Trump administration acts to harm animals
Trump administration acts to harm animals
As he was signing edicts hurting one group after another over the past few weeks, it was only a matter of time before President Donald Trump got around to hurting animals – already the most oppressed sentient beings on earth.
The animals’ turn came when the Trump administration took down the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website that reports on government regulation of roughly 9,000 animal-handling facilities.
These are laboratories, dog breeders, fur farms, circuses, zoos and aquariums.
The site is used every day by animal protection activists to monitor government enforcement of the 1966 Animal Welfare Act, the only effective federal law protecting animals.
Taking down the APHIS inspection site is a huge setback for animal protection. It will almost certainly lead to reduced government inspection of animal facilities and more animal suffering – a virtual repeal of the Animal Welfare Act.
Ironically, this oppressive act was launched by the same dark-of-night process as that of pulling more than 100,000 visas from thoroughly vetted Muslim immigrants one week earlier – no notice, no hearings, no due process, no public announcement.
The oppressive mindset doesn’t really care who the victims are.
Hopefully, the courts will.
Albert Drago, Youngstown
Commit to help end epidemic of bullying
I can no longer be silent, I need to speak up on behalf of a close friend who took her own life recently. Bullying, taunting, teasing and cyber bullying go unnoticed a majority of the time.
Young people who are bullied are seven to nine times likelier to consider suicide, according to a study conducted by Yale University. ABC News reported over 30,000 kids stay home from school each year because of the intimidation of being bullied.
We underestimate the depression, sadness and toll this takes on a human being. When a child or teenager is being bullied, many of them begin to believe what the bullies are telling them. They become severely depressed, have no self- esteem, and turn to harmful coping skills. The victims can become suicidal and starts questioning if they even want to live anymore.
To battle bullying, first, if you see it, report it. Talk to that person, and make sure they know they’re loved, and there being heard. Tell them everything will be OK, and they will get through this. Remind them they’re not the one with the problem, and it’s the bully who has the real problems. Bullies are usually unhappy in their own lives, and want to bring somebody else down with them.
I vow for the rest of my life to help prevent this horrific epidemic. I will fight, speak, and help anybody who is being bullied, or contemplating suicide. I will tell them they’re beautiful, worth it, and most of all that they’re loved!
Melissa Turosik, Struthers
Use critical thinking to filter out ‘fake news’
At President Don- ald Trump’s first press conference since he won the election, he slammed CNN as fake news, and the expression has been alive and well on the internet and in circles of conversation near and far. Of course, there has always been varying degrees of accuracy in news reporting, a reality anyone who has read the Weekly World News in line at the supermarket can attest to.
And in an age where news stories break literally instantly on the internet, there are occasional screw-ups, as networks vie to be the first with the story and sometimes accuracy takes a backseat.
Some are calling for some type of system or means to eliminate fake news from spreading. Well-intended it as it may be, there are enormous problems with this idea. The biggest problem is the pesky First Amendment – where exactly is the line between blocking fake news and preventing people from having their free speech? We shouldn’t need to be protected from false information, bottom line. We should be able to tell the difference ourselves.
Media literacy and critical thinking are the heroes we need right now in the U.S. There has probably never been a time where it was as important to know how to assess the news we hear as it is right now. Learning to think critically is a skill that can be taught, and by all means, it is a skill we need to teach our kids as well as our adults. Adding critical thinking to the curriculum in schools is the wisest thing we could do right now.
Elizabeth Lehman, Salem