Tim Ryan Op-Ed
A year into this pandemic, there are two realities in this country: while the market closes at record highs, more than 45 million Americans don't have enough to eat, and a quarter of all Americans have been laid off. But the American Rescue Plan Act is set to turn things around for Ohio families – not just for now, but well beyond this recovery.
Gallows on the Capitol lawn. Molotov cocktails at the ready. Zip-tie handcuffs in the House of Representatives and Senate Chambers. Law enforcement officers beaten and killed. There is no sugar-coating what happened at our nation's Capitol on January 6th: Domestic terrorists violently breached the seat of American government with the intent of preventing the certification of the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election.
The bad times came full force this spring at P.S. 89 in Queens, N.Y., once the nation's Coronavirus epicenter. Serving roughly 1,500 mostly low-income Hispanic and Asian American children, dozens of students reported that the virus had killed or sickened family members. The school and the community quickly created a coping network. Staff learned grief-counseling protocols. School officials held weekly student support groups with guidance counselors and parenting workshops for surviving parents. Volunteers provided food for families.
Since the coronavirus struck our shores, my focus has been on keeping Americans safe and ensuring working people don't get left behind. Their struggles today are greater than ever. Too many have suffered job losses, shrinking income, isolation, and health issues — all while caring for children and other loved ones.
The year Donald Trump was elected President, more Americans were arrested for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined.
As I drive through Youngstown, Ohio, I’m met by empty storefronts and vacant factories. Americans living in areas like mine are struggling: The cost of living keeps going up, families are underemployed and many have not seen a raise in more than a decade. All the while, their corporate employers have seen record profits. Something is wrong with this equation.
Originally published on MakerEd.org:
Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Bombshell after bombshell of news came out of Thursday's hearing with former FBI Director James Comey. However, President Donald Trump's firing of Comey also obscures one of the most important revelations from the past several weeks: President Trump knowingly handed over highly classified and closely guarded intelligence to Russian officials.