POLITICUSUSA
Her name is Heather Heyer. Today is the one-year anniversary of her death. She died while peacefully protesting a hate rally in Charlottesville, Virginia after a car mowed her down. In the midst of vile and vitriolic hate and violence she stood amid a large crowd for compassion and kindness, inclusion and diversity, justice and peace.
Trump voters in rural America from the rust belt through the farm lands of flyover country have not been forgotten. Though it is decidedly Republican policy that has decimated their livelihood along with changes in technology and culture that they themselves bear responsibility for being resistant to.
We live in a noisy world. In the cacophony of words and sounds that fill the air waves of radio and television and that stuff up our ears and cross our eyes from tweets to television news, advertising, and even the inner cries of our own being, innocent children are crying out for their parents from the prison of their own fear and the caged walls of an unknown room.
Faith communities are strategically and uniquely positioned to be on the front lines of defense against voter suppression in the upcoming midterm elections. By ensuring members of their community are registered to vote, know their polling place, and other voting rights, faith communities can ensure voter participation especially among persons of color and other minority groups. Faith communities can play a vital role in making sure every vote is counted.
Long after Donald Trump and his basket of scandals administration have left the White House, the shame of snatching kids from their parents and putting them in cages will endure.
The lifelong damaging effects of the trauma of this separation and the untold abuse and neglect including sexual harassment and assault suffered by these children will serve as a living reminder of this terrible and tragic chapter in American history.
In an Op-Ed column for the Los Angeles Times Dr. Colleen Kraft, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells of the disturbing short- and long-term effects the Trump era policy of separating children from their parents can have.
It is imperative that the Farm Bill and all policies that seek to meet human needs actually address the real lives of people and the systemic and structural oppression and injustice they face each day.
A blue wave will certainly go a long way in washing away the stench from the ever-growing swamp. Yet, it will require a transformation in our politics, in the soul of our country and of each person to root out the problems that paved the way for Trump’s election in the first place.
While the Samaritan was the surprising character to show mercy to the man left for dead in the ditch, the real twist came when Jesus asked the lawyer to lay aside his privilege and see the world though the beaten and bruised eyes of a man desperate to save his life.
Instead of demanding better from a president who is incapable, instead of holding him to the high standards of this office, instead of saying he is unfit and unable to serve, it has become acceptable to ask, Who are the “adults in the room” keeping him in line?
Reading the Second Amendment on its face value and in its historical context or original intent, it is clear that these ideas did not fall from heaven but were tied to particular realities of the day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is a coward and a crook. Instead of working to pass legislation addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country, he is turning to gutting consumer protections in a banking bill.
At a time when Congress is trying to work out a deal for Dreamers and address other issues regarding our nation’s immigration system, this was especially offensive and ludicrous.
Republicans in Congress with all the power of their elected office are rendered powerless by mass shootings. All they can ever muster is boilerplate thoughts and prayers.
Senate Republicans know that their tax bill has the stench of rotting fish. They know they must stay ahead of an informed public to get their donors' bidding done.
It doesn’t matter what the issue is. Right-wing Christians have been placing the priorities of the party before the tenants of the faith for decades. However, now they are reaching ever new extremes, emboldened by Donald Trump’s presidency and Republican control of Congress.
In the flurry and frenzy of new scandals and tragedies that wear on the spirit of our country, we must not forget the nine million children who have no say in these matters and the 700,000 Dreamers who enrich our country with their lives and service.
It is once again plug your nose week on Capitol Hill as House Republicans have released their tax bill with sweeping odious overhauls that steal away benefits for the poor and middle-class to pay for massive tax cuts for the most wealthy and largest corporations.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said, "There's a moral imperative of the federal government to commit to the people of Puerto Rico. That moral imperative has not been fulfilled in the manner that it should be fulfilled."
With the number of lies being told from the White House press lectern how will we the American people know when the truth is being told?