Earlier today, I stopped by the magazine shop and asked for a copy of Charlie Hebdo. The guy said they had, not surprisingly, sold out. He then embarked on a five-minute rant on the need for the West to “send a message” to Islam. Such remarks are common whenever it’s discovered (and often, too, before it’s discovered) that Muslims are behind an attack. But one wonders what more “we” could be doing to “send a message.” Here’s Freddie deBoer on the reflexive calls for action thrown around after any attack:

If there is anything that this country has stood for in the last 15 years, it is its willingness to sacrifice anything to fight Muslim extremism, and in the process, innocent Muslims. We have invaded multiple Muslim countries, sent secret raids into far more, killed Muslims with drones and bombs, wiretapped Muslims at home and abroad, sent agents to infiltrate their mosques, thrown dozens of them into a prison camp without trial or judicial review, assassinated them without due process, tortured them, and spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives in doing so. Of all the things that you should fear your government will lose the resolve to do, fighting Muslim terrorists should be at the absolute bottom of your list. There is no function that our government has performed more enthusiastically for years. Can any credible person doubt our commitment to fighting Muslim terrorists, in 2015?