Anonymous asked: Your point about it being a blanket ban is a damn important one. Like, did you read the story on the BBC this morning about the Scottish vet who couldn't fly home from Costa Rica because she had dual UK/Iranian nationality and her connecting flight went via New York? She eventually had to spend £2600 on a direct flight to Madrid just to get back to Europe. Obviously its scarier for people who are Muslim and for actual refugees but its affecting all kinds of totally innocent people.
Yeah i did. It’s so obvious this has nothing to do with security. I like how the country most of the 9/11 hijackers came from & one where influential individuals been involved sponsoring very extremist ideologies connected to ISIS- Saudi Arabia, for example- isn’t included in the ban. Whereas countries where none of their citizens have caused American terrorism-related deaths are on it? Who knows, maybe it’s because Trump has his business interests in Saudi Arabia and the UAE huh. And even so a blanket ban for any country incl saudi arabia wouldn’t make sense. Counterterrorism involves identifying the most suspicious people, not casting such a wide net like that.
Oh, and the constantly-ignored fact that so many terrorist attacks in Western countries are carried out by Western citizens who become radicalised. That’s what has happened to us here in Europe. That’s the one gaping hole in security that needs to be plugged- that IS doesn’t try and sneak a radicalised refugee onto a plane into the US (which has EVEN stricter vetting than Europe for refugees) but they’ll try and convinced a born and bred American to do the job. IS only needs an internet connection and maybe a few other radicalised contacts on the ground to achieve that.
But yeah, instead we have all sorts of random people including top researchers, students on holiday and even old people visiting their kids stranded. It’s plain heartless, separating families of people who already jumped through all the necc hoops to get their visas or green cards. I’m very fortunate I don’t need a visa to travel to the US, but many people from these countries had to apply months ago and had to wait for a long time just to get a simple visitor’s visa approved. The Republican Party really shows who they are in their silence. They’ve completely put their stamp on this illegal and discriminatory BS. Because who’s affected the most? Not just green card holders but US citizens who have relatives in those countries. Many British dual nationals here are effectively banned too not for anything they’ve done but their ethnicity/nationality. All refugees are banned, with no regard being given to how many aren’t from areas where IS is known to have a presence. This is nothing less than playing to racism, xenophobia and islamophobia, as well as just completely lacking in compassion.
-You are going to be asked to sign a lot of petitions. Yes, a lot of them will be pointless or do nothing. Sign them all anyway. It takes 30 seconds and sometimes it will help.
-Budget for donations. Regular, repeated monthly donation, but be prepared to have to donate at the drop of a hat if something specific comes up. I know you might not have a lot of money, lord knows we don’t. But even a dollar helps.
-Make phone calls. Your Senators and Congresspeople want to hold on to their jobs at all costs. Call them, constantly, and make them worried. If you are afraid of phone calls, write a script beforehand (you can also find good ones online).
-Sign up for LOTS of email and text alerts. Yeah, they will get annoying, but some will be important and let you know what you can do to help. Sometimes you won’t even have to leave the house!
-Leave the house. I missed the Women’s March because of my panic attacks, but after this weekend I realize I am going to have to push myself. Every physical body out there means something.
-Don’t burn out. They will keep throwing things at us hoping that eventually it becomes too much. It is hard being angry and upset every day, but the second you throw up your hands in despair, they win.
-Take care of yourself. You can’t help the cause if you are not alive and well. Practice self-care above all. I work from home and make my own hours. I am here if you need to chat, almost anytime.
-VOTE. Vote, vote, vote. The president is only one branch of government in a system that also gives lots of power to the states. Everything else on this list is pointless if you do not vote in EVERY. SINGLE. ELECTION. Primaries, local, gubernatorial, midterm. ALL OF THEM.
judge ann donnelly just issued a stay on trumps disgusting muslim ban. she is the first person of power to TAKE ACTION against trumps executive orders.
