Well, we made it through another week and that’s always a good thing. I’m still in mourning over the Super Bowl. In ten minutes I watched the Atlanta Falcons turn a 25 point lead into a 6 point loss. It was like watching a boxer take a swan dive to the mat, but alas this is not the rigged game we’re going to discuss in this week’s shoot the shit topic.
Undoubtedly you are all aware of POTUS’ executive order (EO) placing a 90 day moratorium on the issuance of entry visas for foreign nationals originating from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It’s consumed the airwaves and cable channels to the point of nausea. The more depressing issue is that the majority of news outlets probably never even read the order before declaring it racist. So we’d like to present you our executive summary.
The President’s executive order calls for:
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A 90 moratorium on the issuance of entry visas to foreign nationals origination from 7 countries determined by the FBI and intelligence communities to represent a risk to national security.
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Within that 90 day period, it tasks the State Department, DHS and DNS with developing a list of information needed to properly vet individuals seeking visas from the aforementioned 7 countries.
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Once a list has been submitted and reviewed by the White House, the EO tasks the Secretary of State to communicate those minimum requirements to the countries impacted by the EO.
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Foreign nationals from countries that comply with those requirements will have their visa applications processed. Nationals from countries that do not or can not comply with the requirements will not be able to apply for entry visas.
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It also tasks State Department, DHS and DNI to produce reports that address compliance and other administrative issues.
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The executive order also addresses the refugee program and places a 120 day moratorium on admitting refuges from the 7 countries designated.
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The EO tasks the State Dept., DHS, DNI and the FBI to produce a list of minimum requirements needed to properly vet individuals seeking refugee status from the impacted countries.
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The President’s order also authorizes the State Department to expedite the processing of refugee status for individuals that can identify as a persecuted minority religious group. This part of the President’s EO is not exclusive to Christian groups. It applies to ALL nationals of the designated countries. There’s a total of 73 sects in Islam with Shea and Sunni being majority sects in the Middle East. Those Muslims in minority sects that identify as being persecuted are also eligible for expedited processing. Try being a Zarathustran in Iran!
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The EO limits the admissions of refugees to 50,000 for Fiscal Year 2017.
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Lastly, the EO tasks the FBI and any other agency partners to expedite the selection and implementation of biometric data collection.
Nothing in this order mentions Christianity, Judaism or Islam. In fact we’ll go as far as to suggest that anyone suggesting that the EO discriminates against Muslims is a functional illiterate, moron or prevaricator. The later being the more likely case.
The State of Washington alleges that many of the high-tech companies are harmed by the travel ban. These are the same companies that pioneered and sell video teleconferencing, online training, and global online purchases. Readers, software developers can write code remotely then using the IP infrastructure push that software into production; they can also test software remotely! So where is the impact Washington State? Folks, we live in a techno-social environment where sexual intercourse is the only thing requiring physical proximity. I’m not an attorney but Washington States’ law suit seems to have no legal basis; and quite frankly, I’m amazed how Judge James Robart arrived at his decision. The State of Washington, currently under siege by liberal progressives, initiated a baseless action for the expressed purpose of placing the executive order into the hands of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a traditionally activist court, to undermine the President’s national security initiatives. You can look forward to this same strategy being used to undermine 2nd Amendment issues or any other cause that does not conform to blind uninformed liberalism.
In closing, we’d like to leave you with a final thought. Newton’s 1st Law of Motion tells us that mass in motion will remain in motion or mass at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalancing force. The later best describes our law makers to a T. From our perspective, we are lucky to have a President in the White House who is willing to set protocol aside in order to act as that unbalancing force.
As with all shoot the shits, you are free to make unsupported comments, use uncensored profanity, insult anyone you wish or change the subject altogether. Have a great weekend! Be safe and enjoy some quality time with your buds and family.
Readers desiring to read the EO’s original text see it below…