Trump signs temporary ban on immigration from 7 Muslim countries: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/politics/trump-syrian-refugees.html
I think it's going to be a complete waste of money. First off if a government project is slated to take 4 years and cost $10 billion you can bet it will take 8 years and cost $40 billion. The Bush fence went way over budget and they only built it in the easiest areas. Independent contractors say $25 billion but my prediction is $40 billion with a $1.2 billion a year maintenance cost and the end result is it won't stop drugs or trafficking any better that the current fence which hasn't stopped anything. Then at some point in the distant future people will say tear down this god awful evil wall and it will cost another $16 billion to tear it down.
I'm not saying it's a great idea or it will be useful. But the wall is only a monetary expense. Maintenance can be defunded later if it proves useless. In the grand scheme of things it's trivial. I think the opposition needs to stay focused on the most damaging and irreversible ideas. Getting pulled towards all sides with his brand of crazy is going to wear them thin. The education secretary is pretty dangerous, for example. She is going to create a 2nd privatized tax payer funded school system with no oversight. It's basically a massive back door expansion of government that engages in direct corporate welfare. I don't think a program like that can be stopped once started. I'd much rather they keep an eye on her and B-movie villain Rex Tillerson, than worry about the wall. I get the feeling that letting Trump have symbolic victories will be important. At least until the post-truth, alternative fact era runs its course.
Trump and his Breitbart cohorts should know better. Terrorists can use all of the same social media and internet recruiting methods to find angry and unstable followers in the United States that they did. They don't actually need anyone to immigrate. A vast resource of crazy is already at their fingertips.
I think there are some nontrivial issues. First, from an ideological perspective, our country has always been against walls. Putting one up looks bad and I think eventually history will say it's a mistake. Then there is the wildlife and environmental disruption. A few years ago the fence caused a flood during a storm and took out a small Mexican town. The fence also separated wildlife from its normal feeding and breeding grounds.
I'd say he didn't go far enough. Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan should be added to that list. We all know what the Religion of Peace is actually about. Finally someone has the balls to do something about it. I hope this sends a message to the Muslim world that we aren't falling for their bullshit any longer and we are done putting up with their crap. Next up drop a tactical nuke or some air fuel bombs on the ISIS capital.
^^ Hopelessly stupid. Guess who's out to destroy democracy in the United States right now? The "Christian" GOP. They've got the next two years to do as much damage to the country as they can and pave the way to autocratic/theocratic rule. Terrorists can only dream of having that power. Shooting up a night club or bombing the Boston marathon is small potatoes compared to what Trump and Breitbart have coming.
Islam is many times worse than the Christian side of the GOP. Islam is deeply incompatible with western democratic values. I do not want fundamentalist Islam or Sharia Law in my country. I see this move as being similar to detaining the Japanese during WW2. It's a necessary step to protect democracy. The last thing we need is to end up like Europe with Muslim rape gangs terrorizing the streets and everyone too pussified and PC to put a stop to it. This was also a large part of why the British voted for Brexit. They don't want these people in their country either.
As was already proven earlier on this forum, you have no idea what you're talking about. For example, the areas of the UK that voted for Brexit were the ones with the LEAST amount of immigrants, not the most. The areas with the MOST immigrants knew that it wasn't really a significant issue due to their own direct experience with it. In other words, they weren't ignorant and living in paranoid fear of the unknown. Just look at Trump's ban...it actually includes people that ALREADY HAVE GREEN CARDS AND VISAS. How fucking incompetent is that? So incompetent that even Dick Cheney is criticizing it.
@alterego Gee I wonder why areas that have been flooded with Muslims voted against Brexit. Perhaps because many of the people voting were Muslims? I think we effectively demonstrated in the other thread that you have no idea what Islam is actually about and just believe a bunch of misinformation you've been fed by CAIR (a terror funded organization dedicated to Taqiyya) and PC people on the left. Trump has the right idea, but he didn't go far enough. Saudi Arabia needs to be added to the list of banned countries ASAP.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...judge-blocks-trump-immigration-ban-nationwide This was the right decision by the court. The ban is unconstitutional. I'm opposed to the refugee programs because of the financial burden, but there were people already here on legal visas who were at risk of being sent back to their respective country. This executive order goes way above and beyond anything that can be considered reasonable. Also, the fact that Saudi Arabia was not included on the list proves that the ban was politically motivated and not at all concerned with terrorism.
That only covers people in transit... so they don't live out of an airport like Tom Hanks. If you didn't buy a ticket and get on a plane today, you done goofed. Edit: It appears it actually means the opposite! They cannot be deported, but might be allowed to live out of the airport like Tom Hanks. Or end up in federal detention. DHS is cutting them loose.... for now.
Just say it: making this order apply to people that already had legally valid visas and green cards is insane. Also, what exactly does "extreme" vetting mean? Does it mean Steve Bannon is slamming Mountain Dew and Jack Daniels while drawing up the plans for the gas chambers?
Green card holders are an overreach to be sure. But we've taken direct military action against 5 of those countries. Overthrew 2 of their governments, arming the fight against 2 more, and applying crushing punitive sanctions on 2 more. But a travel ban is what triggers a massive over-correction. Go figure.
If the countries you're banning haven't produced a terrorist that killed on U.S. soil in over 40 years, then you can't say the ban is based on security concerns. Trump and Co are just testing the waters for martial law.
The ban is mostly political in nature. Trump is trying to appease his voter base. A serious ban would include Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of terror and extremism. But Trump and other Republicans do business with the Saudis so that won't happen.