Mother Jones magazine: on Families & Children
Bill de Blasio:
Launched universal free lunch in NYC schools
De Blasio first began advocating for universal free lunch in 2014, when he launched a pilot program in middle schools. Although other school districts already offer free lunch to every student, New York City's will be the largest program of its kind.
According to Chalkbeat.org, more than two thirds of the city's students were eligible to receive a free lunch, though an estimated 250,000 didn't participate in the program due to a stigma associated with it or complicated paperwork.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Sep 6, 2017
Chris McDaniel:
Hip-hop culture values prison more than college
In a promotional segment for his Christian conservative radio program, Right Side Radio, McDaniel conflated rap music with failing schools and broken communities. "Name a redeeming quality of hip-hop.
I want to know anything about hip-hop that has been good for this country. And it's not--before you get carried away--this has nothing to do with race.
Because there are just as many hip-hopping white kids and Asian kids as there are hip-hopping black kids.
It's a problem of a culture that values prison more than college; a culture that values rap and destruction of community values more than it does poetry; a culture that can't stand education. It's that culture that can't get control of itself."
Source: Mother Jones magazine AdWatch: 2014 Mississippi Senate race
Jan 7, 2014
Cory Booker:
Government funded savings account at birth
Booker has proposed some innovative solutions to generational poverty. His American Opportunity Accounts Act would give every child a savings account with $1,000, with the government making subsequent annual payments up to $2,000 a year depending on
family income until the child is 18. At that point, the recipient could use the money for "allowable" expenses like college or buying a home. Booker has also introduced a plan to expand eligibility and refund amounts for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 23, 2019
Eric Greitens:
Greitens was never "exonerated" of sexual misconduct
When Eric Greitens resigned from the Missouri governorship in 2018 amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted and blackmailed his former hairdresser, the embattled Republican maintained his innocence. [Announcing his 2022 candidacy], Greitens
blamed his woes on the media and a "George Soros-funded prosecutor." Then Greitens delivered the crucial lie: "We've been exonerated," he said.To recap: Greitens is accused of sexual assault and blackmail, and a recording of his victim speaking about
the abuse is the basis for a local news investigation. A jury finds the evidence solid enough to indict him. An investigator flubs a deposition, and the prosecutor is forced to pull back. The criminal cases against Greitens may have gone away, but he
was hardly "exonerated." Around the same time, the Missouri legislature launched dual investigations of Greitens--one based on [the sexual allegations] and the other for unrelated claims of campaign finance violations. Greitens stepped down.
Source: Mother Jones newsmagazine on 2022 Missouri Senate race
Apr 2, 2021
Page last updated: Mar 09, 2024