cowards. I hope the rest of the country shows more courage and does not abandon its principles so easily.
Einstein was a refugee! That’s what I should have written about instead of that carpenter. Thanks, Bill! :-)
Just curious: who’s the greater threat to national security interests, Assad or ISIS? I know we can do two things at once, but if a truce with Assad could focus forces on ISIS, would such a deal be acceptable?
Bibi Netanyahu is the greatest threat in the Middle East.
Well I am curious also, Cory. In what set of circumstances did Assad ever become a national security threat to the US? It was never about him being a threat to us, as I said, it was about regime change to destabilize Syria along with the rest of the Middle East.
Thank you larry kurtz, now we are getting somewhere.
Like regime change happened so well in Iraq and Libya.
We kill over 30,000 a year in car accidents and over 32,000 every year with guns.
Extremist Wahhabism is linked directly to de Baathification, Ahmed Chalabi and CIA:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-stockman/blowback-the-washington-w_b_8582296.html
Wahhabism is the mirror image of American christian fundamentalism: two sides of the same coin.
We just sold another $2 billion worth of arms to Saudi. Remember them? They trained the alleged September 11 false flaggers, too.
Very well said and read, Lanny. Thanks for your continuing input.
leslie, I would hardly call Obama wet behind the ears by 2011. As pointed out in a previous post, he was manipulated by the zionists within our own government. Is the Assad government killing of the protesters who turned terrorist, when joined by the inflow of radicals from Saudia Arabia, Yemen and other Middle Eastern Countries, and supported by our CIA; any different, than the killing of Southern Soldiers by the Lincoln administration during our own Civil War?
Somehow we want to have it both ways when it comes to war. We needed to kill the Nazis because they were killing Jews, Gypsies, gays and anyone who was not arian. At the same time we were able to kill the Native Americans during three centuries before that because they lived a different life style than we do.
We are so worried about muslim extremists, but over the centuries hold up as ideal the christian extremists who have done the same thing to muslims, that muslim extremists are now doing to christians.
We have abhorred the practices of communism and socialism and hold up as ideal, capitalism, in spite of all that capitalism has done to rob different generations of what they have worked their whole life to achieve.
As Judeo-Christian Capitalists, we must learn that if we live by the sword, we will die by the sword.
“Einstein was a refugee!”…… I want a t-shirt that says that……
Winston, He dropped out of the Manhattan project before it was finished and like Oppenheimer was totally opposed to the development of nuclear weapons.
These people might have one, Winston.
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c74-page4.html
As was expected, the Russian airliner shot down over Egypt was indeed brought down by a bomb according to a Breaking News release from CNN.
Is this a game changer and how will Russia react to ISIS?
Thanks Bill, a very interesting website.
Russia is going “cooperate with them (France) as with allies.” Russia says the U.S. spares ISIS targets and hits Assad instead since ISIS is his biggest threat.
http://news.yahoo.com/russian-minister-attacks-us-policy-syria-141642352.html?clear=cache
You’re welcome, Lanny.
“France began airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq in September of 2014:”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/11/france-syria-iraq-isis/416013/
That is a great website! Perhaps a t-shirt with Einstein’s and Tesla’s pictures on it.
A better t-shirt would be a picture of Einstein with the writing, “I am a refugee and a high school dropout.”
Look down your noses at that elitists.
Although I am late to the game, I just want to say that this is one of the best posts I have seen at the DFP – thanks Cory!
Yeah,but,Bill thems all durn furriners. Not a white,kristian nutjob among them,at least not on the first page.
Jeb-the smart Bush-(I just threw up in mouth) says he’d welcome all kristian syrian refugees. Wonder how one tells a kristian terrorist from a Muslim terrorist? Maybe the smart Bush can look into their souls and see goodness.
My email to Noem and Rounds:
Dear Representative Noem and Senator Rounds,
I ask that you would join me in welcoming the Syrian refugees into our country. As I sailed out of the New York harbor in June of 1962 and back in, in December of 1964 after nearly 31 months in Germany where I went during the Berlin Crisis, I was reminded of that beautiful Lady’s exhortation.
“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!”
The Syrian refugees are not huddled masses. They are refugees of a civil war within their own country, for which we are at least partly responsible.
Sincerely,
Lanny Stricherz
Sioux Falls, SD
605-977-7669
Russia Pounds ISIS With Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/17/russia-pounds-isis-with-biggest-bomber-raid-in-decades.html
It’s important to remember that low oil prices and cheap arms for Saudi are all about containing Vlad the Impaler.
It is important to remember the Saudi royal family has a lengthy relationship with radical Islam and radical Bushlam in ‘murrica. Bushlam is also closely affiliated with bin-Ladin fambly-in business and socially. dumbass dubya swapping spit with Saudi king>evil than Obama bowing to Japanese Prime Minister.
Steve Hickey is right: all wars are bankers’ wars.
hc-remember dear leader saying “bring it on”? kinda dumb republican/SCOTUS elected president
Yeah, Russia does want Assad to step down. They have since at least 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/west-ignored-russian-offer-in-2012-to-have-syrias-assad-step-aside
My man Barry takes the GOP to school and drops the mic on this one!
“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians should be admitted, that’s offensive,” he said.
The president also noted that many of the same people who have suggested stopping refugees from coming to the United States also claim they themselves are tough enough to stare down Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates,” Obama said. “Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/barack-obama-refugees-216007
Anonymous has already started to shut down the sites that the thugs use as promised. When the crooks can no longer communicate, that will be the end. http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a39761/anonymous-isis-plan-better-than-republicans/
Russia stands behind Assad. “Drop Assad demands if you want to unite against Islamic State: Russia to West”: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-no-agreement-among-world-powers-assads-094537484.html
@Flipper: Maybe Obama, the legal eagle that he is, should pick up the mic and read the relevant US law that allows for religion to be considered one of the protected grounds for asylum or refugee status.
These refugees have far more to fear from the residents of refusal states than Americans have to fear from these refugees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRpAANsoG8I
Ain’t it the truth larry k!!! Who is to blame, the politicians, the Main Stream Media, or just basic insecurity caused by being an American with all the sins of our past?
Lanny, Einstein was opposed to nuclear weapons, but he wrote that famous letter in 1939 that warned that Germany might be working on nuclear fission and encouraged FDR to look into constructing fission bombs. Uh oh—we have an empirical example of a refugee promoting nuclear proliferation! My whole argument falls apart! Seal the border! ;-)
“seal on the border” CLICK “geronimo” (sorry porter)
The letter was actually written by physicist Leo Szilard. When informed by Szilard of the possibility of using nuclear fission to build atomic weapons, Einstein stated that he hadn’t even thought of that possibility. It had been suggested that Einstein would lend a more prestigious air to the letter so Einstein was convinced to sign it. Because of Einstein’s pacifist and socialist leanings, he was never given security clearances by the Army. Einstein knew nothing about the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos or the decision to drop the bomb. Einstein later stated that he regretted signing the letter.
New York City boy, JR Oppenheimer had communist leanings, too and was watched continually by the FBI but had such a drive to build the device to stave off his self-destructive obsessions he was given an army of researchers, many of them Jewish, to complete the task.
don how is it possible to get einstein but not obama.?
Whew—Don saves me from the argument that refugees lead to nuclear war. Carry on!
Nuclear war is foretold, Cory: what’s your point?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdQcGzbpN7s
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/11/18/9758480/george-takei-roanoke-mayor