Rep. Kevin Kiley said he cared about children’s health. Then he voted to gut Medicaid | Opinion
Kiley sells his soul
“Nurses, Rocklin residents protest Medicaid cuts at Rep. Kevin Kiley’s office,” (sacbee.com, July 1)
When my representative, Congressman Kevin Kiley, was a state legislator, he vocally supported Senate Bill 1004, a bipartisan bill that bolstered children’s mental health services. Children’s mental health was one of the few things Kiley and I agreed on.
That ended on July 3, when Kiley voted for President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, which cuts Medicaid by $1 trillion. Consequently, millions of children will be kicked off Medicaid, the nation’s largest funder of mental health services. Children will die because of this legislation.
Mark McKibbin
Orangevale
Trump’s Florida gulag
“Alligator Alcatraz receives first immigrant detainees Wednesday night,” (sacbee.com, July 3)
In the week that we celebrated the birth of our great country, President Donald Trump held a press conference in America’s new gulag, the Everglades. He gleefully discussed Alligator Alcatraz, cleverly named to mask the horrors of his administration’s new and shiny concentration camp.
Our president celebrates human debasement and cruelty at a time when he should be celebrating the principles that have made us a great nation. Has he no decency?
Hellan Roth Dowden
Carmichael
Human rights abuses
“Abrego Garcia was beaten and tortured in El Salvador prison, lawyers say,” (sacbee.com, July 2)
Documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland detailed a litany of horrors that Kilmar Armando Ábrego García’s lawyers indicated he had suffered while incarcerated in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
According to his lawyers, “(Garcia) and others were once made to kneel on their knees overnight with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion.” The article said that prisoners were denied bathroom privileges in overcrowded cells, forced to sleep on metal bunks with no mattresses and endured bright lights shining 24 hours a day.
I am repulsed by the Trump regime’s attitude toward Ábrego García and his abuse at the hands of the Salvadorean government as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s hatred for immigrants.
Annette Barfield
Fair Oaks
Water is a human right
“Investigating water contamination at Mule Creek prison,” (sacbee.com, July 19)
As a former Mule Creek librarian, I was shocked and upset to learn about this situation. Access to clean water is a basic human right, and it is reprehensible that this has not been addressed.
I would like to see additional investigative reporting into who is at fault and what needs to be done. This would raise public awareness and potentially motivate the agencies involved to finally take responsibility.
Elizabeth Bell
Sacramento
Prevent violence before it starts
“Kevin Kiley supports Trump’s Iran strikes in House speech,” (sacbee.com, June 24)
After the U.S. bombed Iran, Representative Kevin Kiley said the military action was “about the safety and security of the American people and the future of civilization itself.”
If Kiley truly believes “it is time to put partisanship aside and come together as a country,” in the name of U.S. national security, he would support the Global Fragility Reauthorization Act.
It will allow our nation to continue to prevent violence before it starts by addressing root causes.
Ellen Kimbler
Fair Oaks
Reserving judgment
“New York Knicks hire Mike Brown as new head coach,” (sacbee.com, July 2)
I like this pick. It was a circus with the firing of Tom Thibodeau without a clear plan for his successor.
Mike Brown should be viewed in the context of his time with the Kings, his accomplishments under legends Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich and his coaching awards.
New York fans expect a title. I only hope cooler heads prevail and we reserve judgment until after Brown has had a chance to unpack his bags.
Adam Silbert
New York, NY