What I’m Reading – September 24, 2017
Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in What I'm Reading
One way to help support those impacted by Hurricane Maria: Hispanic Federation
Horrific Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Actions
“But it’s not hard to find more information about the estimated impact of the substance of the legislation. The bill has come under fire from a diverse array of critics, including top medical associations, insurance lobbyists, governors across the country, the bipartisan Medicaid directors from all 50 states, and Jimmy Kimmel. And a number of outside analyses have outlined the likely effects should Graham-Cassidy be signed into law.” The White House didn’t do its homework on Trumpcare, so we did it for them (by Addy Baird for Think Progress)
“The secretary’s five flights, which were scheduled between Sept. 13 and Sept. 15, took him to a resort in Maine where he participated in a Q&A discussion with a health care industry CEO, and to community health centers in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, according to internal HHS documents. The travel by corporate-style jet comes at a time when other members of the Trump administration are under fire for travel expenditures, and breaks with the practices of Obama-era secretaries Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Kathleen Sebelius, who flew commercially while in the continental United States.” Price’s private-jet travel breaks precedent (by Dan Diamond and Rachana Pradhan for Politico)
“When asked by Wallace if the president regrets “opening the racial wounds started after Charlottesville,” Short said he doesn’t think the president has done so. He said that high school coaches across America are getting punished and disciplined for leading their players in prayer, while NFL players who take the knee rather than stand for the anthem are honored as martyrs in the media.” White House officials say NFL players should shut up: ‘They can do free speech on their own time’ (by Jedd Legum for Think Progress)
Disaster Response
“The devastation that Maria exacted on Puerto Rico’s aging and grossly neglected electricity system when it slammed ashore as a Category 4 storm two days ago is unprecedented — not just for the island but for all of the U.S. One hundred percent of the system run by the Puerto Rico Power Authority is offline, because Maria damaged every part of it. The territory is facing weeks, if not months, without service as utility workers repair power plants and lines that were already falling apart.” A Storm’s Never Destroyed a Grid Like Maria Ruined Puerto Rico’s (by Naureen S. Malik and Jonathan Levin for Bloomberg)
“In response to CBS4’s request for copies of the voicemails, a spokeswoman with the governor’s office, wrote in an email: “The voicemails were not retained because the information from each voicemail was collected by the Governor’s staff and given to the proper agency for handling.” The Governor has cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding for the nursing home and suspended its license. The Governor’s actions, however, have also come under scrutiny.” Nursing Home Voicemail to Governor Deleted (by Jim DeFede for CBS)
Police Violence
“She had been feeling the impact of policing on every moment of her life since July 6, the day an officer pulled over her boyfriend, Philando Castile, in the suburb of Falcon Heights for at least his 46th minor traffic stop in the past 13 years. “Again?” Diamond remembered saying to Castile that day, as the officer asked to see his license and registration. Castile, 32, reached down toward his waistband, where he kept not only his wallet but also a gun that he was licensed to carry. The officer shot him four times, and then Diamond took out her phone to record, just as she had done during a few of Castile’s other traffic stops. “Stay with me,” she told her boyfriend, as blood spread across his white T-shirt and she started to live-stream on Facebook.” For Diamond Reynolds, trying to move past 10 tragic minutes of video (by Eli Saslow for Washington Post)
Conference
A couple of weeks ago I attended the Seattle Death Salon. This is a Storify of the events of the weekend. Enjoy!