That Would Explain A Few Things

In talking about changing median incomes, Five Thirty Eight's Ben Casselman gives us a Pew Research chart that goes a long way towards explaining the "take back our country" folks on the right:



Seems pretty clear to me why younger white folks without four-year college degrees (who have seen their median incomes drop by 15-20% from where their parents were at that age) are increasingly drawn to taking the country back 50 years, huh.

So yeah, if you're a thirtyish white guy without a bachelor's degree, you're in much worse financial shape than your parents were 20-25 years ago at that age and especially compared to your grandparents 45-50 years ago.

If you're black however, even as rough as things are now, they're still better than they were in the 70s.

This explains a lot about the GOP.

Speculation Nation

It's too early to tell what the motive for Colorado Springs shooter Robert Dear really was, I mean it's not like the guy is going to tell the world he's guilty and that he shot up the Planned Parenthood clinic there because of the really reprehensible series of debunked videos claiming the organization sold dead babies for profit.

Robert L. Dear Jr. was charged with 179 counts on Wednesday, including first-degree murder, in connection with the deadly shooting rampage last month at a Planned Parenthood clinic. 

Bearded, unkempt and cuffed at the legs and arms, Mr. Dear frequently disrupted the proceedings in state court here, shouting out declarations of anger and defiance. 

“I’m guilty. There’s no trial. I’m a warrior for the babies,” he yelled at one point. “Let it all come out. The truth!” he yelled at another. 

As Judge Gilbert A. Martinez discussed a pretrial publicity order, Mr. Dear shouted: “Could you add the babies that were supposed to be aborted that day? Could you add that to the list?” 

It was the first in-person appearance in court for Mr. Dear since his arrest on Nov. 27 after the attack on the clinic, which left three people dead and nine wounded. He was arrested by the police after a tense, hourslong, nationally televised standoff.

No, we may never know the motive behind this.  Meanwhile, back to your regularly scheduled dose of daily fearmongering against Muslims, black people, Latinos, LGBTQ people, and anybody else who isn't a real "Murican.

StupidiNews!

• House Republicans will release a report today accusing President Obama of violating federal law bypassing Congress with a 2014 prisoner exchange for captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
• Police in Buena Park, California are investigating the defacement of a Sikh temple in Orange County with anti-Muslim graffiti as a hate crime.
• Mudslides, widespread power outages affecting thousands, and two dead are all being blamed on heavy rainfall in the Pacific Northwest, some areas have seen more than a foot of rain.
• OPEC says crude production rose to its highest level in three years last month as the oil cartel seeks to drive non-OPEC exporters like Canada and the US out of the market with low prices. 
• The FDA has approved civilian use of a military syringe-like device that injects dozens of tiny sponges into gunshot wounds to prevent blood loss.

Last Call For Hell Freezing Over

Meanwhile, in a late Both Sides Do It 2015 Hall of Fame submission, Sen. Ted Cruz, the prime beneficiary of the "At least he's not Trump" theory of GOP nomination, went on NPR this morning to tell liberals that all those climate scientists are all stupid and wrong, not like Ted Cruz.

CRUZ: So let me ask you a question, Steve. Is there global warming, yes or no? 

INSKEEP: According to the scientists, absolutely. 

CRUZ: I'm asking you. 

INSKEEP: Sure. 

CRUZ: OK, you are incorrect, actually. The scientific evidence doesn't support global warming. For the last 18 years, the satellite data - we have satellites that monitor the atmosphere. The satellites that actually measure the temperature showed no significant warming whatsoever. 

INSKEEP: I'll just note that NASA analyzes that same data differently. But we can go on. 

CRUZ: But no, they don't. You can go and look at the data. And by the way, this hearing - we have a number of scientists who are testifying about the data. But here's the key point. Climate change is the perfect pseudoscientific theory for a big government politician who wants more power. Why? Because it is a theory that can never be disproven. 

INSKEEP: Do you question the science on other widely accepted issues - for example, evolution? 

CRUZ: There is a fundamental difference, which is in the name of global warming, you have politicians trying to impose trillions of dollars of cost on the world. In the I-95 Corridor, among the Washington elite, global warming is very popular because it makes you feel good about caring for the world. But I'll tell you, you know who I'm concerned about? I'm concerned about the single mom waiting tables right now, who for seven years of the Obama economy has been trapped in stagnation. Her wages have been stagnating. It's harder and harder to make ends meet. And what the Washington elites are trying to do is double her energy bill. 

INSKEEP: Do you question other science, like evolution? 

CRUZ: Any good scientist questions all science. If you show me a scientist that stops questioning science, I'll show you someone who isn't a scientist. And I'll tell you, Steve. And I'll tell you why this has shifted. Look in the world of global warming. What is the language they use? They call anyone who questions the science - who even points to the satellite data - they call you a, quote, "denier." Denier is not the language of science. Denier is the language of religion. It is heretic. You are a blasphemer. It's treated as a theology. But it's about power and money. At the end of the day, it's not complicated. This is liberal politicians who want government power. 

INSKEEP: You know that your critics would say that it's about power and money on your side. Let's not go there for the moment. But I want to ask about this. I want to ask about facts. 

CRUZ: But hold on a second. Who's power - but let's stop. I mean, if you are going to... 

INSKEEP: Energy industry, oil industry, Texas... 

CRUZ: If you're going to toss an ad hominem. 

INSKEEP: OK, not meaning to be an ad hominem. But you know. You know there are economic interests on all sides of this. 

CRUZ: If you're going to toss an ad hominem, then let's actually respond because there's not a moral equivalency. You say it is about power and money. I'm trying to keep power with the American people. I'm trying to keep power with the single mom waiting tables not to drive up her energy bills. I'm trying to keep power with the teenage immigrant, like my dad was, washing dishes. Now, how is that about power and money other than keeping Washington out of their lives and making it easier for people to achieve the American dream? That's who I'm fighting for.

I like Steve Inskeep.  I listen to him daily.  But Cruz just stomps the hell out of him here and Inskeep does nothing to try to stop him.  Inskeep tries to ask Cruz about facts and seconds later is apologizing to Cruz for making an ad hominem argument, and then Cruz immediately goes on to make an ad hominem argument.

If you want to know why Republicans are winning the battle for hearts and minds in America over global warming, and dragging everyone else down into the depths of cynicism and apathy so that nothing gets done, this interview is a perfect example.

Inskeep not only accepts Cruz's idiotic framing, he apologizes for trying to bring the interview back to facts and ends up on trial himself in the court of Ted Cruz's bonkers opinions.

Amazing stuff here, this is a professional Gish Gallop done by a talented liar, and Inskeep, a veteran journalist and interviewer with decades of experience, is completely helpless.

Multiply that by millions of interaction over years and you see why and how we have America a country where we're calling scientist liars and Republicans can stand bravely against a global conspiracy instead of being laughed off the planet.

Yes, Presidents Can Bar All Immigrants From A Country

As Temple University law professor Peter Spiro explains over at the NY Times, the President does indeed have pretty overwhelming authority in determining who can enter the country as an immigrant, and setting criteria for that.  And should a Republican reactionary (you know, any of the GOP 2016 candidates) end up in the White House, they will have broad powers to do just that.

The court has given the political branches the judicial equivalent of a blank check to regulate immigration as they see fit. This posture of extreme deference is known as the “plenary power” doctrine. It dates back to the 1889 decision in the Chinese Exclusion case, in which the court upheld the exclusion of Chinese laborers based on their nationality. 

Unlike other bygone constitutional curiosities that offend our contemporary sensibilities, the Chinese Exclusion case has never been overturned. More recent decisions have upheld discrimination against immigrants based on gender and illegitimacy that would never have survived equal protection scrutiny in the domestic context. Likewise, courts have rejected the assertion of First Amendment free speech protections by noncitizens.
Nor has the Supreme Court ever struck down an immigration classification, even ones based on race. As late as 1965, a federal appeals court upheld a measure that counted a Brazilian citizen of Japanese descent as Asian for the purposes of immigration quotas. 

In the context of noncitizens seeking initial entry into the United States, due process protections don’t apply, either. This past June, the court upheld the denial of a visa for the spouse of an American citizen based on the government’s say-so, with no supporting evidence. 

The courts have justified this constitutional exceptionalism on the grounds that immigration law implicates foreign relations and national security — even in the absence of a specific, plausible foreign policy rationale. The 1977 Fiallo case, for instance, involved a father seeking the admission of his out-of-wedlock son from the French West Indies — hardly the stuff of national interest. 

Indeed, contrary to the conventional understanding, President Trump could implement the scheme on his own, without Congress’s approval. The Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president the authority to suspend the entry of “any class of aliens” on his finding that their entry would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” President Obama has used this to the better end of excluding serious human rights violators.

In other words, Presidents have long had this power.  The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, later amended in 1965, has given the President power to exclude immigrants for national security reasons.

Expect Republicans to demand that President Obama issue blanket denials of all immigration from "terrorist" countries, something that of course would be horrific and would most likely generate major reprisals and economic sanctions, an issue that would suddenly disappear on January 20, 2017 should a Republican president be sworn in.

Or, you know, maybe we'll just stop taking immigrants from certain countries because we'll have elected an awful, fascist Republican to the White House.

America: A One Act Play

Looking forward to things like this happening over and over again the next forever here in The Donald's America. Coming to a city near you:

Two Austin women said over the weekend that they had experienced anti-Muslim hate speech at a local cafe, and that other customers sat in silence as they were “humiliated.” 

KTBC reported that the two Muslim women, Leilah Abdennabi and Sirat Al-Nahi, said that they had hoped to enjoy Sunday lunch at Austin’s popular Kerbey Lane Cafe. 

“My friend and I just experienced Islamophobia in Austin,” Abdennabi wrote in a Sunday Facebook posting. “This is the first time this has happened to me in Austin.
Leilah, a Chicago-born Palestinian-American, explained that she found her friend “crying and upset” inside the restaurant. 

“Apparently while I was parking some man next to her said something’s about things about my driving and that I should just ‘go back to Saudi Arabia’,” she wrote. 

The man went on to ask if Al-Nahi “had a gun” and then said that she should “just shoot him,” the women recalled. 

“I literally couldn’t believe he said that and I asked him to repeat what he had just said,” Al-Nahi added in a separate Facebook post. “I couldn’t believe what he said and I guess I hoped someone would have the humanity to acknowledge it because their silence hurt just as much as his words.” 

The women said that the restaurant’s host eventually made a “pathetic attempt to deescalate the situation” by seating the man, but the damage had been done. 

“They chose to seat the racist guy who just made a girl cry right in from them, rather than us,” Al-Nahi wrote. “When we spoke to management, they basically said they were sorry it happened, but they can’t do anything.” 

Abdennabi said that the pair decided to leave because they no longer felt welcome. 

“As we were leaving I told the people watching ‘Just so you know, we were told racist things and this restaurant doesn’t feel the need to address it because who cares about us?'” she noted. “Another white guy shouted ‘Nobody.'” 

“We left,” Al-Nahi added. “Because it was true.”

The cast changes from time to time, but America was born from racism and it thrives today, we just find new groups to hate, punish, hurt, and oh yeah, kill.

StupidiNews!

• Afghan officials say eight civilians and all three gunmen were killed in a Taliban attack on Kandahar's airport on Tuesday evening.
• The FBI will launch a new system to track victims of police violence after admitting British newspaper The Guardian had better data than the agency on the number of civilians killed.
• A new study finds that a record number of American renters are paying 30% or more of their income for rent, and more than 11 million are paying 50% or more.
• Manufacturing giant Dow Chemical is in talks with rival DuPont to create the world's second largest chemical company in a possible $115 billion mega-merger.
• A bipartisan Senate bill requiring tech firms to report online terror activity is being taken off the back burner in the wake of recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.

Last Call For The View From Nowhere

Steve Benen makes an excellent catch on why Republicans constantly and consistently get away with their behavior as he notes Charlie Rose's interview with Hillary Clinton:

Which leads us to the 2016 election cycle and Hillary Clinton’s confrontation with the same question the president heard in the last cycle. Consider this exchange from Tuesday between the Democratic frontrunner and CBS News’ Charlie Rose. 

ROSE: A lot of people think the biggest problem for America is Washington. And that’s reflected in some of the politics that we see. 

CLINTON: Yes, that’s true. But look at the way our Founders set it up. They set up this separation of powers. And they made it really difficult to get things done. And some years it’s really hard. We’re in one of these periods where we have a minority within the other party that doesn’t believe in compromise, doesn’t believe in reaching consensus – 

ROSE: But there you go attacking them. That’s not the way to do it! 

CLINTON: No. Because part of what you have to do is make it clear to everyone else who is in that party that there is room for negotiation. 

Clinton’s answers were important, but not quite as illustrative as Rose’s line of questioning.

Note Rose's response to what, as Benen points out, are all true statements by Clinton.

Pointing out the objective truth, that there is a subset of Republicans that do not believe in reaching a consensus, is a "partisan attack" in Rose's mind and he says so.

In other words, we have a Beltway journalist who believes telling the objective truth about the GOP is a partisan attack.

Benen:

Note that everything Clinton said happens to be true. Objectively, by any fair measure, there’s a significant contingent among congressional Republicans that “doesn’t believe in compromise” and “doesn’t believe in reaching consensus.” I’m hard pressed to imagine any observer, of any ideological stripe, making the case that Clinton’s wrong about this. 

But as it happens, for some, it doesn’t matter if what Clinton said is true. If you’ve ever wondered why so many media professionals cling to the “both sides are always to blame, facts be damned” narrative, this offers a powerful hint: to acknowledge simple truths about many congressional Republicans sounds like an “attack,” and must therefore be avoided.

It's always "both sides do it".  And both sides always means "Democrats are to blame".

The Dawning Of Bevinstan

It's official as Governor Matt Bevin takes office today, and NPR talked to people in Jackson County, Kentucky -- one of the poorest counties in the nation -- about why they voted to end their own Medicaid.

And yes, for some it was "screw Obama, I'll still get mine."

Among those on Medicaid in Jackson County is Angel Strong, an unemployed nurse in McKee, Ky. — one of roughly half a million Kentuckians who received health insurance after outgoing Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, embraced the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Kentucky saw one of the sharpest declines in the rate of uninsured adults. 

"I had never had Medicaid, because I had insurance at my job," said Strong. "Now I am out of a job and I am looking for another job, but in the meantime I had no income."
Religious beliefs "outweigh" having health insurance 

Bevin's lack of support for expanded Medicaid didn't faze Strong, who voted for Bevin because she supported his socially conservative stands against gay marriage and abortion. 

"My religious beliefs outweigh whether or not I have insurance," Strong said. 

But the reality is the county doesn't think Bevin will dare take anything away from them, so losing Medicaid expansion was never a voting factor for them.

Most Jackson County residents are in Strong's shoes and need some kind of financial help to get health insurance coverage, said Doug Justice, who helps locals sign up for insurance. 

"I do have some who are subsidized," he explained. "They get some help there but the majority of [my cases are] Medicaid. A lot of it is. And it's helped a lot of people." 

Justice said many in Jackson County did not have the future of Medicaid in their state in mind when they went into the voting booth last month. 

"They are not getting into the details of that either," Justice said. "Maybe because they don't understand the ramifications of that should it happen, or they're just thinking, 'I'll deal with it when it takes place.'"

Bevin wouldn't dare, would he?  Ask our new Health and Family Services Secretary,  Vicki Glisson.

"Kentucky is consistently ranked as one of the least healthy states in the country," Bevin said, noting that about one in four Kentuckians are now enrolled in Medicaid, the government health plan for low-income, disabled and many elderly people in nursing homes. 

"We must be innovative in our efforts to improve health outcomes for Kentuckians but do so in a prudent and sustainable manner," he said. 

The cabinet also oversees kynect, the state's health insurance exchange Bevin has vowed to dismantle, and the Medicaid expansion authorized under the federal Affordable Care Act. Bevin has said he wants to scale back the expansion that has added about 400,000 people to the state Medicaid rolls.

The cuts are coming, but none of the people who voted for Bevin expect to be affected.  Only those people will be hurt, you see.

Night Of The Don's Knives

The political science performance art piece that is Donald Trump hit another box on the way to completing the Modern Fascism bingo card this week with The Donald calling for a "total and complete shutdown" of allowing Muslims into the United States, including American citizens.

Trump, in a formal statement from his campaign, urged a “total and complete shutdown” of all federal processes allowing followers of Islam into the country until elected leaders can “figure out what is going on.” Asked by The Hill whether that would include American Muslims currently abroad, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks replied over email: “Mr. Trump says, ‘everyone.’ ”

The call, which he made hours after the release of a poll showing Trump being overtaken by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-­Texas) in early-voting Iowa, drew swift and forceful condemnation from the White House and virtually every presidential candidate in both parties.

Describing Trump’s proposal as “unhinged,” “fascist” and “downright dangerous,” Trump’s rivals sought to characterize it as further evidence the bombastic real estate mogul is unfit to lead the country.

“Again, this is the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said in an interview. “We do not need to endorse that type of activity, nor should we.”

Yet Trump maintains that a significant number of Muslims harbor a “hatred” toward America, citing a poll by the Center for Security Policy, a think-tank that has criticized the role of Muslims in America.

That survey showed that one-quarter of Muslims living in America polled “agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as part of the global jihad” and that a majority think that Muslims in America should be allowed to answer to Shariah law.

“Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine,” Trump said.

“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Trump isn't the problem, he's just the symptom.  The problem is the millions of Republicans who think his increasingly incendiary and racist hatred is permissible, even necessary, here in America today. 

I know I called him a performance artist above and many other things in the past, but let's remember his words are truly dangerous and people will be hurt because of what he says.  The Republican candidates attacking him now are across the board hypocrites who have called for religious tests, visa program restrictions, and monitoring of mosques and Muslims too...they've just been more polite about it.  Republicans are fascist at this point, Trump is just the most overt.  All of them would sacrifice human rights for votes in 2016.  All of them.

And reminder, this is nothing new.  WWII Japanese internment camps, black slavery and Jim Crow, Chinese indentured servants, mass deportation of Mexican-Americans under Operation Wetback, and oh yeah an entire country conquered from Native Americans...America has always been a real piece of work if you're not a white guy.  Why is anyone surprised that we have a major political party gunning for Muslims in this country literally built on racism and intolerance?

Hell, the Carson camp tried to one-up Trump with this idiocy last night.

Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and Republican presidential hopeful, thinks everyone visiting the United States should register and be monitored while in the country, a spokesman for his campaign said on Monday.

The statement came after Donald Trump, the businessman and current front-runner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, called for an immediate halt to all Muslims entering the country until further notice.

“Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries,” said the spokesman, Doug Watts. “We do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.”

All visitors.  I mean, it's not racist if you do it to everybody equally, right?  Jesus.  America, you've got to find something approximating a soul and fast.

StupidiNews!

• An Air France flight from San Francisco to Paris was diverted to Montreal after a threat was reported, passengers were taken off the plane and inspectors searched the craft, later clearing it.
• Chicago prosecutors have decided not to charge an officer who shot an allegedly armed black man in the back, the victim's lawyers contend the weapon was never in his possession.
• The son of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is denying allegations that he profited from smuggling ISIS oil, Moscow insists that they have evidence to the contrary.
• Chipotle restaurants continue to struggle as another E. coli outbreak at a Boston location now means 52 people have been sickened in nine states.
• AT&T is launching gigabit fiber optic internet service in Los Angeles this week and says it will bring service to 36 other metro areas over the next several years.

Last Call For Roger, Rahm Jet

As the Justice Department announced a civil rights investigation into the Chicago PD today...

The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago Police Department following protests over the city's handling of last year's killing of a black teenager shot by a white police officer, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Monday. 

U.S. authorities will look at the department's use of force, including deadly force, among other issues, she said at a news briefing to announce the civil probe. 

"Our goal in this investigation ... is not to focus on individuals but to improve systems," Lynch said. 

She said federal officials would be investigating "constitutional violations" in one of the nation's largest police departments. 

"What we are looking is to see whether or not the police department as a systemic matter has engaged in constitutional violations of policing," the nation's top law enforcement official said.

...suddenly a lot of people in charge of that "system" in Chicago are suddenly resigning.

The Chicago Police Department's chief of detectives resigned from his post Monday amid a series of resignations following the release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.

A police source confirmed Constantine "Dean" Andrews' resignation Monday. Andrews was promoted from deputy chief of detectives to the top spot by former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy in October. During his tenure as deputy chief of detectives, Andrews was in charge of investigating the David Koschman case, which he closed without charges against Richard J. "R.J." Vanecko, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

It is unclear who will replace Andrews.

Andrews' resignation follows the resignation of Scott Ando, formerly the head of the Independent Police Review Authority, who stepped down on Sunday. McCarthy was also ousted last week by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Quite a lot of heads rolling in Chicago this week, and it's only Monday.

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel?  He's not going anywhere.  Guaranteed.

Trump-eting Your Failure

The Donald's increasingly dangerous rhetoric may have given him a safe lead among his GOP cohorts, but it's also increasingly costing him the general election, particularly among Latino voters.

Hillary Clinton leads the Republican presidential field in hypothetical general-election match-ups, with Ben Carson and Marco Rubio running the closest to her, according to a new national MSNBC/Telemundo/Marist poll. 

And with just one exception, the margin of Clinton's lead among Latino voters determines just how competitive each match-up is. 

Clinton's biggest lead is against current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump: She's ahead of him by 11 points among all voters, 52 percent to 41 percent, and a whopping 42 points among Latino voters, 69 percent to 27 percent. 

The former Democratic secretary of state leads Ted Cruz by seven points nationally, 51 percent to 44 percent, and by 27 points among Latinos, 61 percent to 34 percent.
Clinton holds a four-point advantage over Jeb Bush, 49 percent to 45 percent, and a 26-point lead among Latinos, 61 percent to 35 percent. 

She's ahead of Marco Rubio by three points among all voters, 48 percent to 45 percent, and 19 points among Latinos, 57 percent to 38 percent. 

And Clinton leads Ben Carson by just one point, 48 percent to 47 percent, and she holds a 26-point edge among Latinos, 61 percent to 35 percent.

I know there's not much stock you can put in polls eleven months out, but it's an indication at least that among those who are paying attention to the race, Clinton would have a cakewalk against Trump or Cruz.  Against Bush, Carson or Rubio, not so much.

Still a long way to go before November though, and while the race appears to be changing weekly, in reality both Clinton and Trump have lead their respective primary polls for several consecutive months now.

If things hold, it's going to be Goldwater all over again, and the Republicans know it.

President Obama Speaks To The Nation

President Obama's Oval Office address last night wasn't new, but it was newsworthy as he made a number of key points about the continuing battle against terrorists and what Americans can and should do to help.

For seven years, I’ve confronted this evolving threat each morning in my intelligence briefing. And since the day I took this office, I’ve authorized U.S. forces to take out terrorists abroad precisely because I know how real the danger is. As Commander-in-Chief, I have no greater responsibility than the security of the American people. As a father to two young daughters who are the most precious part of my life, I know that we see ourselves with friends and coworkers at a holiday party like the one in San Bernardino. I know we see our kids in the faces of the young people killed in Paris. And I know that after so much war, many Americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure.

Well, here’s what I want you to know: The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us. Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values, or giving into fear. That’s what groups like ISIL are hoping for. Instead, we will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless, and by drawing upon every aspect of American power.

Here’s how. First, our military will continue to hunt down terrorist plotters in any country where it is necessary. In Iraq and Syria, airstrikes are taking out ISIL leaders, heavy weapons, oil tankers, infrastructure. And since the attacks in Paris, our closest allies -- including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- have ramped up their contributions to our military campaign, which will help us accelerate our effort to destroy ISIL.

Second, we will continue to provide training and equipment to tens of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting ISIL on the ground so that we take away their safe havens. In both countries, we’re deploying Special Operations Forces who can accelerate that offensive. We’ve stepped up this effort since the attacks in Paris, and we’ll continue to invest more in approaches that are working on the ground.

Third, we’re working with friends and allies to stop ISIL’s operations -- to disrupt plots, cut off their financing, and prevent them from recruiting more fighters. Since the attacks in Paris, we’ve surged intelligence-sharing with our European allies. We’re working with Turkey to seal its border with Syria. And we are cooperating with Muslim-majority countries -- and with our Muslim communities here at home -- to counter the vicious ideology that ISIL promotes online.

Fourth, with American leadership, the international community has begun to establish a process -- and timeline -- to pursue ceasefires and a political resolution to the Syrian war. Doing so will allow the Syrian people and every country, including our allies, but also countries like Russia, to focus on the common goal of destroying ISIL -- a group that threatens us all.

And again, we've heard this before, but I think that in the noise from the GOP primary that this has gotten lost, and I definitely see why the President made this speech in a national address on a Sunday evening.  He also challenged Congress to give him the authority to do more about ISIS in Syria and Iraq, something that recalcitrant Republicans and worried Democrats will almost certainly not grant him.  It's much easier to blame the President's strategy when you've tied his hands and sabotaged it, just look at Obamacare.

President Obama's most important point however was what America should not do.

Here’s what else we cannot do. We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want. ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death, and they account for a tiny fraction of more than a billion Muslims around the world -- including millions of patriotic Muslim Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim. If we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.

That does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some Muslim communities. This is a real problem that Muslims must confront, without excuse. Muslim leaders here and around the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocally reject the hateful ideology that groups like ISIL and al Qaeda promote; to speak out against not just acts of violence, but also those interpretations of Islam that are incompatible with the values of religious tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity.

But just as it is the responsibility of Muslims around the world to root out misguided ideas that lead to radicalization, it is the responsibility of all Americans -- of every faith -- to reject discrimination. It is our responsibility to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country. It’s our responsibility to reject proposals that Muslim Americans should somehow be treated differently. Because when we travel down that road, we lose. That kind of divisiveness, that betrayal of our values plays into the hands of groups like ISIL. Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes -- and, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country. We have to remember that.

My fellow Americans, I am confident we will succeed in this mission because we are on the right side of history. We were founded upon a belief in human dignity -- that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of God and equal in the eyes of the law.

It's an idea that has long been lost on America, that Republicans allowed Bush 43 to make, that Muslim Americans are Americans.  That has been lost in the storm of hatred coming from the right, and I'm glad the President stood up to that in the most public way possible.

StupidiNews!

• President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office last night, calling on Congress to authorize military force against ISIS and for Americans to not give in to fear at home.
• Britain's parliament may soon take up a petition to ban Donald Trump from the UK for "hate speech".
• A magnitude 7.2 quake rocked Tajikistan early Monday, with the quake felt as far away as New Delhi and Pakistan.
• General Electric has abandoned its plans to sell its home appliance business to Swedish firm Electrolux over US anti-trust concerns that the market would be limited to just two companies.
• Space firm Orbital ATK's newest Cygnus-4 rocket launch on Sunday from Kennedy was a success, as the spacecraft headed for a resupply run to the International Space Station.