Liberators in Action: U.S. District Court Judges
When the government was shut down, it wasn't the President or Congress who suffered; it was 42 million people who could least afford to suffer. When hunger hangs in the balance for 1 in every 8 Americans, someone had to step in. This week, two federal judges did just that, and those Americans can buy food today. But Trump is not satisfied. He has asked the Supreme Court to rescind the lower courts' orders.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the nation’s safety net for millions of individuals and families with children, seniors, service members, and veterans—faced suspension. But in back-to-back rulings, John J. McConnell Jr. (U.S. District Court, Rhode Island) and Indira Talwani (U.S. District Court, Massachusetts) declared that the government couldn’t simply shut off benefits. McConnell ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tap contingency funds, about $5 billion and possibly another $23 billion, so benefits could continue. Talwani ruled that the USDA’s suspension was “unlawful” and forced the agency to explain how it would deliver at least partial aid.
To qualify for SNAP, households must earn no more than about $33,576 a year (gross) for a three-person family, and after deductions, no more than around $25,824. Assets must be under $3,000 unless someone is over 60 or disabled. The average benefit is only about $6.20 per person per day.
Without this assistance, children, the disabled, and the elderly risk going hungry. Meanwhile, veterans and service members are among those also relying on SNAP—more than 20,000 military families, 213,000 National Guard and Reserve members, and 1.1 million veterans, according to Veteran.com.
These judges intervened and made it clear that hunger isn’t a game and that the government’s duty can’t be put on pause. Their rulings were acts of human dignity and protection, and those judgments meant that babies' bottles would have formula, and food would be on the table for millions of people today. When Judges John McConnell and Indira Talwani ruled against the government and for these people, their goal was to liberate the food supply and those who depend on it. They did so within the jurisdiction of their duties, knowing there are three separate but equal branches of government that provide checks and balances against a branch of government that acts with excessive authority or power.
Slipstream
Also, just to be clear, U.S. citizens are the only people who are eligible to receive SNAP. Although SNAP benefits eligibility is under review since the BBB, currently, undocumented immigrants can't receive SNAP, and never have.
Exceptions are green card holders (lawful permanent residents) after five years in that status, and children who are U.S. citizens with undocumented parents—citizen children can receive benefits, undocumented parents and family members cannot.
So when you hear people screaming about the "illegals" getting SNAP benefits and stealing from U.S. citizens, they aren't. SNAP is a program for our citizens who are trying to live on a poverty-level income. Those who complain about them should try living their lives for a few months to see how it feels.
God bless these judges for having the head and heart to rule in favor of those who genuinely need help.
Well Street
Blessings to John McConnell and Indira Talwani. Sadly, it didn't take long for the Supreme Court to rain on that parade. As soon as SNAP recipients breathe a sigh of relief, the rug gets pulled out from under them yet again.
It's understandable why some Dems are breaking with the party and voting to end the shutdown—they have constituents who are feeling the pain, and the suffering will only grow. They're concerned that, in the public's eye, Democrats' ownership of a prolonged shutdown will equal, if not surpass, that of the elephants.
With air travel snarled and people unable to buy groceries, the hope was that DJT would concede a little bit, but that would require a hint of empathy. Instead, he wants his party to eliminate the filibuster, and in the meantime, the stomachs of veterans and kids can continue to growl with hunger.
Evangel
Mike Johnson and his cohorts profess to be Christians. How can this be? If every person is created in the image of God, and if Christians are summoned to be servants of God and "just," why are these leaders serving Trump alone?
Isaiah said, "Justice brings peace, and right will produce calm and security" (Is 32:17). It used to be that Christians were taught that justice is God's manifestation of love, and charity begins at home. But this Administration, which professes to be solidly rooted in Christian values, dances with the devil and lacks any understanding of right and wrong.