25 years after Mental Health Parity Act, we're not done
Welcome to the start of the week! We have a column from Tipper Gore on mental health in the U.S., a column on Colin Powell, who died today, and an interesting story on a mother who found religion online and then exempted kids from mask mandates.
25 years after Mental Health Parity Act, we're not done
By Tipper Gore
Improving the state of mental health in America has been my life’s calling. I got to know the parents of a 7-year-old girl with a severe mental illness. The family had used all of their health care insurance coverage, mortgaged their home to provide continued financial support for care, and were eventually faced with granting custody of their daughter to the state in order to continue her treatment.
On the other hand, I had health insurance coverage when my young child was critically injured in an accident. These parents were facing an awful choice, and the stark contrast hit home with me. I organized a group that would become known as Tennessee Voices for Children to provide mental health support to children and families. In the past fiscal year, TVC has reached over 50,000 families, caregivers and professionals.
No parent should ever have to make this decision. No child should have to be ripped away from their family’s care to have a chance at getting better.
Today's Editorial Cartoon
Colin Powell and Black Republicans: Trailblazer put country over party
By Njeri Mathis Rutledge
A patriot died today. A man who proudly said, “I’m an American, first and foremost,” lived a life of integrity that stayed true to his statement. Colin Powell, 84, was extraordinary because he did something that we should all expect. Powell put country ahead of politics.
With Powell’s death Monday from COVID-19 complications amid his battle with cancer comes the loss of an important voice of reason for the Republican Party. His death is a loss to the country and the Black community. Powell was a trailblazer. He was the first Black secretary of State as well as the youngest chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under former President George H.W. Bush, and the first Black national security adviser under former President Ronald Reagan. He was a retired four-star general. Even when the Black community didn’t agree with Powell, he was respected.
A mom finds religion online, then exempts 169 kids from school mask mandates
By Connie Schultz
On Sept. 3, the day after her children’s school district mandated that students wear face masks, Kristen Grant became an ordained minister.
She did this through an online site, Universal Life Church. The process takes less than a minute, I discovered. Two clicks, and I was one step away from becoming Rev. Connie. I declined.
The 37-year-old mother of four in Germantown, Ohio, said she sought the online ordination for one reason. She wanted to support anti-mask parents seeking religious exemptions for their children.
Valley View School District’s religious exemption form requires a signed statement from a “religious official.” Grant, a self-described “Constitutional Christian,” was happy to oblige.
Some columns you might've missed
- Remember the IRS leak scandal? This is why we shouldn't forget
- Legal marijuana isn't harmless – it is destroying my son's life
- Violence is public health crisis. Let's start treating it like one.
- Southwest Airlines flight cancellations: Don't blame overworked pilots
Columns on qualified immunity
Here's a new section we're adding to the newsletter. Currently we are doing a series examining the issue of qualified immunity. For more on the series read here.
- Ending qualified immunity won't ruin cops' finances
- I refused to lie under oath for the state of Arizona, and the courts aren't on my side
- Supreme Court can protect citizens by striking down qualified immunity
- Qualified immunity: 8 myths about why police need it to protect the public
This column was compiled by Jaden Amos.