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Monday, February 6, 2017

Thought For Today (With Addendum)

Those who are not American citizens do not have a right to come to the United States.

Do those individuals with valid visas or valid green cards have a right to come here?

Related reading: Why the ROBARTS HALT was wrong on Trump's travel restrictions, and why the Senate MUST MOVE IMMEDIATELY on Gorsuch.

Addendum: That Budweiser Super Bowl Ad Everyone Is Talking About? Turns Out It’s All a LIE.

Please discuss the above topics.

87 comments:

  1. That's an easy question....no non-U.S. citizen has any right to immigrate to this nation. Period. Full stop.

    Nor, on the flip-side....do we have any mandate to accept "refugees" of any nature, into these borders.

    - CI

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  2. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

    Jesus Christ

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  3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

    Jesus Christ

    Meek: enduring injury with patience and without resentment

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    1. The Sermon on the Mount is not a contract for governance. Rather, the Sermon tells us how to manage interpersonal relations.

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    2. From the latest edition of Time Magazine:

      ...That Trump is not alone in attempting to shut America's gates to particular groups was largely lost in the backlash against his Executive Order suspending admission of all refugees as well as immigrants and visitors from seven majority-Muslim nations. From John Winthrop to Emma Lazarus to Ronald Reagan, who spoke of welcoming "all the pilgrims from all the lost places" in his farewell address nearly 30 years ago, Americans prefer to think of themselves in a warm and generous light when it comes to the nation's open door.

      The truth is both more complicated and less attractive. George Washington articulated what we like to think of as the American creed, writing in 1783, "The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions." Yet fears about indiscriminate immigration are coeval with the nation's founding and the early Republic. In 1802, even the now sainted Alexander Hamilton--himself an immigrant and, in the 21st century, an emblem of American mobility--had reservations: "The influx of foreigners must, therefore, tend to produce a heterogeneous compound; to change and corrupt the national spirit; to complicate and confound public opinion; to introduce foreign propensities." We've never been as open as we'd like to think...

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    3. ...bigotry...

      That's certainly Trumps claim, but not only have more Muslims been killed by ISIS, from Pew:

      Nearly 39,000 Muslim refugees entered the U.S. in fiscal 2016, the highest number on record, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center. Muslims made up nearly half (46%) of refugee admissions, a higher share than for Christians, who accounted for 44% of refugees admitted. Muslims exceeded Christians on this measure for the first time since 2006, when a large number of Somali refugees entered the U.S. From fiscal years 2002 to 2016, the U.S. admitted 399,677 Christian refugees and 279,339 Muslim refugees, meaning that 46% of all refugees who have entered the U.S. during this time have been Christian while 32% have been Muslim.

      http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/30/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/

      - CI

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    4. Trinitarian said

      There could be no better basis for governance of any kind, –– individual, parochial or institutional –– than God's Holy Word. Those uninformed by the SPIRIT of Christ's Example are not fit to govern.

      This does not mean that establishing a theocracy is a moral imperative.

      How we think, what we believe, and how we choose to act, however, are of the utmost importance. That is why cynics with a bitter, surly, harshly critical outlook, militant atheists, Communists and Islamists should never be encouraged to hold elective office.

      It isn't whether or not one goes to church that matters, and may the Lord please save us from those self-righteous characters of any religious or philosophical orientation who take it upon themselves to lecture, berate, and harass others for any reason or in service to any cause.

      All that matters is how we choose to BEHAVE toward others, and a good deal of that depends on not giving in to the desire to lament, complain, accuse, attack, and otherwise try to tear others down and thus spread and magnify misery.

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    5. Trinitarian,
      There could be no better basis for governance of any kind, –– individual, parochial or institutional –– than God's Holy Word.

      I can't say that I agree in entirety with that statement -- because of the dangers of institutional implementation of God's Word at the governance level has always led to the tyranny of theocracy.

      All that matters is how we choose to BEHAVE toward others. Yes! As individuals, but not as nation states, IMO. The mantra "It's the right thing to do" is the mantra of Progressives, too. And we know where THAT has led!

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    6. Addendum: Anyone with decency in his heart must certainly desire to flee ISIS -- and to see ISIS annihilated. The hideous deeds which ISIS has committed are beyond the pale!

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    7. There are more Muslims than Christians in the regions into which the tentacles of ISIS extend.

      Exactly, that goes straight to my point. Why is there a belief that Christians are being unfairly excluded from refugee status, when their refugee numbers by percentage, exceed that of Muslim refugees? With Trump stating "If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair...."

      So his EO to grant preference to Christian refugees, is based on what exactly?

      - CI

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    8. Because their greater numbers reflect greater discrimination?

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    9. I'd ask you to clarify. If Christians are a far smaller minority in Muslim nations, yet are afforded refugee status in the U.S. from those nations, in numbers quite par with that of Muslims....they're already receiving what Trump's preferential treatment would grant.

      - CI

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    10. ...unless, of course, they experience much higher levels of discrimination than Moslems from the countries from which they are seeking "refuge".

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    11. In a theocracy (like Iran), minority religions are discriminated upon, BY DEFINITION. And ISIS, like the Iranians, seeks to impose a THEOCRACY. The Koran codifies in law "discrimination" against non-Moslems.

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    12. Sure...and they're entering the U.S. at a higher rate than Muslims, based on their population size. Trump's problem is solved...without an EO.

      - CI

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    13. from Wiki:

      A hadith (/ˈhædɪθ/[1] or /hɑːˈdiːθ/;[2] Arabic: حديث‎‎ ḥadīth, plural: ahadith, أحاديث, ʼaḥādīth[3]) is one of various reports describing the words, actions, or habits of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[3] The term comes from Arabic meaning a "report", "account" or "narrative". Hadith are second only to the Quran in developing Islamic jurisprudence...

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    14. ps- as of Nov 2015... Of 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S. since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, only 53 (2.4 percent) have been Christians while 2098 (or 96 percent) have been Muslims, according to State Department statistics updated on Monday.

      The remaining 33 include 1 Yazidi, 8 Jehovah Witnesses, 2 Baha’i, 6 Zoroastrians, 6 of "other religion," 7 of "no religion," and 3 atheists.
      Updated figures of Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S. since the Syrian civil war began. Only 53, or 2.4 percent, of the 2,194 total are Christians. (Data: State Department Refugee Processing Center)

      By comparison, Syria’s population breakdown in early 2011, before the civil war’s death toll and refugee exodus roiled the demographics, was 90 percent Muslim (including Sunnis, Shia, Alawites and Druze) and 10 percent Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook.

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    15. You don't think that Obama's Executive Orders favored Moslems?

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    16. ...and for my "reductio ad Hitlerium...

      Saying that Moslems deserve refugee status in proportion to Christians is like saying the German Aryans in '38 deserved refugee status from Germany in the same proportion in the population as Jews...

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    17. Do you believe that criticizing a Trump Administration action = supporting an Obama Administration action?

      But with all things, there are other factors to consider:

      Boian said claims of discrimination against Christians don’t square with the UNHCR’s experience in Iraq. In fiscal year 2016, there were 9,880 refugees accepted from Iraq, and 15.4% of them were Christians. That’s far higher than the 0.8% of the overall Iraqi population that is Christian. Boian noted that Iraqi Christians are being registered in the same offices, by the same staff, as Syrian Christians.

      In October 2015, Shea asked then-U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and current U.N. Secretary General António Guterres about the low number of Syrian Christians in resettlement programs.

      Guterres said the situation in Syria is “more complex” than in Iraq. For one, he said, many Syrian Christians have friends or family in Lebanon, and have found safe refuge there.

      Christians in Syria “have been less systematically victimized than they were in Iraq,” Guterres said. “… Most of the Syrian Christians have moved to Lebanon. And in Lebanon, the first thing that has happened to me when I met the Lebanese president … when I asked him to start a resettlement program from Lebanon, (he said), ‘Don’t resettle Christians because they are vital for us.’ Which means that for the Lebanese society, there is a strong interest in preserving the Christians in Lebanon.”


      http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/31/fact-check-christian-refugees-unfairly-kept-out/97300372/

      - CI

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    18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    19. You do understand that the UNHCR is an NGO and NOT a US government agency. Perhaps you were also unaware the 80-90% of Iraqi refugees fled to, of all places, Syria?

      Syria has historically offered assistance to Iraqi refugees.[18] At the beginning of 2007, the UNHCR estimated that the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria was over 1.2 million.[1][18] 80–90% of the Iraqi refugee population lives in the capital city of Damascus.[5] The reason for its large refugee population can be attributed to more than just geography. Until 2007, Syria maintained an open-door policy to Iraqis fleeing the war-ravaged country.

      ps - In 1861, Jefferson Davis told Lincoln, "Don't resettle the Blacks, because they are vital to us." ;)

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    20. more from Wiki on these Iraqi-Syrian refugees...

      UNHCR estimates that 63% of Iraqis in Syria are Sunni, 19% Shi'a, and lists an additional 3% as Islam unspecified. Iraq's vulnerable minority groups are represented in disproportionately high numbers in Syria, with Christians at 11%, Mandaeans between 1-4%, and Yezidis at just under 1%.[10] The majority of refugees are from Iraq's urban areas, with up to 80% hailing from Baghdad alone.[11] Large portions of Iraq's Christians and Sabean-Mandeans, in particular, have fled to Syria due to the targeting and dissolution of their urban communities in Iraq.

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    21. And your quote seems to nicely dovetail with the source I posted above. Not entirely sure why you need to make an obvious distinction between NGO and USG.

      - CI

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    22. You quoted the UNHCR/Guterres extensively. His opinions vis Xtians are just that, opinions, NOT US policy.

      But hey, if you really believe that the US was obligated after WWII to resettle as many German ex-NAZI's into the US as Jews, well...

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    23. ps - And as for the 2016 Iraq numbers... The Shi'a in Iraq are being protected by the Iraqi government, the Sunni in Iraq are being protected by the ISIS idiots, but NOBODY is protecting the X-tians.

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    24. ...And there's the strawman. Is policy based on statistical data [as outlined by the State Departments Refugee Processing Center, where Pew got it's numbers]...or is it based on emotions?

      - CI

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    25. Here is the most recent political "status" of X-tians in Iraq:

      In 2010, reports emerged in Mosul of people being stopped in the streets, asked for their identity cards, and shot if they had a first or last name indicating Assyrian or Christian origin.[8] On 31 October 2010, 58 people, including 41 hostages and priests, were killed after an attack on an Assyrian Catholic church in Baghdad.[20] See October 2010 Baghdad church attack. A group affiliated to Al-Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq, stated that Iraq's indigenous Christians were a "legitimate target."[21] In November, a series of bombings and mortar attacks targeted Assyrian Christian-majority areas of Baghdad.[21]

      Half the Christian population has allegedly fled en masse immolation in 243 cathedrals and additional churches and mass beheadings including of pregnant women and children, with an estimated 330,000 to Syria and smaller numbers to Jordan.[16] Some fled to Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq and to neighboring countries, such as Iran. Christians who are too poor or unwilling to leave their ancient homeland have fled mainly to Arbil, particularly its Christian suburb of Ainkawa.[8] 10,000 mainly Assyrian Iraqi Christians live in the UK led by Archbishop Athanasios Dawood, who has called on the government to accept more refugees.[22]

      Apart from emigration, the Iraqi Christians are also declining due to lower rates of birth and higher death rates than their Muslim compatriots. Also since the invasion of Iraq, Assyrians and Armenians have been targeted by Islamist extremist organisations.[23]

      During the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, the Islamic State of Iraq issued a decree in July that all Christians in the area of its control must pay a special tax of approximately $470 per family, convert to Islam, or die.[24] Many of them took refuge in nearby Kurdish-controlled regions of Iraq.[25] Christian homes have been painted with the Arabic letter ن (nūn) for Nassarah (an Arabic word that means "Christian") and a declaration that they are the property of the Islamic State. On 18 July, the Jihadists seemed to have changed their minds and announced that all Christians would need to leave or be killed. Most of those who left had their valuable possessions stolen.[26] According to Patriarch Louis Sako, there are no Christians remaining in Mosul for the first time in the nation's history

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    26. ...And there's the strawman. Is policy based on statistical data [as outlined by the State Departments Refugee Processing Center, where Pew got it's numbers]...or is it based on emotions?

      I would hope that it's based upon the political conditions which lead to the creation of "refugees" (ie- political status)

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    27. Source?

      And your point is.....? There have still been more Muslims killed in Iraq and Syria, than Christians.

      I don't want to the U.S. to accept anyany refugees....much less those based on their religious faith.

      - CI

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    28. But if a Jew is a German and a NAZI is a German, I guess a policy that accepts 1% of Germans as refugees w/o distinction as to political status could be considered very "emotion free".

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    29. Unfortunately, you're correct...at least in terms of realpolitik. Policy is largely driven by political conditions and considerations. That didn't make it just over the past 8 years...and logically doesn't now either.

      - CI

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    30. Is your desire to see more refugee immigration to the U.S. based on pragmatism or emotion?

      - CI

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    31. I didn't advocate for more. But if we're going to have any refugee immigration at all, it had better be based upon BOTH.

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    32. Refugee's accepted into the US w/o the sympathies of the American people WILL be discriminated and victimized.

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    33. We'll take the Werner von Braun's, but not the Eichmann's.

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    34. I sympathize with that sentiment...but back to my original point, POTUS lied...again. Christians are not finding it "impossible" to seek refugee status in the U.S.. Why the games? And after 8 years of condescending theatrics from 1600 Penn.......why are we enabling another 4?

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    35. So if 1 (out of a million) is let in, it's not impossible. An even bigger (999,999/ 1,000,000) "lie" would be to say that it were "possible"

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    36. The objective "truth" may be that it's "possible", but the subjective "truth" (1/ 1,000,000 to the Christian applicant) is that it's NOT.

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    37. ...but then, who I am to get hung up on "semantics"? ;)

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    38. Except it's not semantics, when POTUS is trying to formulate policy based on a false narrative...and then bitch & whine that the media is doing the same.

      - CI

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    39. CI,
      Quick comment before I leave for work....

      I do not have time to track down every false narrative. I have to work to pay the bills.

      There are too damn many narratives, false and otherwise, deluging us from every direction! Tsunamis!

      Let's see what the courts decide this evening -- and beyond.

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    40. Just to be clear, I was referring to Trump bitching & whining. I have a job and bills as well, but I'm not giving this POTUS anymore of a pass than the last.

      It's going to be an.....interesting....4 years.

      - CI

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    41. And there is the intended result! I believe the confusion and exhaustion is entirely deliberate, cultivated by Trump and his team. As it has been in Russia (see Vladislav Surkov), so it is coming to be in the West.

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    42. @CI,

      EVERY narrative is a false narrative. Complete honesty w/o hypocrisy would mean maintaining an absolute silence.

      There's an old Italian saying: "Alexander never did what he said, and Caesar never said what he did".

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    43. Speedy G,
      EVERY narrative is a false narrative.

      Political Science 101!

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    44. CI,
      I'm not giving this POTUS anymore of a pass than the last.

      Fine by me. I voted for Trump, but I do not worship him. I have never worshiped any POTUS.

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    45. EVERY narrative is a false narrative.

      Uh huh. From the position of political or media hacks, that's certainly the mindset. But if this would indeed be the case.....then there's obviously no reason for the Trump Administration, surrogates and sycophants....to keep carping and bleating about...."fake news".

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    46. Surte there is. We don't stop because establishment Republicans abandoned the conservative "narrative" twenty years ago, and we're tired of the progressive "narrative" being taken as "sacrosanct" and "unassailable". It's "perfectly" assailable. This just proves it. :)

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    47. Every narrative entails a choice of emphasis and critical interpretation of events, so there's always going to be room for honest dispute. I wouldn't say that makes them all false though. Surely a false narrative is one which rests on lies - made-up events (such as Surkov's theatrical "opposition"), guessed-at or inflated statistics (Trump's m.o.) etc.?

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    48. Last night, a talking head on the news opined, "Trump speaks in hyperbole."

      When does hyperbole become an outright lie? In the eye of the beholder?

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    49. "Trump speaks in hyperbole" is a euphemism. Interestingly, euphemism and hyperbole are similarly related to lying.

      I guess you apply a test like "would I expect this statement to mislead a distracted idiot in a hurry?"

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    50. Jez,
      I never said that I agreed with the talking head.

      But I will say that Trump shoots from the hip. That's always been his style as far as I can tell.

      Not saying this as a defense of Trump, merely making the observation.

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    51. I don't think that Surkov (and Putin) fund a "theatrical opposition". The opposition in Russia is VERY real. They're simply driven towards "theatrics" because the alternative would be "gunfire".

      They fund them so that they can implant the idea of agent's procacateur in the opposition's midst and thereby foment "distrust" amongst the opposition's allies/ prevent them from achieving a "critical revolutionary mass".

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    52. AoW "shoots from the hip" === "doesn't care if he's wrong".

      Thersites: There's both, isn't there? Sure there's genuine opposition to Putin, but Surkov's genius is to muddy the waters to such a degree that the general Russian public cannot easily distinguish serious politics from the purely theatrical.

      How would you judge the morality of assassinating Putin?

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    53. Jez,
      "shoots from the hip" === "doesn't care if he's wrong".

      The expression also implies that such impromptu statements, actions, etc., are often correct. A 6th sense, in other words.

      Every real estate speculator whom I personally know shoots from the hip -- at least the speculators in Trump's generation.

      Is it wise for an elected public servant to shoot from the hip? That's another question. Certainly in times past, elected public servants have done a lot of shooting from the hip -- particularly those we might call populists.

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    54. How would you judge the morality of assassinating Putin?

      W/O a viable path to a "better" leader, I'd judge it highly immoral. Even with a viable path, I'd judge it marginally immoral...

      As Isaiah Berlin once said, "Western civilisation has rested upon the principle that, whatever else was permitted or forbidden, the one heinous act which would destroy the world was to do precisely this--the deliberate act of tampering with human beings so as to make them behave in a way which, if they knew what they were doing, or what its consequences were likely to be, would make them recoil with horror and disgust. The whole of the Kantian morality (and I don't know about Catholics, but Protestants, Jews, Muslims and high-minded atheists believe it) lies in this; the mysterious phrase about men being "ends in themselves," to which much lip-service has been paid, with not much attempt to explain it, seems to lie in this: that every human being is assumed to possess the capacity to choose what to do, and what to be, however narrow the limits within which his choice may lie, however hemmed in by circumstances beyond his control; that all human love and respect rests upon the attribution of conscious motives in this sense; that all the categories, the concepts, in terms of which we think about and act towards one another--goodness, badness, integrity and lack of it, the attribution of dignity or honour to others which we must not insult or exploit, the entire cluster of ideas such as honesty, purity of motive, courage, sense of truth, sensibility, compassion, justice; and, on the other side, brutality, falseness, wickedness, ruthlessness, lack of scruple, corruption, lack of feelings, emptiness--all these notions in terms of which we think of others and ourselves, in terms of which conduct is assessed, purposes adopted--all this becomes meaningless unless we think of human beings as capable of pursuing ends for their own sakes by deliberate acts of choice--which alone makes nobility noble and sacrifices sacrifices."

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  4. Do those individuals with valid visas or valid green cards have a right to come here?

    They may have that privilege legally, but that privilege should be rescinded if there is any reason to suspect they have ties to or sympathy with groups or organizations that involved with Islamic terrorism or any other seditious, subversive, treasonous movements.

    The most appropriate punishment for treason would not not be death, but loss of American citizenship, and deportation to a land ruled by Communists, Islamists or African potentates like Idi Amin. If not that, then exile to a modern equivalent of Devil's Island, or a place like Elba, with no access to email, the internet, movies, radio, television, newspapers, or mail service of any kind.

    ... Richard Whittington

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  5. Trinitarian said

    DO UNTO OTHERS AS YIU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.

    Matthew 5: 3-12 (KJV)

    Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

    Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

    Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

    Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
    Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

    Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

    Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

    - Jesus Christ

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    1. Again, those words are not a contract for governance, but rather a guide for interpersonal relations.

      Now, if an American citizen wants to "adopt" those seeking refuge, that's fine by me. But by "adopt," I mean assuming legal liability for those adopted refugees.

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    2. “ Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

      - John Jay, a Founding Father of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and our first Chief Justice of the Supreme court.

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  6. On Saturday, one of my Chinese clients opined on the matter of immigration. Here is what she, a naturalized citizen said (paraphrase):

    "I support Trump. Too many people are coming into America and taking advantage of America. Every day, I see Koreans at the local high school, and they are getting the free breakfast and free lunch program. Look at their expensive clothes! Look at their cars! Look at the shoes on their feet! They can afford to buy breakfast and lunch. Have they no self-respect?"

    Interesting!

    BTW, this Chinese client, a devoted Christian, is one of the most generous people I've ever known. Her whole family gives a lot to their church, helps those who need help on an individual basis, etc.

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  7. “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity … to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

    - James Madison

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  8. "Law, natural or revealed, made for men or for nations, flows from the same Divine source: it is the law of God ... Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine ... Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other."  

    -  James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

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  9. "All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." 

    - Noah Webster

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  10. "If 'Thou shalt not covet,' and 'Thou shalt not steal,' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free." 

    - John Adams

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    1. The conundrum of John Adams:

      Passions were high, and the president of the United States was eager to act. In 1798, John Adams, amid talk of war with France, signed the Alien and Sedition Acts to, in his view, protect the national interest against internal dissent and outside agitation. Passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress, the laws, among other things, increased the number of years applicants for citizenship had to wait and authorized the President to deport any foreigner he deemed dangerous to the country....

      Society does not necessarily include governance. See Merriam Webster.

      Also, there are differences in the study of sociology and political science. That why they are different courses of study!

      As for covetousness, it is the basis of every crime (or, if you prefer, sin).

      Of course covetousness is wrong and has dire consequences for both the one filled with covetousness and victim -- particularly if it is acted upon! That said, there is no way to make a law prohibiting covetousness because covetousness is a thought crime.

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  11. RELEVANT!

    Gangster Islam: The problem Europe ignores:

    For over a decade, Europe’s struggle to successfully integrate its Muslim population has been evident. But throughout the years a new and distinctly European phenomenon arose, which is as significant as it is underreported: Gangster Islam. It entails the conflation of the seemingly a-religious street culture of youths from a Muslim background on the one hand, and elements of the Islamic religion on the other.

    The German publication Der Spiegel once very briefly touched on the matter, a Danish documentary highlighted Islamic extremists recruiting gang members from a Muslim background, and a Dutch terrorism expert pointed out how Syrian returnees were more likely to live a life of crime in order to finance the jihad, than to actually commit a terror attack.

    One would think that after having spent millions of euros on interreligious dialogues, cultural sensitivity trainings and moral diversity classes, Europe’s social scientists would have punctured the surface by now. But a fundamental discussion on how and why street culture and religion conflate, and what the implications of this new hybrid culture are, seems thus far to have been shied away from....


    More at the above link.

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  12. From the January 31, 2017, edition of the WaPo:

    The Trump administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who are likely to require public assistance, as well as to deport — when possible — immigrants already living in the United States who depend on taxpayer help, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Washington Post.

    A second draft order under consideration calls for a substantial shake-up in the system through which the United States administers immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, with the aim of tightly controlling who enters the country and who can enter the workforce, and reducing the social services burden on U.S. taxpayers.

    [...]

    The order weighs how to make the country’s immigration program “more merit based,”...

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  13. In regards to the controversy over the Lumber 84 alien ad that had to be changed for acceptance there is even more hypocrisy.
    Maggie Magerko, daughter of Joe Hardy founder of 84 lumber, also runs the posh Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, and is listed among the top 400 richest people in America by Forbes magazine.
    She got money rom the PA government when her lumber company fell on hard times for a bit. She couldn't use her own money? Of course she needs aliens to work at her resort.

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  14. The Sermon on the Mount...painful to hear used like this.
    If we aren't very careful about the immigrants privileged enough to gain entry here and we don't keep America as it is; with a continued future of success, generosity and caring, we will not be ABLE to help the sick and poor. Even OURS.

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    1. Z,
      I so agree with your second paragraph! Thank you for saying that.

      In fact, my Chinese client, a naturalized American citizen who had to jump through hoop after hoop to come here, made a similar point on Saturday. See my comment earlier in this thread.

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    2. AOW, I've heard Hispanics say the same thing.."We didn't move to AMerica to bring Mexico with us...we want to live in the America we'd heard about, we don't want to change it so drastically.." Just saw your comment about the Chinese client...excellent. She/he needs to SPEAK OUT in PUBLIC on this subject.
      I'm SO SICK AND TIRED of our being branded as xenophobes for wanting LEGAL immigration and condemning illegals....it's almost surreal.

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    3. Z,
      I've haven't had occasion to speak to any Hispanics, but some friends of mine have and have reported the same thing.

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  15. I'd reply but I'm still relishing Brady's March on Atlanta.

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    1. I can sell you a Brady Superbowl game jersey, cheap... $20k.

      Only worn once.

      Delete
    2. Okay, maybe I misquoted the price..., although a couple million "knock-offs" are already in process of being sewn.

      Delete
    3. No interest in football have I, but I heard about Tom Brady's jersey.

      Who had access and could have stolen it?

      Delete
    4. A foolish fetishist no doubt.

      Delete

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