Anti Refuge Hysteria: We're Better Than This-or Are We?

It's amazing how fast things have changed.

"I had thought the Syrian passport found at the scene of one of the Paris attacks -- and now generally believed to be a fake -- was the spark that lit the anti-Syrian-refugee fire. But upon closer look, the fire had been smoldering in right-wing circles well before the Paris attacks. Tierney Sneed has a tick tock on how the homegrown attacks in Paris turned into an xenophobic inferno in the United States, where interning of Syrian refugees is now being publicly proposed with a straight face."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/syrian-refugees-passport-paris-attacks

It really takes so little to get us here again. Hillary says we're better than this. I hope so. But I'm not so sure.
"In a speech laying out her plan to fight terrorism, former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bashed the recent calls to block Syrian refugees after Friday's Paris attack."

"Clinton kicked off the Thursday speech, given at New York's Council on Foreign Relations, by implicitly criticizing the anti-refugee hysteria that has overcome American politics since 129 people were killed by Islamic extremists."

"After a major terrorist attack, every society faces a choice between fear and resolve," Clinton said. "The world's great democracies can't sacrifice our values or turn our backs on those in need. Therefore, we must chose resolve and we must lead the world to meet this threat."

"Muslim Americans are working every day on the front lines in the fight against radicalization,” she said.

She argued that "slamming the door on every Syrian refugee, that is just not who we are. We are better than that."

"It would be a cruel irony indeed if ISIS can force families from their homes and also prevent them from finding new ones," she said.

"This is not a time for scoring political points," she added.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/clinton-refugees-slammed-backlash

Not a time for scoring political points. But that game is already afoot.

:"House poised to approve Syrian refugees bill."

"The bill will see near unanimous support from Republicans and broad support from Democrats."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/syria-refugee-bill-vote-216053#ixzz3rxTqNb00

There you go. At the end of the day, House Dems are so afraid as being called soft on terrorism that they'll take an action that has nothing to do with keeping us safe. 

"Democratic insiders expect 60 members of their caucus to support the GOP measure. Some rank-and-file Democrats are concerned about looking soft on national security. Already the Blue Dog Coalition — a group of moderate Democrats — has announced that it will support the bill."

"The legislation, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, would require the FBI, Homeland Security Department and director of national intelligence to certify to Congress that any refugee from Syria or Iraq is "not a threat to the security of the United States" before being allowed to settle in the United States. President Barack Obama has proposed allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the country this year, part of the Western response to the wave of millions of refugees fleeing that country's bloody civil war and Islamic State-related violence."

"The White House has threatened to veto the measure, which is sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). The Senate won't take up the bill until Congress returns in December from the Thanksgiving recess."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/syria-refugee-bill-vote-216053#ixzz3rxUQzJWJ

Yet again, fear and prejudice have won.