August 8, 2017
My eye was caught today by numerous articles that point to the Trump administration’s decision to disenfranchise the weakest links in our society. Here is a sampling, sadly by no means the whole list:
The disabled: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/8/7/1687507/-Advocates-fear-the-disabled-are-next-on-Trump-s-hit-list
The old: http://thehill.com/regulation/healthcare/345411-fight-over-right-to-sue-nursing-homes-heats-up
The addicted: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/02/541071209/should-the-opioid-crisis-be-declared-a-national-emergency
The opioid crisis has led even the republican commission calling for a declaration of national emergency. Drug overdosing now costs more lives than gun homicides and car crashes combined and hits primarily the poor in minority neighborhoods and increasingly in the middle of the country. So far the administration is only talking about drug enforcement rather than treatment options. The White House is proposing to slash the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy from $388 million to $24 million and end programs including the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas and Drug-Free Communities, according to a draft budget document. and of course their health care bill would have no longer required insurers to cover substance abuse and mental health services and would have rolled back expanded Medicaid, a program that covers behavioral health services.
Here is a short essay on how true compassion looks like:
The blurred boundaries of mothering an addict
Today’s question then, is:
When will the hypocrisy of touting Christian values and then acting against them be obvious to all?
Michael
Sadly, there does not seem to be anyone in the Republican party to put 45 in check. In fact, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell seem to have just as much power as 45 and are actually far more dangerous.
Deb Meyer
Tuesday’s thought was timely and oh so sad! The Trump Administration wants only the elite, well educated, highly skilled and English speaking people to be allowed into the USA. This administration doesn’t care about the marginalized segment of our society because they don’t have any reference to this segment because they have never been nor will be surrounded with the people who need the help of the government. Trump and his cronies need to get down from their ivory towers and off of the golf courses and Country Clubs and start seeing the real people of our Country that need support and love. This Administration saddens and sickens me everyday that they are still in office.
Martha Ullman West
I have nothing to add. Except that each photograph tells many stories, all of them sad.