Hall Pass

All Talk
Muslim Parents on How They Talk to Their Children About Hatred and Extremism: A wave of recent attacks by extremists acting in the name of Islam — including in San Bernardino, Calif., this month — has contributed to a rise in anti-Muslim speech in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. We asked our readers who are Muslim how they talk to their children about these difficult times. (New York Times, 12/15/2015)

The New York Times wastes space on a virtually non-existent problem: anti-Muslim speech. The rationale is two-fold. First, the Times is never going to let an opportunity slip by to identify a potential group of victims. After all, finding new victims is its raison d'etre. Second, it conveniently ties back to its narrative that anti-Muslim sentiment is stirred up by Republicans. That's a Times two-fer!

The Times would never write the article headlined: American Parents on How They Talk to Their Children About Muslim Extremism. It would also never write the article: Muslim Parents of ISIS Terrorists on Where They Went Wrong.


Dreamers
Foreign policy is not in the business of making dreams come true—Arab-Israeli peace, Islamic liberalism, climate nirvana, a Russian reset, et cetera. It’s about keeping our nightmares at bay. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 12/15/2015)

Most of Stephens' column is harsh critically of Ted Cruz, giving us pause as we like both. Putting that aside, we liked this very insightful and thought-provoking quote.


Blame Game
Blaming mental health problems for gun violence in America gives the public the false impression that most people with mental illness are dangerous, when in fact a vast majority will never commit violence. Still, some legal changes should be made to reduce access to firearms among the small percentage of people with mental illness who are dangerous to themselves or others. (New York Times editorial, 12/16/2015)

No, most mentally ill people do not commit violence. But the ones who commit mass murder (James Holmes, Adam Lanza, et. al.) are mentally ill. The Times bravely wants to take away their guns when the real solution is to commit them to mental hospitals.  Of course, another category of gun violence is that committed by urban minorities. No word from the Times on that subject. 


Bound Up
With a unanimous City Council vote, San Diego, the country’s eighth-largest city, became the largest American municipality to transition to using 100 percent renewable energy, including wind and solar power. In the wake of the Paris accord, environmental groups hailed the move as both substantive and symbolic.

Other big cities, including New York and San Francisco, have said they intend to use more renewable energy, but San Diego is the first of them to make the pledge legally binding. Under the ordinance, it has committed to completing its transition and cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035. (New York Times, 12/17/2015)

It's a feelgood moment in San Diego. But what they just made legally binding will never happen. Liberals - including San Diego's Republican mayor - think that simply by enacting a law, good things will happen. It doesn't work that way. See Obamacare. 

To Calm Fears, Obama to Urge Americans to Talk About Their Feelings

Strained
Young Muslim Americans Are Feeling the Strain of Suspicion: ... in the past year, especially in the past several months, as her emergence from childhood into young womanhood has coincided with the violent spread of the Islamic State and a surge in Islamophobia, she has had to confront some harsh challenges of being a young Muslim in America. (New York Times, 12/14/2015)

The New York Times identifies the most urgent problem in America, Islamophobia. Second place, transgender rights. A distant third, fear of being killed by Islamic terrorists.

All Americans Are Feeling the Strain of Islamic Terror (RedStateVT headline, 12/14/2015)
Islamophobia, really? Documented cases of actual violence against Muslims are rare. You can look it up. Do you know which group has more to fear? Jews, of course.


Intolerant
Mr. Obama, who barely tolerates the schmoozing that is presidential tradition, does far fewer receiving lines than his predecessors. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, worked a photo line at each of the 25 holiday parties he hosted in 2008, his last year in office, but the Obama White House has eliminated all but a handful. (New York Times, 12/14/2015)

So it turns out President Pippi Longstockings is not - would you say - a people person.


Anxiety Attacks
The public seems increasingly anxious about Mr. Obama’s handling of terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., that was carried out by extremists who claimed allegiance with the Islamic State. His Oval Office address on Dec. 6 appeared to do little to allay those worries, including among members of his own party.

In an effort to respond, the president is working to demonstrate that he has a plan for defeating the Islamic State abroad and for protecting Americans at home. Mr. Obama will also visit the National Counterterrorism Center on Thursday for his annual preholiday security briefing on the country’s threat level. “There’s heightened awareness about that in advance of this holiday season,” Mr. Earnest said.

This week is Mr. Obama’s last chance before Christmas to show Americans he is engaged on the issue; on Friday, he is scheduled to fly to Hawaii for his annual two-week getaway with his family.(New York Times, 12/14/2015)

So Obama is going to squeeze in some national security before his vacay and in between Christmas parties. The nation - "including members of his own party" - breathe a sigh of relief.