Liatris ligulistylis is the species preferred by monarch butterflies. My gardens have had at least four different species of Liatris. If the general public is interested in feeding monarchs, L. ligulistylis is the species to plant. Gertens, and possibly others, carries it in its natives section with a special tag that says monarchs prefer it. My plants are covered in monarchs during the bloom period, mid-August through mid-September.
Edlow expressed indignation that the officers involved in this operation faced harassment, threats and “even had the police called on them.” He demanded that the public respect these agents as they do what they claim is their duty. And yet, time and time again, we’ve seen news coverage of these agents perpetrating violence and abuse from behind their bulletproof vests and their masks. If you want respect, be worthy of it. And yes, I will call the police to confirm the identity of someone showing up in my neighborhood who seems suspicious. And here I will invoke the names of Melissa and Mark Hortman and John and Yvette Hoffman. I will dial 911 so the officers of my community will confirm the identity of anyone representing themselves as legitimate law enforcement officers.
Yes, America, we should all be shocked … at the waste of government resources spent on this operation, at the intimidation tactics these agencies are using to pressure areas of the country that are showing resistance to this administration, at a government force that has a quota of noncitizens they must arrest every day whether or not they have any criminal history.
The Trump administration is bent on punishing blue states and cities by illegally withholding congressionally approved funding for projects and research. But there’s a cost to the president’s petty vindictiveness that his advisers perhaps don’t dare tell him about. These states and cities are the bulk of the regional revenue sources for the U.S. Treasury, contributing more funds than they receive. If economic activity there stalls, the red states that receive more funds than they contribute will also suffer. It seems that the president either doesn’t understand this or doesn’t care.
Right now, the federal government is shut down as members of Congress debate whether it is OK to increase the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans. Really? It is insane that in the wealthiest country in the world, the conversation isn’t about providing universal health care to everyone.
I work 75 hours per week at two jobs — as an education coordinator at a child care center and as a PCA for a special-needs child. I think I make “good money” but when I actually do the numbers on my take-home pay, it comes out to not quite $17 an hour. It also comes out to enough to ensure I do not qualify for any assistance in paying for health insurance. So I remain uninsured because I cannot afford to be insured.
Health care, like the child care field I work in, is a public good. We all deserve to get the health care we need when we need it, just like families should be able to afford the child care they need. We all benefit from a system that works well. We need elected leaders to fight for us, instead of cut taxes for billionaires.
In the article regarding President Donald Trump’s stated plan to bail out soybean farmers hurt by his tariff and trade wars (“Trump plans aid package for U.S. soybean farmers,” Oct. 6), Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer and president of the American Soybean Association, stated, “It’s just unfortunate that we’re being used as a bargaining chip in this trade war that’s not of our own doing.” Excuse me? During the last Trump administration the president’s tariff and trade war with China cost soybean farmers plenty, to the point where they needed federal financial bailouts. Nevertheless, in the last presidential election American farmers again voted overwhelmingly for Trump, knowing full well of their experiences from his first administration, and the fact that if elected he promised to pursue a renewed tariff and trade war with China, as well as his promises to arrest and deport their labor pool. Sorry, farmers, this is of your own doing. It is hard to swallow financing a multibillion-dollar bailout for a group of people who keep shooting themselves in their own feet.