Trump Schools All on Negotiating

The hullabaloo surrounding Donald Trump's proposal to temporarily restrict all Muslim travel to the US shows Americans, in general, don't understand negotiating.

Example: If you want to buy a car listed at $15,000 but don't want to pay the sticker price, you need to start with a much lower offer. Of course, the seller acts offended by your unreasonable bid. You get a counter-offer and then you counter, etc until you arrive at some mutually acceptable price. Negotiating 101.

Trump is doing exactly that. He threw out a proposal that he knows full well isn't acceptable to anyone. He has already begun to walk it back a bit - without apologizing. Apologizing would give away the advantage. In the end, the deal that would result would be something more secure than the nothing measures currently in place but certainly far short of banning entry of all Muslims. My guess is it would be something more along the lines of a moratorium on all entry of those from high terrorism threat countries or those who had recently traveled to those areas regardless of what their nationality is.

Those losing their minds over Trump's statement clearly don't understand how this works. Those who continue to support Trump probably don't understand either but they instinctively feel that he would do something more effective then the current bunch of do nothings. It isn't racism or bigotry. It's "The Art of Deal".

Compromise Syrian Refugee Plan

Lest my readers and especially my critics think I am unsympathic to the plight of the refugees trying to flee the civil war in Syria, I offer the following plan that would provide safety to them while at the same time ensure our own security.

Accept the 10,000 refugees - Muslims, Christians,  Jews, Yazidi, etc.

Settle the women and children (all girls and boys under 15 years old) with the general US population. Place the men in refugee camps where they will be safe while we take the time to properly vet them to ensure they have no ties to terrorism. No time limit will be placed on this process - it takes as long as it takes. If they become impatient, we can offer to send them to another safe location in a different country.

Those that successfully assimilate into American society - learn basic English, have found productive work, have no criminal record, and are not on any public assistance - will be able to become permanent residents and even seek naturalization. Everyone else will be repatriated once it is safe.

I think this is a perfectly reasonable compromise. How many, liberal or conservative, agree?
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