Ready for the Apocalypse? (U.S. Political Megathread)

France says it will take 30,000 Syrian refugees, while U.S. Republicans would turn them away

In a move that puts the heated U.S. debate over taking in Syrian refugees in perspective, French President Francois Hollande declared on Wednesday that his country would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees over next two years. He announced this at a gathering of mayors from French cities, where he received a standing ovation.

Hollande said that "30,000 refugees will be welcomed over the next two years. Our country has the duty to respect this commitment." He indicated that resettled refugees would undergo rigorous security checks, according to ABC News. He said there would be a 50 million euro investment fund used to support housing for refugees.

Hollande observed that "some people say the tragic events of the last few days have sown doubts in their minds," referring to the cloud of suspicion that has fallen on the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who arrived at Europe's borders this year. Despite speculation, not one of the Paris attackers has so far been identified as a Syrian national.

[Were Syrian refugees involved in the Paris attacks? What we know and don't know]

Hollande said it was France's "humanitarian duty" to honor its commitments to refugees, even in the wake of the chilling terror attacks on Friday, claimed by the Islamic State, which killed at least 129 people.

"We have to reinforce our borders while remaining true to our values," the French president said.

the overt division and implicit exclusion strikes me as a distinctly new and ominous development.

Then we get to college campuses, where the enemy is anyone who would dare present a contrary view. With the proliferation of transparently and proudly biased information sources, we can now just hear those with whom we agree, rather than bother listening to contrary views. After all, those in power find free speech a nuisance at best.

For all the griping I read on ST about our political and other OT threads, they serve at least one good purpose: we can post opposing views. While some will ignore views of those they know to oppose their viewpoints, sometime we actually have a dialog. If more people understood that ad hominem attacks weaken their position, we could even have a better dialog, but we have one nonetheless.

Just this week, in contrast, a group of SF State students protested the possibility of the campus entering into a contract to provide Coke, Pepsi or 7-up on campus.