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FWD BLOG: We should respond to Paris attacks with UNITY not FEAR....otherwise we are no longer exceptional.

11/20/2015

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The Paris terror attacks have proven that the era of the cable news and social media “Fear & Hysteria Complex” has hit critical levels.

Imagine if 9/11-type attack occurred on U.S. soil today. In 2001, there was no call from Democrats to blame the Republican President or call from Republicans to blame Muslims for the attack….today an attack of smaller size than the Oklahoma City bombing on Europe has inspired both.

First off, despite the criticism, the President is already pretty engaged with ISIS as most of the things that the Monday Morning Quarterbacks want like airstrikes and special forces working with indigenous forces on the ground are already being done. Otherwise, not many folks have the guts to suggest another U.S. occupation of territory in the Middle East that could mean once again TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars spent and tens of thousands of soldiers dead or injured with little to show for it.

But even worse, a chorus is being led by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who once demanded the President of the United States prove he was an American for absolutely no reason, to reject the victims of terrorism and even openly wonder whether we should close mosques in response to the acts of people who are often not even familiar with the teachings of Islam.

A large majority of the House, including 47 Democrats, is bucking the minimal plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to come to America by adding outrageous new vetting restrictions on top of a nearly two-year process that involves several federal agencies like the FBI and DHS. According to the New York Times, when asked what the weakness in the program was, “most Republicans could not specify which aspects of the rigorous refugee vetting program that they found inadequate.”

Somehow these politicians still don’t have the time to declare War on ISIS or confirm nominees in key anti-terrorism posts…..or make it illegal for terrorists to buy a gun in America through universal background checks which has led to 2,000 terror suspects getting arms legally since 2004.

Even though a majority of Americans are supporting the decision, they felt the same way toward Jewish refugees before WWII. As a result, thousands were turned away including the family of Anne Frank.

Now, as George Takei's show "Allegiance" runs on Broadway, the Mayor of Roanoke used the internment of Japanese during World War II as an argument FOR rejecting refugees.

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In 2015, even 3-year old orphans are too dangerous…..but as President Obama has said it needs to stop because it send a terrible message to people we need as friends.

Hence, this group of politicians espousing “christian” values ignored the words of generosity spoken by the Pope, despite calling on more U.S. “leadership” during this crisis, and won’t accept a fraction of the more than 4 million people who have escaped death from either dictator Bashar Assad from one direction or ISIS on the other.

Weren’t they aware that we have been accepting refugees from war-torn countries for years….including over 30,000 people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Somalia in FY2013 and more than 2,000 Syrians since FY2014 alone?

Since 9/11, the U.S. had accepted 859,000 refugees with only 3 being arrested due to terrorist activity….in comparison, 1 in every 22,000 Americans  committed murder in 2014 alone.

What about the millions of people from any country who come to America each year on simple travel visas?

Since all the identified Paris attackers were of French and Belgian origin the reality is our enemies are often homegrown as ISIS now has over 20,000 foreign fighters.

Even the conservative Washington Times concedes that Americans have been more likely to be murdered by white supremacists than Muslim radicals since 9/11. That isn’t even including most of the mass shooting acts of terror that are occurring on a regular basis now.

But let’s be honest there isn’t a Super PAC behind blocking Syrian refugees, as House Republicans took a cue from 30 Governors who claim they won’t accept them and a flurry of phone calls from their constituents.

The real Silent Majority are the millions of Americans who know better….like the 7-year old boy who donated $20 in his piggy bank to a mosque that was defaced in Texas after the Paris attacks.

During this holiday season, we should even recall the lesson from Who’s from Whoville about how compassion can heal wounds by focusing on unity over the anger and hate that would make innocent people feel alienated from society.

We need to solve problems not just find scapegoats if we want to stay the world's "indispensible" nation.


TAKE ACTION: Send a message to your Governor and Congress Members know you support the Syrian refugees and Call your Congress Members too.
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NOVEMBER PROGRESS PARTY: Mixer & #DemDebate II (with pre-party Networking & Brainstorm Forum) @ Cambria Suites!

11/14/2015

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NOVEMBER PROGRESS PARTY:
Rooftop Mixer & #DemDebate Watch II
with pre-party Networking & Brainstorming Forum​

#progressparty
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(FREE with Early Bird RSVP)
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$4 domestics & $6 wine happy hour specials 
and pizza at 7pm until supplies last!


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Saturday, November 14th
(3:00 Forum, 7:00 Mixer, 9:00 Debate Watch, 11:00 After-Party)

Cambria Suites

899 O Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
@ Mt. Vernon/Convention Center

VENUE UPGRADE REMINDER: 
We had so many people order drinks at one time at the 8/6 event that Cambria's payment system crashed so they got a whole new system because of us for our 9/16 event! They also set up speakers to hear the TVs better too.


partners include:

Network For Progress
DC For Bernie Sanders
America’s Impact
DC Young Progressive Professionals
DC Young Politicos
Public Policy Professionals
GWU School of Political Management
Generation Obama-DC
Join Network For Progress for a networking mixer and the 2nd Democratic Debate between Hillary, Bernie and Martin with your fellow Progressives, Democrats, Hope Mongers and Change Makers! 50% of the proceeds will benefit the charity of YOUR choice...as voted on by the majority of attendees! We also plan to try a straw poll again.

If you want to meet new people we will make it easier with name tags and Networking Potluck buckets so you can feel comfortable to introduce yourself to attendees with similar interests in causes AND candidates!

3:00-7:00 NETWORKING & BRAINSTORMING FORUM
Before the networking mixer, we will do some small group networking and brainstorming sessions to help attendees connect with potential colleagues and share their ideas on how we can do it even better by utilizing “progressive” and “democratic” strategies that are both continually more innovative and inclusive so we can develop the next my.barackobama.com-type app online or CPAC-type event offline that can help us work together to create a Majority Mandate for our values in 2016 and beyond. More Details TBA.

Contact Jim @ network4progress@gmail.com if you would like to nominate a Cause or Forum Topic and join as a Co-Host or Partner Organization as well as submit questions/comments.
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