As a veteran of Vietnam and 20 years of military service, I am appalled by the Republicans’ rejection of Syrian refugees. Their party has reached new lows that we haven’t seen since 1938 with their rejection of asylum for hundreds of Jewish people on a shipload of victims of Nazi oppression.

Speaker Paul Ryan has put out a twisty cute rejection of Syrian refugees. Our governor needs to go back to Canada since he has completely failed any test of American citizenship.

Our vetting program is so long and tortured because of the multi-layers of processing that it is almost moribund. From the millions who applied, fewer than 2,000 Syrian refugees have gotten through the process in the last year. It takes them almost two years to be permitted. That’s far from the cavalier system that the Republicans have tried to portray.

The reality is that the Republican aversion to Syrian refugees is racist. They cannot stand anything done by our black president. Many Republicans disrespect all non-white-skinned people.

I am calling for church and community leaders across the state of Maine to open facilities for Syrian refugees. Our manufactured housing industry could develop international sales by featuring homes for Syrian refugees. After the war, our manufactured housing industry might be the solution for rebuilding the Middle East.

Robert Rand

Augusta

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