Please Keep Sweden Out Of It!

Dear President Trump and Fox News:

Swedes were left scratching their heads for the second time in less than a week as their country continues to enjoy an unlikely turn at the national spotlight. The latest culprit? A man interviewed by Bill O’Reilly on Fox News on Thursday identified as a “Swedish Defense and National Security Advisor” who turns out to be completely unknown to pretty much anybody in the country’s security or defense circles.
Read the rest here: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/02/26/fox_news_interviews_fake_expert_on_sweden_to_warn_about_immigration_threat.html

According to Dagens Nyheter,  Sweden’s largest newspaper, this so-called (yes, I know, the president’s favorite phrase) this so-called expert left Sweden in 1994 and no one has heard of him since. Just like no one heard of the riots that the president said had recently taken place in Sweden.

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I'm getting really, really tired of this nonsense. For the first time in my 54 years in this country, I'm getting homesick, yes, for Sweden. A country of caring people, a country that has taken in more refugees per capita than any other nation. Of course there are problems, but not of the magnitude this administration and its preferred TV-station, Fox News, are claiming. Overall, Sweden's refugee program is considered to be a success. And the Swedish crime rate is declining.

So, would you please leave Sweden out of your attempts to scare us all. Is it too much to ask for empathy and respect for those who are different from us? Is it too much to ask for protection of the civil rights of all people in this country? Is it too much to ask for affordable health care for all? Is it too much to ask for fair treatment of refugees and immigrants from countries that scare you? 

Home of the Brave!