"What is a 10-year-old orphan boy going to do if they can't get anti-viral-drugs? The answer is they die. . . .The cost of the program was 12 cents per person per day."Nicholas Kristof, interviewed by Ali Velshi
“A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest saw the man, but passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite. But a Samaritan came where the man was and took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he gave money to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’Jesus asked an expert on the law, 'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
The expert replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.'
Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'"
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I watched Nicholas Kristof on Ali Velshi's show last weekend. By killing USAID, the Trump-Musk team is putting lives at risk in Africa. Nick Kristof showed four people - two mothers and two children - then alive - whom Kristof met in South Sudan on a recent trip. All four have since died due to the termination of the USAID programs.
Kristof explained that, with the termination of USAID programs, many more will die. The breakdown of projected deaths within the next year is in the millions:
*** 1.6 million deaths without U.S. foreign aid for HIV prevention and treatment
*** 550,000 deaths without U.S. funding for food aid
*** 500,000 deaths without U.S. funding for vaccines
*** 290,000 deaths without U.S. funding for malaria prevention
*** 310,000 deaths without U.S. funding for tuberculosis preventionA total of over three million lives are at risk – even likely to die in the next year -- with the termination of USAID funding.
Coming down his golden escalator, Trump began his 2016 campaign with a rant about the threat of Mexican immigrants, saying they include "rapists and murderers." Since then he invited multiple credibly-alleged rapists to join him in his cabinet, including Pete Hegseth and Matt Gaetz.
According to recent reports, the Bush II ‘PEPFAR program’ [the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] to prevent and treat AIDS in Africa has saved 22 million lives, a number that had been rising up until Trump's action to terminate USAID.
Now, by terminating USAID programs, Trump can take responsibility for thousands, even millions of deaths that could otherwise be prevented by those very USAID programs. When Trump condemns immigrants as being rapists and murderers, he should look in the mirror. With this single step, Trump is creating an avoidable tragedy on a scale comparable to the worst human tragedy of the last century.
So, the question is: Where are the voices standing up to Trump and Musk?
Who is standing up for decency -- for democracy -- and for USAID?
Where is the outrage?
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2 comments:
Where are all the pro life people who think life is sacred starting at conception?
Musk has said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” Really. Nor do you need to look far for examples of Trump’s cruelty. Perhaps his most malicious previous policy was separating the children of asylum seekers from their parents. He claimed it was a continuation of an Obama/Biden policy, but that's just one more of his countless boldfaced lies.
Ironically, Trump is the golden idol worshipped by countless alleged “Christians.” It brings to mind the story in Matthew of the last judgment, when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats:
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
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