Just a few days ago President Barack Obama repeated his mantra that climate change is the biggest threat to this country. Then last Friday he said that ISIS had been contained. A few hours later the murderous jihadists from ISIS attacked six sites in Paris killing at least 132 people and leaving more than 300 wounded. The president must surely see that the clear and present danger we face is from these vicious killers, and as of now, right now, this very day, ISIS has not been contained and they are the biggest threat not only to this country but to all who do not agree with them and their twisted religious beliefs.
After seeing the slaughter in Paris, I hope Obama will rethink his position about admitting more Muslims into this country and will put a stop to taking in refugees from Syria. In fact, I believe the U.S. should halt admitting any and all immigrants, except for those who are close relatives of American citizens (husbands, wives, children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents) until the Southern border is secure. Congress, specifically the House, should take the lead on this and pass a bill that prohibits any funds being spent on admitting all Muslim Middle Eastern immigrants. By that I mean no funds appropriated or approved for any public or private organizations, including religious organizations, that traditionally have been active in resettlement of immigrants.
The blah debate
Then along came the Democrats with their second debate last Saturday night. A mere 8.5 million tuned in. That's way below the 13.5 million that watched the Republican debate last week on the Fox Business Channel and it's not even available in some markets. One thing that stood out for me is that none of the three candidates (Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley) could bring themselves to say radical Muslim jihadists were responsible for the Paris murders. O'Malley did say "Jihadist" but all three of them pretty well parroted Obama's line about terrorists and would not further identify them. And all of them still agree with the president about resettling Syrians and other Middle Easterners.
Of course Sanders, the Socialist, promised free stuff to everyone and big wages, while Hillary made some inane comments that made no sense at all when questioned about conflicts concerning all the money she and Bill collected from Wall Street. As usual, she championed her stance on women's issues and no one criticized the Clinton Foundation and Slush Fund and none dared utter anything about her emails. All in all, it was a super waste of time.
Obama lost but so what?
President Obama's Amnesty plan for illegal aliens lost at the 5th Circuit Court last week, but I want to know what he really lost? The appellate panel issued a permanent injunction that overturns his Executive Order that protected about 5 million illegal aliens from deportation. Under Obama's Executive Order children who were brought to this country illegally by their parents were protected from deportation, and the parents of children who were born here (who are legal citizens) were given the same protection. But I ask: How did Obama really lose?
The way I see it the injunction says he can no longer protect these people from being deported, but it does not order him to deport them. If he chooses to do nothing, the kids who are were brought here illegally are safe; as well as the parents of the kids who are citizens (and who are here illegally) are safe too until Obama leaves the White House. You can bet your bottom dollar that this president will not order or allow ICE or the Border Patrol to deport anyone for the next 14 months. So, at best, the injunction is a questionable victory. The Administration said it will ask the Supreme Court to review this case, but in the meantime Obama can keep thumbing his nose at the Congress and the Courts as if he is above the law. Case closed.
I opine, you decide.
-- Willie Williams is a Siloam Springs resident. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 11/18/2015