Smart Talk: Muslims and refugees; Lincoln’s world view

What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, November 18, 2015:

The President of France, Francois Holland, declared war on ISIS this week after the terrorist attacks that rocked Paris Friday night, killing 129 and wounding another 350.

One of the first acts Holland took immediately after the violence was to order France’s borders closed.  This comes at a time when thousands of refugees are making their way into Europe to escape the civil war in Syria.  It’s been reported that one of the terrorists arrived in France as a refugee.

Even before the attacks, many French were not happy about the large Muslim population in France.  That has been exasperated now.

On Wednesday’s Smart Talk, we’ll discuss politics in France as it relates to immigration, asylum, Islam and foreign policy.  Our guest is Dr. Juliette Tolay, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Penn State Harrisburg.

Meanwhile in the United States, many of the nation’s governors have vowed to block Syrian refugees from coming into their states without a thorough vetting process.  Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is not one of them.

Government affairs attorney Jim Schultz, who was the former counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett, has an opinion on the powers of states in stopping refugees.

Also, Thursday is the 152^nd anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  In what arguably is the greatest speech in American history, almost everyone views Lincoln’s words in the context of the Civil War, what Lincoln believed the nation’s founders were saying in the Declaration of Independence, and the United States as a republic. 

Louise Stevenson, author of the new book Lincoln in the Atlantic World joins us to talk about Lincoln’s world view.   She also is a professor of history and American studies at Franklin and Marshall College.