Monsters, Bigots, Theocrats, Lunatics, and Grifters*

Monster: Greg Abbot. "Turner 'has all the money that he needs,' [Governor Greg] Abbott said. 'In times like these, it's important to have fiscal responsibility as opposed to financial panic.' The governor went on to accuse the mayor of using Harvey recovery efforts as a 'hostage to raise taxes.'"

Bigot: Donald Trump. Enough said.

Theocrat: Ted Cruz. "Cruz's approach to politics is inseparable from this theology. His goal is to lead a Christian occupation of the culture and then wait for the Second Coming of Christ."

Lunatic: Roy Moore. "Moore has suggested that 9/11 and mass shootings are God's punishment for Americans turning away from Christianity."

Grifter: Tom Price. "The overseas trips bring the total cost to taxpayers of Price's travels to more than $1 million since May, according to a POLITICO review."

All of the above.

These are not outliers. This is the core of the Republican Party. 

*With acknowledgements and respect for the invaluable Driftglass.

Hero Nurse Defends Constitutional Rights of Unconscious Man

My mom was a nurse, so I've been thinking a lot about today's viral story about the nurse who was arrested for refusing to allow a police officer to draw blood from an unconscious patient without a warrant. In my opinion, too much focus has been placed on the shitty cop who arrested her, and not enough on her plainspoken but deep-seated heroism. She is not just my mom: she is every nurse I've had the honor to know.

We ask far too much of nurses as it is! Nurses have to be experts in the multi-disciplinary field of health care, but also in human relations, administration, data management, and technology. And now they have to be hostage negotiators and constitutional scholars to get though a shift without being arrested by some overzealous cop? Jesus.

In addition to covering for bad behavior, the fetishization of law enforcement distracts from celebrating other everyday heroes. We need to ask more from police officers. We should not ask so much from nurses. They are in the shit every day for all of us.