Keeping Track (of some things), Staying Outraged (it is possible), and Resisting (it’s essential)
Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.
Friday, 27 January 2017, Day 8
Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, whitehouse.gov, Friday, 27 January 2017: “It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror. Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent. In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.” See also, Trump’s statement marking Holocaust remembrance leaves out mention of Jews, The Washington Post, Abby Phillip, Friday, 27 January 2017: “A statement from President Trump marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day omitted any mention of Jews or anti-Semitism, a departure from recent bipartisan precedent set by previous presidents. The statement calls for remembrance of ‘victims, survivors, heroes,’ but nowhere does it mention the millions of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust, nor does it mention the ideology of anti-Semitism that led to the killings.” See also, Reince Priebus Defends Holocaust Statement that Failed to Mention Jews, The New York Times, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Sunday, 29 January 2017: “Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, defended the language in a Sunday interview on NBC’s Meet the Press,’ telling the host, Chuck Todd, ‘I don’t regret the words.’ Mr. Priebus continued, ‘I mean, everyone’s suffering in the Holocaust including obviously, all of the Jewish people affected and the miserable genocide that occurred — it’s something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad.’ He added: ‘If we could wipe it off of the history books, we would. But we can’t.’… The White House statement…drew strong criticism from Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s running mate. ‘This is what Holocaust denial is,’ Mr. Kaine said on ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘Many Holocaust deniers acknowledge: ‘Oh yeah, people were killed, but it was a lot of innocent people. Jews weren’t targets.’” See also, Spicer: Trump ‘went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust,’ The Hill, Rebecca Savransky, Monday, 30 January 2017: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defended President Trump amid backlash over a statement the White House released on Holocaust Remembrance Day that didn’t reference Jews or anti-Semitism. ‘The president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust and the suffering that went through it and the people that were affected by it and the loss of life, Spicer told reporters Monday [30 January 2017]. ‘And to make sure that America never forgets what so many people went through, whether they were Jews or gypsies, gays, disability.'” See also, White House nixed Holocaust statement naming Jews, Politico, Josh Dawsey, Isaac Arnsdorf, Nahal Toosi and Michael Crowley, Thursday, 2 February 2017: “The State Department drafted its own statement last month marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day that explicitly included a mention of Jewish victims, according to people familiar with the matter, but President Donald Trump’s White House blocked its release.”
Executive Order Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, whitehouse.gov, 4:42 pm, Friday, 27 January 2017. Trump’s executive order banning refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries was announced on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. See also, Trump Bars Refugees and Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries, The New York Times, Michael D. Shear and Helene Cooper, Friday, 27 January 2017: “President Trump on Friday closed the nation’s borders to refugees from around the world, ordering that families fleeing the slaughter in Syria be indefinitely blocked from entering the United States, and temporarily suspending immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries. In an executive order that he said was part of an extreme vetting plan to keep out ‘radical Islamic terrorists,’ Mr. Trump also established a religious test for refugees from Muslim nations: He ordered that Christians and others from minority religions be granted priority over Muslims…. Earlier in the day [Friday, 27 January 2017], Mr. Trump explained to an interviewer for the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christians in Syria were ‘horribly treated’ and alleged that under previous administrations, ‘if you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible. I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them,’ the president said. In fact, the United States accepts tens of thousands of Christian refugees. According to the Pew Research Center, almost as many Christian refugees (37,521) were admitted as Muslim refugees (38,901) in the 2016 fiscal year. The executive order suspends the entry of refugees into the United States for 120 days and directs officials to determine additional screening ‘to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States.’ The order also stops the admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely, and bars entry into the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries linked to concerns about terrorism. Those countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen…. Announcing his ‘extreme vetting’ plan, the president invoked the specter of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers on the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa., were from Saudi Arabia. The rest were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon. None of those countries are on Mr. Trump’s visa ban list…. See also, President Trump’s Immigration Order, Annotated, The New York Times, Adam Liptak, Saturday, 28 January 2017: “The order prioritizes Christian refugees:
Upon the resumption of USRAP [U.S. Refugee Admissions Program] admissions, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.
As a general matter, this will give priority to Christian refugees over Muslim ones. Though framed in a neutral way, this part of the order may raise questions of religion-based discrimination. Mr. Trump has said that he means to favor Christian refugees. That violates the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion, according to David Cole, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘One of the critical questions with respect to the validity of executive action challenged under the Establishment Clause is its intent and effect,’ he wrote in a blog post. ‘If intended to disfavor a particular religion, it violates the Establishment Clause.'”
Brody File Exclusive: President Trump Says Persecuted Christians Will Be Given Priority As Refugees, Christian Broadcasting Network, David Brody, Friday, 27 January 2017:
BRODY: Persecuted Christians, we’ve talked about this, the refugees overseas. The refugee program, or the refugee changes you’re looking to make. As it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?
TRUMP: Yes.
BRODY: You do?
TRUMP: They’ve been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.
Continue reading Week 2, Friday, 27 January – Thursday, 2 February 2017:
