A brief opening to shore up progress toward stability in Syria unfortunately coincides with Trump administration decisions to sharply curtail humanitarian and development assistance and to terminate the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Donald Trump
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ will mean more hunger for low-income families
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Trump closing U.S.A.I.D. could cost an estimated 14 million lives by 2030
The end of U.S.A.I.D. will result in the loss of a “staggering” 14 million lives by 2030, including the deaths of 4.5 million children under age 5.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
On hearing Trump invoke God after bombing Iran on the feast of Corpus Christi
How should American Catholics respond to the U.S. attacks on Iran? Perhaps the Feast of Corpus Christi offers a counterpoint to the god of war, power and vengeance invoked by so many today.
Posted inNews Analysis, Politics & Society
Our Lady and the Mexican flag: Symbols of Los Angeles’ fight for America’s future
Among the hopeful and fearful seeking their place in an occupied city, the Virgin—Patroness of All the Americas—is a sign that a community with humane borders and greater compassion may be possible.
Posted inOf Many Things, Politics & Society
‘Because Trump said so’ is no reason to bomb Iran
As I write, Mr. Trump is declaring that “nobody knows” what he is going to do about Iran. I fear that “nobody” includes him.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Israel, Iran and the deadly results of abandoning international laws
In judging the morality of an act of war, an easy ask is always: “Was the belligerent party left with no other recourse?” That does not appear to be true in this case.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
I fought in Afghanistan. Watching Trump’s Army parade, I didn’t feel proud.
My primary problem with the parade wasn’t just that it broke a norm. My problem is that it reminded me how easily we tell ourselves comforting stories instead of asking hard questions.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The L.A. immigration raids: This is what it feels like to be occupied by a foreign army.
No one I knew in Los Angeles was afraid to go downtown. That is, they were unafraid until President Donald Trump called in the National Guard and then the Marines.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘It felt like a kidnapping’: Catholics respond to the immigration raids in LA
“It literally felt like kidnapping. I saw three of those ‘kidnappings’ happen in the span of 20 minutes.” That is how Angel Mortel described detainments she witnessed outside of a Los Angeles courtroom.