Welcome to Thursday, August 22nd, flats and heels...

President Donald Trump has said American Jews who vote for Democrats show "either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty."

Trump made his comments after Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel after being banned from entering that country amid pressure by Trump.

"Where has the Democratic Party gone? Where have they gone where they're defending these two people over the State of Israel?" Trump asked. "I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat—it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who's running for president, told a campaign crowd in Iowa: “I am a proud Jewish person, and I have no concerns about voting Democratic. And in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States."

The Republican Jewish Coalition defended Trump's statement, tweeting: "President Trump is right, it shows a great deal of disloyalty to oneself to defend a party that protects/emboldens people that hate you for your religion."

Trump on Wednesday shared a comment from conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root, who compared Trump to the "King of Israel."

How do you feel about Trump's comments?

On the Radar

Ending Limits on Detention of Migrant Families

The Trump administration has announced a new rule that would allow undocumented families to be held indefinitely, ending a federal court settlement that requires children to be held no longer than 20 days.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan detailed the proposed change Wednesday:

"Today, the government has issued a critical rule that will permit the Department of Homeland Security to appropriately hold families together and improve the integrity of the immigration system,” McAleenan said, adding:

“This rule allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress and ensures that all children in U.S. government custody are treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability."

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) blasted the move, saying it will "put even more stress on our immigration system and add to the chaos the Administration continues to create."

Do you support allowing the indefinite detention of migrant families?

Immunization Rates in America

With states moving to eliminate exemptions for required vaccines, and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) looking to do the same at the federal level through her Vaccinate All Children Act, we take a look at immunization rates in the U.S. with the help of USAFacts.

The 3-vaccine series is given to children between the ages of 19-25 months and consists of at least four injections of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (DTaP), at least three injections of the polio vaccine, and at least one injection of an anti-measles vaccine with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) being the most common. 

As this chart from USAFacts shows, the immunization rate for the 3-series has generally remained above 80% since 1995 and peaked at roughly 84% in 2004, but declined to 82% in 2017:

USAFacts also notes that there are differences in 3-series immunization rates between races, with the DTaP vaccine being administered to 86.4% of Asian individuals, 84.8% of white individuals, and 76.8% of black individuals. For polio vaccinations, 94.7% of Asian individuals were immunized, compared to 92.5% of white individuals, and 90.3% of black individuals.

Should immunizations be mandatory?

Under the Radar

Stricter Gun Background Checks?

President Trump is mulling background checks, moving between saying he doesn’t want to go down the “slippery slope” of eroding gun owners’ rights but also confirming he has “an appetite” for stricter checks.

Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House for Kentucky on Wednesday, Trump confirmed that he’d discussed background checks with National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre, but disputed reports that he’d told LaPierre that background checks were off the table.

“I have an appetite for background checks,” Trump said. “We’re going to do be doing background checks... We’re going to be filling in some of the loopholes.” But Trump also warned “you’re on that slope and all of a sudden nobody has any legal protection. Our Second Amendment will remain strong.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said "it’s time for Republicans and President Trump to decide whose side they’re on. Are they going to stand with the 90% of Americans who want universal background checks, or are they going to once again kowtow to the desires of the gun lobby?”

Do you support stricter gun background checks?

Welfare Reform Anniversary

On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act into law, reforming America’s welfare system through a bipartisan compromise with a Republican-controlled Congress. Among the legislation’s main reforms were a new requirement that welfare recipients work to continue receiving benefits and a five-year cap for families receiving federal welfare dollars.

The deal accomplished bipartisan goals. It fulfilled Clinton’s campaign pledge to “end welfare as we have come to know it,” while also enacting a key portion of the Republican party’s Contract With America. But the legislation remains controversial to this day. Proponents point to decreased welfare enrollment and higher employment rates as signs of its success, while detractors say it hasn’t done enough to help those still in poverty.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act succeeded in reducing the number of families receiving welfare from over 12 million in 1996 to about 3 million in 2015. As Clinton noted in a 2006 op-ed defending welfare reform a decade after he signed it into law, millions of former welfare recipients got jobs, and child support collections doubled following the bill’s enactment.

How do you feel about the Clinton-Gingrich welfare reform on its anniversary?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should the Feds Support Elementary & Secondary School Foreign Language Programs With Grants?