Syrian Refugees

Extreme Vetting

cjones08192016

I was heartbroken when I saw the images of the child pulled from the rubble after a Russian/Syrian airstrike. Drawing the child’s face made me even sadder.

Anyone who supports Donald Trump for president needs to find their soul. If they have one.

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Let’s Insult Ted Cruz

cjones11192015
In many ways, editorial cartooning is an art in disrespect. I like that. There’s plenty of people out there begging for it.
Pundits today said presidents should never be snarky. Thankfully, they weren’t talking about political cartoonists.
Obama is overseas right now but the job goes where the president goes and he criticized the right wing rhetoric freaking out over refugees. He mentioned how in addition to being afraid of debate moderators, now Republicans are afraid of widows and orphans. You don’t really man up by whining about the president insulting you. Well that’s exactly what United States Senator Ted Cruz did. He cried like a baby, or like someone stole his copy of Mein Kampf.
School yard bully Ted Cruz responded that it’s OK for the president to insult him, but he needs to do it to his face. Yeah, it’s kinda hard to look tough and manly after screaming you’re scared of widows, orphans, liberal debate moderators, sun light, garlic, mirrors, stakes through the heart, etc. That ship has sailed.
He challenged the president to a debate and said it can be held anywhere preferably on U.S. soil, and in a mausoleum where you can keep your blood cold, as that’s where the senator is most comfortable.
Two things about Ted Cruz you should keep in mind when he talks: 1. He’s an idiot. 2. anything he or anyone says while running for president is pandering to their base. Ted Cruz’s base is one of racists. 3. He’s really creepy. OK. Three things to keep in mind.
Ted, the president isn’t going to debate you. That would be just the boost your campaign needs. It would legitimize you and despite being a United States senator, you’re not legitimate. Your views are regressive and opposite of the direction the country is going in. Also, the president didn’t call you out by name. He saw Beetlejuice.
The president is justified to criticize these freaks while he’s out of the country. America’s right wing is embarrassing us to the world so why not insult them before an international audience? President Obama was in The Philippines when he made his comments, not Turkey as Cruz stated. This guy is almost as bad with maps and geography as Ben Carson. But lucky for Cruz, his father was better with maps when he left Cuba and found the U.S. (after finding Canada) where he sought political asylum. I guess that irony ship has sailed too.
Do you feel insulted when someone calls you out for your bigotry, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, and just downright being a horrible, disgusting, and vulgar waste of humanity? Then maybe you should stop. Stop creating legislation banning Syrians. Stop saying we should only accept Christians. Stop suggesting we should round up all refugees. Don’t kick them out of your state like the governor of Indiana did today (they were redirected from Indiana to Connecticut, where the governor is not a troglodyte, which is kind of a win for them). Don’t threaten to shut down mosques as Donald Trump suggested. Do not use the internment of Japanese civilians in World War II as a great and positive example, as the mayor of Roanoke, VA (my state) did today. Don’t use human suffering as a campaign prop, as the prostitute-loving senator from Louisiana is doing. Don’t say the president hates America because he’s black like Ben Stein did today (giving Ferris Beuller another reason to skip that class, Racism 101). You know what? Just stop saying the president doesn’t love America. George W. Bush brought this country to its knees, not because he hates it. He did it because he’s a moron who wanted to make war profiteers even richer.
Despite everything France has been through this past week, their president has vowed to take in more refugees. There are still good people out there, despite all the racists on Facebook giving the impression otherwise.
Sometimes the truth hurts. Senator Cruz, you’re xenophobic. And yes, You do look like a bigoted Grandpa Munster.
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Who’s Violent?

cjones11182015

It’s hard to draw a cartoon on something that’s already a cartoon. A state legislature in Texas, who’s a gun advocate and has an A plus rating from the NRA, says we shouldn’t allow refugees into this country because guns are so easy to buy here. You can’t make up this kind of irony.

That’s a new one in the argument against allowing Syrian refugees into this country. It falls into line with conservatives saying we can’t afford benefits for the refugees. Conservatives are fighting against benefits to poor people, minorities and women who have been born here. It’s also a little bizarre that the pro-life crowd cares about a fetus, but not a child fleeing a civil war…but then again, they also don’t care about American children shot in their classrooms. Conservatives are cowards.

Back to the argument about terrorist sneaking in with refugees:

In fact, over 2,000 on the terrorist watch list has legally purchased a gun in the past decade. You can thank the NRA for that.

Your odds of being killed in a terrorist attack is one in 20 million. Meanwhile, everyday in the United States 33 people are killed by guns. Since 1968, more Americans have died from guns than all of our wars combined. In 2010, 2.694 young Americans were killed by guns including 1,773 victims of homicide, and 67 elementary school-aged children. You’re really worried about being killed by a refugee? You have better odds of being killed by your neighbor in a lawnmower dispute.

Conservatives like to point out that the Boston Bombing Brothers were refugees. Not true. Their family sought asylum after arriving in the U.S. on tourist visas. The brothers were children at the time. Does that mean nobody should be allowed entry into this country?

If a Muslim shoots someone in this country there are immediate fears of terrorism. If a black man kills a white man we look for gang violence. If a white guy shoots up a church we wonder where did that boy go wrong. The odds are that if you’re murdered the perpetrator will be a member of your own race.

Now don’t you feel like you need to stop worrying about Syrian refugees and return your neighbor’s lawnmower?

Rejected Refugees

cjones11172015

It seems apparent that one of the terrorists who attacked Paris sneaked in with Syrian refugees. Whether the passport he used is fake or not doesn’t seem relevant as the Greek government took his fingerprints as he came across their border.

Republicans didn’t need to know that to freak out. They tend to be xenophobic on any given day. Jeb Bush says we should only take in Christian refugees and deny Muslims. Nothing like a dash of Islamophobia to go with your xenophobia.

Twenty six (as of this blogging) Republican governors have declared their states will not take in any Syrian refugees. Never mind the fact they don’t have the authority to do that. You would think that out of 26 people capable of being elected governor of a U.S. state, at least one would have some sort of concept of the law, or at least look into it before spouting off.

If the U.S. takes in refugees it will only be about 10,000, which isn’t many compared to the numbers fleeing the civil war in Syria. These people forget that white people born and corn fed here in the good ole U.S. of A. pose a greater danger than any number of refugees ever will. ISIS couldn’t kill as many Americans as Americans can. We’re good about that.

These refugees are not terrorists. They’re fleeing terrorists. They will be vetted better than most immigrants who come here, and hopefully with a better vetting process than Jeb Bush is offering (do you accept Jesus?). Speaking of immigrants who come here, everyone complaining is a descendant of immigrants and refugees.

Here’s another pesky fact: Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the president may admit refugees who face “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” into the United States, and the president’s power to do so is particularly robust if they determine that an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation.” Guess who fits that description? No. Not Alabama liberals. Syrian refugees.

In fact their situation is so bad, they will probably think Arkansas and Oklahoma are improvements upon their current situation.

These governors can prevent refugees from benefiting from state services. Since these guys are Republicans are grandstanders I think they should just assure us that no state services will pay for Syrian refugee abortions.

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