Open Thread – Page 634 – Politics Plus

Squatch’s Open Thread 26/11/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 5:50 pm Open Thread, Politics

Nov 262015

I have been out for a good part of the day and am back now. A wonderful sunny day. I hope my American friends are enjoying a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Nation — After 9/11, French President Jacques Chirac rejected the “war on terror” proposed by George W. Bush, urging the United States to treat terrorism as a form of criminality. His refusal to go along with Bush adviser Karl Rove’s Orwellian use of language is perhaps the only thing that Chirac  will be remembered for, but in some ways it’s legacy enough. In contrast, after the November terrorist attacks on Paris, President François Hollande, a Socialist, made the grave error of announcing that France is now at war. Actual states should not grant such legitimacy to small bands of violent criminals, and the deployment of the language and techniques of war is the best way to lose a campaign against them.

The language of war elevates terrorists to the very status to which they aspire: that of legitimate combatants. The fevered hothouses of extremism, whether in Belgian slums or Saudi Wahhabi mosques, generate a narrative that serves as the pretext for violent action. A country like France is depicted as engaging in monstrous acts, killing defenseless children and women from the air. Gullible teenagers are challenged by a jihadi recruiter with the need to do something to halt the atrocities. They are groomed as heroes, as soldiers saving their people. War is, after all, the one social context in which heinous actions are permitted.

Jacques Chirac has a point. Daesh is nothing more than a criminal syndicate, so why are the US, the French and their allies giving Daesh legitimacy by calling it a 'state' and declaring war? Continue reading.

Truthout — Instead of following the White House tradition and "pardoning" a turkey destined for a holiday dinner table, Obama should extend that courtesy to some of the thousands of human beings caged up in America's federal prisons.

Leonard Peltier should be one of them.

Peltier was a Native American activist on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the 1970s. On June 26, 1975, two FBI agents went to Pine Ridge to look for a young man named Jimmy Eagle, who was wanted for robbery. Soon after they spotted his car, a shootout ensued.

Presidents have been pardoning turkeys yearly . . . it's a longstanding tradition. So why can't POTUS pardon Leonard Pelltier? Despite new evidence, Pelltier still sits in Florida, incarcerated for murders he did not commit. Click through for the remainder.

CBC — Canada has so far issued 928 permanent resident visas to Syrian refugees — but there is still no timeline for when they could start arriving.

Immigration Minister John McCallum blames red tape overseas for the delays.

"Not all of them yet have exit visas from Lebanon, and we are working really, really hard to expedite that so they can get those exit visas as soon as possible," McCallum said an interview with Chris Hall, host of CBC Radio's The House.

Canada is contributing an additional $100 million to help the UN care for refugees in their camps, it was announced Thursday in Ottawa.

McCallum also said the first group of new refugees will be flown to Canada on a military plane — although the date for that flight has yet to be set because of the lack of exit visas.

Click through for the rest of the story. It has started. The Metro Vancouver South Asian community is lining up its ducks — 1 year free tuition at the Khalsa school for Syrian refugee children with the availability of Islamic teaching as well; clothing; household items; and many more things. Teachers in the provincial school districts are taking courses to assist with integration and how to recognise and deal with potential mental health issues. Here is another piece about a Syrian refugee family told Canada is next destination. The trauma that the refugee families endure, the choices they have to make. This is huge and we must ensure that we are prepared.

The Daily Beast — Long before Syrians fled ISIS and Jews fled the Nazis and Irish fled the famine, the Puritans fled persecution to become the original refugees to alight on our shores.

In gratitude for having found refuge and for the assistance they received from the Native Americans after landing at Plymouth Rock, the Puritans we call Pilgrims held what we know as the first Thanksgiving.

Just a thought on Thanksgiving from a modern refugee. Click through.

My Universe — h/t John Gray, Care2

I'm not buying one of these! It does not pick up the cat hair, it just moves it about!

On the Edge–11/26/2015

Posted by TomCat at 8:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 262015

Yesterday my first baby steps were most unsteady, and I would have nosedived without help. It was too late for the shower. I did most of my research last night, because I want to finish early. I have a couple friends coming, and we’ll eat in the café on the first floor of the hospital. Rush mode engaged.

Short Takes:

From FAIR: CNN host Michael Smerconish (Huffington Post, 11/23/15) brought onto his November 21 show former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, who said that if the US is going to go after ISIS, it should

take out every piece of infrastructure—hospitals, universities, irrigation systems—that make it impossible [sic] for the Islamic State to raise money, to provide electricity, sanitation, potable water. Do exactly what we did to the Germans.

Asked by the CNN host whether the US public would tolerate the “so-called innocent civilian death count,” Scheuer replied:

They should. What’s the difference? They’re not Americans.

Here is the peak of Republican love. Kill a Muslim for Republican Supply-side Jesus (the polar opposite of the real Jesus).

From Daily Kos: Chalk up another win for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in fact, another win for the American consumer. In this case, it’s members of the military who have new protections from predatory lenders. The CFPB worked with the Pentagon to develop new rules for how the military discretionary allotment system works. Military personnel can designate a portion of their paycheck to be paid automatically to financial institutions or to people, and previously had no legal protections if they used those automatic payments for personal property—vehicles, appliances and consumer electronics. That’s where unscrupulous companies could exploit them.

The new rules shut down that loophole, and will only allow the automatic payments for “the purpose of savings, insurance premiums, mortgage or rent payments, support for dependents, or investments.” That’s one of the final loopholes closed by the CFBP—the agency that Republicans want to gut—for military personnel who have been big targets for consumer fraud. With all these protections, the CFPB has recovered over $98 million for thousands of service members. You know, the troops Republicans supposedly have so much respect and feeling for.

As of the agency’s third birthday back in July, it had recovered more than $4.6 billion—yes billion for consumers harmed by illegal practices by financial institutions.

No wonder Republicans have never stopped trying to hobble the CFPB!!

From Media Matters: Fox News host Megyn Kelly denounced the scene of a young African American protester standing in front of a police officer during a peaceful protest in Chicago following the announcement that police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with the first-degree murder of an African American teen.

Protests erupted in Chicago following the release of a video showing the shooting death of 17 year old Laquan McDonald. Fox News covered the peaceful protest noting the silent protest of one young black man looking at a police officer. Fox’s Megyn Kelly interrupted her show to comment on the protester, arguing that the protestor was not “appropriate,” because the police officer “hasn’t done anything wrong.” From the November 24 edition of Fox News’ The Kelly File:

Barf Bag Alert!!

Actually, I’m shocked that others on her show were able to counter Megyn Kelly’s racism, without having their microphones cut off.

Cartoon:

On the Edge–11/25/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:37 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 252015

I’m getting as much done early as I can, because I expect a very busy day. Sometime this afternoon my interim prosthetic leg will arrive. I will use it for about six months, shrink out of it, and have a new cup made. Today I will take my first baby steps on two feet. I also expect visits from PT and OT. OT plans to help me use the shower. I’ll just have to suffer through that. Winking smile

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2014 there was a huge increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.

The CDC estimates that nearly 20 million new STD infections happen each year in the U.S., with the majority affecting 15 to 24-year-olds.

Reports of gonorrhea and syphilis also increased in 2014. There was a 2.8% increase in chlamydia since 2013, and reports of syphilis, which has three stages, increased for the most infectious stages of the disease by 15.1%.

One of the reasons for this rise in STDs is the war being waged on public health in this country over the last couple of decades.

The increase in STDs is in many ways a result of cuts in funding to public health clinics, Gail Bolan, director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, told NBC.

“Most recently, there have been significant erosions of state and local STD control programs,” Bolan said. “Most people don’t recognize that the direct clinical care of individuals with sexually transmitted diseases is supported by state and local funds and federal funds.”

This leads to men and women not getting tested and treated early, before further infections occur. As the CDC report notes, it’s not particularly economic to cut our public health and then have to pay it out on the other end.

This is a direct result of the Republican sequester. Thanks, Republicans!

From The New Yorker: In an announcement on Monday morning, Pfizer, the big drug company, whose headquarters are on East 42nd Street, in Manhattan, said that it is merging with one of its competitors, Allergan PLC. Ian Read, a Scottish-born accountant who is Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, said that the proposed deal, which is valued at a hundred and sixty billion dollars, would “create a leading global pharmaceutical company with the strength to research, discover and deliver more medicines and therapies to more people around the world.”

On Wall Street and in the world of big pharma, that statement will raise chuckles. It is widely acknowledged that the primary impetus for the deal is a financial one. In merging with Allergan, which is based in Dublin, Pfizer intends to move its corporate residency to Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is just 12.5 per cent, compared to thirty-five per cent for a company of its size in the United States. Over the next few years, the merger could save Pfizer billions of dollars in taxes and deprive the U.S. Treasury of the same amount.

Tax-driven deals of this nature are known as “inversions,” and they are becoming increasingly common. Burger King, Liberty Global, and Medtronic are among the U.S. corporations to have carried out mergers that moved their headquarters abroad. Last year, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said that inversions were “wrong,” and that he would try and restrict them. Only last week, the Treasury Department issued some new administrative guidelines in this area. Without actual legislation, though, there isn’t very much the Obama Administration can do to prevent these exercises in corporate tax-dodging, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have displayed little eagerness to coöperate in a crackdown.

It’s simple. If a company wants to do business in our marketplace, they should have to pay taxes here. To make this happen we must flush the Republican Party.

From NY Times: For more than a year, a rare coalition of liberal groups and libertarian-minded conservatives has joined the Obama administration in pushing for the most significant liberalization of America’s criminal justice laws since the beginning of the drug war. That effort has had perhaps no ally more important than Koch Industries, the conglomerate owned by a pair of brothers who are well-known conservative billionaires.

Now, as Congress works to turn those goals into legislation, that joint effort is facing its most significant test — over a House bill that Koch Industries says would make the criminal justice system fairer, but that the Justice Department says would make it significantly harder to prosecute corporate polluters, producers of tainted food and other white-collar criminals.

The tension among the unlikely allies emerged over the last week as the House Judiciary Committee, with bipartisan support, approved a package of bills intended to simplify the criminal code and reduce unnecessarily severe sentences.

This makes it crystal clear that Republicans really don’t give a damn about sentencing reform. They’re just using it to mask protecting big corporate criminals from responsibility for their crimes.

Cartoon:

1125Cartoon

Squatch’s Open Thread 25/11/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 3:23 am Open Thread, Politics

Nov 252015

Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . . it was an ordinary day with nothing untoward happening. Something must be wrong! Even the weather was great and no sibling rivalries from the feline side of the family! I'll celebrate while I can!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:42 (average 4:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Daily Kos — While Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning and John Kiriakou are vilified for revealing vital information about spying and bombing and torture, a man who conspired with Goldman Sachs to make billions of dollars on the planned failure of subprime mortgages was honored by New York University for his "Outstanding Contributions to Society."

This is one example of the distorted thinking leading to the demise of a once-vibrant American society. There are other signs of decay:

1. A House Bill Would View Corporate Crimes as 'Honest Mistakes'

Wealthy conservatives are pushing a bill that would excuse corporate leaders from financial fraud, environmental pollution, and other crimes that America's greatest criminals deem simply reckless or negligent. The Heritage Foundation attempts to rationalize, saying "someone who simply has an accident by being slightly careless can hardly be said to have acted with a 'guilty mind.'"

One must wonder, then, what extremes of evil, in the minds of conservatives, led to criminal charges against people apparently aware of their actions: the Ohio woman who took coins from a fountain to buy food; the California man who broke into a church kitchen to find something to eat; and the 90-year-old Florida activist who boldly tried to feed the homeless.

Of course, even without the explicit protection of Congress, CEOs are rarely charged for their crimes. Not a single Wall Street executive faced prosecution for the fraud-ridden 2008 financial crisis.

Click through for 4 more signs of a decaying society. These bring to mind scenes in Detroit where water and sanitation was cut off to thousands because they couldn't pay for water etc, bills usually being a couple hundred dollars. But some golf courses etc owned and used by the wealthy, with arrears in the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars, had no water cut offs. It isn't hard to see who has their priorities screwed up.

Politicususa — Now, it appears that Fox News, the religious right, and conservative pundits have another “war on Christmas” enemy to add to their growing list of atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Wiccans, Heathens, and Muslims who they say hate Christmas. The newest combatant joining the fake war on Christmas went beyond opposing saying Merry Christmas or protesting against Christian Christmas displays on government property and actually assailed the holiday celebration as a farce; likely because he is the supreme leader of the Catholic Church and not involved in conservative America’s silly Christmas outrage.

Pope On War

During a Mass at Casa Santa Maria, Pope Francis quietly committed one of the most heinous sins to American conservatives and religious right fanatics. There have been a world of things this “progressive” Pope has said to incite Republicans, conservatives, and evangelicals to abject anger and outrage, and each and every time it is because he talks like the Christian bible’s humanitarian Jesus. This latest incident is no different and is another signal that on a couple of important issues, Francis is a progressive pope; and an honest-to-dog humanitarian.

Click through for the rest. I can hear Bill O'Reilly now, totally apoplectic, screaming that the Pope has no idea what he's talking about! I am not a catholic, but I can definitely get behind him on some issues, and this is one. I have felt for years that Christmas is about excessive and conspicuous consumption. The real Christmas comes every day wrapped in plain, unadorned paper. It is the extended hand to refugees, a kind word, volunteering in a soup kitchen or a food bank so others might have food, holding the hand of someone who is afraid, and many more.

Talking Points Memo — Writing for the 7th Circuit majority, Judge Richard Posner called the contention that the law would protect women's health "nonexistent." He said the law would put more women in danger by increasing the waiting times for abortions, which could push some procedures into the second trimester.

"What makes no sense is to abridge the constitutional right to abortion on the basis of spurious contentions regarding women's health — and the abridgement challenged in this case would actually endanger women's health," he wrote.

He also said that a woman who experiences complications from an abortion will go to the nearest hospital, which will treat her regardless of whether her abortion doctor has admitting privileges there.

Click through to read the rest. Of course the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Texas case come spring which will affect all states.

My Universe — h/t John Gray, Care2

At least this young lady got the kitten's bumb and not claws as was my misfortune when I was the trampoline 7 yearrs ago!

On the Edge–11/24/2015

Posted by TomCat at 3:04 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Nov 242015

Today I plan to dress in human clothes and explore the public areas on the first floor of the hospital. Of course, that assumes that PT and or OT does not get here first and exhaust me.

Continuing much later, I did explore. Then the prosthetic people came. Surprise!! New leg tomorrow. Then PT came and worked me. Then OT came and worked me. I’m exhausted.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Warning: Proprietors are not responsible for reader aneurisms caused by the following sentence.

Sarah Palin takes to Facebook to say Jesus likes guns. [Dingbat delinked]

JESUS WOULD FIGHT FOR OUR SECOND AMENDMENT

Taking concrete defense measures (ie. arming ourselves) away from the good guys? Yeah… that… we don’t want that. As this hilarious parody says, “…it will really suck when only the bad guys have guns.”

Let us not forget that Bloody Bullseye Barbie is the Republican who painted a bullseye on Gabby Giffords’ HQ shortly before she was shot. Jesus would take a coil of rope to drive out Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians, today’s Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and money Lenders.

From NY Times: Planned Parenthood sued Texas officials in federal court in Austin on Monday, seeking to block the state from cutting off its Medicaid funding, the latest in a series of lawsuits it has filed against Republican-led states after the controversy over its use of fetal tissue.

Texas and a handful of other states — including Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana — have moved to eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood amid the controversy. Secretly recorded videos that were released starting in July purported to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to illegally profit from the sale of aborted fetal tissue and discussing the issue with abortion opponents who posed as representatives of a biomedical firm.

Planned Parenthood said that the videos were deceptively edited and that the group did not do anything illegal or unethical. Its officials said the state’s decision to eliminate the group’s Medicaid funding, set to take effect as early as Dec. 8, was politically motivated and without merit.

The nonprofit organization’s lawsuit alleges that Texas violated federal law and the so-called Medicaid freedom of choice provision, which allows those enrolled in Medicaid to seek services from a qualified provider of their choice. The lawsuit also accuses Texas officials of singling out Planned Parenthood for “unfavorable treatment without adequate justification,” a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The author is sacrificing truth for balance. The tapes were “edited”. Planned Parented makes tissue donations only with the consent of the patients. Reimbursements to Planned Parenthood only covered the cost of making the tissue donations, but there was never profit. As of 10/15, Planned Parenthood makes tissue donations with no reimbursement whatsoever. The Republican War on Women is still with us.

From Alternet: It’s that time of year again. Time for stuffing one’s face with delicious food while re-connecting with drunk aunts, racist uncles, and disappointed parents. Luckily, since 1981 the folks at Butterball have had a hotline for tips on cooking turkey to make the holidays run just a little smoother. Late Show host Stephen Colbert decided to take this goodwill and troll the hotline because, why not?

Why don’t we leave the poor Turkeys alone. Instead, lets stuff and roast Republicans!!

Cartoon:

1124Cartoon

Squatch’s Open Thread 24/11/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 3:40 am Open Thread, Politics

Nov 242015

It has been a busy day, first with physio and then teaching. All was going well, although I was very tired, until we received a call from from my student's 10 year old son. His middle school was in lock down because there was one, maybe two men with guns near the school. That put everybody on edge until it was over and I could get over to the school to pick him up. That stretched out my day and my planned cat nap had to wait. But all is well that ends well. Men with guns, other than police constables, is not something we are used to, thankfully.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:01). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football

							Points
Rank	Team	Status	W-L-T	Pct	Stk	Waiver	For	Against
1	Monster Mashers	009	7-3-0	.700	L1	7	1,002.34	748.84
2	BALCO Bombers	018	7-3-0	.700	W4	9	950.96	793.22
3	Progressive Underdogs	027	6-4-0	.600	W2	8	1,016.66	906.92
4+1	Lefty Hillbillies	018	6-4-0	.600	W1	6	948.50	844.04
5-1	MittsMagicJock	018	6-4-0	.600	W1	5	926.22	796.88
6+2	Purple Demon	018	5-5-0	.500	W3	4	948.16	970.96
7-1	Size 9 Stompers	018	5-5-0	.500	L1	3	851.08	851.16
8-1	Playing without a helmet	036	4-6-0	.400	L3	2	824.80	953.40
9	TomCat Teabag Trashers	009	3-7-0	.300	L3	10	884.98	1,059.66
10	endthegop	009	1-9-0	.100	L9	1	633.20	1,061.82

* Rank change shown is from week 9 – 10

Short Takes

Truth in Media — h/t Lona Goudswaard — In this episode of Truth in Media, Ben Swann explores the origin of ISIS that has already been long forgotten by American media. Swann takes on the central issue of whether or not ISIS was created by "inaction" by the United States government or by "direct" action.

Although this video is 8 months old, it bears watching again and again until we get it straight and can hold politicians, no matter the party, accountable.

Alternet — “The Pfizer-Allergan merger would be a disaster for American consumers who already pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” Sanders said, in a statement issued by his U.S. Senate office. It also would "allow another major American corporation to hide its profits overseas.”

Click through for the rest of the story. I kept hearing about this proposed sale on the radio as I went about my business. What makes this deal different from most so far (I'm sure that others will follow) is that Allergan, the Irish company, is making the purchase thereby getting around US laws regarding "inversions". Bernie is right to call on Obama to squash this.

Think Progress — The mayor of Dallas is pushing back against politicians who say Americans should be skeptical ofSyrian refugees, saying he is “more fearful” of armed white men than people fleeing civil war in the Middle East.

Speaking to MSNBC on Saturday morning, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings was asked to discuss the growing anxiety over Syrian refugees entering the United States, purportedly over concerns they could be potential agents for militant groups such as ISIS. Rawlings staunchly rejected the assertion that Syrians are somehow uniquely prone to violence, saying he is more concerned with the rise of white supremacy and the recent flurry of mass shootings committed by white men.

Click through for the rest and a video from the Rachel Maddow Show.

My Universe — h/t to John Gray, Care2

On the Edge–11/23/2015

Posted by TomCat at 2:12 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 232015

Yesterday I finally got to take my first shower since 9/5. I can’t tell you what a relief it is not to smell something rancid and know it’s me. Because it involves a nurse leaving this unit with me, it’s hard to schedule, but I’m hoping to get a couple a week. Fantasy football players, don’t forget to have your lineups set early this week, as there are two games on Thanksgiving Day.

Religious Ecstasy:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: In 2014, Americans donated an estimated $350 billion to charities. A generous country we are, but how much of those funds actually benefit those in need? You might not want to know. There are good charities. There are bad charities. And there are the worst charities.

America’s “worst” charities have gained their titles by how much they raise in donations for their cause—and how little of that money goes towards the same cause. As these deceptive organizations ask you for your financial support, many lie about where or to whom that money is alloted, sometimes paying themselves “multiple salaries” and “consulting fees.” One cancer charity paid the company president’s son nearly $18 million over eight years, to solicit donations. The Tampa Bay Times reports:

Some nonprofits are little more than fronts for fundraising companies, which bankroll their startup costs, lock them into exclusive contracts at exorbitant rates and even drive the charities into debt.

How Republican!! Click through for the list. I’m amazed that Susan G Komen for the Cure isn’t on the list. Considering all they have spent lobbying to prevent women form getting breast cancer screenings and other women’s healthcare from Planned Parenthood, they should be on it.

From NY Times: Donald J. Trump said on Sunday he was in favor of the actions of his supporters who reportedly punched and kicked a protester from the Black Lives Matter movement who interrupted Mr. Trump’s campaign rally the previous day in Birmingham, Ala.

“Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” on Sunday. “This was not handled the way Bernie Sanders handled his problem, I will tell you.”

To support violence against a protestor is typical rabid Republican response. But Hairball is a typical Republican.

The Squatch beat me to John Oliver, so you only get two short takes.

Cartoon:

Considering yesterday’s cartoon, this is why.

Squatch’s Open Thread 23/11/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 4:05 am Open Thread, Politics

Nov 232015

It feels like it has been a long day. I visited with my mother and we had our little fashion show. Her care aid this evening, Fatiha, helped me with the clothing. Mum smiled when I held them up. She always likes what I choose. Temperatures are heading down to the -5 to -10 C range for the rest of the week. We may even see some snow flurries Monday night. If it gets any colder, I'll have to put longjohns on my computer!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:27 (average 4:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Daily Beast — In the week-plus since the ISIS-commissioned terrorist attacks on Paris claimed the lives of 130 people and sent the world into a state of panic, Republican politicians—and that maladjusted person from your high school you’ve lost touch with—have been stoking the fears of Americans by espousing virulent anti-refugee rhetoric. Leading GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Marco Rubio have said we shouldn’t allow in any Syrian refugees, while 31 governors across the country have pledged not to allow these war-torn survivors into their states—this despite the fact that they have zero authority to do so.

And Trump, who by the way is married to an immigrant from then war-torn Slovenia (see: the Ten-Day War), has even argued that all mosques in the U.S. should be surveilled, and under a Trump presidency, that all U.S. Muslims could be forced to enter themselves into a database to monitor them. If this sounds like fascism, that’s because it is.

This past week, the House of Representatives passed a bill (that will surely be vetoed by President Obama) calling for tougher screening procedures for Syrian refugees, including that the FBI director must sign off on each and every one of the 10,000 refugees Obama’s pledged to accept over the next year.

Click through for the rest. John Oliver certainly has a way with words.

Huffington Post — "That's the danger and that somehow talking about security allows us to tap into that racist vein, when that isn't who we are," Wynne said.

Couillard said Canada is not uniquely better or worse than any other society.

"We have those two devils within our society: racism and xenophobia. They exist," said the Quebec premier.

"And it is the responsibility of political leaders – and I got into trouble a few days ago because I said that publicly – it is the responsibility of political leaders not to feed the fire in a very negative way."

The 11-week federal election campaign that resulted in a resounding Liberal majority last month included highly charged debates over the wearing of face-coverings by less than a handful of Muslim women at citizenship swearing-in ceremonies and a Conservative proposal for a "barbaric cultural practices" hotline where it was suggested neighbours might report suspect behaviour.

Click through for the rest. The thought of the barbaric cultural practices hotline called to mind an article I had read in the NY Times about ISIS women, Khansaa Brigade, the all-female morality police of the Islamic State. ISIS turning people against their own. Government leaders, in this case, Harper and his harlots encouraging people to turn against others. And it reminds me of what Hitler was doing during WWII.

Think Progress — Speaking to a bipartisan group of black lawmakers and community leaders on Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said he has yet to see evidence that black men and women are being disproportionately targeted by law enforcement.

During the 2020 Club’s Presidential Justice Forum at Allen University, a historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, Carson said that he’s not convinced that there are racial biases in policing or that law enforcement singles out African Americans.

“I’m not aware of a lot of cases where a police officer comes up to someone like you and says ‘Hey, I don’t like you. I’m going to shoot you,’” he said to moderator Jeff Johnson from Black Entertainment Television. “I’m still waiting for the evidence.”

Click through for the rest. It has to be true . . . Carson gave himself a lobotomy! Either that or he just doesn't give a damn. Does the US want someone for POTUS who isn't in touch with reality?

My Universe —

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