#Go Fund Me - "A third of the money raised on GoFundMe in 2017 was for medical expenses. This isn't surprising, given that the United States has the highest over-all health-care costs in the developed world. Since 2008, health-insurance deductibles have increased eight times as quickly as wages." "A study in the American Journal of Medicine last fall found that 42.4 per cent of the 9.5 million diagnosed with cancer between 2000 and 2012 had depleted their assets within two years." [1]
"The advantages of crowdfunding still go to the people who arrive with the most powerful connections and the best networks." "The risk in giving medical aid on the basis of stories is that the theatre of change trumps actual systemic reform; the group with resources helps a ailing friend or donates to a stranger whose experience resonates, and believes that its done its part. Meanwhile, the causes of problems go untouched."
#Iran's Plummeting Exports - "Iran's exports have plummeted -- from 3.2 million barrels a day to some half a million." "(Instead of building on the deal with allies), the Administration is scrambling alone militarily in the waters through which thirty per cent of the world's seaborne energy flows. The irony is that the United States no longer needs much oil from the Gulf. The hypocrisy is that Trump vowed to bring American forces from the Middle East, after 18 years of multiple wars. The tragedy is that another war may be on the horizon." [2]
#Dyslexia Kids - "This year alone, according to the website Dyslexia, more that 75 dyslexia-related bills are expected to be introduced in state legislatures." "By 2015, there were chapters in all 50 states and in Canada, agitating for laws that provide screening to detect the condition at a younger age." [3]
"Studies find that [those with] dyslexia -- about 5% to 15% of the population -- have a particular neurological condition, and idiosyncrasy in the sounds, but some educators are opposed to any emphasis on phonics." Even so, disability advocates are uneasy about the broader impact of Decoding Dyslexia's success. " ' Illiteracy is a huge problem nationally. But dyslexia does not equal illiteracy,' says [Jaswine] Harris, an English professor, who points to such socioeconomic factors as hunger and health issues that affect children's learning."
#Prosecuting Kindness - Scott Warren is a member of No Mas Muertes (No More Deaths). As such, he regularly left water, casual foods, blankets, and clothes along migration corridors in Arizona's Sonoran desert. He faces up to 20 years in prison on felony charges of harboring and conspiring to transport undocumented immigrants. The jury deadlocked in his first trial, and he may face another trial. [4]
Warren has said: "Since my arrest in January 2018, at least 88 bodies were recovered from the Ajo corridor of the Arizona desert, The government's plan in the midst of this humanitarian crisis? Prosecutions to criminalize humanitarian aid, kindness and solidarity."
#Border Funding - When the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $4.5 billion border funding bill on a 230-195 vote, it added provisions to require Customs and Border Protection to enact health standards for individuals in custody, including implementing standards for both adults and children for "medical emergencies," nutrition and facilities standards, and personnel training. The HHS Secretary was also required to submit a plan to ensure translation services are accessible to immigrants; alert Congress when there is insufficient space at state-licensed facilities; and place a time limit on the length of time unaccompanied minors can spend in an influx shelter. All of these provisions were then dropped, because Senate Democrats had agreed to a Senate-passed bill that did not contain these provisions. Needless to say, dropping these standards for detention facilities angered those House Democrats who felt these standards were vital.
#Border Patrol "Above and Beyond" - President Trump credits the Border Patrol with doing a great job and going "above and beyond." He blames Democrats for conditions at the border. He has said illegals (aliens) are living far better than they came from and in far safer conditions." The DHS Office of Inspector General described squalid and overcrowded conditions at detention centers.
#Fourth of July Dandies - In the most controversial part of President Trump's Fourth of July speech, he said that the Army "took over the airports, it had everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry under the rocket's red glare it had nothing to do but victory. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant." There were no airports during the Revolutionary War, and Fort McHenry wasn't built until 1798.
#Trump's Undocumented Workers - When Trump was asked about his undocumented workers at his clubs, Trump said" "Well, that I don't know. Because I don't run it." "But I would say this, probably every club in the United States has that, because it seems to me, from what I understand, a way that people did business." He added: "We've ended whatever they did, and the rules are now very strict."
ADDENDUM:
*According to a study by Yale and George Mason universities, 92 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans are in favor of a Green New Deal.
Footnotes:
[1] Nathan Heller, "Tell Us What You Need," The New Yorker, July 1, 2019.
[2] Robin Wright, "Belligerence," The New Yorker, July 1, 2019.
[3] Belinda Luscombe, "How parents of Dyslexia kids..." TIME, July 22, 2019.
[4] Isabel Cristo, "Prosecuting Kindness," The Nation, July 15/22, 2019.
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