Trump’s “Ban Muslims” Proposal Is Not Far Outside the U.S. Mainstream

The President has the authority to suspend entry of any class of aliens for any length of time, for any reason. [1] Jimmy Carter did exactly that in 1980, disallowing Iranians entry into the country, and for similar reasons. [2] That&#x27;s only the most recent historical example.<p>[1] 8 USC § 1182(f); see <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.law.cornell.edu&#x2F;uscode&#x2F;text&#x2F;8&#x2F;1182" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.law.cornell.edu&#x2F;uscode&#x2F;text&#x2F;8&#x2F;1182</a><p>[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.frontpagemag.com&#x2F;point&#x2F;261062&#x2F;carter-banned-iranians-coming-us-during-hostage-daniel-greenfield" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.frontpagemag.com&#x2F;point&#x2F;261062&#x2F;carter-banned-irani...</a> ; see also <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.snopes.com&#x2F;jimmy-carter-banned-iranian-immigrants&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.snopes.com&#x2F;jimmy-carter-banned-iranian-immigrants...</a>

&gt; [The media] simply do not see that as their role. For most of them, a posture of “neutrality” and “opinion-free” blankness are the highest values.<p>&gt; ... that’s all one can expect from large sectors of the U.S. media: cowardly neutrality, feigned analytical objectivity ...<p>&gt; Shortly before this article was published this morning, Cuomo re-appeared on Twitter and apparently had a change of heart from last night’s proclamation. ... Sometimes, social media shaming works.<p>Am I the only one really bothered by what the author of this article thinks news should be? As an instrument to shut down political ideas you don&#x27;t like? I find it ironic that he criticizes the idea of limiting freedom of speech to fight terrorism, but then thinks we should turn around and silence bigots.

As much as I love Greenwald, he can be really facetious. Trump said that immigrant Muslims should not be admitted, not citizens. Some hacks reporting a late-night e-mail that was put straight few hours later notwithstanding. The article notes that at the very end, but why not link it from where the allegation is made?<p>And, ladies and gentlemen, we <i>bomb</i> Muslims, day and night, and have been doing so non-stop since the beginning of this century. Let&#x27;s keep things in perspective: temporary immigration ban vs. forever war. Cannot agree more with the Teju Cole quote toward the end.

I just watched Schindler&#x27;s List again recently. I kept thinking, &quot;how could this happen?&quot;

In any case, I thought the final paragraph was the most important: &quot;So by all means: unleash the contempt and the righteous indignation for Trump. It’s well-deserved. But that should not obscure everything that led to this moment, nor exonerate those who for years have been spewing unadorned anti-Muslim animus from multiple corners and under various banners. They’re more subtle and diplomatic (and thus more insidious) than Trump, but they’re reading from the same script.&quot;

&quot;Given that an ISIS attack in Paris just helped fuel the sweeping election victory of an actually fascist party in France&quot;. What is this low level journalism doing on HN ? 1. The &quot;Front National&quot; is an extremely conservative party with racist undertones but certainly not fascist. The Republican Party seems far more conservative on certain subjects. However the &quot;Front National&quot; does have quite a statist vision of the economy. 2. It is far from having won a &quot;sweeping victory&quot;. It may win, worst case scenario, 4 regions out of 13 next Sunday, which is unprecedented but not a sweeping victory.