San Bernadino Terrorism and Radicalization

[kandrathe]

This country has gotten so politically correct, it's borders on obsessive to the point of being dangerous by not diagnosing actual threats to our nation anymore.

I think you are right about people getting too politically correct. It is the same in Europe (at least in the north.....in the south of europe they don't care about being politically correct).
However, talking about Trump being racist or telling the truth. Sometimes people can tell the truth and still be racist.
If I in a political campaign I start emphasizing continuously that there are more blacks than whites in prison and that I want to take extra police measures against black people that is racist, even though it is also true. Populist racism is taking real facts and not looking at the causes and actually stating another cause.
And that is what people like Trump and in Holland Wilders, in France Le Pen etc do. They are smart enough not to say racist things in the legal sense of the word.

Trump being a leading candidate for President in the USA is an embarrassment. He appeals to the most crass, bigoted, and outright racists. I'm hopeful he will fade as the race gets more serious. Let's see how "truthful" he is according to factcheck.org; "It’s been a banner year for political whoppers — and for one teller of tall tales in particular: Donald Trump. In the 12 years of FactCheck.org’s existence, we’ve never seen his match. He stands out not only for the sheer number of his factually false claims, but also for his brazen refusals to admit error when proven wrong."

Here is a good study relating to my reflection above; The Demographics of Wealth -- How Age, Education and Race Separate Thrivers from Strugglers in Today’s Economy By Ray Boshara, William R. Emmons and Bryan J. Noeth ( Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Two possible explanations for the large and persistent differences across racial and ethnic groups that we have been discussing are differences in the age composition of the groups and differences in educational attainment of the groups. Other researchers have examined the potential effects of current and/or historical discrimination, cumulative disadvantage, early childhood learning experiences, genetic characteristics, prenatal environments and other factors on levels of wealth in adulthood.
...
We find that differences in the age composition and in the level of educational attainment across groups explain relatively little of the gaps. Indeed, race- and ethnicity-related financial-health disparities are greatest among older and better-educated groups, where financial health and wealth generally are at their highest levels.

But, I have trouble seeing education, or poverty being any part of the motivation for these killers. I'm leaning more on the combination of both religious fervor, and Islamic radical suggestion, coupled with possibly their sense of exclusion from the society. If you see the world, as radicals tend to, as black and white, then it is easier to attack or kill "them". Or, if you are Trump, ban them from entering the US. The extremism, and intolerance feeds the radical extremists narrative. Whether you are on either side, the increasing polarity only leads us closer to violence. First, as more isolated attacks, or discrimination, and eventually more global war. The extremists, whether they be Trump or Daesh, it is a play for power in wielding people against each other.

My position vis–à–vis immigration to the US is that throughout our history it has made the US an exceptional place, and we need quite a bit more. Crucial to keeping the US an exceptional and leading economy will be to embrace all skilled immigrants, and to educate even more people to replace our aging and retiring boomers.

P.S. Obama's "wag the dog" executive action on guns will have zero impact on crime or mass shootings. It's more of a "I checked the box" for his historical legacy than anything effective. Which of the plethora of mass shootings were done with "gun show" guns? The guns from the SB shooting were possibly a straw purchase which is already against the law. Any gun dealer in the US must be licensed, and all purchases regardless of where they occur from dealers must have a background check. It does prevent a private collector or hunter from selling too many from their private collection in any year.