Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly, Erol Kekic of Church World Service Debate House Vote to Restrict Refugees

by Lowell

I watched this segment on the PBS NewsHour earlier tonight, and was hoping to hear some sort of convincing explanation by Rep. Connolly regarding his vote in favor of the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act. Rep. Connolly kept arguing that the bill actually wasn't as draconian as critics - like Erol Kekic of Church World Service, who appeared on the show with Rep. Connolly - argued it was.

So...I read the bill, and it certainly DOES appear to be draconian. Among other things, it requires "the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence that each covered alien has received a background investigation that is sufficient to determine whether the covered alien is a threat to the security of the United States," and also that "[a] covered alien may only be admitted to the United States after the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the unanimous concurrence of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to the appropriate Congressional Committees that the covered alien is not a threat to the security of the United States." What are the chances of all that happening? Try ZERO (especially with no additional funding, which I don't see here...hmmm). In other words, this bill would make it close to impossible for any refugee from Syria or Iraq (the bill singles out those two countries) to be admitted to the United States.

The bottom line is that this bill is unnecessary, draconian, and anti-humanitarian. Nobody, let alone any Democrat, let alone a Democrat from a safe "blue" district, should have voted for it. Really, really disappointing by Rep. Gerry Connolly, who generally has done an excellent job in Congress, but in this case clearly caved to angry voices within his district. In contrast, kudos to Rep. Don Beyer and Rep. Bobby Scott, both of whom voted against this disgraceful bill. As for Virginia Republicans, well, what else would you expect from them but fearmongering, demagoguery and xenophobia?

Friday News: "Panic is what the right is all about;" "'Rabid' dogs and closing mosques" -- Republicans Go Bonkers

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 20. Also check out The Young Turks' comments on the disgraceful anti-Muslim bigotry (e.g, "every Muslim is a terrorist") displayed the other day in Spotsylvania County.

• Gunmen attack Radisson hotel in Mali; hostages taken
• ‘Rabid’ dogs and closing mosques: GOP takes harder line on Muslims (If this doesn't disqualify them from holding public office in America, then nothing will.)
• The GOP’s Islamic State bluster ("In response to the Paris attacks the Republican candidates are offering little more than bluster.")
• America’s ugly panic over refugees gets worse
• Study finds more Mexicans leaving the U.S. than coming (Wait, but didn't Trump and other Republicans tell us we were being flooded with "illegal" immigrants? Whoops, yet ANOTHER area where they are just lying, ignorant, or both.)
• Here's What It Actually Takes For A Syrian Refugee To Enter The U.S.
• Paul Krugman: The Farce Awakens ("What explains the modern right’s propensity for panic? Part of it, no doubt, is the familiar point that many bullies are also cowards. But I think it’s also linked to the apocalyptic mind-set that has developed among Republicans during the Obama years...The point is that at this point panic is what the right is all about, and the Republican nomination will go to whoever can most effectively channel that panic. ")
• Editorial: Congress should answer Kaine's call for authorization against ISIS
• Virginia commission won't recommend return of parole
• Sen. Mark Warner: U.S. visa waivers more serious threat than Syrian refugees ("Rather than focusing on Syrian refugees, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said Thursday there's a considerably more vulnerable opening for terrorists to enter America.")
• Editorial: Senate Republicans give leader too much power (How about the Speaker of the House?!?)
• Virginia Senate Republicans end power struggle with compromise ("Sen. Norment retains ones leadership role and wins another, but with less power than he had sought.")
• Analysts expect adequate money for new Virginia budget
• Carson makes four: GOP candidates submit signatures for ballot
• Bowers' comments could sour economic development initiatives
• Mayor David Bowers responds to calls for his resignation
• Residents give Virginia Beach officials an earful about arena deal
• Arlington endorses multimillion-dollar financing for Ballston Mall
• Second person sentenced in Department of Juvenile Justice bribery case
• Fairfax judge to hear officer’s motions to move murder trial, grant bond today
• Our view: The real Roanoke
• D.C. area forecast: Cooler air arrives with breezes today, and an even colder air mass pushes in on Sunday

This is Not World War II: When did we become such a fearful nation? Can we Americans still get a grip?

by Andy Schmookler

Roanoke’s mayor, David Bowers, made national news yesterday -- in an undesirable way – with his comment that ““I’m reminded that President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that the threat of harm to America from Isis is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then…”

Most of the (justifiable) criticism has concerned the first part of that quote, with its endorsement of one of the most shameful episodes of American policy in that period (piled on top of a major historical inaccuracy -- it was American citizens, not “Japanese foreign nationals” who were rounded up into concentration camps).

But it is the second part of that sentence – comparing the threat from Isis with the threat we faced in World War II – that deserves more attention than it has gotten.

The threat we face now is nowhere near comparable to the threat represented by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan was a nation-state that possessed a powerful military composed of an Army that had already brought most of Asia under its domination, as well as a Navy and airpower that had just destroyed much of the Pacific Fleet of the United States. Japan was also in alliance with a still more militarily powerful nation-state – Nazi Germany – that already was in control of almost all of Europe, and that soon thereafter declared war on the United States.

The threat of the injury that ISIS might inflict is not nothing, but it is nowhere near as “real and serious” as the danger we faced in World War II.

This distinction matters hugely – at least as much as the ugly xenophobic political posturing that is going on – because we are in danger of making the same disastrous mistake we as a nation made, under George W. Bush, in the aftermath of 9-11. Our over-reaction then did incalculable damage to the nation and to the international order. And what a shame it would be if we failed to learn the lesson from that error.

How Does Donald Trump Score on Umberto Eco's 14-Point "Ur-Fascist" List of Features?

I hate using words like "fascist" or "Nazi," because in 99.999% of the cases it's just a ridiculous, or even offensive, comparison to what really happened in Nazi Germany or in fascist countries like Mussolini's Italy. However, I'm using the word "fascist" now because I don't know how else to describe Donald Trump's latest extremist lunacy and bigotry.

Yahoo News asked Trump whether his push for increased surveillance of American Muslims could include warrantless searches. He suggested he would consider a series of drastic measures.

“We’re going to have to do things that we never did before. And some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling that security is going to rule,” Trump said. “And certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy. And so we’re going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago.”

Yahoo News asked Trump whether this level of tracking might require registering Muslims in a database or giving them a form of special identification that noted their religion. He wouldn’t rule it out.

“We’re going to have to — we’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely,” Trump said when presented with the idea. “We’re going to have to look at the mosques. We’re going to have to look very, very carefully.”

Reaction to this has been harsh, including Yes, Donald Trump is a fascist. (The New Republic); Donald Trump Would Support Registry for Muslim-Americans; A Literal Fascist Now Leading GOP Polls (Jezebel); Trump Calls for Special Muslim ID and Faith Database (Bearing Drift), etc. My reaction is to go back to Umberto Eco's 1995 essay in the New York Review of Books on what he calls "Ur-Fascism." What Eco prsenets is a "list of features that are typical of what I would like to call Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism," that "cannot be organized into a system; many of them contradict each other, and are also typical of other kinds of despotism or fanaticism,"but that "it is enough that one of them be present to allow fascism to coagulate around it." Here they are, and as you read the list, keep in mind many of the things Donald Trump (and to an extent Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and other 2016 Republican presidential candidates) have said in recent months.

Video: "Almost Like a Mob" in Spotsylvania; Bigots Shout that Mosque is "Evil," that "Every Muslim is a Terrorist"

by Lowell

For the WUSA9 exclusive report (great reporting as usual by Peggy Fox!)  on this disgusting incident in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on Tuesday night, click here. What I find most appalling about it, other than the anti-Muslim bigots (one with the word "free" and the American flag on his back - ugh) shouting at the civil engineer and business owner (who happens to be a Muslim), is the crowd. Note that they either applaud the bigot or do absolutely nothing to push back against him. In short, this is the classic example of "evil flourishes when 'good people' do nothing." I put "good people" in quotes, because I have no idea if the people who chose not to leap to the defense of their neighbor, the Muslim civil engineer and business owner making a presentation about a possible new mosque, are "good" or not. However, as someone who strongly believes that we are defined by our actions (or inaction), the failure of this peaceful Muslim man's neighbors to stand up for him against a raging, raving bigot is at least disappointing...

Thursday News: "The GOP's New Low in Bigotry;" Roanoke Mayor Bowers "Broadly Condemned" for Outrageous Statement

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, November 19.

• Paul Ryan quickly restores the House’s regular disorder ("His vow to return to a more deliberative House lasted a mere three weeks.")
• Paris on Edge as Questions Remain About Suspect’s Fate (Not sure why the Washington Post is reporting definitively that Abaaoud was killed.)
• As France seeks grand coalition to fight ISIS, Obama is wary of allying with Russia (I certainly wouldn't trust Putin as far as i can throw the guy.)
• Now they care about Europe: The dizzying hypocrisy of the right’s new Obama attack
• The GOP's New Low in Bigotry ("Guilty Until Proven Christian: For Republicans, if you are Muslim, you are out of luck.")
• Fear is making the GOP’s job easier
• Myths vs. Facts in the Syrian Refugee Issue (Great job by Republican Brian Schoeneman on this one, demolishing the "prejudices, nativism and misinformation posing as fact" floating around out there about Syrian refugees.)
• Most Gun Owners Say the NRA Is Off Target (Well, they need to speak up and even better, organize.)
• Bloomberg Poll: Most Americans Oppose Syrian Refugee Resettlement (Blech.)
• Maps of Court's Redistricting Plans
• Roanoke Mayor David Bowers broadly condemned for statements on Syrian refugees
• Roanoke mayor's anti-refugee statement draws national attention
• Our view: What was Bowers thinking?
• In Richmond, Kasich tempers call for agency to promote Judeo-Christian values (Sorry, too late.)
• Bush submits signatures to qualify for Virginia primary
• Six new toll scenarios being considered for Hampton Roads
• Moran: No Syrian refugees "in the pipeline" for Virginia
• Hazel: Virginia must keep rural hospitals open
• Our view: Hail, Caesar!("Norment isn’t angling to be dictator, but some of his fellow Republicans may see it that way.")
• Speakers at packed forum demand halt to cultural insensitivity, racism at VCU
• Subject of discredited U.Va. gang-rape article fights efforts to access her email, texts
• Man throws sandwich at another man in Fairfax City shopping center parking lot and flees
• Arlington Co. says yes to Syrian refugees
• Sherman Lea to announce Roanoke mayoral bid today
• D.C. area forecast: Heavy morning showers but mild today; Real chill settles in Sunday

Roanoke, VA Mayor: FDR Rounded Up Japanese After Pearl Harbor, So Don't Let Any Syrian Refugees In. WTF?!?!?

This almost seems like a warped version of an Onion-style parody, but it's actually for real. Yes, the Mayor of Roanoke, Virginia is arguing that FDR "felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor" (note: actually, FDR rounded up more than 100,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry and forced them into internment camps -- one of the most appalling, disgraceful events in our nation's history), and that it "appealr that the threat of harm to America from ISIS now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then" (note: again, those 100,000+ people were citizens of our country and posed ZERO danger to America). So, apparently, we should make the same type of horrible mistake yet again, according to Mayor David A. Bowers. I'm almost speechless at how f'ed up this is. By the way, believe it or not, Bowers is a Democrat, which just goes to show that although the vast majority of anti-Islamic sentiment and xenophobia in this country spews forth from the right wing, it's not ONLY from the right wing. Ugh.

Roanoke is a welcoming city and America is the melting pot of the world, and right and successful we have been at both.

However, since the recent terrorist bombing of the Russian airline, the attacks in Paris and now with the murderous threats to our nation’s capital, I am convinced that it is presently imprudent to assist in the relocation of Syrian refugees to our part of Virginia.

Thus, today, I’m requesting that all Roanoke Valley government and non government agencies suspend and delay any further Syrian refugee assistance until these serious hostilities and atrocities end, or at the very least until regarded as under control by U.S. authorities, and normalcy is restored.

I’m reminded that President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appeals that the threat of harm to America from ISIS now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then.

I further want to assure our citizens that Roanoke’s law enforcement and public safety agencies are and will be prepared to the best of their ability to assure our citizens that everything is and will be done to protect Roanokers from harm and danger from this present scourge upon the earth.

In this regard, at least for awhile into the future, it seems to me to be better safe than sorry.

Sincerely,

David A.Bowers

Mayor

Creating A More Powerful Blue Virginia Community

by Andy Schmookler

I’ve sometimes wondered whether, if there were a contest for the best one-state political blog, Blue Virginia might win. Admittedly I don’t know much about the possible other contenders, but Blue Virginia impresses me. Which means, I think the job Lowell Feld does here is impressive. And, although impact and influence are always difficult to gauge, I expect Blue Virginia performs a useful service in advancing the cause of progressive values and the Democratic Party in Virginia.

But I don’t think that this site is reaching its full potential. And I want to propose two things the readership can do to strengthen the site as a community, and from there as a force to have an impact on the course of politics in Virginia.

The site is visited frequently (tens of thousands of visits per month), but those visitors leave almost no sign of their existence. Readership is largely silent and passive. As a result, if there is, in any meaningful sense, a Blue Virginia “community” simply as a result of absorbing the same set of news and ideas, that community is mostly unaware of its connectedness. Which also means that it is weak.

Something stronger could be built if readers took advantage of the opportunity to comment and discuss the issues raised by the various postings. So many knowledgeable and intelligent people who come here, thousands of visits, all generating maybe a handful of comments a week. I know from my own experience of writing and hosting a blog for years that real substantive discussions can be generated, unfolding over even years from one posting to another, and real human relationships can be developed. (I still have some regular communication with friends whom I encountered in those discussions, but whom I’ve never met in the flesh.)

Video: Jim Gilmore Rips Republicans' "Fascist Talk" on Immigration, Latinos, "Deportation Force"

by Lowell

Per Florida Politics:

[This past Saturday] addressing hundreds of Florida Republicans at the Sunshine Summit at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando... 

[Jim Gilmore's] most interesting remarks were when he said that the Republican party was making a mistake with their harsh rhetoric regarding immigration during the current campaign. 

“We as a Republican Party seem to be on the attack against the Latino community, and of Latinos who live among us,” he said, preceding that remark by saying he wasn’t sure the audience would welcome them. “We seem to be expressing attacks on the Constitution, when we threaten to take away birthright citizenship from people in this country.” 

Gilmore said he didn’t think much of Donald Trump‘s call this week for a “deportation force’ to drag millions of undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. “To rip up our society at the very time that we need unity in the face of these challenges. I want you to know, this is fascist talk. It is unworthy of the great Republican Party of the United States. It may be acceptable to some people, but it is not acceptable to me.” 

There was some scattered applause, but not much. 

Later on in a Q&A with reporters, Gilmore said that though it may be “fashionable” to speak so disparagingly about Latinos in the GOP circa 2015, but he won’t do it. “I reject it. I think it’s bad for the party. I think it’s unacceptable for the Republican Party, and frankly, it’s bad public policy for the United States,” he said, adding that he does believe that the U.S. needs to bulk up on border security and does not believe in granting a pathway to citizenship for those who broke the law in crossing the Southern border.

Now, I disagree with Gilmore on 99% of the issues (including on immigration, where he opposes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants), but I do strongly agree with him for calling out Republicans' "fascist talk" on Latinos, immigration, "deportation forces," etc. I'd most certainly throw in Republicans' recent, rabidly anti-Muslim talk as well. That's not just disgraceful and profoundly unAmerican, but -- perhaps worst of all -- exactly what Daesh/ISIL wants us to do.

Wednesday News: The Ted Cruz/E.W. Jackson Bigotry and Extremism Show; GOP's "Magnificent Post-Paris Breakdown"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 18. As for that conference call yesterday with Ted Cruz and E.W. Jackson, it was as extremist and insane as you'd expect. To listen, if you can stomach this crap, click here. Also, I'd argue that anyone appearing with raving bigot EW Jackson - let alone agreeing with him, as Cruz does! - automatically proves themselves to be unfit to hold public office in America.

• At least 2 terror suspects dead in French police raid ("Alleged ringleader of Paris attacks may have been target, official says")
• Obama calls GOP rhetoric on Syrian refugees a potent recruitment tool for ISIS (There's no question the Republicans' wildly inflammatory, irresponsible anti-Muslim rhetoric is harmful to the United States and helpful to Daesh/ISIL. Stupid, stupid, stupid.)
• The GOP’s new strategy to fight the Islamic State: Kill them with clichés (It's truly cringe-inducing.)
• Mr. Trump spreads dangerous lies about Syrian refugees (It's most definitely NOT just Trump, but other 2016 Republican candidates as well. This demagoguery and bigotry should be automatic disqualifiers for all of them.)
• The GOP’s magnificent post-Paris breakdown: Guns, religion & an ideology that has completely gone off the rails ("Conservatives have gone nuclear in the days since the Paris attacks, doubling down on their incoherent agenda")
• Paul Ryan joins the refugee panic: A political response to a trumped-up issue
• Ted Cruz’s refugee McCarthyism: Why his bigoted crusade is so dangerous ("Joined even by 'moderate' Republicans like Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz calls for discrimination of the ugliest order")
• Kasich Proposes New Government Agency To Promote Judeo-Christian Values (Unconstitutional, crazy, etc. So much for any respect I had for John Kasich. Ugh, no.)
• Sen. Tim Kaine Calls on Congress to Get Aggressive Against ISIS
• Why won’t Chris Christie lead? ("Why the governor of New Jersey is a political wimp." Bully/coward combo, how attractive.)
• Louisiana Gov. Jindal ends bid for GOP nomination in 2016 (Good riddance to the epitome of the "stupid party" he once railed against. Now, hopefully, the next governor of Louisiana will be a Democrat.)
• With U.S. agencies in control, Virginia has little power to stop Syrian refugees
• Hinkle: Candidates courting the fringe ("Yet while Republican presidential contenders — or Democratic ones, for that matter — would never appear at a conference led by Islamic extremists, they apparently have no qualms about a conference led by Christian extremists.")
• In Richmond, cousin of Syrian president calls for U.S. and Russia to destroy ISIS
• Congressional delegation meets new Metro chief
• ABC seeks dismissal in Martese Johnson lawsuit (Of course they do, because they know they did something wildly wrong.)
• Thiele: McAuliffe should shift his energy from pipeline to renewables (Absolutely, McAuliffe is making a huge mistake on this.)
• Virginia’s lieutenant governor makes it official: He’s seeking state’s top job
• State: Election workers lack understanding of photo ID requirement (How about we get rid of these completely unnecessary requirements?)
• Montgomery County School Board votes to ban Confederate, hate group symbols
• Tolls could be slated for busy Peninsula highway networks
• Expert proposes congressional maps that would alter districts of Scott, Forbes
• Weighing Virginia Beach proposal for an arena
• Fairfax, Arlington at odds on aspects of I-66 toll plan
• Fairfax to control increasing presence of outfits offering high-interest loans ("County board restricts where title loan companies and payday lenders can operate in affluent suburb" Good!)
• Arlington endorses multimillion-dollar financing for Ballston Mall
• D.C. area forecast: Rain late tonight into tomorrow; winter chill arrives by Sunday