We all saw what happened last night in Paris and Ed was covering the updates as they came in. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening as soon as the news broke and for once I didn’t see too many people on social media urging everyone not to jump to conclusions. We knew what it was and who – in general terms – was responsible for it. But that clearly wasn’t going to stop one particular group here in the United States from trying to capitalize on it almost immediately. The Michael Bloomberg organized anti-gun group, Moms Demand Action, decided to express their own condolences for the dead and injured in France in a way which only such an organization could.

Our hearts are with the victims and survivors of the horrific mass shooting and violent attacks in Paris today. pic.twitter.com/vMs5jkH9vI

— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) November 13, 2015

This may be a good time to remember that this is the same group who named Tamerlan Tsarnaev as a “victim of gun violence” in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing.

While there were definitely some guns used by the Islamic terrorists during the attacks, these “Moms” may want to take note of the fact that there were multiple, coordinated suicide bombers in play. France’s gun laws are incredibly restrictive and no civilian is allowed to have the Kalashnikovs which authorities on the scene are reporting were used by the terrorists. This isn’t a gun control question… this is a problem with Islam, now complicated by the legacy of European immigration policy. Anyone thinking we were “rushing to judgement” about tying those two questions together last night should be quieting down considerably this morning.

AP: Syrian passport found on body of one attacker at Paris stadium, according to French officials.

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 14, 2015

To be clear, there was already a problem with Muslim terrorists in France. You don’t even have to reference Charlie Hebdo to know that. But the seeds which had previously been sown have clearly been watered by an influx of new talent coming from the battlefields of Iraq and Syria. One European leader after another has faced withering criticism from their own people for allowing this nearly unrestricted human flood to wash over their borders, bringing with it some people who aren’t interested in sanctuary or melding in with the local culture.

Angela Merkel was put back on the ropes almost as soon as the news hit the international wires.

Chancellor Angela Merkel put up a spirited defense of her leadership on Friday, vowing to “fight for my vision” of how to deal with the refugee crisis that has stretched Germany’s resources and damaged her standing.

Infighting in Merkel’s ruling coalition and a unilateral decision by her interior minister on asylum policy have raised questions about the chancellor’s leadership, though coalition sources have dismissed speculation of a “putsch” against her…

“The chancellor has the situation under control … I have my vision and I will fight for it,” she said, adding that she wanted to address the root causes of the refugees’ flight and to better protect the European Union’s outer borders.

The Chancellor may want to pause and take a good look at those Syrian passports on the bodies of the Paris attackers. She might also have a chat with the Italian police, who found a convicted terrorist sneaking in with a boatload of Syrian refugees.

The hashtag #PrayForParis was one of the top trending ones in the world overnight. Yes, by all means, pray for Paris. Pray for us all. But we’re well past the point where we should have realized that a hashtag isn’t going to fix anything. Standing in solidarity, as championed by both the United States President and Britain’s Prime Minister, is a lovely and welcome sentiment in France, I’m sure. But it’s not going to fix anything. The cancer in Iraq and Syria is only the latest outbreak of a disease which has been showing lethal symptoms for more than three decades, and it’s now metastasized through the western world. It’s not that law enforcement and intelligence agencies aren’t doing anything about it… the French authorities have broken up more plots than I can count, and we’ve caught quite a few in the Untied States as well. But they’ll never be able to break them all up until the status quo changes.

And by now I think we all know what that means. Not only do the home bases of these animals need to be rooted out and destroyed, but we’ve got to be seriously engaged in finding their tendrils which have taken root in civilized countries. And that’s going to mean stepping on some toes and bumping up against that whole Freedom of Religion thing. If we’re not going to take the job seriously, last night’s attacks are just going to remain the new normal.

You’re not going to tweet this problem away, guys.