The Church of the Informed Citizen—i.e., my house—held services today on the back deck in beautiful, sunny, spring-like Memorial Day weekend weather. Now, as the potatoes boil in preparation for the traditional potato salad of summer—and before I clean my house—here are a few recommended readings.
Two themes emerged for me today. One, inevitably, is the continuing expansion of the investigation into contacts and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The other is children and how our governments serve or fail to serve them.
Starting with the children, read these first two articles in tandem. They might not be related directly, but it’s hard not to sense echoes of the first when reading the second. Either way, they combine to show serious weaknesses in the safety net that should protect vulnerable children.
- Foster Parent Shortage Dire as Heroin Overdoses Rise (ABC News)
- DCFS Report Shows Litany of Failures in Death of 17-Month-old Semaj Crosby (Chicago Tribune)
As a segue from children to the Trump Administration, there’s this: Good news for children, good news for Chicago. But this success story is built on the good work of Planned Parenthood, which is under attack by the federal government. In that attack, all of Planned Parenthood’s work is at risk, not just the provision of abortion services.
- Chicago’s Teen Birth Rate Declines to Historic Low (Chicago Tribune)
If you’re not fully briefed on the continuing investigation of the Trump campaign/administration, or the president’s foreign travels this week, these articles should get you up to speed:
- Trump Ends Trip Where He Started: At Odds with Allies and Grilled on Russia (NY Times)
- Trump Returns to Crisis Over Kushner as White House Tries to Contain It (NY Times)
- Merkel, After Tense G-7 Meeting, Is Looking Past Trump (NY Times)
And don’t miss this development regarding Trump’s potential (I don’t really mean that word any more) conflicts of interest:
- The Trump Organization Says It’s ‘Not Practical’ to Comply with the Emoluments Clause (The Atlantic Monthly)
Finally, try to find time his week to read this very long but utterly riveting story of one man’s decision to seek physician-assisted suicide in Canada, where it is legal under certain narrowly defined circumstances:
I’m still reading. Once again, there’s so much going on in the world that I feel nowhere near caught up. I haven’t even started on the opinion sections. Please add your own news-reading suggestions in the comments or direct to @kkish on Twitter using hashtag #ChurchOfInformedCitizen.