PRESIDENTS’ DAY 2017
THE ENVIRONMENT
Last week, Scott Pruitt took the oath of office to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Both Trump and Pence were out of town (shocker!) so the oath was administered by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Pruitt sued the EPA, the agency he now runs, more than a dozen times during Pres. Obama’s time in office.
HEALTHCARE ELIMINATIONS
Even fellow Republican and former candidate for President, Rep. John Kasich disagrees with eliminating the Medicaid expansion covered in the Affordable Care Act.
“That is a very, very bad idea, because we cannot turn our back on the most vulnerable. We can give them the coverage, reform the program, save some money and make sure that we live in a country where people are going to say, ‘At least somebody is looking out for me.’â€
Sullivan, Peter. “Kasich: House GOP Medicaid Plan ‘very Bad Idea’.” TheHill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., 19 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said he’s for a “free and open” internet the same week as legislation introduced to force travelers/immigrants to give agents their social media passwords in order to be “thoroughly vetted” and allowed into the country (of course that’s only from those seven countries deemed full of dangerous people).
Even though NSA head Mike Flynn resigned amid the scandal about him talking to the Russians, Republicans are more furious about his phone calls being recorded than about what he was leaking to a foreign official. Meanwhile, they don’t give a crap that cell phones were out at Trump’s private playground Mar-a-Lago while he dined with the Japanese Prime Minister and reviewed classified documents about missiles.
SURVIVE IT!
Take the day to do what feels right to you: activism, contacting your reps, sharing links to important articles, hot shower, fresh air, walking the dog, getting offline, Netflix marathon, reading, listening to podcasts while cooking your favorite meal, cat snuggles.