(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com) The Framers taught us that the biggest threat to religious freedom comes from theocrats who try to establish their own sect over everyone else.That’s why we have two religion clauses in the First Amendment. pic.twitter.com/FI4fUqkeg1 — Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) October 25, 2023
Thursday Morning Open Thread: Another Day, Same Old CircusPost + Comments (156)
If you're not poasting are you even alive. https://t.co/phzsglt0Mt
— Not up for trouble, please stop asking (@agraybee) October 23, 2023
Exclusive: As child-care crisis looms, Biden prepares to ask Congress for $16 billion in new state funding https://t.co/Gepe8ud1uI
— Abha Bhattarai (@abhabhattarai) October 25, 2023
Per the Washington Post, “As child-care crisis looms, Biden asks Congress for urgent help”:
… The funds account for about one-third of the roughly $56 billion the White House is seeking for domestic needs, including high-speed internet access and natural-disaster relief. It comes on the heels of a separate $106 billion request for international priorities, including funding for Ukraine and Israel.
The White House is also asking Congress to approve $23 billion in disaster relief, including for the wildfires that struck Hawaii and floods in California and Vermont; $6 billion to extend internet access for millions of low-income households; and billions more for communications infrastructure and energy needs, as well as money to counter fentanyl and prevent firefighters battling wildfires from seeing their pay cut…
The child-care funds, which would be distributed to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, would provide a year of stabilization funding for more than 225,000 child-care providers throughout the country. Many received similar allotments during the pandemic, when Congress set aside a record $24 billion to help keep child-care facilities open.
The last of those funds expired at the end of September, leaving many providers struggling to stay open. As many as 1 in 3 child-care centers could soon close, leaving some 3.2 million children without care, according to estimates from the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank. Some child care providers say they’ve already had to lay off workers or raise fees to make up for the loss in federal funding, and many expect the situation to become even more dire in coming months…
Improving child care and making it more affordable has become a key priority for the Biden administration. White House officials say renewed funding would help preserve existing child-care slots while also providing financial help to families who rely on care to get to work. In April, the president signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to “do what they can … to boost the supply of high-quality early care.”
The $16 billion request from President Biden matches what Democrats in Congress had called for last month. The funding would go directly to states and ranges from $15 million apiece for Wyoming and Vermont to $1.8 billion for Texas.
Who *cares* about this momfare crap? We wanna President talking tough about massive boom-booms and mighty weapons!…