The [Thursday] Papers

"Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration on Wednesday refused to say if it has cut off services to Syrian refugees following his announcement that Illinois would temporarily stop accepting those fleeing the war-torn country, even as other states have pulled the plug on resettlement services," the Tribune reports.

Sometimes there's just no comment I can make to clarify the absurdity of someone's behavior. This is one of those times.

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Meanwhile, from the If Bruce Rauner Loves Indiana So Much He Should Marry It Files:

"A Syrian family that fled the war-torn country in 2011 was welcomed Wednesday to its new home in Connecticut after Indiana officials objected to plans for the refugees to resettle in their state," AP reports.

Frankly this is a much better deal for that family. I spent a summer in Connecticut and while parts of it are shitholes, I've also been to Indiana and all of it is a shithole.

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"The married couple and their 5-year-old son had been living as refugees in Jordan and been waiting three years to resettle in the United States."

Any family waiting three years deserves more than Indiana.

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"They were scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis Thursday but were diverted when Gov. Mike Pence ordered state agencies to halt resettlement activities after the deadly attacks in Paris.

"Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he personally greeted the family upon their arrival Wednesday in New Haven.

"I have to say they were absolutely wonderful and charming folks," Malloy said at a news conference. "I told them that people in the United States are generous and good people but sometimes things happen elsewhere that cause people to forget about their generosity, forget about their native warmth and spirit."

That, my friends, is a governor.

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Among Malloy's achievements:

"At the end of May 2012, Malloy signed a bill that repealed Connecticut's ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays."

Here's the kicker:

"Connecticut and Indiana had previously been the only states that still had broad restrictions on the sale of alcohol on Sundays."

Just sayin'.

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Back to AP:

"The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration sent letters Tuesday to Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc. in Indianapolis and Catholic Charities Indianapolis saying plans to accept two Syrian families should be halted."

Though they were welcome to buy weapons at any Indiana gun shop!

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"Carleen Miller, Exodus Refugee's executive director, said she doesn't believe the state has the power to stop the resettlements but thought she had no choice but to find another place for the refugees to live with their arrival imminent.

"I did not want this family to be put through any more scrutiny or drama," she said. "Would I have wanted to have more time to push back and say that this is not constitutional, that refugees can go to any state that they want because they're admitted to the U.S., not into a state? Yes. But this was a really urgent situation and I needed to make a decision on behalf of the families."

Here is Exodus Refugee's mission statement:

"Exodus Refugee Immigration works with refugees - worldwide victims of persecution, injustice and war - to establish self-sufficient lives in freedom and sanctuary for themselves and their families in Indiana."

Here is their response to Pence.

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"The second family, which has children ages 2 and 1, is scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis on Dec. 10 and be placed by Catholic Charities Indianapolis.

"Heidi Smith, director of refugee services for Catholic Charities Indianapolis, said the organization is waiting for guidance from the State Department and the national organizations that oversees the program, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Smith said the family scheduled to arrive in December is just the second her organization has handled. She said a family of five arrived in October."

Bless them.

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Watch, listen and/or read this account from March of Syrian refugees in Indiana.

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"Malloy clashed with Pence earlier this year after the Indiana governor signed a religious objections bill into law, calling him a bigot on national television. Malloy said Wednesday he was not surprised by Pence's effort to block the refugees.

"This is the same guy who signed a homophobic bill in the spring, surrounded by homophobes," Malloy said. "I'm not surprised by anything the governor does."

"Pence's spokesman Matt Lloyd called Malloy's comments 'sad, unfortunate and simply not true.'"

Malloy is surprised, Lloyd claimed.

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"President Obama's own FBI director stated last month in congressional testimony that there are gaps in the screening process of Syrian refugees," Lloyd said in an e-mail statement to AP.

That's a misleading interpretation of what FBI director James Comey testified to (as I wrote Wednesday), and AP shouldn't have let it stand unchallenged. Comey said vetting refugees from failed states like Syria is much more difficult than from, say, unfailed states. As it has always been! It's still the most difficult way to enter the country. Comey also said he could not offer "absolute assurance" - as no one can with everything in life. He did not say "there are gaps in the screening process of Syrian refugees." Unlike the AP reporter, I actually just watched the testimony. (What really happened is a Republican congressmen read prepared statements posing as questions that already presumed the conclusion that supported his position against the administration's refugee policy.)

Besides that, just because the FBI director says something doesn't make it true.

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Meanwhile:

My amendment will end housing assistance to refugees. It sends a clear message to the president. We have control of the power of the purse!

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 18, 2015

That sounds productive: Protect Americans by making refugees desperate and homeless!

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I only bring up Paul here because of this from John Kass, again from Wednesday's column:

"But others were a bit more measured. Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican running for president, introduced a bill the other day to suspend visas to refugees from Syria and 30 other countries with jihadist movements."

As I wrote:

That's measured? No more visas to people in 31 countries! Forever? And does that include France and Belgium?

Also, entering the country on a visa is not the same as entering the country as a refugee.

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Meet The Syrian Refugee Family That Was At Wednesday's City Council Meeting Wednesday
Previously featured on CHIRP Radio and in the Tribune.

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#ParisAttacks UPDATE1:
The Eagles of Death Metal, White Lines & Duran Duran's Save A Prayer.

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#ParisAttacks UPDATE2:
The main subject of Wednesday's Trail Of Paris Attackers Winds To Terrorism's Longtime Outpost was killed in yesterday's Saint-Denis raid.

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Virtually No Evidence Mass Surveillance Works
To the contrary, our good friends at ProPublica have found.

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Previously in Paris Attacks, ISIS and Syrian Refugees:
* About ISIS: A catch-all with a familiar hidden hand.

* An ISIS Reading Guide: From ProPublica.

* An Iraqi Smuggler's Tale: Wars in Iraq and Syria have been good for business.

* The [Tuesday] Papers: You have a better chance of winning the Illinois Lottery - and getting paid - than a terrorist has of slipping into the United States posing as a refugee.

* The [Wednesday] Papers: Why I want to hug a woman wearing a hijab today.

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TV Ads To Illinois U.S. Senate Candidates: Knock It Off
A challenge to put their money where their mouths are.

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Talk To The 16-Fingered Foam Hand
In The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report - featuring a 16-fingered foam hand.

Fantasy Fix: Cutler's Revenge
More Bears crow.

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Pop-Up Bookstore Report!
Two to know.

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BeachBook

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TweetWood

Life inside the US drone war - where children caught on aerial cameras were billed as "fun-size terrorists" https://t.co/U7nKFqJ4o2

— David Taylor (@Geordiedav) November 18, 2015

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George Will finally puts John Lennon in his place https://t.co/B27FFBxE8m pic.twitter.com/tA2WEJIGzS

— John McQuaid (@johnmcquaid) November 19, 2015

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It's easy to get caught at the border when you present yourself to border entry officials. https://t.co/EftpsQxETF

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) November 19, 2015

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Hear about the "missing Syrian refugee" that went around RW media. https://t.co/LmkkL5BoUp Was never missing. pic.twitter.com/08UBoOtTsz

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) November 19, 2015

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GUARDIAN: Obama's drone war a 'recruitment tool' for Isis, say US air force whistleblowers https://t.co/PEyt7JN2Nz

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2015

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The key point about CIA lies regarding Paris pic.twitter.com/OY8fvYp8zY

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2015

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NYT editorial slams disgraceful #CIA exploitation of Paris attacks, but submissive media role is key https://t.co/WrFftOtSxB by @ggreenwald

— George Mapp (@Dobroyeutro) November 19, 2015

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On his (awful) TV show, Mark Halperin just wondered if "Obama is hurting Democrats with all his talk about ISIS."

— Peter Ogburn (@peterogburn) November 19, 2015

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BuzzFeed and NBC taking slightly different approaches here pic.twitter.com/szVRsHEryQ

— THE david teicher (@Aerocles) November 18, 2015

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