John Oliver Explains the Refugee Vetting Process

The chief fear regarding Syrian refugees seems to be that somehow terrorists will sneak in amongst the incoming flow of refugees. How this same fear doesn't apply to terrorists infiltrating Christian refugees (that the right wants to let in) isn't clear, but that's not important right now. What is important is, that the acceptance of refugees into this country is not a simple process, and would be possibly the least likely route a terrorist would take to get here. So, could we please just calm the paranoia just a bit?

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Watch John Oliver Explain the Vetting Process for Syrian Refugees



In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, 31 U.S. governors now oppose the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states. On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver described this as “pretty extreme, but also pretty meaningless” due to the fact that governors actually don’t have that power, as well as the fact that Syrians could simply walk across state borders, which Oliver noted “are not crocodile-filled moats. . .”

Read more at: Time

John Oliver: The Uselessness of the Penny

Last Week with John Oliver has quickly become a favorite in our household. The freedom that HBO affords over network or cable is a nice element. But I can't help but wonder how Oliver would have done as a replacement for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, rather than Trevor Noah (who has been hit-or-miss since his debut). Here is Oliver's featured bit from Sunday night's show. I will share his take on the Syrian refugee crisis if it becomes available, as it was truly well stated.

SNL: FOX & Friends on Syrian Refugees

Saturday Night Live's spoofs of the oddly named FOX & Friends show are generally a highlight for me, mostly because it's amazing they can make that show seem any more ridiculous. Saturday's edition was no exception, though I missed the "corrections" they usually run. The Debbie Wasserman-Schultz bit didn't amuse me, because it doesn't ring true, but the Ben Carson stuff is gold.

US Air Strikes ISIS in Syria

Allegedly, this won't happen.

I've mostly avoided this subject, because I truthfully have no idea what is bad or what is good. Asea and adrift, sorry. But I thought I'd just mark the spot on the calendar. As of now, it's on.

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U.S. airstrikes hit ISIS inside Syria for first time

American jets began bombing ISIS targets in Syria early Tuesday, raising U.S. involvement in the war-torn country and sending a forceful message to the terror group. The airstrikes focused on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, a U.S. official told CNN, though other locations were hit as well. They're the first strikes against the terror group inside the country since President Barack Obama's announcement this month that he was prepared to expand the American efforts beyond targets in Iraq. . . .

Read more (with video) at: CNN

President Obama's Speech on ISIL (or ISIS, or IS, or Whatever)

Image from source, MSN

I don't have an answer of what to do in Iraq and Syria. Do you? Of course, we didn't run for president either. Can you imagine? There are no good options, and you're up against a wall of criticism no matter what choice you make. No wonder presidents tend to age so rapidly in office.

Frankly, I wish we didn't have to do anything in the Middle East. Ever. How different life would be if President Reagan hadn't reversed President Carter's energy initiatives, hadn't ripped the solar panels off the White House, hadn't plunged us right back into dependence on foreign oil, with no plan to get off it. Jimmy Carter gets a lot of crap, some deserved some not. But he should get credit for that. Ronald Reagan has been deified, which he doesn't deserve, and gets very little criticism for his very real blunders. And then, of course, there is the fact that none of this would be happening if we hadn't invaded the wrong country, and created Al Qaeda in Iraq, which became ISIL/ISIS/IS. You know who you can thank for that.

So, before you jump all over the current guy, acknowledge the giant turdburger (s) on his plate, and who helped make them. And while you're doing that, also realize that the authorization for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq was signed by George W. Bush himself, and that the government of Iraq would not agree to leaving troops behind (I'm looking at you, John McCain).

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Obama to launch airstrikes in Syria for first time

WASHINGTON (AP) — Opening a new military front in the Middle East, President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria for the first time Wednesday night, along with expanded strikes in Iraq as part of "a steady, relentless effort" to root out Islamic State extremists and their spreading reign of terror. . .

Read more at: MSN
 

Deal Reached in Syria Over Chemical Weapons

It would seem war has been averted. While things in the region could always relapse (it's a pattern), for now, we're not going into yet another battle. FOX "News" and the rest of Right Wing World will of course somehow make this a bad thing, since President Barack Obama is the guy occupying the Oval Office. But you know what, 'baggers? If you're going to give St. Ronnie Reagan the credit for single-handedly ending the Cold War, and bringing down the Berlin Wall (even though it happened under Poppy Bush, and even he didn't know it was going to happen), you're going to have to get comfortable with Obama getting credit for this one. Again, barring some other typical Middle-east dustup that throws things cattywompus. History won't care that you have an irrational hatred for the man.

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U.S., Russia agree to framework on Syria chemical weapons



Russia and the United States announced Saturday that they have reached a groundbreaking deal on a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, after talks in Switzerland. . .

Read more at: CNN.com

FOX's Neil Cavuto Ponders: Is Syria Attack an Indicator of the Second Coming?

Kent Brockman Neil Cavuto, image from Raw Story

Yeah, you know, people can make digs that MSNBC is the liberal version of FOX "News." But honestly--beside the fact that "news" isn't in MSNBC's name--is there anything like this ridiculous babble coming out of Rachel Maddow or Lawrence O'Donnell? Really?

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Fox anchor asks viewers to consider if bombing Syria is a harbinger of the Second Coming of Christ

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto on Monday devoted an entire segment to the possibility that a United States attack on Syria could be a sign of the End Times, a period in which Christians believe that Jesus Christ will return to face the emergence of the Antichrist. “This Syria stuff is way old,” Cavuto explained. “I mean Old Testament old. That’s how old I’m talking about. Don’t laugh. Some biblical scholars say it’s all there in black and white. . .”

Read more at: The Raw Story

President Obama Addresses the Nation About Syria

I'm really crossing my fingers that diplomatic solutions work, and that we don't have to even get near targeted strikes, limited actions or anything like it.
 

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Sausage Being Made: From Karl Rove to GOP to FOX

He's a prize, ain't he? Image from source, Media Matters

This is how it's done, folks, it's just not always quite as easy to follow.

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From Karl Rove's Mouth, To A GOP Talking Point, To Fox's Ear 

Fox contributor Karl Rove lobbed a line of attack at President Obama during a Fox News Sunday appearance that quickly found its way into a Monday morning Republican press release. While the release was being distributed, Rove returned to Fox to repeat the talking points -- the latest example of Fox News' role as the communication arm of the Republican Party. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

A Solution in Syria?

Image from source, Slate

Who cares if this was an accidental solution, whether it was planned or somewhere in between? If it works, it won't matter.

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Did John Kerry Just Accidentally Find a Workable Solution for Syria?

Speaking in London earlier today, John Kerry appeared to issue a long-shot ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, suggesting that if he turned over his complete stockpile of chemical weapons within the next week he could avoid an attack from the United States. The State Department, however, would later walk back those comments, saying they were a "rhetorical argument" and not an actual proposal, adding that Assad "cannot be trusted" to take such action. . .

Read more at: Slate

Right Wing World Rep. Joe Wilson Thinks Syria Crisis is Obama-Invented Distraction

We already know that there is a very fuzzy line between Right Wing World: Media Edition and Right Wing World: Elected Officials, which is scary enough. But when the elected officials start believing the fake scandals from their own media, I get a little more scared.  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-YouLie!) seems to think the IRS non-scandal (now thoroughly debunked, and never successfully linked to Obama anyway), and the Benghazi attack (not a scandal by us, but an attack on us) were so overwhelming the Obama administration, that they cooked up the Syria problem as a distraction.

Idiot.

You heard me, I'll say it again: Idiot.
Image from source, Think Progress.

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GOP Congressman Accuses Obama Of Using Syria To Distract From Benghazi, IRS

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) used Wednesday’s hearing on whether or not the United States will take military action in Syria to ask whether the whole debate was a ruse to cover-up the many “scandals” the Obama administration is facing. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

And in addition to being an idiot, he's a right wing troll. . .

 

Right Wing World: Spinning Syria

Do you remember the run-up to the Iraq War? I do, but FOX "News" and other conservative outlets seemingly do not. In the period after September 11, 2001 all the way through "Shock and Awe" and pretty much up to "Mission Accomplished," President George W. Bush and his administration was given the kid glove treatment from the press, and much of the public. I mean, I'm a lefty liberal moonbat blogger, and I didn't much question the Iraq decision at the time. I was skeptical, but what the heck did I know? No, it was a very slow burn, a very gradual awakening of the press, the birth of the blogosphere, and the dawning realization that we were lied into war that shook us out of the"Freedom & Liberty" free pass we were giving Bushco.

Image from the fabulous NewsCorpse

But Right Wing World is revising history, or trying to. They're conflating Syria and Iraq, but they're not using what actually happened. . .which is completely expected of course. I'm also seeing in various places (Iowa radio host Steve Deace, for one) that the liberals who did speak out against the war are somehow now marching in lock-step behind President Obama. Which--if you pay attention to Left Wing World (such as it is)--is completely wrong. 10 minutes of The Ed Show should disabuse anyone of that notion. But again. . .to be expected.

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Fox News Dementia: Media Is Not As Hard On Obama/Syria As They Were On Bush/Iraq

On Fox News this morning there was a segment debating the media coverage of the “Crisis in Syria” (video below). On any other network this would have been a legitimate subject for debate and a fascinating topic. But leave it to Fox News to broadcast a version of history that makes Snow White’s adventures with seven diminutive forest dwellers look like a PBS documentary. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Senate Syria Resolution Would Limit Use of Force and Time Frame

On a side note, John Kerry looks. . .different somehow.
Image from source, LA Times

So, the Senate is responding to the President's challenge on Syria. So far, it's not freaking me out. You?

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Draft Senate Syria resolution would limit use of force and time frame

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday will consider a newly drafted resolution to authorize military force against the Syrian government that specifically rules out any commitment of ground forces and would narrow the time frame for action to no more than 90 days. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

SYRIAsly, Can We Not Get Into Another War?

Image from Wikipedia. Did you know for sure
where Syria was?

We're in the last week of what is usually the "dog days of August," when the news is boring and nothing noteworthy seems to happen. Kids are going back to school, so for them the world is school this week, and the last three weeks were the summer careening out of control and crashing into school. I suppose parents of those children have a bit of a lift this week, but for the rest of us, late August is meh.

And blogging has been, even further back into the summer. Yes, stuff happened, but not a lot that I was eager to write about. Fortunately, summer gives a blogger some cover: nobody is writing quite at full strength in the summer, certainly not as stridently as usual. But here we are, with Syria. A deadly serious, deeply complicated, morally gray (as in, not knowing exactly who to support), politically gray (as in, Rand Paul and John McCain on opposite sides) fuster cluck.

I've already said in a previous post that Syria is past my pay grade (particularly since this is a hobby, and I don't get paid). Frankly, any Mideast crisis is out of my wheelhouse, and my deep personal interest. I'm not Jewish, I'm not fundamentalist Christian, I'm not Muslim. . .so, I have no emotional tie to Israel. I had to look up Syria on a map today (I was right about where it was, but I wasn't sure). I'm smart enough to know that there are implications that tie into relations with Russia and with China, and pissing them off is problematic. And I know that while President Obama has a number of options on his plate, none of them are good options.

Imagine having his job. Half a dozen shitty choices, none with clean outcomes, and all of them bound to draw fiery criticism from the right and the left. The left because they're already weary of war, and many are convinced that Obama is far further right than they thought they were getting. The right because they hate everything the President does from how he ties his shoes to how he licks stamps. The only thing almost everybody agrees on: "We've got to do something."

You know what troubles me about that? Those are the exact words my mother used, years after the Iraq War was started, as an answer to me about why we were in Iraq. As a Bush voter, and staunch Republican, she said that after September 11, we had to do something. I pointed out that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Didn't matter to Mom, we had to do something. Apparently, even if "something" is just blowing some shit up in the general area of the perceived problem.

I have a reputation for being irreverent, callous and blunt. But I don't mean to give short shrift to the suffering of the Syrian people, particularly the children. I suppose it's the fact that the Syrian government was already killing them indiscriminately before last week, that's got me wondering why now. Is it the President's "red line" statement from a while back, and that the Syrians apparently crossed it? Also, truth be told, kids and adults are being killed in lots of countries around the world. Is it only if they're poisoned that we have to send in the military?

Anyway, for someone who feels ill-equipped to really blog about this topic, I've managed to ramble on at length. I guess I just wanted to put my thoughts out there for anyone who happened by. And to explain why there may not be a heavy coverage of the topic on the blog. I suspect that when Right Wing World really gets cranked up on the topic, there will be an opportunity to at least pick apart the details, and maybe flesh things out a little. The nuts at Free Republic (for example) can be so clearly wrong about something, that it can crystalize what is right. . .or rather, correct.  See? They're good for something!

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Military strikes on Syria 'as early as Thursday,' US officials say

The U.S. could hit Syria with three days of missile strikes, perhaps beginning Thursday, in an attack meant more to send a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad than to topple him or cripple his military, senior U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday. . .

Read more at: NBC News

US to Launch Military Strike on Syria?

Image from source, Boston Globe

Ugh. As a lowly hobbyist blogger, I'm going to fold on this hand. "What to do in Syria" is wayyy over my pay grade. So, I'll pass on the latest information, and just leave it there, marked as an important event. And I'll comment so far as to ask: do you suppose Republicans and Democrats will leave the politicking on this one for later, and rally around the President, who has some very difficult decisions to make? Oh, who am I kidding. . .

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US assails Syria, moves closer to military strike

The Obama administration said Monday that it had “undeniable” evidence that the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad used chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians, significantly raising the possibility that the United States would take military action in the conflict. . .

Read more at: Boston Globe

Obama to Send Arms to Syrian Rebels

Image from source, Huffington Post.

And folks, we have yet another topic where your humble blogger will admit to having no position per se. I mean, the words in this article make me a bit uneasy, a bit queasy. But I can't say I know the ins and outs of this one. Of course, I think I'm in pretty good company on that. Check this out, let's get up to speed together.

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Obama Authorizes Sending Weapons To Syrian Rebels

President Barack Obama has authorized sending weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, U.S. officials said Thursday, after the White House disclosed that the United States has conclusive evidence President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons against opposition forces trying to overthrow him. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

NBC News' Richard Engel Survives Kidnapping in Syria

Image from source, New York Times

Whew. Many's the time I've been watching NBC News' Richard Engel report on some strife in the Middle East, missiles exploding around him, and thought, that dude is going to get hurt one day. I've often thought the same thing watching Anderson Cooper in the same sorts of scenarios. Well, Anderson has experienced some harrowing events, but I doubt anything like Engel's recent disappearance. Monday, the news filtered throughout the internet--despite NBC's pleas for a blackout--that Engel and his news team were missing, and had been since Thursday. When you go missing like that in Syria, I can't imagine the odds are good that you'll turn up relatively unscathed. Thankfully, Engel and his team are okay.

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Richard Engel of NBC Is Freed in Syria

Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, and his crew had sneaked into Syria before. They knew where to go, where not to go; what to say, what not to say. But last Thursday, in a demonstration of the perils of reporting from the war-torn country, Mr. Engel’s crew was taken hostage by an unknown group and told they would be used to secure the release of hostages being held by Syrian rebels. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Meanwhile on Facebook: Romney's Confused Geography

There are moments in debates that require deciphering in the best case and spinning in the worst. Then there are other head-scratching moments that are just staggeringly ignorant. This was Mitt Romney's staggeringly ignorant moment:

October Surprise: US Attacks Syria?

Image from source, Raw Story

Oh boy. Conventional wisdom goes, if there is an international crisis, the tide turns to John McCain. Why this would be true mystifies me, as McCain seems to perform erratically in the face of any crisis. But you've got to wonder how this will go.

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US soldiers attacked building inside Syria: report

American helicopter-borne troops launched an assault on Sunday on a building in a Syrian border village with Iraq, killing eight civilians, official Syrian media reported. . .

Read more at: Raw Story