Saturday, January 28, 2017

So much for playing by the rules

It's easy to miss just how far off the deep end Trump has gone with his  executive order to bar entry into the U.S. from seven Muslim countries.  Many people seem to think the order applies only to refugees and migrants, but it doesn't.  It applies to everyone, including legal immigrants, even permanent residents with green cards.  If you happened to be out of the country when the order was issued, you now can't get back in without a waiver from DHS.  And if you are in the country, now you can't leave because you might not be able to get back in.

With this order Donald Trump reveals beyond any doubt that he cannot be trusted.  His rhetoric all during the campaign was that he wanted to exclude and deport illegal immigrants.  But this executive order draws no such distinctions.  Legal or not, if you're from one of the Muslim countries targeted by the whims of the dear leader (Saudi Arabia, tellingly, is not on the list) you are no longer free to cross the border.

The litany of outrage here is so long it's hard to know where to begin.  Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.  The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.  That this policy is being supported by a vice president who (rightfully) called it "offensive" during the campaign is hypocrisy of the highest order.  And of course there's the fact that two of the countries most likely to actually send terrorists to the U.S. -- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia -- are not on the list.

But the worst part of this is the fact that no exception was made for legal residents.  That is not only so far beyond stupid that you can't even see stupid from there, it's bad business.  We made a deal with those people: work hard, pay your taxes, don't blow shit up, and we'll let you stay.  They held up their end of the bargain, but we have now reneged on ours.

Of course, reneging on commitments is nothing new to Donald Trump.  It is, sadly, nothing new to the United States of America either.  But that doesn't make it right.

[UPDATE] I urge you to read Scott Aaronson's excellent post on this topic.

11 comments:

  1. Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy


    >The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.

    Black Tom Explosion (1916)

    President Frankling D. Roosevelt (D)
    Executive Order 9066 (1942)
    Executive Order 9102 (1942)

    Jan Karski reaches London and gives detailed statements on what he had seen in Warsaw and the zbica transit camp, along with microfilm. (1942)
    The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (December 10, 1942)
    Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations (December 17, 1942)
    Jan Karski meets with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White Hosue; Roosevelt inquires about horses in Poland but makes no inquires about jews. (July 28, 1943) [see footnote]


    >Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.

    President Harry S Truman (D)
    Public Law 414, Section 212 (e). [see page 188] (1952)

    President Jimmy Carter (D)
    President Orders Immediate Ban On Iranians in USA

    President Barak Obama (D)
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, incorporating Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

    OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION MADE THE “MUSLIM BAN” POSSIBLE AND THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU

    footnote:
    President Obama Announces Jan Karski as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (2012)


    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy


    >The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.

    Black Tom Explosion (1916)

    President Frankling D. Roosevelt (D)
    Executive Order 9066 (1942)
    Executive Order 9102 (1942)

    Jan Karski reaches London and gives detailed statements on what he had seen in Warsaw and the zbica transit camp, along with microfilm. (1942)
    The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (December 10, 1942)
    Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations (December 17, 1942)
    Jan Karski meets with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White Hosue; Roosevelt inquires about horses in Poland but makes no inquires about jews. (July 28, 1943) [see footnote]


    >Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.

    President Harry S Truman (D)
    Public Law 414, Section 212 (e). [see page 188] (1952)

    President Jimmy Carter (D)
    President Orders Immediate Ban On Iranians in USA

    President Barak Obama (D)
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, incorporating Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

    OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION MADE THE “MUSLIM BAN” POSSIBLE AND THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU

    footnote:
    President Obama Announces Jan Karski as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (2012)


    ReplyDelete
  4. Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy


    >The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.

    Black Tom Explosion (1916)

    President Frankling D. Roosevelt (D)
    Executive Order 9066 (1942)
    Executive Order 9102 (1942)

    Jan Karski reaches London and gives detailed statements on what he had seen in Warsaw and the zbica transit camp, along with microfilm. (1942)
    The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (December 10, 1942)
    Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations (December 17, 1942)
    Jan Karski meets with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White Hosue; Roosevelt inquires about horses in Poland but makes no inquires about jews. (July 28, 1943) [see footnote]


    >Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.

    President Harry S Truman (D)
    Public Law 414, Section 212 (e). [see page 188] (1952)

    President Jimmy Carter (D)
    President Orders Immediate Ban On Iranians in USA

    President Barak Obama (D)
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, incorporating Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

    OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION MADE THE “MUSLIM BAN” POSSIBLE AND THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU

    footnote:
    President Obama Announces Jan Karski as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (2012)


    ReplyDelete
  5. Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy


    >The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.

    Black Tom Explosion (1916)

    President Frankling D. Roosevelt (D)
    Executive Order 9066 (1942)
    Executive Order 9102 (1942)

    Jan Karski reaches London and gives detailed statements on what he had seen in Warsaw and the zbica transit camp, along with microfilm. (1942)
    The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (December 10, 1942)
    Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations (December 17, 1942)
    Jan Karski meets with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White Hosue; Roosevelt inquires about horses in Poland but makes no inquires about jews. (July 28, 1943) [see footnote]


    >Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.

    President Harry S Truman (D)
    Public Law 414, Section 212 (e). [see page 188] (1952)

    President Jimmy Carter (D)
    President Orders Immediate Ban On Iranians in USA

    President Barak Obama (D)
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, incorporating Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

    OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION MADE THE “MUSLIM BAN” POSSIBLE AND THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU

    footnote:
    President Obama Announces Jan Karski as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (2012)


    ReplyDelete
  6. Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy


    >The U.S. turned away Jewish refugees and interned Japanese residents (including U.S. citizens) during WWII, to our everlasting ignominy.

    Black Tom Explosion (1916)

    President Frankling D. Roosevelt (D)
    Executive Order 9066 (1942)
    Executive Order 9102 (1942)

    Jan Karski reaches London and gives detailed statements on what he had seen in Warsaw and the zbica transit camp, along with microfilm. (1942)
    The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (December 10, 1942)
    Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations (December 17, 1942)
    Jan Karski meets with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White Hosue; Roosevelt inquires about horses in Poland but makes no inquires about jews. (July 28, 1943) [see footnote]

    ReplyDelete
  7. >Let's start with the obvious: banning people because of their religion or ethnicity is shameful at best, unconstitutional and un-American at worst.

    President Harry S Truman (D)
    Public Law 414, Section 212 (e). [see page 188] (1952)

    President Jimmy Carter (D)
    President Orders Immediate Ban On Iranians in USA

    President Barak Obama (D)
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, incorporating Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

    ReplyDelete
  8. posting weirdness

    If I try to post it all as one file, it fails to post.
    Break it up into parts, it posts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. > Democrat's Everlasting Ignominy

    Why do you have to cast everything as a partisan issue, Publius? Yes, of course the Democrats are not blameless, and I have no problem calling them out too when they cross the line. For example:

    http://blog.rongarret.info/2010/04/oabama-orders-hit.html

    (There are democrats who to this day refuse to speak to me as a result of this post.)

    There are also a few Republicans who, to their credit, have spoken out against Trump's executive order, though notably Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and Mike Pence are not among them. So while it is not fair to lay the blame on all Republicans, it is absolutely fair to lay the blame on the Republican party when all four of their top leaders and majority of their rank-and-file support the policy.

    BTW, it's very unfair to reach back further than the 1960s when trying to make generalizations about America's political parties. The two parties had a major shift in the 60's resulting from backlash to the passage of the civil rights act and Nixon's subsequent adoption of his Southern Strategy. Also, before the Watergate scandal, both parties were pretty much aligned on certain fundamental issues, like whether or not the President was required to follow the law (yes), and whether or not "alternative facts" were a legitimate part of the political discussion (no). Both parties have changed in both of these regards, but the Republicans have clearly led the way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "Donald Trump reveals beyond any doubt that he cannot be trusted."

    True enough. He doesn't make "promises". He's engaged in persuasion and marketing. A used-car salesman. Nothing he says can be taken at face value.

    "His rhetoric all during the campaign was that he wanted to exclude and deport illegal immigrants. But this executive order draws no such distinctions."

    To be fair to our Dear Leader, there were two separate issues. The illegal immigrant thing was about Mexico and "the wall".

    It was a different topic, to deal with "radical Islamic terrorism". Trump's targeting of Muslim countries (and their immigrants) actually is in line with his campaign promise: "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses," he was going to stop Muslim immigration (whether legal or not).

    ReplyDelete