The hot topic of today seems to be: Do we or do we not accept ten thousand Syrian refugees.  The President says that as an immigrant nation, we must.  Out state government governors say “not in my state”.  Of course this is another federal government boondoggle which starts a program, gets the states to accept it by initially financially supporting it, and then walks away and leaves that state’s taxpayers to pay the bill.  The difference with this program is that there is no federal offer to pay for it.  If you think that the refugee number will stay this low, you need to stop taking those drugs.  Isn’t this a form of taxation without representation?  Looks like it to me.

Now due to the supremacy clause of the constitution which forces the states to enforce federal law, the feds want to dump Syrian refugees into the states and let the state’s taxpayer pay the bill.  Enough is enough.

FEMA has over 900 detention centers in this country with presumably contract options to build more within 72 hours.  If the refugees were placed in them, they would receive protection, medical assistance, room and board and vetting could continue until the vetting standards are met.  The problem with that is the FEMA camps are federal and the federal government would be responsible for them and the costs to support, detain and vet them.  Maybe Obama in the kindness of his heart could find those monies in his travel budget.  Of course the best solution and probably the most economical would be as has been suggested by many to support and/or establish safe camps in the Middle East so that when peace is restored, the refugees can return to their homes and rebuild.

If the Feds dump any unwanted refugees on the states, all the states need to do is transport the refugees to Washington D.C. and release them.  If the federal government causes a problem, it is only fair that they get to solve the problem.  There is no money in those state budgets either and any governor who accepts refugees who have not been vetted is crazy, stupid or both.  For the liberals who insist that the refugees come, let them take a family or two into their homes or maybe for the rich ones pay to support two or three families.  Put your money where your mouth is.  We have millions of American people out of work, on welfare and using food stamps, so we need to take care of them first.  America first!!!

The question has come up as to why the Arab governments do not accept the refugees.  The reason is that they are not stupid.  In the 1970s Lebanon was forced to accept the Palestinians because their military was too weak to prevent the Palestinian invasion and the Palestinians rewarded them with a civil war.

For over 50 years foreign nationals have worked in the Middle East oil industry.  Why?  It is because foreign nationals do not speak Arabic and are not Muslims.  If the oil rich Arab states accepted Muslim workers, how long do you think that it would take before they try to overthrow the existing governments?  The Arabs pay the expatriates very well to do their jobs and as non Muslims to stay out of politics.

As a young man in 1969, I lived for nine months on the local economy in Lebanon while working in an American owned oil refinery.  During that time, I dealt with Lebanese Muslims and Christians.  In the refinery, the Christians were both friendly and cordial but not the Muslims.  The Muslims worked with me because they had to do so.  My apartment was in a building which was owned by a Syrian Muslim.  Many days when I came back from the refinery, the owner would invite me into his office to share a cup of coffee with him and we enjoyed chatting and drinking our coffee.  For nine months, I used the same Muslim taxi driver for all my transportation needs.  He was a good man who after he had delivered me to the Beirut airport cried as I was leaving Lebanon.  His emotion was most touching and unexpected.