thenation--2020-09-11--A Judicial ‘Shitshow’ Blocks Absentee Ballots in Wisconsin

adison , is.—When the right-wing judicial activists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court forced the state ’ s April 7 election to go forward at a peak point in the coronavirus pandemic , absentee ballots saved the day .
While thousands of voters were forced to stand in line for hours to cast their ballots in person , almost 1.1 million votes were cast by mail .
Now , with the November 3 presidential election looming , and with coronavirus numbers again spiking in this critical swing state , the same right-wing judicial activists on the same Supreme Court have blocked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clerks across Wisconsin were beginning to mail roughly 1 million absentee ballots to voters on Thursday , September 10—in order to meet a legally mandated state deadline of September 17–the court ordered a halt to the process until it can review a dispute over addresses on Green Party petitions for ballot access .
In an order that shocked election officials in Wisconsin , as well as election observers nationwide , the high court ’ s conservative majority demanded the names of every voter who has requested an absentee ballot , details regarding ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots had already been mailed and how many are ready for mailing .
Remove Postmaster General Louis DeJoy , by Any Legal or Constitutional Means Necessary Wisconsin ’ s Lieutenant Governor Talks About the Kenosha Protests and What Happens Next Even more concerning was the prospect that this temporary order could be followed by a court decision to require a new ballot design .
That would force clerks to scrap the ballots that have already been printed—at enormous cost of resources and precious time .
“ Given the breadth of the information requested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , I fear that the majority of this court is asking the impossible of our approximately 1,850 municipal clerks throughout the state , ” wrote Justice Ann Walsh Bradley , who dissented from the 4-3 decision .
“ The technical legal term for this is shitshow , ” declared the professor of law and political science at the University of California , Irvine , who authored the book Election Meltdown .
Late Thursday evening , filings from clerks across the state indicated that as many as 378,000 requested ballots had already been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported , “ If the court finds candidates need to be added to the ballot , those voters would have to be sent a second ballot .
And then clerks would have to make sure no one voted twice.
” Officials in Milwaukee County , a Democratic stronghold that is the state ’ s most populous voting base , signaled that “ if Milwaukee County is forced to stop printing , and begin designing , testing , and printing a new ballot , we will not be able to meet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complicated and costly process of redesigning , reprinting , and coordinating for new ballots would further burden clerks who are already struggling to keep ahead of new absentee ballot requests—which can still be submitted—and all the challenges of organizing early voting and in-person voting on Election Day .
The conservative jurists offered no timeline for how quickly they will act to resolve a weeks-old dispute over whether the Green Party ’ s presidential and vice presidential candidates can be listed on the fall ballot .
The Green campaign of presidential candidate Howie Hawkins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sufficient number of signatures to qualify for the November ballot , but there was a question regarding how Walker ’ s address was listed on some petitions .
It should have been resolved by the Wisconsin Election Commission last month , but partisan wrangling between Democrats and Republican commissioners landed the issue in the courts .
If the court does not act immediately to resolve the dispute—and , if necessary , to set a new timeline for distribution of requested ballots—the consequences could extend far beyond Wisconsin .
Republican Donald Trump won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ votes in 2016 .
Electoral votes from Wisconsin , Michigan , and Pennsylvania handed Trump the presidency .
This year , Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a pitched battle in the state , which has seen visits by the president , Vice President Mike Pence , and Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in recent days .
Now , with court-imposed chaos threatening an already challenging process of organizing a safe and fair election , Dane County ( Madison ) Clerk Scott McDonell says , “ This is potentially a huge disaster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is deeply irresponsible and jeopardizes the integrity of our election.
” There were pleas for the high court to act expeditiously .
But state Representative Gordon Hintz , a Democratic legislative leader , explained , “ The courts are not acting expeditiously because they are acting politically .
The current Wisconsin State Supreme Court majority is a national embarrassment .
”

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M adison, W is.—When the right-wing judicial activists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court forced the state’s April 7 election to go forward at a peak point in the coronavirus pandemic, absentee ballots saved the day. While thousands of voters were forced to stand in line for hours to cast their ballots in person, almost 1.1 million votes were cast by mail.
Now, with the November 3 presidential election looming, and with coronavirus numbers again spiking in this critical swing state, the same right-wing judicial activists on the same Supreme Court have blocked distribution of absentee ballots.
As municipal clerks across Wisconsin were beginning to mail roughly 1 million absentee ballots to voters on Thursday, September 10—in order to meet a legally mandated state deadline of September 17–the court ordered a halt to the process until it can review a dispute over addresses on Green Party petitions for ballot access.
In an order that shocked election officials in Wisconsin, as well as election observers nationwide, the high court’s conservative majority demanded the names of every voter who has requested an absentee ballot, details regarding ballot preparation, and information about how many ballots had already been mailed and how many are ready for mailing. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Even more concerning was the prospect that this temporary order could be followed by a court decision to require a new ballot design. That would force clerks to scrap the ballots that have already been printed—at enormous cost of resources and precious time.
“Given the breadth of the information requested and the minimal time allotted to obtain it, I fear that the majority of this court is asking the impossible of our approximately 1,850 municipal clerks throughout the state,” wrote Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who dissented from the 4-3 decision.
Election law expert Rick Hasen was blunter.
“The technical legal term for this is shitshow,” declared the professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, who authored the book Election Meltdown.
Late Thursday evening, filings from clerks across the state indicated that as many as 378,000 requested ballots had already been sent to Wisconsin voters, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “If the court finds candidates need to be added to the ballot, those voters would have to be sent a second ballot. And then clerks would have to make sure no one voted twice.” Officials in Milwaukee County, a Democratic stronghold that is the state’s most populous voting base, signaled that “if Milwaukee County is forced to stop printing, and begin designing, testing, and printing a new ballot, we will not be able to meet the state and federal deadlines.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
The complicated and costly process of redesigning, reprinting, and coordinating for new ballots would further burden clerks who are already struggling to keep ahead of new absentee ballot requests—which can still be submitted—and all the challenges of organizing early voting and in-person voting on Election Day.
The conservative jurists offered no timeline for how quickly they will act to resolve a weeks-old dispute over whether the Green Party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates can be listed on the fall ballot. The Green campaign of presidential candidate Howie Hawkins and vice presidential candidate Angela Walker collected a sufficient number of signatures to qualify for the November ballot, but there was a question regarding how Walker’s address was listed on some petitions. It should have been resolved by the Wisconsin Election Commission last month, but partisan wrangling between Democrats and Republican commissioners landed the issue in the courts.
If the court does not act immediately to resolve the dispute—and, if necessary, to set a new timeline for distribution of requested ballots—the consequences could extend far beyond Wisconsin. Republican Donald Trump won this swing state by less than 23,000 votes in 2016. Electoral votes from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania handed Trump the presidency. This year, Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a pitched battle in the state, which has seen visits by the president, Vice President Mike Pence, and Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in recent days.
Now, with court-imposed chaos threatening an already challenging process of organizing a safe and fair election, Dane County (Madison) Clerk Scott McDonell says, “This is potentially a huge disaster. Just the delay of a decision is deeply irresponsible and jeopardizes the integrity of our election.”
There were pleas for the high court to act expeditiously. But state Representative Gordon Hintz, a Democratic legislative leader, explained, “The courts are not acting expeditiously because they are acting politically. The current Wisconsin State Supreme Court majority is a national embarrassment.”


thenation--2020-09-11--Bob Woodward’s Accidental Scoop

Bob Woodward’s Accidental Scoop

Bob Woodward , who with his then–fellow Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein famously helped bring down Richard Nixon , has another explosive exposé .
But this one implicates the reporter as well as a president .
In his new book , Rage , Woodward reveals that in private , recorded conversations Donald Trump made clear that he was aware of the far-reaching deadliness of Covid-19 early this year , at a time when when he was publicly downplaying the disease .
On February 7 , Trump told Woodward , “ It goes through air , Bob .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know , the touch , you don ’ t have to touch things .
Right ?
But the air , you just breathe the air , and that ’ s how it ’ s passed .
And so , that ’ s a very tricky one .
That ’ s a very delicate one .
It ’ s also more deadly than your—you know , your , even your strenuous flus.
” In a follow-up conversation on March 19 , Trump said , “ I wanted to always play it down .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t want to create a panic.
” As my Nation colleague John Nichols rightly notes , Trump ’ s words are genuinely scandalous .
They contradicted his frequent public statements , which continue to this day , minimizing Covid-19 .
Democrats have jumped on Trump ’ s comments as manna from heaven .
But Woodward ’ s own role in holding back the recordings for more than half a year while he prepared his book is itself troubling .
A president of the United States privately contradicting his public words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affects the health of countless Americans .
Woodward is one of the most famous journalists of the day , so why didn ’ t he immediately report the news ?
Trump ’ s Vile Military Comments Are a Window Into His Soul Mark Zuckerberg Has Set Our Democracy On Fire Trump himself is using Woodward ’ s long silence to suggest that the comments were no big deal .
On Thursday , Trump tweeted , “ Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months .
If he thought they were so bad or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediately report them in an effort to save lives ?
Didn ’ t he have an obligation to do so ?
No , because he knew they were good and proper answers.
” At a press conference later , Trump said , “ If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad then he should have immediately , right after I said it , gone out to the authorities so they can prepare.
” Trump has half a point .
It ’ s absurd to say Woodward should have gone to “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president .
But Woodward could have made the comments public—which would have empowered critics of Trump ’ s inaction , giving them ammunition in the fight for a more comprehensive pandemic policy .
Writing in Jacobin , Andrew Perez and David Sirota accuse Woodward of violating his duty as a journalist .
“ He was informed of the crime taking place , ” Perez and Sirota argue .
“ And yet rather than immediately using his platform—possibly the biggest media platform in the entire world—to sound an alarm , Woodward instead followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abetted the wrongdoing.
” Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan offers a more nuanced assessment , although one that in the end is also damning in its own way .
“ I don ’ t know if putting the book ’ s newsiest revelations out there in something closer to real time would have made a difference , ” Sullivan writes .
“ They might very well have been denied and soon forgotten in the constant rush of new scandals and lies .
Still , the chance—even if it ’ s a slim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a powerful argument against waiting this long.
” The practice of reporters ’ withholding news from daily journalism in order to publish books has become frequent , if controversial .
In his just-published Donald Trump v. The United States , New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt offers substantial new details about the Mueller investigation that didn ’ t make it into his reporting .
Last year , two other Times reporters , Michael Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis , revealed in their Border Wars that Trump had suggested that migrants should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this was news the Times didn ’ t see fit to print .
There ’ s an obvious pecuniary motive at work : Books about Trump , particularly if they contain scandalous new revelations , have frequently topped the best-seller lists .
Squirreling away secrets for these books has become a lucrative way for reporters to supplement their income .
Woodward ’ s case is more complicated .
As Sullivan notes , Woodward “ is no longer a Post employee , though he maintains an affiliation and the honorific title of associate editor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the daily journalism business.
” If Woodward is not a daily journalist , what is he ?
Woodward claims he ’ s writing “ the second draft of history.
” The first draft would be the daily newspaper , with Woodward ’ s books adding to the record with deeper reporting and context .
But if Woodward is a historian , he ’ s one of a very particular and retrograde kind : He ’ s a court chronicler , recording the minutiae of modern Washington with the diligence that the duc de @ @ @ @ @ @ @ XIV .
Court history , long on gossip and palace intrigue but short on analysis , is usually found in monarchies and empires .
In 1996 , Joan Didion surveyed six of Woodward ’ s tomes for The New York Review of Books and drew attention to “ Mr .
Woodward ’ s rather eerie aversion to engaging the ramifications of what people say to him.
” She added that there was a “ disinclination of Mr. Woodward ’ s to exert cognitive energy on what he is told.
” This “ disinclination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the obvious monetary one , for why Woodward sat on the explosive news he found out about Trump .
In an acute paragraph , Didion notes that Woodward ’ s superficial focus on personal drama often serves the interest of the Washington insiders he writes about : That this crude personalization works to narrow the focus , to circumscribe the range of possible discussion or speculation , is , for the people who find it useful to talk to Mr. Woodward , its point .
What they have in Mr. Woodward is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American icon , who can be relied upon to present a Washington in which problematic or questionable matters will be definitively resolved by the discovery , or by the demonstration that there has been no discovery , of “ the smoking gun , ” “ the evidence.
” Should such narrowly-defined “ evidence ” be found , he can then be relied upon to demonstrate , “ fairly , ” that the only fingerprints on the smoking gun are those of the one bad apple in the barrel , the single rogue agent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Didion ’ s point that Woodward ’ s gossip-mongering helps defuse scandals certainly applies to Woodward ’ s reporting in the Trump era .
It ’ s noteworthy that Woodward continued to enjoy the status of being “ widely trusted ” even after he published his first Trump book , Fear ( 2018 ) .
In that book , Woodward offered many juicy stories about how Trump ’ s underlings didn ’ t respect him and often thwarted his agenda .
But , as Alex Shephard noted in The New Republic , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dismissed in Trumpian terms , as an overhyped political witch hunt , hardly the stuff of Watergate.
” Trump himself clearly felt he had more to gain from trying to shape the narrative by talking to Woodward than he would lose from whatever scurrilous details the reporter might uncover .
According to Woodward , Trump would call him up “ frequently ” and “ unexpectedly.
” Logs show that these calls lasted as long as half an hour .
The fact that Trump ended up making explosive comments to Woodward is a function @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of discretion .
Woodward was all set to be a dutiful court historian , but Trump was such a blabbermouth that he handed the reporter an unexpected scoop .
Inadvertently , Trump and Woodward have demonstrated that stenography sometimes has a value .

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Bob Woodward, who with his then–fellow Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein famously helped bring down Richard Nixon, has another explosive exposé. But this one implicates the reporter as well as a president. In his new book, Rage, Woodward reveals that in private, recorded conversations Donald Trump made clear that he was aware of the far-reaching deadliness of Covid-19 early this year, at a time when when he was publicly downplaying the disease.
On February 7, Trump told Woodward, “It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed. And so, that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than your—you know, your, even your strenuous flus.” In a follow-up conversation on March 19, Trump said, “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
As my Nation colleague John Nichols rightly notes, Trump’s words are genuinely scandalous. They contradicted his frequent public statements, which continue to this day, minimizing Covid-19. Democrats have jumped on Trump’s comments as manna from heaven.
But Woodward’s own role in holding back the recordings for more than half a year while he prepared his book is itself troubling. A president of the United States privately contradicting his public words is a huge news story—particularly when it affects the health of countless Americans. Woodward is one of the most famous journalists of the day, so why didn’t he immediately report the news? More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
Trump himself is using Woodward’s long silence to suggest that the comments were no big deal. On Thursday, Trump tweeted, “Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers.” At a press conference later, Trump said, “If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad then he should have immediately, right after I said it, gone out to the authorities so they can prepare.”
Trump has half a point. It’s absurd to say Woodward should have gone to “the authorities,” since Trump himself is the president. But Woodward could have made the comments public—which would have empowered critics of Trump’s inaction, giving them ammunition in the fight for a more comprehensive pandemic policy. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Writing in Jacobin, Andrew Perez and David Sirota accuse Woodward of violating his duty as a journalist. “He was informed of the crime taking place,” Perez and Sirota argue. “And yet rather than immediately using his platform—possibly the biggest media platform in the entire world—to sound an alarm, Woodward instead followed a code of omerta that aided and abetted the wrongdoing.” Current Issue View our current issue
Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan offers a more nuanced assessment, although one that in the end is also damning in its own way. “I don’t know if putting the book’s newsiest revelations out there in something closer to real time would have made a difference,” Sullivan writes. “They might very well have been denied and soon forgotten in the constant rush of new scandals and lies. Still, the chance—even if it’s a slim chance—that those revelations could have saved lives is a powerful argument against waiting this long.”
The practice of reporters’ withholding news from daily journalism in order to publish books has become frequent, if controversial. In his just-published Donald Trump v. The United States, New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt offers substantial new details about the Mueller investigation that didn’t make it into his reporting. Last year, two other Times reporters, Michael Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, revealed in their Border Wars that Trump had suggested that migrants should be shot in the leg. Again, this was news the Times didn’t see fit to print.
There’s an obvious pecuniary motive at work: Books about Trump, particularly if they contain scandalous new revelations, have frequently topped the best-seller lists. Squirreling away secrets for these books has become a lucrative way for reporters to supplement their income.
Woodward’s case is more complicated. As Sullivan notes, Woodward “is no longer a Post employee, though he maintains an affiliation and the honorific title of associate editor. He’s no longer in the daily journalism business.”
If Woodward is not a daily journalist, what is he? Woodward claims he’s writing “the second draft of history.” The first draft would be the daily newspaper, with Woodward’s books adding to the record with deeper reporting and context.
But if Woodward is a historian, he’s one of a very particular and retrograde kind: He’s a court chronicler, recording the minutiae of modern Washington with the diligence that the duc de Saint-Simon brought to the Versailles of Louis XIV. Court history, long on gossip and palace intrigue but short on analysis, is usually found in monarchies and empires.
In 1996, Joan Didion surveyed six of Woodward’s tomes for The New York Review of Books and drew attention to “Mr. Woodward’s rather eerie aversion to engaging the ramifications of what people say to him.” She added that there was a “disinclination of Mr. Woodward’s to exert cognitive energy on what he is told.” This “disinclination” offers another explanation, in addition to the obvious monetary one, for why Woodward sat on the explosive news he found out about Trump.
In an acute paragraph, Didion notes that Woodward’s superficial focus on personal drama often serves the interest of the Washington insiders he writes about:
That this crude personalization works to narrow the focus, to circumscribe the range of possible discussion or speculation, is, for the people who find it useful to talk to Mr. Woodward, its point. What they have in Mr. Woodward is a widely trusted reporter, even an American icon, who can be relied upon to present a Washington in which problematic or questionable matters will be definitively resolved by the discovery, or by the demonstration that there has been no discovery, of “the smoking gun,” “the evidence.” Should such narrowly-defined “evidence” be found, he can then be relied upon to demonstrate, “fairly,” that the only fingerprints on the smoking gun are those of the one bad apple in the barrel, the single rogue agent in the tapestry of decent intentions.
Didion’s point that Woodward’s gossip-mongering helps defuse scandals certainly applies to Woodward’s reporting in the Trump era. It’s noteworthy that Woodward continued to enjoy the status of being “widely trusted” even after he published his first Trump book, Fear (2018). In that book, Woodward offered many juicy stories about how Trump’s underlings didn’t respect him and often thwarted his agenda. But, as Alex Shephard noted in The New Republic, in Fear “the Russia investigation is largely dismissed in Trumpian terms, as an overhyped political witch hunt, hardly the stuff of Watergate.”
Trump himself clearly felt he had more to gain from trying to shape the narrative by talking to Woodward than he would lose from whatever scurrilous details the reporter might uncover. According to Woodward, Trump would call him up “frequently” and “unexpectedly.” Logs show that these calls lasted as long as half an hour.
The fact that Trump ended up making explosive comments to Woodward is a function of the president’s own lack of discretion. Woodward was all set to be a dutiful court historian, but Trump was such a blabbermouth that he handed the reporter an unexpected scoop. Inadvertently, Trump and Woodward have demonstrated that stenography sometimes has a value.


thenation--2020-09-14--Éric Rohmer’s Most Underrated Masterpiece

In Éric Rohmer movies , the men talk too much .
Almost all that talk is about women .
His men obsess over women , philosophically musing on the desire for new female companions to a maybe-ex-girlfriend even as they ’ re already yoked to a significant other ( Claire ’ s Knee ) ; they detail the Catholic morals that prevent them from acting on their desires , replacing sex with conversation ( My Night at Maud ’ s ) ; and they bemoan sexually liberated women who leave the men ’ s desires unfulfilled ( La Collectionneuse ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man in such an entertaining , witty , visually splendid manner as Rohmer .
While I find almost all of the French New Wave auteur ’ s films ( including the aforementioned titles ) sublime , his underseen and underrated 1987 film Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle—in which men are secondary , if not tertiary characters—stands out as a delightful deviation in his filmography .
A new restoration of this film will receive a virtual premiere on Metrograph starting September 11 , with a weeklong engagement as part of its Rohmer retrospective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have turned 100 . )
The ’ 80s saw Rohmer exploring more female protagonists and perspectives .
In Four Adventures , there are no male leads .
This is also somewhat true of the film he is best known for during this period , The Green Ray ( Le Rayon Vert ) , which he made the previous year , with Marie Rivière playing the lonely-hearted Delphine embarking on a sad and solo vacation around France that ends in Biarritz .
The Green Ray and Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority of technical crew members ( some on their first jobs ) , who filmed very inconspicuously in public settings around Paris .
For these reasons , Rohmer called them his “ amateur ” films , differentiating them : “ One is a vacation film [ The Green Ray ] , the other a weekend film [ Four Adventures ] .
” While waiting to shoot the final scene of the titular green ray—a rare meteorological phenomenon of a verdant flash on the horizon at sunrise or sunset—Rohmer made Four Adventures , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country-mouse painter Reinette ( Joëlle Miquel ) and the savvy Parisian ethnology student Mirabelle ( Jessica Forde ) .
The two meet in the French countryside when the latter gets a flat tire on her bicycle .
Reinette invites Mirabelle to stay with her ; Mirabelle later tells her that a room in her Paris flat is opening up , and they become roommates in the city .
Though it sits between The Green Ray and Boyfriends and Girlfriends ( 1987 ) in Rohmer ’ s filmography , Four Adventures is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a sextet of films based on famous proverbs and how imagined ideals drive people .
It also does not belong in his Six Moral Tales , though the middle two chapters of this film ( “ The Waiter ” and “ The Beggar , the Kleptomaniac , the Hustler ” ) explicitly explore questions of morality .
The films in his Moral Tales set concern men who are committed to one woman and are tempted by a second , only to return to their first .
Here , the morals in question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charity .
The rigid Reinette—who can be generous but also believes a little too steadfastly in law and order—finds her inflexible position shaken upon her move to the metropole , where she is swindled .
Rohmer made his name on Impressionistic aesthetics—his pictures stippled with vibrant colors and film grain—and sharp romantic dynamics between men and women .
With Four Adventures , an unmistakable Rohmerness remains , but romance is peripheral at best , giving way to a lighthearted but realistic platonic relationship between two women .
Four Adventures is considered neither part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major Rohmer , but it should be included in both .
This film features not a man who talks too much but a woman who does .
Reinette and Miquel have this in common .
Having been a fan of Rohmer ’ s 1984 film Full Moon in Paris , the actress asked to briefly meet the filmmaker and ended up staying for hours , telling him all sorts of stories , which informed the four adventures of the film .
Funnily enough , the bookends of the film concern the pursuit of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The Blue Hour , ” Reinette excitedly promises to show Mirabelle the coveted blue hour—a short period of twilight just before sunrise when “ the day birds aren ’ t up yet and the night birds are already asleep ” —and becomes nearly hysterical when a car driving by disrupts the peace .
In consolation , Mirabelle agrees to extend her stay with Reinette to experience this serene moment the next morning , and her prolongation leads to friendship and cohabitation in the city .
So begin these four adventures .
Reinette @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respectively—and their conversations about ethics can get heated .
Though they disagree , for example , on who deserves their charity and such concerns , their differences never reach a climactic break .
They have a lived-in , loving dynamic : Reinette brings an excitable energy to Mirabelle ’ s life , and Mirabelle is generous with her patience and urban shrewdness .
Between moments of bickering and comforting , Reinette and Mirabelle end up being one of the most functional pairs of Rohmer ’ s catalog .
And the everyday details of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beautiful grand finale .
Its final chapter ( “ Selling the Picture ” ) finds Rohmer in peak comedic form .
Reinette gets into a financial pinch when she can not afford her overdue rent and calls a gallery that might be interested in buying one of her paintings .
When no one picks up , she launches into a monologue about how she prefers to let her paintings talk instead of words—all , ironically , while tripping over her overstuffed monologue .
When Mirabelle points out how loquacious her friend is—almost like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Rohmer films—Reinette promises in a huff to take a vow of silence .
What timing : The gallerist calls back , and Reinette must sell her painting while completely mute .
This leads to a quietly slapstick ending to the quartet of adventures that involves heady ruminations on the previous three chapters as well as a delightful cameo from Rohmer regular Fabrice Luchini as the gallery owner .
When he tries to lowball the now-taciturn Reinette , the street-smart Mirabelle steps in to save the day without the gesture coming off saccharine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ heist ” with sharpness and gentleness and some meta humor , birthed from something Miquel said to him early in their first meeting : “ I organize my life in accord with principles .
When I have decided to do something , I do it .
Once I ’ d decided not to talk , and I didn ’ t talk .
”

In Éric Rohmer movies, the men talk too much. Almost all that talk is about women. His men obsess over women, philosophically musing on the desire for new female companions to a maybe-ex-girlfriend even as they’re already yoked to a significant other (Claire’s Knee); they detail the Catholic morals that prevent them from acting on their desires, replacing sex with conversation (My Night at Maud’s); and they bemoan sexually liberated women who leave the men’s desires unfulfilled (La Collectionneuse). Few capture the pitiful foibles of man in such an entertaining, witty, visually splendid manner as Rohmer.
While I find almost all of the French New Wave auteur’s films (including the aforementioned titles) sublime, his underseen and underrated 1987 film Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle—in which men are secondary, if not tertiary characters—stands out as a delightful deviation in his filmography. A new restoration of this film will receive a virtual premiere on Metrograph starting September 11, with a weeklong engagement as part of its Rohmer retrospective. (Earlier this year, Rohmer would have turned 100.)
The ’80s saw Rohmer exploring more female protagonists and perspectives. In Four Adventures, there are no male leads. This is also somewhat true of the film he is best known for during this period, The Green Ray (Le Rayon Vert), which he made the previous year, with Marie Rivière playing the lonely-hearted Delphine embarking on a sad and solo vacation around France that ends in Biarritz. The Green Ray and Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle were shot on 16 millimeter and share a majority of technical crew members (some on their first jobs), who filmed very inconspicuously in public settings around Paris. For these reasons, Rohmer called them his “amateur” films, differentiating them: “One is a vacation film [The Green Ray], the other a weekend film [Four Adventures].”
While waiting to shoot the final scene of the titular green ray—a rare meteorological phenomenon of a verdant flash on the horizon at sunrise or sunset—Rohmer made Four Adventures, an episodic comedy about two young women: the country-mouse painter Reinette (Joëlle Miquel) and the savvy Parisian ethnology student Mirabelle (Jessica Forde). The two meet in the French countryside when the latter gets a flat tire on her bicycle. Reinette invites Mirabelle to stay with her; Mirabelle later tells her that a room in her Paris flat is opening up, and they become roommates in the city.
Though it sits between The Green Ray and Boyfriends and Girlfriends (1987) in Rohmer’s filmography, Four Adventures is not part of his Comedies and Proverbs series, a sextet of films based on famous proverbs and how imagined ideals drive people. It also does not belong in his Six Moral Tales, though the middle two chapters of this film (“The Waiter” and “The Beggar, the Kleptomaniac, the Hustler”) explicitly explore questions of morality. The films in his Moral Tales set concern men who are committed to one woman and are tempted by a second, only to return to their first. Here, the morals in question deal with the ethics of theft and charity. The rigid Reinette—who can be generous but also believes a little too steadfastly in law and order—finds her inflexible position shaken upon her move to the metropole, where she is swindled. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Rohmer made his name on Impressionistic aesthetics—his pictures stippled with vibrant colors and film grain—and sharp romantic dynamics between men and women. With Four Adventures, an unmistakable Rohmerness remains, but romance is peripheral at best, giving way to a lighthearted but realistic platonic relationship between two women. Four Adventures is considered neither part of the female friendship canon nor a major Rohmer, but it should be included in both.
This film features not a man who talks too much but a woman who does. Reinette and Miquel have this in common. Having been a fan of Rohmer’s 1984 film Full Moon in Paris, the actress asked to briefly meet the filmmaker and ended up staying for hours, telling him all sorts of stories, which informed the four adventures of the film. Funnily enough, the bookends of the film concern the pursuit of silence. In the first chapter, “The Blue Hour,” Reinette excitedly promises to show Mirabelle the coveted blue hour—a short period of twilight just before sunrise when “the day birds aren’t up yet and the night birds are already asleep”—and becomes nearly hysterical when a car driving by disrupts the peace. In consolation, Mirabelle agrees to extend her stay with Reinette to experience this serene moment the next morning, and her prolongation leads to friendship and cohabitation in the city. So begin these four adventures.
Reinette and Mirabelle are opposites—naive and cynical, respectively—and their conversations about ethics can get heated. Though they disagree, for example, on who deserves their charity and such concerns, their differences never reach a climactic break. They have a lived-in, loving dynamic: Reinette brings an excitable energy to Mirabelle’s life, and Mirabelle is generous with her patience and urban shrewdness. Between moments of bickering and comforting, Reinette and Mirabelle end up being one of the most functional pairs of Rohmer’s catalog. And the everyday details of their see-saw dynamic work up to a beautiful grand finale.
Its final chapter (“Selling the Picture”) finds Rohmer in peak comedic form. Reinette gets into a financial pinch when she cannot afford her overdue rent and calls a gallery that might be interested in buying one of her paintings. When no one picks up, she launches into a monologue about how she prefers to let her paintings talk instead of words—all, ironically, while tripping over her overstuffed monologue. When Mirabelle points out how loquacious her friend is—almost like an audience member commenting on the talkiness of Rohmer films—Reinette promises in a huff to take a vow of silence. What timing: The gallerist calls back, and Reinette must sell her painting while completely mute. This leads to a quietly slapstick ending to the quartet of adventures that involves heady ruminations on the previous three chapters as well as a delightful cameo from Rohmer regular Fabrice Luchini as the gallery owner. When he tries to lowball the now-taciturn Reinette, the street-smart Mirabelle steps in to save the day without the gesture coming off saccharine. Rohmer pulls off this low-key art “heist” with sharpness and gentleness and some meta humor, birthed from something Miquel said to him early in their first meeting: “I organize my life in accord with principles. When I have decided to do something, I do it. Once I’d decided not to talk, and I didn’t talk.”


thenation--2020-09-14--Why Are We Still Ignoring Former Foster Children’s Votes?

This story is published as part of StudentNation ’ s “ Vision 2020 Election : Stories From the Next Generation , ” reports from young journalists that center the concerns of diverse young voters .
In this project , working with Dr. Sherri Williams , we recruited young journalists from different backgrounds to develop story ideas and reporting about their peers ’ concerns ahead of the most important election of our lives .
We ’ ll continue publishing two stories each week over the course of the next month .
James McIntyre watched the 2020 Democratic primaries with one issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for young people in the foster care system .
He came away disappointed .
McIntyre spent 17 years in the custody of the Illinois Department of Family services , shuffled between more than 20 homes and institutions after social workers took him from his parents as a baby because of his mother ’ s drug abuse .
He experienced physical and sexual abuse in foster care .
Now an advocate for children in the system , he is frustrated to see lawmakers at the national level ignore child welfare year after year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of their family , we make a commitment to that child that their life will be better because of the government interaction , ” said McIntyre , 29 .
“ That ’ s just not true .
And we don ’ t have anybody talking about those issues on a federal level.
” This story was produced for Student Nation , a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words .
For more Student Nation , check out our archive .
Are you a student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at samantha @ thenation.com .
The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation .
During the primaries , the child welfare system barely came up .
Julián Castro , US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama administration , was the only candidate to release a child welfare plan .
But he dropped out of the race in January .
The only mention of the child welfare system in the Democratic Party platform is focused on the sovereignty of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Welfare Act , a federal law that governs the removal of Native American children from their families .
This high-level silence is the norm—in part , advocates say , because the young people who bear the full impact can not vote .
In an election year framed as a referendum on President Donald Trump , foster care does not lend itself well to traditional partisan divides in politics .
Now that the Covid-19 pandemic has eclipsed other political debates , foster care has fallen even further by the wayside , as families in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We have kids sleeping in psychiatric hospitals that no longer need to be there but are there because there are no places for them [ in the foster homes ] , ” said McIntyre , who lobbied successfully in Illinois for an executive order to fund housing for young people who age out of foster care—nearly 20 percent of whom end up homeless in normal times—during the pandemic .
“ We have kids in juvenile detention centers right now who have been released but because of Covid-19 have to sleep in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Castro , who released the only real plan for children in foster care during the Democratic primary , was raised by a single mother and grandmother .
That experience , along with practicing family law , made him aware of challenges facing vulnerable children .
He believes that one obstacle is the perception that the child welfare system is an issue for states .
But it ’ s important for the federal government to support states and make sure federal dollars are allocated properly , he said .
“ It ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves to soundbites , ” said Castro .
“ A lot of people don ’ t realize how many kids go through that system.
” The child welfare system is bigger than many people realize .
Almost half a million children are in foster care , which means millions of Americans spend time in the child welfare system .
About 1 out of every 20 children will spend some time in foster care , according to research by Christopher Wildeman , professor at Cornell University who helps manage the largest federal government database @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal database on child abuse , Wildeman and his team found that 37.4 percent of children will be involved in a child welfare investigation by age 18 .
For Black children—who are disproportionately represented in the system—the figure is more like 50 percent .
The federal government does not track children across states .
If a child moves from one state to another and encounters the child welfare system in both , they might be counted twice .
But that effect is small , he said , and other research backs up his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system—a mismatch of state and county departments that contract widely with private and nonprofit agencies—is not working .
Children who enter foster care are more likely to experience addiction , poverty , trauma and incarceration .
A Kansas City Star investigation surveyed more than 6,000 incarcerated people in the United States and found that 1 in 4 spent time in foster care .
Of people who age out of the foster care system without returning to their families or finding an adoptive home , only 3 percent graduate from college .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential politics .
Neither of the top Democratic presidential candidates , Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders , mentioned child welfare on their campaign websites .
And amid the hundreds of questions fielded by more than 20 candidates across 12 debate nights , not a single one mentioned foster care .
“ It ’ s really disappointing , ” said Steven Olender , a senior policy associate at the Children ’ s Defense Fund .
People who have suffered in the system are watching , he said .
“ And there are questions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most unlikely friend ?
’ but not asking about 400,000 kids in foster care.
” Even so , this primary election may have been better than most , Olender said .
Castro ’ s plan could get picked up by another candidate .
It called for investing more than $ 10 billion annually in services to prevent children from entering foster care and increased support for youth aging out of the system .
It also aimed to tackle the disproportionate number of children of color in the system by increasing the diversity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Black children are more likely to enter foster care , stay there longer , and are less likely to be reunited with their families or adopted .
In February , George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked the first question about child poverty during a debate in 20 years .
While children from rich and poor families enter the welfare system , poverty can exacerbate stress that leads to abuse and neglect .
Bruce Lesley , the executive director of First Focus , an advocacy organization focused on children ’ s issues , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was nowhere near enough .
“ Child poverty is 50 percent higher than adult poverty , ” he said .
“ Child abuse was on this trajectory downward .
There were fewer kids in foster care , but now with the opioid epidemic , it ’ s on the rise .
The number of uninsured kids is up .
Child suicide is now the leading cause of death for teens .
School shootings , infant mortality .
Don ’ t tell me things are good for kids.
” The lack of attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not mean the federal government has been entirely absent .
Congress boasts an active caucus on foster care in the House of Representatives .
Last December , the largest reform to foster care in decades—a change that shifts federal dollars toward prevention services , away from group homes and residential intuitions—was signed into law .
Yet the change , tucked in the middle of a $ 1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill , went largely unmarked outside of the child welfare world .
Many advocates also point out limitations : While the Family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , many such services don ’ t exist or are already covered by Medicaid .
In fact , the law is estimated to represent a net decrease in federal funding for child welfare .
Meanwhile , long-standing advocacy priorities still go ignored .
For instance , the federal government provides funding for foster care only for children from families with household incomes lower than the poverty level in 1996 .
Child welfare was an awkward fit for a primary focused on defeating Trump , whose record on the issue has been mixed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and harsh immigration policies sent more children into foster care , his administration also passed the Family First Act , which had the backing of many child welfare advocates .
And some former foster youth praised particular political appointees under the administration .
David Hall , 23 , is a music teacher who entered foster care twice , at ages of 8 and 16 .
He now works as an advocate for former foster youth in Oklahoma .
He was a Sanders supporter and plans to vote Democrat , which he said will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But he said that if he were voting just on foster care , he would support Trump , because he ’ s been impressed with Jerry Milner , the acting commissioner for Children and Families .
McIntyre also plans to vote Democrat , but is worried that a post-election change in leadership could halt recent progress , including a new initiative to expand housing assistance for children aging out of foster care .
But he said attacks on the Affordable Care Act under the Trump administration could hurt former foster youth on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also informed by being gay .
Nearly 30 percent of youth in foster identify as LGBT , and McIntyre is appalled by the Trump administration ’ s willingness to allow some foster care agencies to discriminate against prospective LGBT foster families on religious freedom grounds , a practice that is set to go before the Supreme Court this fall .
But for McIntyre , it ’ s not just about policy .
It ’ s also about having the right stakeholders .
“ I want people who make the rules to talk to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using our stories and moving on to the next person , ” he said .
“ People want us to support them , but they don ’ t want to fight for us .
”

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This story is published as part of StudentNation’s “Vision 2020 Election: Stories From the Next Generation,” reports from young journalists that center the concerns of diverse young voters. In this project, working with Dr. Sherri Williams, we recruited young journalists from different backgrounds to develop story ideas and reporting about their peers’ concerns ahead of the most important election of our lives. We’ll continue publishing two stories each week over the course of the next month.
James McIntyre watched the 2020 Democratic primaries with one issue in mind: What candidates would do for young people in the foster care system. He came away disappointed.
McIntyre spent 17 years in the custody of the Illinois Department of Family services, shuffled between more than 20 homes and institutions after social workers took him from his parents as a baby because of his mother’s drug abuse. He experienced physical and sexual abuse in foster care. Now an advocate for children in the system, he is frustrated to see lawmakers at the national level ignore child welfare year after year.
“If the government takes a kid out of their family, we make a commitment to that child that their life will be better because of the government interaction,” said McIntyre, 29. “That’s just not true. And we don’t have anybody talking about those issues on a federal level.” This story was produced for Student Nation, a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words. For more Student Nation, check out our archive. Are you a student with a campus activism story? Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at [email protected]. The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation.
During the primaries, the child welfare system barely came up. Julián Castro, US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama administration, was the only candidate to release a child welfare plan. But he dropped out of the race in January. The only mention of the child welfare system in the Democratic Party platform is focused on the sovereignty of indigenous tribal nations under the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law that governs the removal of Native American children from their families.
This high-level silence is the norm—in part, advocates say, because the young people who bear the full impact cannot vote. In an election year framed as a referendum on President Donald Trump, foster care does not lend itself well to traditional partisan divides in politics. Now that the Covid-19 pandemic has eclipsed other political debates, foster care has fallen even further by the wayside, as families in the system struggle more than ever.
“We have kids sleeping in psychiatric hospitals that no longer need to be there but are there because there are no places for them [in the foster homes],” said McIntyre, who lobbied successfully in Illinois for an executive order to fund housing for young people who age out of foster care—nearly 20 percent of whom end up homeless in normal times—during the pandemic. “We have kids in juvenile detention centers right now who have been released but because of Covid-19 have to sleep in a place where they can get sick.” Current Issue View our current issue
Castro, who released the only real plan for children in foster care during the Democratic primary, was raised by a single mother and grandmother. That experience, along with practicing family law, made him aware of challenges facing vulnerable children. He believes that one obstacle is the perception that the child welfare system is an issue for states. But it’s important for the federal government to support states and make sure federal dollars are allocated properly, he said. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
“It’s not an issue with political divisions that lend themselves to soundbites,” said Castro. “A lot of people don’t realize how many kids go through that system.”
The child welfare system is bigger than many people realize. Almost half a million children are in foster care, which means millions of Americans spend time in the child welfare system.
About 1 out of every 20 children will spend some time in foster care, according to research by Christopher Wildeman, professor at Cornell University who helps manage the largest federal government database of foster care statistics. Using a federal database on child abuse, Wildeman and his team found that 37.4 percent of children will be involved in a child welfare investigation by age 18. For Black children—who are disproportionately represented in the system—the figure is more like 50 percent. The federal government does not track children across states. If a child moves from one state to another and encounters the child welfare system in both, they might be counted twice. But that effect is small, he said, and other research backs up his findings.
These numbers matter because the system—a mismatch of state and county departments that contract widely with private and nonprofit agencies—is not working.
Children who enter foster care are more likely to experience addiction, poverty, trauma and incarceration. A Kansas City Star investigation surveyed more than 6,000 incarcerated people in the United States and found that 1 in 4 spent time in foster care. Of people who age out of the foster care system without returning to their families or finding an adoptive home, only 3 percent graduate from college.
But the issue goes largely ignored, especially in presidential politics. Neither of the top Democratic presidential candidates, Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, mentioned child welfare on their campaign websites. And amid the hundreds of questions fielded by more than 20 candidates across 12 debate nights, not a single one mentioned foster care.
“It’s really disappointing,” said Steven Olender, a senior policy associate at the Children’s Defense Fund. People who have suffered in the system are watching, he said. “And there are questions to candidates like, ‘Who is your most unlikely friend?’ but not asking about 400,000 kids in foster care.”
Even so, this primary election may have been better than most, Olender said. Castro’s plan could get picked up by another candidate. It called for investing more than $10 billion annually in services to prevent children from entering foster care and increased support for youth aging out of the system. It also aimed to tackle the disproportionate number of children of color in the system by increasing the diversity of child welfare workers and family court judges. Black children are more likely to enter foster care, stay there longer, and are less likely to be reunited with their families or adopted.
In February, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked the first question about child poverty during a debate in 20 years. While children from rich and poor families enter the welfare system, poverty can exacerbate stress that leads to abuse and neglect.
Bruce Lesley, the executive director of First Focus, an advocacy organization focused on children’s issues, also noted the question, but said it was nowhere near enough.
“Child poverty is 50 percent higher than adult poverty,” he said. “Child abuse was on this trajectory downward. There were fewer kids in foster care, but now with the opioid epidemic, it’s on the rise. The number of uninsured kids is up. Child suicide is now the leading cause of death for teens. School shootings, infant mortality. Don’t tell me things are good for kids.”
The lack of attention on child welfare in politics and media does not mean the federal government has been entirely absent. Congress boasts an active caucus on foster care in the House of Representatives. Last December, the largest reform to foster care in decades—a change that shifts federal dollars toward prevention services, away from group homes and residential intuitions—was signed into law.
Yet the change, tucked in the middle of a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill, went largely unmarked outside of the child welfare world. Many advocates also point out limitations: While the Family First Act puts more money toward prevention, many such services don’t exist or are already covered by Medicaid. In fact, the law is estimated to represent a net decrease in federal funding for child welfare. Meanwhile, long-standing advocacy priorities still go ignored. For instance, the federal government provides funding for foster care only for children from families with household incomes lower than the poverty level in 1996.
Child welfare was an awkward fit for a primary focused on defeating Trump, whose record on the issue has been mixed. While his cuts to basic social services and harsh immigration policies sent more children into foster care, his administration also passed the Family First Act, which had the backing of many child welfare advocates. And some former foster youth praised particular political appointees under the administration.
David Hall, 23, is a music teacher who entered foster care twice, at ages of 8 and 16. He now works as an advocate for former foster youth in Oklahoma. He was a Sanders supporter and plans to vote Democrat, which he said will help the welfare of children more broadly. But he said that if he were voting just on foster care, he would support Trump, because he’s been impressed with Jerry Milner, the acting commissioner for Children and Families.
McIntyre also plans to vote Democrat, but is worried that a post-election change in leadership could halt recent progress, including a new initiative to expand housing assistance for children aging out of foster care. But he said attacks on the Affordable Care Act under the Trump administration could hurt former foster youth on Medicaid. McIntyre said his perspective is also informed by being gay. Nearly 30 percent of youth in foster identify as LGBT, and McIntyre is appalled by the Trump administration’s willingness to allow some foster care agencies to discriminate against prospective LGBT foster families on religious freedom grounds, a practice that is set to go before the Supreme Court this fall.
But for McIntyre, it’s not just about policy. It’s also about having the right stakeholders.
“I want people who make the rules to talk to us like we are equals instead of using our stories and moving on to the next person,” he said. “People want us to support them, but they don’t want to fight for us.”