Washington parents get turned away again
The partisan vote to rewrite Washington's initiative for parental rights is sadly been taken. Unfortunately, many will never see the damage done to a child that does not get the care and love at times when they need it most, not to mention the lifelong negative effects that families have to deal with.
Kids with the most loving homes are often concerned with letting their parents or loved ones down. It's normal for a young person not to want to confide in parents on some issues, even though doing so often is the best way for the issue to receive the care and love it needs. The Parents Bill of Rights ensured safety if there was any kind of abuse. Once again, political dominance dictates not only how parenting is to be done, but when allowed.
Special interests dictate parenting even in our homes. Using identity politics to affect how our family functions is a sad part of public education in this state.
Mick Sheldon, Kingston
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Initiative changes should disappoint Washington parents | Letters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The White House Wants the Megabill by July 4. For Real.
House and Senate Republicans spent Thursday at each other's throats over President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' The sparring between the two chambers reached a point where members were openly scoffing at the GOP's self-imposed July 4 deadline for passing the bill. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, meanwhile, the White House isn't sweating. In fact, Trump's aides are downright bullish about getting the megabill wrapped up in a bow for a presidential signature by Independence Day. 'We are targeting the week of July 4 for final passage,' said one of two Trump administration officials I spoke to Wednesday and granted anonymity to candidly describe the private talks. Let's be clear: The timeline is extraordinarily fast. Not only does Senate Majority Leader John Thune have to find a way to bridge competing demands inside his conference and weather a grueling amendment 'vote-a-rama,' but he also has to work with Speaker Mike Johnson, who is already groaning at every change being entertained for the bill that barely passed his chamber last month. Traditionally, getting the two chambers aligned on a single piece of complicated legislation means weeks of 'conferencing' — that's what happened in 2017, the last time Republicans pursued a party-line tax bill. This time, the legislation is even more complicated and the margins even thinner. But White House officials are adamant that GOP leaders skip that step. Nor do they want the House making more changes after the Senate, requiring another 'pingpong' back across the Rotunda. They expect the Senate to clear a bill that the House can simply plop on the floor, pass and send to Trump's desk. 'There's not going to be a pingpong or a conference,' the official told me yesterday. Can they really do that in just three weeks? Some Republicans are skeptical, to say the least. Sen. John Curtis of Utah said 'a lot of us would be surprised' if the July 4 deadline holds at the POLITICO Energy Summit Tuesday. And during a Punchbowl News event Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said that while the Senate might be able to finish on time, it could take another month to negotiate with the House. 'The Senate is going to do what it damn well wants to do,' he said. OK, senator: Go tell that to Donald Trump. Some of the president's allies on the Hill are already dreaming up a snazzy Rose Garden celebration to ring in both Independence Day and the enactment of the 'big, beautiful bill.' (At least that's what one well-placed GOP congressional aide predicted to me this week.) The recent history of the megabill is fueling the administration's confidence. Political prognosticators scoffed at Johnson's self-imposed Memorial Day target for House passage, predicting the warring factions in his conference would make that deadline an impossibility. But Trump swooped in and muscled the bill through by sheer force, strong-arming moderate holdouts and bringing conservatives to heel. And White House officials are sure he can do it again. Administration aides are well aware of the work left to be done. Senate Republicans are already moving to throw a major wrench in the negotiations by upending two key provisions that were essential to winning the support of rival blocs in the House. Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo told his colleagues Wednesday he plans to deliver on a personal priority that's highly desired by members of his panel: making key business tax breaks permanent. To do it, he's ready to scale back the House's $40,000 cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction — a key factor in winning the support of blue-state GOP holdouts. And to manage desires elsewhere in the Senate GOP, Crapo also hinted he'll elongate the phase-out time for some clean-energy tax breaks enacted under former President Joe Biden — a huge no-no for House Freedom Caucus members, who made their quick repeal a must in exchange for their votes. That means Trump is about to find himself in a familiar spot — playing referee between the chambers — and his team knows it. He could start blowing the whistle as soon as Thursday, when he meets with Thune and Crapo at the White House. There's good reason to think that Trump will ultimately be able to impose his will on the unruly GOP lawmakers. There were signs he was already doing so this week, after rumblings emerged about some Senate Republicans wanting to scale back Trump's tax priorities in order to pay for the business tax provisions. Trump's campaign pledges to exempt tips, overtime pay and Social Security from income taxes made it into the House bill at a cost of $230 billion, according to a Joint Committee on Taxation score. Scrapping or scaling back any of those provisions could have been a huge boon to Senate tax writers. But the White House made clear behind the scenes that would be a no-go: 'We're not willing to entertain any scaling back of our signature promises,' a second Trump administration official said. 'You're not going to rock the president's commitments to the voters to pay for [business] expensing in the out years.' On Tuesday, Thune made it clear to reporters that Trump's priorities would stay — words the White House welcomed. So don't expect much stomach inside the GOP for bucking Trump's wishes over the coming weeks. It's telling that, as I was told, none of the Senate Finance Republicans who met with Trump last week raised the issue of shrinking his tax wish list during their White House skull session. That just underscores how no one — not even senators who get six-year terms and have historically relished their independence — wants to tell the most powerful man in the world: Please, Mr. President, we'd like to water down your campaign promises to substitute one of our own. 'I think ultimately a lot of members are wish-casting different structures to permit more of their own priorities, and certainly that's something that senators are welcome to do,' the first official said. But 'the president's priorities are not negotiable in this process.'
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
U.S. Futures Drop As Trump Says He'll Set Unilateral Tariffs In 2 Weeks
U.S. stock futures slumped early on Thursday—with the Dow index dropping by more than 200 points—after President Donald Trump said his administration will soon send letters to other countries unilaterally outlining the tariff rates that will be imposed on them. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center ... More for the Performing Arts. While attending a show at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday evening, Trump was asked about extending the ongoing 90-day tariff pause—which will expire on July 9—and said: 'I would, but I don't think we're going to have that necessity.' The president said the U.S. was negotiating with 15 countries, including Japan and South Korea. Trump then noted that the U.S. has around '150 plus' trading partners and 'at a certain point, we're just going to send letters out…saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.' 'We're going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is,' he added. The president touted the proposed agreement with China as a 'great deal,' adding, 'We're very happy with it, we have everything we need.' U.S. stock futures slumped in premarket trading early Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 slipping by 0.4% to 6,004 points. The Dow Futures index was the worst hit, dropping by 0.5% to 42,684 points, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Futures fell 0.4% to 21,799 points.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
‘I couldn't care less': Trump sparks drama at politically charged Les Miserables debut
Donald Trump was met with cheers and boos as he attended a performance of Les Miserables on Wednesday at Washington's premier cultural institution. Trump's appearance at the opening night of the hit musical Les Miserables at the renowned Kennedy Center could hardly have been more politically charged. The 78-year-old Republican recently orchestrated a conservative takeover of the famed arts venue. Cheers but also boos met US President Donald Trump as he attended a performance Wednesday of Les Miserables at Washington's premier cultural institution, which he has effectively seized control of since returning to power in January. Trump's appearance at the opening night of the hit musical Les Miserables at the renowned Kennedy Center could hardly have been more politically charged. The 78-year-old Republican recently orchestrated a conservative takeover of the famed arts venue, reportedly prompting some Les Mis cast members to boycott the show. 'I couldn't care less. Honestly, I couldn't. All I do is run the country well,' Trump told reporters when asked about a boycott as he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump. The show's tale of revolutionary fervour, featuring street protesters in 19th century France manning the barricades against a repressive leader also seemed to take on new relevance as the United States itself faces fresh turbulence over Trump's governance. When the presidential couple appeared Wednesday evening on the central balcony, emblazoned with a presidential seal, booing audience members appeared to struggle to make themselves heard over cheers and chants of 'USA! USA!' 'Dictatorial' behaviour Trump, who was joined by Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance at the premiere, has recently sent in troops to deal with protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'We're going to have a safe country... Remember, if I wasn't there... Los Angeles would have been burning to the ground,' Trump insisted to reporters. California officials accuse him of 'dictatorial' behaviour and of manufacturing a confrontation by deploying thousands of National Guard troops and US Marines. 'I think the irony is probably lost on him,' Peter Loge, director of George Washington University's School of Media, told AFP. California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, who has harshly criticised Trump's actions in his state, reacted on X to news that Trump was attending the musical with the plea: 'Someone explain the plot to him.' The social injustice portrayed in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel - coupled with songs such as Do You Hear the People Sing? and I Dreamed a Dream - has long resonated with audiences around the world. Billionaire Trump, who had announced his decision to attend Les Miserables before the Los Angeles protests erupted, says he too has long been a fan. 'Love the songs' The real estate tycoon has played songs from the show at his rallies and political events. 'I love the songs, I love the play,' Trump told Fox News Digital last week. Asked which of the play's characters he most identified with, however, Trump punted to his wife. 'That's a tough one... you better answer that one, honey,' Trump replied. Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP His attendance is yet another show of strength after installing himself as chairman of the center and replacing the entire board with loyalists in February. Loge said Trump's presence there was part of a broader effort at image-making by the reality TV star-turned-president. ' Les Mis is a great spectacle. And it sounds smart. It's not just a show, it sounds like it stands for something,' he said. Trump's takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center faced opposition in some quarters. A historically bipartisan-supported institution, it has never been led by a US president before. Hit show Hamilton cancelled its run there in response. Trump countered by saying he had 'never liked' the rap musical, which is about the birth of the United States and its first treasury secretary. Several key figures at the Kennedy Center - including TV producer Shonda Rhimes, who created Grey's Anatomy, and musician Ben Folds - resigned from their leadership positions. And the Vances - Usha Vance is one of the new board members - were booed by the Kennedy Center audience at a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra in March. Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center comes amid a broader assault on what he deems 'woke' programming at cultural institutions, including the famed Smithsonian museums, as well as universities.
