We know Trump hates America. He hates the Constitution. And he also hates the individual citizens (unless they are a billionaire or doner). Republicans, are you complicit? Let the lawsuits begin!
Not sure he hates America, he just doesn't care. The Constitution is in his way, so yes, he hates that. But none of that would matter if those billionaire supporters and donors weren't on a mission of their own, to tear down the Constitutional Republic, get rid of representative democracy, and set up an oligarchic Kakistocracy, with a biddable clown as the figurehead.
It seems to me that a Kakistocracy is exactly what we are living with. Between the billionaires and the incompetent administration, what more do we need to get there?
It's as close as we can get while still pretending we are a Constitutional Republic with representative democracy. The PTB aren't quite ready to publicly tear up the Constitution - I think they'll make the claim that they have to because of the violent protesters and the rabid left attempting a coup. I certainly hope I'm being unrealistic.
Some American people are homeless for good reasons. President is to serve all Americans including those without homes. If he does not want to do so, he could resign.
This president (who is not deserving of capitalization), made it clear the first time he infested the Oval Office, that he is NOT the president for all people, but only for those who like him and give him money. He stated that in almost those exact words - with a little wiggle room, so he could pretend the "libs and dems" just don't understand.
Yes. He hates anyone and anything that interferes with his self love. Self gratification is his one and only motivation. That's all you need to know about him.
'Americans must not condone Trump’s attempts to move closer to a brutal police state, whether the targets are migrants, homeless, or other groups the president opts to dehumanize.'
There is no 'other group' that is treated with a more 'brutal and inhumane approach' by the US government (Rubin's words) that the Palestinians in Gaza. Even their supporters in the US are constant targets of the 'brutal police state' Rubin is criticizing.
This is shown even in the comments in The Contrarian. Again, Norm Eisen takes 'dehumanization' to such a level that he literally does not utter the word "Palestinian' when talking about mass starvation in Gaza. He only discussed how that impacts Israelis.
Every time I post about Gaza, I see the same replies here: "Oh its not relevant" , "The Contrarian has other focuses", "you should get your own Substack."
But the US support of the ongoing atrocity in Gaza (and in the West Bank, for that matter), directly relates to how the US treats marginalized and oppressed groups at home. If such brutality can be normalized or even defended, of course that will eventually seep into domestic policy as well.
The Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and in the US are being treated atrociously, by any definition. I have started to mention the Palestinians, especially here on The Contrarian, because, like you, I believe it is highly relevant.
Criminalizing homelessness is about as moronic as criminalizing pregnancy. Which is what the American Fascist Party has done. This is because these people are Holier than Thou religious fundamentalists. What would Jesus do? For example, I’m invoking Christianity here but Jesus often walked with the most troubled of the troubled people and spent time with them showing them his divine compassion and love. If your calling is to be a Christian then you’re expected to be like Jesus. Not trying to be preachy, but I believe most people get my point.
You could make the same observations about real Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, to name a few. Every religion has developed fanatical fundamentalist fascistic elements, and every religion's founders have recommended humility and charity. Labels don't really help resolve the problems. But discriminating awareness does.
very high minded but, I think it is important to point out that all religions have decreed "things" in the name of the religion to invoke the strong power of religion to control for millnenia
Seems that way sometimes. I'd put it a different way, though. Our brains are multi-factoral and appear to have more or less independent levels of awareness and function, like, for one, the cerebral cortex, which processes our so-called executive functions, and the so-called mammalian mid brain and reptilian lower brain, which appear oriented primarily to the needs of the body and its protection. What I've read is that those lower brains take primacy over the newer cortex when a sense of threat is detected--which is, like, NOW, in reality as well as in social media amped perception. So a lot of folk feel the need for firepower protection. Then the gun collection grows if the gun-owner begins seeing guns as central to his or her identity and social reference groups. Sheesh. I think I'll go pound in some fencing around my pachysandra, which deer have been nibbling. Coz I detect a threat and I know how to use a rubber mallet. Hee.
Adequate housing is, after food, the most basic of needs. And in the US we're not focused on this. Instead we support developers who continue to build new expensive housing only wealthier people can afford.
This is one reason platforms like The Contrarian need to give more attention to Zohran Mamdani's candidacy. He may not have fully polished solutions yet, but he's made the issue of affordable housing front and center in his campaign.
Extremely low-income housing in NYC is primarily accessed through the city's affordable housing lottery system, managed by NYC Housing Connect. This system allows New Yorkers to apply for affordable rental and homeownership opportunities across all five boroughs. Additionally, programs like the 80/20 Program and the Mitchell-Lama program offer options for very low-income individuals and families.
NYC Housing Connect:
NYC Housing Connect is the central online portal for finding and applying for affordable housing in NYC.
It allows individuals to register, search for available units, and submit applications for housing lotteries.
The system includes both rental and homeownership opportunities.
Applicants can often find listings for developments with units specifically designated for those with extremely low incomes.
80/20 Program:
This program involves tax-exempt financing for multi-family rental developments where at least 20% of the units are reserved for very low-income residents.
The NYU Furman Center states that the financing is typically raised through the sale of bonds.
Mitchell-Lama Program:
This program provides housing options for middle-income families, but some developments have units available for those with lower incomes.
NYC Mitchell-Lama Connect is the platform for viewing available units and submitting applications for waiting list lotteries.
Other Resources:
NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) also plays a role in providing affordable housing opportunities.
Some organizations like Fifth Avenue Committee partner with HPD to manage affordable housing vacancies through lotteries.
ACCESS NYC is another resource that can help individuals find information about public housing and other affordable housing options.
Organizations like New Destiny Housing offer assistance with navigating the application process for affordable housing, including help with understanding eligibility requirements and gathering necessary documentation.
Individuals can also seek financial counseling to better understand their options and prepare for the application process, for example by calling 311 and asking for "Ready to Rent".
Well, then you know housing costs are disproportionately high in the city, as well as the cost of living.
You should also know that while most politicians give lip service to affordability in the city, few have made it an authentic foundation to their platform as Zohran Mamdani has. Eric Adams primary focus in his first run was to fear monger over crime, where he just barely won in the primary.
Of course, since then he has proven to be a uniquely corrupt mayor, with no comparison in recent New York City politics. He cowardly ducked out of the Democratic primary knowing he would lose, and remains deeply unpopular, with good reason.
Hmmm, where have I read about this before…oh yes, under the Hitler regime in Germany. Naturally, true “Blood and Soil” exemplars are not to be found among the homeless so they must be locked up. There they can make restitution for their reckless decisions by serving the needs of the state by becoming legally enslaved convicts. Will the Trump regime work them to death or let them die from neglect, the historical record from pre-WW II and WW II Germany has clues. Thus can Trump “flush” these problem people down his golden toilet of Trump Autocracy while serving business needs for cheap labor. Want a conspiracy theory? Increase the number of people forced out to the streets and cheap labor is suddenly not a problem. It is another tool for growing the feudal underclass - welcome to all the new serfs.
"Arbeit macht frei"---literally "Work makes (one) free" ---the "motto" hanging above the Auschwitz concentration camp gate. As an officially "useless" person---ready for the trash bin (too old and too "woke"), I can assure you I won't go quietly. Trouble is---a lot more people have to feel this way or we may all end up as serfs.
Here is a phrase we actually need to hear more often: "Israel is committing genocide".
When will Jennifer Rubin write a focused piece about the ongoing genocide being committed by Israel and supported by the US in Gaza?
Rubin has now brought up Gaza in two successive "Coffee" sessions. To her credit, she was the most progressive-sounding speaker in both sessions, who showed more empathy for Palestinians than any of the other guests (which, given Rubin's strong pro-Israel history, is really saying something).
Norm's Eisen's comments were particularly galling. In two segments, he did not mention Palestinians even once. His entire take was that the starvation of an entire population was bad - for Israel and Israelis. One guest only lamented that protesters have not focused on Trump as much as Biden (which isn't true, and also ignore the terrible price protesters have paid under both Biden and Trump), while the other did give some time to criticizing the nightmare there, but still did not mention any (bipartisan) culpability of the US or of the Israeli government and military as a whole, preferring instead to focus on Netanyahu and the strategic error in starving civilians.
The fact that The Contrarian has now discussed this should put to bed the nonsense I have seen commented often here, that The Contrarian is so "focused on saving democracy" that this outlet. can't publish a single article about one of the worst atrocities of the 21st century, one in which the US plays a critical and decisive role.
But still, The Contrarian's comments have been well short of the mark, and these videos do not get nearly as much circulation as Jennifer Rubin's articles in the first place.
Just yesterday, two Israeli human rights groups (B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights) have stated what so many other human rights groups, scholars, and media outlets, and world governing bodies have already confirmed - Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel is committing an abominable, heinous crime against humanity. The Israeli and US leaders that have made this happen need to be held accountable. Instead, Democratic and Republican Senators pose for photos with the indicted war criminal leading this atrocity.
The Contrarian has yet to utter the 'g' word. It is past time it does...every day, until this has stopped.
The US is fully complicit in this horror. Israel's massacres have had bipartisan support over two presidencies. Most Democratic leaders still support sending money and arms to Israel. This must stop. It is crucially important that The Contrarian loudly and emphatically demand this of our own government. It's moderate, centrist reads need to hear this.
What does the post have to do with the article? For one thing, we might reflect on the huge amounts we spend on weapons, including weapons used in genocide, and demand that our government redirect that money to affordable housing for the unemployed or unemployable, the mentally ill.
'Americans must not condone Trump’s attempts to move closer to a brutal police state, whether the targets are migrants, homeless, or other groups the president opts to dehumanize.'
There is no 'other group' that is treated with a more 'brutal and inhumane approach' by the US government (Rubin's words) that the Palestinians in Gaza. Even their supporters in the US are constant targets of the 'brutal police state' Rubin is criticizing.
This is shown even in the comments in The Contrarian. Again, Norm Eisen takes 'dehumanization' to such a level that he literally does not utter the word "Palestinian' when talking about mass starvation in Gaza. He only discussed how that impacts Israelis.
I'm not sure I understand the thrust of your question, Patricia. Do you think Jason expects a stronger reaction to the genocide from Jen and Norm than he might from someone else because they're Jewish? Or do you think Jason believes they're soft-pedaling outrage about this because they're Jewish? Or is he looking for a stronger reaction because he expects The Contrarian to take a stronger stand against the Gazan genocide simply because of the magnitude of the situation?
As I said, it has to do with the fact thar The Contrarian has not published a single article about the nightmare in Gaza that the US has played an integral role in creating.
Hard to comment on an article that does not exist.
There has been way too little coverage from anyone about the travesty this country has committed in Gaza. Only Democracy Now! Has given this daily coverage. It has been unrelenting horror for those trying to survive there. Seems like Trump just realized people there are unlikely to survive starvation, even though we have known that for months. No doubt we are actively committing genocide in Gaza. No doubt at all. So tRump can build another monument to himself.
I am realizing I am being too polite in my responses to comments like this.
The entire point of my post was that Jennifer Rubin, and The Contrarian as a whole, have not one single time posted an article about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the US's crucial involvement in that horror.
Beside that fact that is is in fact related, as others say in other comments here, it is just bad faith garbage to say 'what does this have to do with it' when I made that point abundantly clear.
My very clear and obvious point is that there is no printed 'commentary' from The Contrarian about this topic, at all.
So according to this reader, I should wait for the Contrarian article on this topic to reply,...that article that does not exist, and has never existed in this site.
Maybe because I am not trying to generate a following. I am trying to bring attention to a dire humanmade emergency for which we as Americans share responsibility for creating.
Maybe because Jennifer Rubin has conspicuously not written an article about this ongoing atrocity. Maybe its because her largely American, largely Democratic-leaning readers need to hear it more than anyone. Maybe because the fact that Rubin has thousands of readers and has a lot of influence is exactly the point. That is so obvious I can't even believe I am typing it.
But hey, you are free to make snarky comments instead of considering the actual issue I raise. Maybe you can start your own Substack to share your clever observations and suggestions.
Responding to "Israel is committing genocide, and Jennifer Rubin won't write about it" with "You should write your own Substack" is actually worse than dumb.
You got a substantive reply to my comments, based on facts about this issue, bring it. You reply with something ridiculous, do not expect a respectful reply.
Many of the responses here really show how the US is able to continue supporting and participating is an open, public genocide. While many comments here are supportive, many of the ostensibly 'liberal' Contrarian readers reply along the lines of "It's not the focus here", or "Get your own Substack" or "be nice".
Many readers here would rather just comment "Yay Jen! You are amazing!" than post any criticism. It's 'interesting' how few really substantive comments there are in these threads...mostly there are many one sentence replies with no substance.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan support for Israel's slaughter continues.
Yes, its clear, people 'can't handle the truth' that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and would rather distract from that fact with any number of inane comments, rather than actually engage in discussing this horror that is happening right now.
You seem awfully interested in my comments for someone who thinks I should post somewhere else. Maybe you can troll someone else for a while?
Zeteo just published this (incomplete) list of organizations and individuals who had affirmed that Israel is committing genocide.
Not on the list: The Contrarian.
Human Rights Organizations:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
University Network for Human Rights
B’Tselem
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel
Genocide Scholars and Experts:
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Omer Bartov, Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University
Amos Goldberg, Israeli professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a fellow of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Raz Segal, Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University
Shmuel Lederman, professor specializing in political theory and genocide studies at the Open University of Israel
Martin Shaw, emeritus professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex, research professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, and author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations
William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and author of several books on international law, including Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes
Dirk Moses, international relations professor at the City College of New York and author of The Problems of Genocide
Daniel Blatman, Israeli historian specializing in the history of the Holocaust and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Lee Mordechai, Israeli historian and associate professor at Hebrew University
Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Uğur Ümit Üngör, professor of Genocide Studies at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam
Not only are we funding it, we remove funding from groups like UNRWA that are actually helping Palestinians, we give Israel endless political protection, we condemn everyone from international governing bodies to students that protest Israel's actions, and now Americans are even directly participating in the killing.
This story from a couple weeks ago didn't get a lot of attention here:
'Former European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that “American mercenaries” killed 550 Palestinians in Gaza over the course of a single month. He accused both the Council of Europe and the European Commission of remaining silent in the face of these events.'
You might consider broadening your reading horizons by subscribing to The Bulwark, Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt and many others who are discussing Gaza regularly. My understanding of the purpose of The Contrarian was to discuss, enlighten and fight against what the fascist Trump regime is doing here at home, not to deal will all world politics. I might be mistaken, but that’s been my understanding. So please quit blaming The Contrarian for not taking up your preferred cause (please note I am not claiming that your preferred cause is not worthy).
Setting aside the curious suggestion to read other Never Trumpers besides Rubin (none of whom are remotely close to Zeteo, Democracy Now! , Drop Site News, The Intercept and others in the coverage of Gaza and the West Bank), I am really bored of addressing this tired excuse.
For one, if you actually read my original comment, you'll see I spent most of it directly addressing two live conversations in The Contrarian about this topic. This tosses away the notion that The Contrarian isn't interested in this topic, but also shows that Rubin will still limit this discussion to live conversations with much less engagement and attention that her daily pieces, which are the backbone of this outlet.
The idea that the ongoing and crucial US support for Israel's genocide is simply 'world politics' is just nonsense. The US is a full participant in this travesty, and anything from domestic attacks on free speech, from constant firings and cancelling of Palestinian activists to the detentions and threats of deportation to. green card holders, to elections on even the local level (like the recent New York mayoral primary) are all directly related to the US support of Israel. This affect the US very directly in many ways, and the US has a direct and important role in one of the worst crimes against humanity this century.
The Contrarian is only now even weakly addressing this horror (all mentions in The Contrarian have still refused to call this what it is : genocide) are terribly late and woefully incomplete. This nightmare has been going on for many months and The Contrarian said not a word.
Jennifer Rubin herself also has plenty to atone for. She has spent most of her career championing US interventions in the Middle East, and was a stalwart support of Israel for many months after October 2023, calling those who criticizing its growing ethnic cleansing campaign as "Hamas apologists". Even now (as I have said, many times), although her tone has certainly changed since then, her guests focus entirely on the effects toward Israelis, rather than the Palestinians who are being slaughtered.
So, if you don't like my comments, I really don't care. Go read one of your other journals by other ex-Republicans and keep pretending that 'fascism at home ' is not intimately connected with how we treat people being oppressed by our closest ally, with our full support and participation. Go complain to someone else.
You may wish to look at a piece today (July 30) by Jennifer Rubin. She has never been so strong. Also mentioned in today's Coffee with the Contrarians.
I have commented on all of those (in fact, I think you may have responded in one of my threads :) )
But also, I have been commenting for months now in The Contrarian about their lack of coverage. that has only changed in the past few days. the genocidal onslaught by israel has been going on for a long time now.
When, some years back, the government of Finland had to confront a growing issue of "rough sleepers" in public spaces, they came up with the novel solution of providing housing for them: moving people without homes into homes. As simple as that.
Their "Housing First" approach meant that their first step was to get their rough sleepers off the streets and into clean, safe housing before addressing corollary issues--mental health support, addiction counseling, basic health care, etc.
Only after people in need had been provided with a place to live did the Finnish government go on to create tailored care for them as individuals, providing everything from mental health support to job counseling.
It's hard to realize that in the US homelessness, a terrible plague just a century ago as it is today, had all but vanished by the early 1970s thanks to massive government intervention.
It has now become, once again, a blight on our nation. Because there are so many mentally ill or addicted people living on the streets alongside those who can simply no longer afford to pay rent, some of the homeless are, yes, quite frightening.
We are sometimes too quick to judge our fellow citizens who react to the problem with fear or anger, or who are offended and disgusted by the dirt and chaos and occasional criminality of homeless encampments.
I've had the experience of being menaced by aggressive panhandlers and walking gingerly around human waste near shopfronts. I've had the experience of driving through an area that had been turned into an open-air drug and prostitution bazaar. It does no good to be contemptuous of people who are frightened of and disgusted by these realities.
But the imperative is to solve problems rather than to create gulags.
Our cities are full of empty buildings (this is thanks in large part to the private equity sharks who buy up properties and then let them sit vacant in order to reap a reward through tax trickery): those buildings could accommodate many of those who have no place to live.
It's a matter of will, of priorities, of the allocation of resources. We've made clear that as a people who have decided to empower the Project 2025 Republicans, we have no will to do the right thing. We are willing to dedicate $100 billion to the creation of a violent, masked, lawless national police force; but unwilling to dedicate a quarter of that amount to creating homes for homeless people.
The homeless who are mentally ill have committed quite a few crimes, some repeatedly, in NYC. The question of involuntary commitment is not a simple "yes" or "no".
New York State and NYC are providing most of those funds.
Public funding is the only answer, since private resources are not stepping up and don't have the capacity or duty to deal with the problem. It's a government problem.
But we're nearing the half century mark on the Republican project of slashing government services in order to transfer public wealth into private pockets. In the current environment--as even essential programs that benefit citizens, like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, the VA, and Social Security are on the chopping block--there simply isn't the will to fund projects to house those without housing, not on any meaningful scale.
It's estimated that there are more than 600,000 homeless people in the US, although it's difficult to come up with a precise number (for obvious reasons).
A little under a third of them are in rural areas--rural homelessness is a growing problem. Most are concentrated in urban areas. Because there are vacant buildings in cities, this should be a solvable problem: but it comes down to organization and funding.
The financial cost of incarcerating the homeless is similar to the cost of providing safe housing and support systems (the moral and cultural cost is many times greater). There are no meaningful savings for taxpayers in using incarceration as an alternative to providing housing and support.
Here's some more info on NYC office building conversions:
In NYC, there's a trend of converting vacant office buildings into residential spaces to address both housing shortages and high office vacancy rates. Several factors, including tax incentives and the availability of suitable older buildings, are driving this trend. One of the largest such conversions is underway at 25 Water Street, transforming a former office tower into a residential building with over 1,300 units.
Office-to-residential conversions are hitting record highs in the New York metro area, with a significant increase in the pipeline of such projects.
The New York metro area leads the nation in these conversions, driven by factors like rising vacancy rates and a large stock of pre-World War II office buildings that are easier to convert.
New York City has implemented programs like the Office Conversion Accelerator and a tax incentive program (467-m) to encourage conversions, especially those including affordable housing.
25 Water Street: This project is a prime example, converting a large office tower into a residential building with over 1,300 units and amenities, including affordable housing options.
While conversions are gaining traction, challenges remain, such as the cost and complexity of retrofitting buildings and ensuring adequate natural light for residential units.
These conversions are seen as a way to revitalize downtown areas, bring new life to vacant buildings, and address the city's housing needs.
The city is actively exploring further measures to encourage conversions, including incentives for projects that incorporate affordable housing or childcare facilities.
13A allows for slavery and involuntary servitude “as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”. Where else will we get cheap labor once all the so-called “illegal immigrants” have been deported?
The list of words and phrases that we can do without is long -- and begins with the glossing over of meaning and substance by substituting "narrative" for story. A more insidious example is how bald face lies are "misinformation". This implies an innocence behind the "narrative". The result: we can't call out Trump/Republican/MAGA lies. This shapes our discourse, both public and private, denying a need for fact-checks, or eliminated any strength in an opposing argument. In their attempts to “spin” answers (another word we can use without), quotes, policies, and position, words are not just misappropriated but stripped of their meaning. Trump administration's attack on DEI is portrayed as a righteous attempt to root out bias, instead of the reality that its intent is to do the opposite: put in place the very racist policies that DEI was crafted to eliminate. Obvious hypocrisy has no place in any discussion including the antisemites who are now using antisemitism as a cudgel to attack institutions and the expression of free speech. Don't call it a nazi-salute -- its just a wave.
Frank Luntz was or is a Republican consultant that taught them how to weaponize language and demonize others. I think he appeared during Bush Jr & Carl Roves tenure. They are (some) of the architects of our state of division. Then there’s Fox, Murdock & Ailes of course.
speaking of which, John, I think those gys are realizing how dumb trump is and they want him GONE...and they have the means to do it with the epstein files...
Trump lives in a delusional world that he has constructed. Which, of course, makes him unfit for this job. Instead of conforming to reality…..in which he is an extremely unintelligent, I.e. subnormal, individual, he strives to force the rest of us to conform, enable, and confirm his delusional world. Astonishingly, waaaaaaay too many Sheeple accept this, and go along with it! Unbelievably Sad!
Jen, I’d like to propose a phrase we could do without: “Alligator Alcatraz”. First of all, to compare the inhumane detention center in Florida to the famous prison on Alcatraz Island implies the people detained there are criminals, which by and large they are not. It’s also a “cute” name because of the alliteration and the inclusion of “alligator”.
I was recently in Poland where I had a conversation with the clerk in the gift shop at the museum that explains the Solidarity movement (a fantastic museum in Gdansk) who said she had seen pictures of the detention center and thought it looked “worse than Auschwitz”. While in Poland I visited Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin. I could easily see the similarities.
So I propose we start referring to these “centers” as concentration camps. No more cute names.
We must not condone such brutal behavior - or ALLOW such to be put upon our own citizens. Enough of this despicable rule and heartlessness. Let us fight with everything we have now- before we lose even more of our soul.
It is important to appreciate our social, civic, and public policy approach to homelessness is globally ignorant and insensitive. Public opinion and official policy and program both fail by not recognizing an important contributing factor (among many others). This goes way beyond "Trump prefers barbarism to responsible social (homeless) policy with adequate funding." Even compassionate, humanitarian, progressive approaches to this civic failure do not recognize that the experience of "CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT TRAUMA" greatly contributes to (causes?) homelessness.The general recognition of "mental illness" and substance use among the unhoused only serves to hide this crucial underlying factor and shield us from embarrassing societal failures. In the few studies that have been published about 66% of unhoused people have a history of severe child abuse and/or neglect, with one study showing an incidence of severe head trauma approaching 50%.
We should all recognize that these unfortunate souls, having had a formative, injurious and destructive experience as children usually caused by the parents or caregivers who they most need to trust for survival, have trouble socializing, trusting, getting along with others - or themselves, flee or are inept in work, school or just living together circumstances, and avoid or are unresponsive to "social work," behavioral health," or medical treatment. Basically the skills to belong to and participate in society have been stolen from many of the people who become unhoused. Calling it "mental illness" is really only our way of avoiding the shameful original truth of this disorder.
Certainly there is a shortage of affordable housing and an abundance of abusable drugs, but the pervasive lack of attention to this basic factor contributing to the large unhouse-able population is a crucial societal failure.
Unfortunately, the strict, brutal, inhumane, transactional, strong arm policies of the new administration raise the tolerance and acceptability of abusive behavior to level of national culture and policy. What could go wrong??
Dr Gordon, I know of your work. (I served on a brain injury advisory committee some years ago.) I’ll add here for others reading, that when TBI is not recognized, those who have it aren’t provided with the correct treatment, if any at all. Treating symptoms as though they fall under the umbrella of “mental illness” can be counterproductive. They need time and space and assistance with processing and navigating, among many other things. Rest and quiet space can be far more productive (restorative) than support groups, talk therapy and meds.
Thanks for posting this comment.
Anyone interested, search “homelessness and traumatic brain injury”
PS: I said I’m familiar with your work. It occurred to me after posting, that it may have been a different Dr Gordon who surveyed people experiencing homelessness and people in prisons and showed a high percentage of TBI in both populations. Either way, thanks for posting.
We know Trump hates America. He hates the Constitution. And he also hates the individual citizens (unless they are a billionaire or doner). Republicans, are you complicit? Let the lawsuits begin!
Not sure he hates America, he just doesn't care. The Constitution is in his way, so yes, he hates that. But none of that would matter if those billionaire supporters and donors weren't on a mission of their own, to tear down the Constitutional Republic, get rid of representative democracy, and set up an oligarchic Kakistocracy, with a biddable clown as the figurehead.
It seems to me that a Kakistocracy is exactly what we are living with. Between the billionaires and the incompetent administration, what more do we need to get there?
It's as close as we can get while still pretending we are a Constitutional Republic with representative democracy. The PTB aren't quite ready to publicly tear up the Constitution - I think they'll make the claim that they have to because of the violent protesters and the rabid left attempting a coup. I certainly hope I'm being unrealistic.
Me, too. But nothing would be surprising at this point.
Some American people are homeless for good reasons. President is to serve all Americans including those without homes. If he does not want to do so, he could resign.
This president (who is not deserving of capitalization), made it clear the first time he infested the Oval Office, that he is NOT the president for all people, but only for those who like him and give him money. He stated that in almost those exact words - with a little wiggle room, so he could pretend the "libs and dems" just don't understand.
His popularity is about 35% now. Majority of voters do not like his policies, suggesting he resigns.
I'd like to see him gone, but I do not believe it will happen.
I think it's possible the epstein thing might topple el orango
Truth!
Yes. He hates anyone and anything that interferes with his self love. Self gratification is his one and only motivation. That's all you need to know about him.
You didn't need the question mark after "complicit."
Now we know another reason for spending billions on tent detention camps. What group will be next in the crosshairs?
Who is next you ask?
'Americans must not condone Trump’s attempts to move closer to a brutal police state, whether the targets are migrants, homeless, or other groups the president opts to dehumanize.'
There is no 'other group' that is treated with a more 'brutal and inhumane approach' by the US government (Rubin's words) that the Palestinians in Gaza. Even their supporters in the US are constant targets of the 'brutal police state' Rubin is criticizing.
This is shown even in the comments in The Contrarian. Again, Norm Eisen takes 'dehumanization' to such a level that he literally does not utter the word "Palestinian' when talking about mass starvation in Gaza. He only discussed how that impacts Israelis.
Every time I post about Gaza, I see the same replies here: "Oh its not relevant" , "The Contrarian has other focuses", "you should get your own Substack."
But the US support of the ongoing atrocity in Gaza (and in the West Bank, for that matter), directly relates to how the US treats marginalized and oppressed groups at home. If such brutality can be normalized or even defended, of course that will eventually seep into domestic policy as well.
The Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and in the US are being treated atrociously, by any definition. I have started to mention the Palestinians, especially here on The Contrarian, because, like you, I believe it is highly relevant.
the Romanov family comes to mind....
Criminalizing homelessness is about as moronic as criminalizing pregnancy. Which is what the American Fascist Party has done. This is because these people are Holier than Thou religious fundamentalists. What would Jesus do? For example, I’m invoking Christianity here but Jesus often walked with the most troubled of the troubled people and spent time with them showing them his divine compassion and love. If your calling is to be a Christian then you’re expected to be like Jesus. Not trying to be preachy, but I believe most people get my point.
The "Christians" condoning Trump's hate-filled actions are a stain on the flag!
and on their soul.
And the cross.
which they all proudly wear.
They mock the Christian tenet that our sins were nailed to the cross as was Jesus.
there were many religions before ours...all based on the same basic stuff
You could make the same observations about real Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, to name a few. Every religion has developed fanatical fundamentalist fascistic elements, and every religion's founders have recommended humility and charity. Labels don't really help resolve the problems. But discriminating awareness does.
very high minded but, I think it is important to point out that all religions have decreed "things" in the name of the religion to invoke the strong power of religion to control for millnenia
also, don't forget America has more guns than brains so...
Seems that way sometimes. I'd put it a different way, though. Our brains are multi-factoral and appear to have more or less independent levels of awareness and function, like, for one, the cerebral cortex, which processes our so-called executive functions, and the so-called mammalian mid brain and reptilian lower brain, which appear oriented primarily to the needs of the body and its protection. What I've read is that those lower brains take primacy over the newer cortex when a sense of threat is detected--which is, like, NOW, in reality as well as in social media amped perception. So a lot of folk feel the need for firepower protection. Then the gun collection grows if the gun-owner begins seeing guns as central to his or her identity and social reference groups. Sheesh. I think I'll go pound in some fencing around my pachysandra, which deer have been nibbling. Coz I detect a threat and I know how to use a rubber mallet. Hee.
No doubt. Along with many secular philosophical systems.
OK so YOU spell it...
Not sure what you're referencing, here. Sorry.
posts often don't end up under the other post they are referencing...
millinenia...
Millennia
You are not being preachy, IMO. I may have Christian beliefs, but they match what Jesus said and did, not what so many in the US are doing.
Adequate housing is, after food, the most basic of needs. And in the US we're not focused on this. Instead we support developers who continue to build new expensive housing only wealthier people can afford.
This is one reason platforms like The Contrarian need to give more attention to Zohran Mamdani's candidacy. He may not have fully polished solutions yet, but he's made the issue of affordable housing front and center in his campaign.
All the candidates have affordable housing on their platform. The Adams administration actually saw more affordable housing built.
..and rents have skyrocketed.
Extremely low-income housing in NYC is primarily accessed through the city's affordable housing lottery system, managed by NYC Housing Connect. This system allows New Yorkers to apply for affordable rental and homeownership opportunities across all five boroughs. Additionally, programs like the 80/20 Program and the Mitchell-Lama program offer options for very low-income individuals and families.
NYC Housing Connect:
NYC Housing Connect is the central online portal for finding and applying for affordable housing in NYC.
It allows individuals to register, search for available units, and submit applications for housing lotteries.
The system includes both rental and homeownership opportunities.
Applicants can often find listings for developments with units specifically designated for those with extremely low incomes.
80/20 Program:
This program involves tax-exempt financing for multi-family rental developments where at least 20% of the units are reserved for very low-income residents.
The NYU Furman Center states that the financing is typically raised through the sale of bonds.
Mitchell-Lama Program:
This program provides housing options for middle-income families, but some developments have units available for those with lower incomes.
NYC Mitchell-Lama Connect is the platform for viewing available units and submitting applications for waiting list lotteries.
Other Resources:
NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) also plays a role in providing affordable housing opportunities.
Some organizations like Fifth Avenue Committee partner with HPD to manage affordable housing vacancies through lotteries.
ACCESS NYC is another resource that can help individuals find information about public housing and other affordable housing options.
Organizations like New Destiny Housing offer assistance with navigating the application process for affordable housing, including help with understanding eligibility requirements and gathering necessary documentation.
Individuals can also seek financial counseling to better understand their options and prepare for the application process, for example by calling 311 and asking for "Ready to Rent".
There is a very long waiting list just to get on that lottery. It's a solution on paper but for the homeless not a solution at all.
Do you live in New York? Rents are extremely high, across the board, for people who qualify for programs and people that don’t.
Live in New York. Housing and rents are a nationwide problem; actually an international problem.
Well, then you know housing costs are disproportionately high in the city, as well as the cost of living.
You should also know that while most politicians give lip service to affordability in the city, few have made it an authentic foundation to their platform as Zohran Mamdani has. Eric Adams primary focus in his first run was to fear monger over crime, where he just barely won in the primary.
Of course, since then he has proven to be a uniquely corrupt mayor, with no comparison in recent New York City politics. He cowardly ducked out of the Democratic primary knowing he would lose, and remains deeply unpopular, with good reason.
Hmmm, where have I read about this before…oh yes, under the Hitler regime in Germany. Naturally, true “Blood and Soil” exemplars are not to be found among the homeless so they must be locked up. There they can make restitution for their reckless decisions by serving the needs of the state by becoming legally enslaved convicts. Will the Trump regime work them to death or let them die from neglect, the historical record from pre-WW II and WW II Germany has clues. Thus can Trump “flush” these problem people down his golden toilet of Trump Autocracy while serving business needs for cheap labor. Want a conspiracy theory? Increase the number of people forced out to the streets and cheap labor is suddenly not a problem. It is another tool for growing the feudal underclass - welcome to all the new serfs.
"Arbeit macht frei"---literally "Work makes (one) free" ---the "motto" hanging above the Auschwitz concentration camp gate. As an officially "useless" person---ready for the trash bin (too old and too "woke"), I can assure you I won't go quietly. Trouble is---a lot more people have to feel this way or we may all end up as serfs.
Same here, Sharon.
A good mind frees a serf. The well trained mind is the inoculation against the slavery of political and societal induced stupidity.
This is just another step on the road to a Final Solution just like his hero Hitler had.
" Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" There are homeless children. Republicans are a spinless, useless lot!
Said by Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, in case readers were unaware....
I was hoping most would. It is a yearly classic. 👍
Here is a phrase we actually need to hear more often: "Israel is committing genocide".
When will Jennifer Rubin write a focused piece about the ongoing genocide being committed by Israel and supported by the US in Gaza?
Rubin has now brought up Gaza in two successive "Coffee" sessions. To her credit, she was the most progressive-sounding speaker in both sessions, who showed more empathy for Palestinians than any of the other guests (which, given Rubin's strong pro-Israel history, is really saying something).
Norm's Eisen's comments were particularly galling. In two segments, he did not mention Palestinians even once. His entire take was that the starvation of an entire population was bad - for Israel and Israelis. One guest only lamented that protesters have not focused on Trump as much as Biden (which isn't true, and also ignore the terrible price protesters have paid under both Biden and Trump), while the other did give some time to criticizing the nightmare there, but still did not mention any (bipartisan) culpability of the US or of the Israeli government and military as a whole, preferring instead to focus on Netanyahu and the strategic error in starving civilians.
The fact that The Contrarian has now discussed this should put to bed the nonsense I have seen commented often here, that The Contrarian is so "focused on saving democracy" that this outlet. can't publish a single article about one of the worst atrocities of the 21st century, one in which the US plays a critical and decisive role.
But still, The Contrarian's comments have been well short of the mark, and these videos do not get nearly as much circulation as Jennifer Rubin's articles in the first place.
Just yesterday, two Israeli human rights groups (B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights) have stated what so many other human rights groups, scholars, and media outlets, and world governing bodies have already confirmed - Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel is committing an abominable, heinous crime against humanity. The Israeli and US leaders that have made this happen need to be held accountable. Instead, Democratic and Republican Senators pose for photos with the indicted war criminal leading this atrocity.
The Contrarian has yet to utter the 'g' word. It is past time it does...every day, until this has stopped.
The US is fully complicit in this horror. Israel's massacres have had bipartisan support over two presidencies. Most Democratic leaders still support sending money and arms to Israel. This must stop. It is crucially important that The Contrarian loudly and emphatically demand this of our own government. It's moderate, centrist reads need to hear this.
OK, so what does this post have to do with the commentary, which was about involuntary commitment of homeless people?
What does the post have to do with the article? For one thing, we might reflect on the huge amounts we spend on weapons, including weapons used in genocide, and demand that our government redirect that money to affordable housing for the unemployed or unemployable, the mentally ill.
That is one good point.
I'd say another is embodied in Rubin's last line:
'Americans must not condone Trump’s attempts to move closer to a brutal police state, whether the targets are migrants, homeless, or other groups the president opts to dehumanize.'
There is no 'other group' that is treated with a more 'brutal and inhumane approach' by the US government (Rubin's words) that the Palestinians in Gaza. Even their supporters in the US are constant targets of the 'brutal police state' Rubin is criticizing.
This is shown even in the comments in The Contrarian. Again, Norm Eisen takes 'dehumanization' to such a level that he literally does not utter the word "Palestinian' when talking about mass starvation in Gaza. He only discussed how that impacts Israelis.
would you feel differently if Jen and Norm were not Jewish ?
take heart though the press in Gaza has sent pictures around the world...horrifying and will bring food in and an end to this war.
I'm not sure I understand the thrust of your question, Patricia. Do you think Jason expects a stronger reaction to the genocide from Jen and Norm than he might from someone else because they're Jewish? Or do you think Jason believes they're soft-pedaling outrage about this because they're Jewish? Or is he looking for a stronger reaction because he expects The Contrarian to take a stronger stand against the Gazan genocide simply because of the magnitude of the situation?
all of the above
As I said, it has to do with the fact thar The Contrarian has not published a single article about the nightmare in Gaza that the US has played an integral role in creating.
Hard to comment on an article that does not exist.
Wasn't that a comment?
Try reading the whole thread again, slowly this time.
There has been way too little coverage from anyone about the travesty this country has committed in Gaza. Only Democracy Now! Has given this daily coverage. It has been unrelenting horror for those trying to survive there. Seems like Trump just realized people there are unlikely to survive starvation, even though we have known that for months. No doubt we are actively committing genocide in Gaza. No doubt at all. So tRump can build another monument to himself.
Bless Democracy Now! They always can be counted on.
Agreed. I would add that DN!'s coverage has been solid, but also Drop Site News, Zeteo, and The Intercept have had good coverage.
Thanks for identifying additional solid news sites!
It's an erupted boil.
I am realizing I am being too polite in my responses to comments like this.
The entire point of my post was that Jennifer Rubin, and The Contrarian as a whole, have not one single time posted an article about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the US's crucial involvement in that horror.
Beside that fact that is is in fact related, as others say in other comments here, it is just bad faith garbage to say 'what does this have to do with it' when I made that point abundantly clear.
My very clear and obvious point is that there is no printed 'commentary' from The Contrarian about this topic, at all.
So according to this reader, I should wait for the Contrarian article on this topic to reply,...that article that does not exist, and has never existed in this site.
Maybe you should start your own Substack rather than use Jen Rubin's readers as a ready-made audience.
Hmm how many ways is this a dumb reply?
Maybe because I am not trying to generate a following. I am trying to bring attention to a dire humanmade emergency for which we as Americans share responsibility for creating.
Maybe because Jennifer Rubin has conspicuously not written an article about this ongoing atrocity. Maybe its because her largely American, largely Democratic-leaning readers need to hear it more than anyone. Maybe because the fact that Rubin has thousands of readers and has a lot of influence is exactly the point. That is so obvious I can't even believe I am typing it.
But hey, you are free to make snarky comments instead of considering the actual issue I raise. Maybe you can start your own Substack to share your clever observations and suggestions.
You want to win people over. Yet when they don't agree with you you make snide comments, calling them dumb. I question who the dumb one is.
Responding to "Israel is committing genocide, and Jennifer Rubin won't write about it" with "You should write your own Substack" is actually worse than dumb.
You got a substantive reply to my comments, based on facts about this issue, bring it. You reply with something ridiculous, do not expect a respectful reply.
Many of the responses here really show how the US is able to continue supporting and participating is an open, public genocide. While many comments here are supportive, many of the ostensibly 'liberal' Contrarian readers reply along the lines of "It's not the focus here", or "Get your own Substack" or "be nice".
Many readers here would rather just comment "Yay Jen! You are amazing!" than post any criticism. It's 'interesting' how few really substantive comments there are in these threads...mostly there are many one sentence replies with no substance.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan support for Israel's slaughter continues.
As Jack Nicholson famously said, "You can't handle the truth." And does someone else suggested, consider getting your own substack.
Yes, its clear, people 'can't handle the truth' that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and would rather distract from that fact with any number of inane comments, rather than actually engage in discussing this horror that is happening right now.
You seem awfully interested in my comments for someone who thinks I should post somewhere else. Maybe you can troll someone else for a while?
Zeteo just published this (incomplete) list of organizations and individuals who had affirmed that Israel is committing genocide.
Not on the list: The Contrarian.
Human Rights Organizations:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
University Network for Human Rights
B’Tselem
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel
Genocide Scholars and Experts:
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Omer Bartov, Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University
Amos Goldberg, Israeli professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a fellow of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Raz Segal, Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University
Shmuel Lederman, professor specializing in political theory and genocide studies at the Open University of Israel
Martin Shaw, emeritus professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex, research professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, and author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations
William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and author of several books on international law, including Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes
Dirk Moses, international relations professor at the City College of New York and author of The Problems of Genocide
Daniel Blatman, Israeli historian specializing in the history of the Holocaust and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Lee Mordechai, Israeli historian and associate professor at Hebrew University
Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Uğur Ümit Üngör, professor of Genocide Studies at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam
We are committing genocide by funding Israel’s war.
I agree, the US is fully responsible.
Not only are we funding it, we remove funding from groups like UNRWA that are actually helping Palestinians, we give Israel endless political protection, we condemn everyone from international governing bodies to students that protest Israel's actions, and now Americans are even directly participating in the killing.
This story from a couple weeks ago didn't get a lot of attention here:
'Former European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that “American mercenaries” killed 550 Palestinians in Gaza over the course of a single month. He accused both the Council of Europe and the European Commission of remaining silent in the face of these events.'
You might consider broadening your reading horizons by subscribing to The Bulwark, Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt and many others who are discussing Gaza regularly. My understanding of the purpose of The Contrarian was to discuss, enlighten and fight against what the fascist Trump regime is doing here at home, not to deal will all world politics. I might be mistaken, but that’s been my understanding. So please quit blaming The Contrarian for not taking up your preferred cause (please note I am not claiming that your preferred cause is not worthy).
Setting aside the curious suggestion to read other Never Trumpers besides Rubin (none of whom are remotely close to Zeteo, Democracy Now! , Drop Site News, The Intercept and others in the coverage of Gaza and the West Bank), I am really bored of addressing this tired excuse.
For one, if you actually read my original comment, you'll see I spent most of it directly addressing two live conversations in The Contrarian about this topic. This tosses away the notion that The Contrarian isn't interested in this topic, but also shows that Rubin will still limit this discussion to live conversations with much less engagement and attention that her daily pieces, which are the backbone of this outlet.
The idea that the ongoing and crucial US support for Israel's genocide is simply 'world politics' is just nonsense. The US is a full participant in this travesty, and anything from domestic attacks on free speech, from constant firings and cancelling of Palestinian activists to the detentions and threats of deportation to. green card holders, to elections on even the local level (like the recent New York mayoral primary) are all directly related to the US support of Israel. This affect the US very directly in many ways, and the US has a direct and important role in one of the worst crimes against humanity this century.
The Contrarian is only now even weakly addressing this horror (all mentions in The Contrarian have still refused to call this what it is : genocide) are terribly late and woefully incomplete. This nightmare has been going on for many months and The Contrarian said not a word.
Jennifer Rubin herself also has plenty to atone for. She has spent most of her career championing US interventions in the Middle East, and was a stalwart support of Israel for many months after October 2023, calling those who criticizing its growing ethnic cleansing campaign as "Hamas apologists". Even now (as I have said, many times), although her tone has certainly changed since then, her guests focus entirely on the effects toward Israelis, rather than the Palestinians who are being slaughtered.
So, if you don't like my comments, I really don't care. Go read one of your other journals by other ex-Republicans and keep pretending that 'fascism at home ' is not intimately connected with how we treat people being oppressed by our closest ally, with our full support and participation. Go complain to someone else.
You may wish to look at a piece today (July 30) by Jennifer Rubin. She has never been so strong. Also mentioned in today's Coffee with the Contrarians.
I have commented on all of those (in fact, I think you may have responded in one of my threads :) )
But also, I have been commenting for months now in The Contrarian about their lack of coverage. that has only changed in the past few days. the genocidal onslaught by israel has been going on for a long time now.
Ask and ye shall receive. Looks like you may have hit a nerve.
https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=3719374&post_id=169620807&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=6birt&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDYxNTI0MSwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY5NjIwODA3LCJpYXQiOjE3NTM4NzYwMzYsImV4cCI6MTc1NjQ2ODAzNiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTM3MTkzNzQiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.Wy-PlfFYtRLhOY2z9K1oGduUrhk1YPLIWJexmqGNJ8s
yup i saw.
When, some years back, the government of Finland had to confront a growing issue of "rough sleepers" in public spaces, they came up with the novel solution of providing housing for them: moving people without homes into homes. As simple as that.
Their "Housing First" approach meant that their first step was to get their rough sleepers off the streets and into clean, safe housing before addressing corollary issues--mental health support, addiction counseling, basic health care, etc.
Only after people in need had been provided with a place to live did the Finnish government go on to create tailored care for them as individuals, providing everything from mental health support to job counseling.
It's hard to realize that in the US homelessness, a terrible plague just a century ago as it is today, had all but vanished by the early 1970s thanks to massive government intervention.
It has now become, once again, a blight on our nation. Because there are so many mentally ill or addicted people living on the streets alongside those who can simply no longer afford to pay rent, some of the homeless are, yes, quite frightening.
We are sometimes too quick to judge our fellow citizens who react to the problem with fear or anger, or who are offended and disgusted by the dirt and chaos and occasional criminality of homeless encampments.
I've had the experience of being menaced by aggressive panhandlers and walking gingerly around human waste near shopfronts. I've had the experience of driving through an area that had been turned into an open-air drug and prostitution bazaar. It does no good to be contemptuous of people who are frightened of and disgusted by these realities.
But the imperative is to solve problems rather than to create gulags.
Our cities are full of empty buildings (this is thanks in large part to the private equity sharks who buy up properties and then let them sit vacant in order to reap a reward through tax trickery): those buildings could accommodate many of those who have no place to live.
It's a matter of will, of priorities, of the allocation of resources. We've made clear that as a people who have decided to empower the Project 2025 Republicans, we have no will to do the right thing. We are willing to dedicate $100 billion to the creation of a violent, masked, lawless national police force; but unwilling to dedicate a quarter of that amount to creating homes for homeless people.
The homeless who are mentally ill have committed quite a few crimes, some repeatedly, in NYC. The question of involuntary commitment is not a simple "yes" or "no".
It's certainly true that there are no simple answers.
In NYC some office buildings are being retrofitted for tenancy. It is a difficult process. Not sure who funds the retrofit.
New York State and NYC are providing most of those funds.
Public funding is the only answer, since private resources are not stepping up and don't have the capacity or duty to deal with the problem. It's a government problem.
But we're nearing the half century mark on the Republican project of slashing government services in order to transfer public wealth into private pockets. In the current environment--as even essential programs that benefit citizens, like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, the VA, and Social Security are on the chopping block--there simply isn't the will to fund projects to house those without housing, not on any meaningful scale.
It's estimated that there are more than 600,000 homeless people in the US, although it's difficult to come up with a precise number (for obvious reasons).
A little under a third of them are in rural areas--rural homelessness is a growing problem. Most are concentrated in urban areas. Because there are vacant buildings in cities, this should be a solvable problem: but it comes down to organization and funding.
The financial cost of incarcerating the homeless is similar to the cost of providing safe housing and support systems (the moral and cultural cost is many times greater). There are no meaningful savings for taxpayers in using incarceration as an alternative to providing housing and support.
Here's some more info on NYC office building conversions:
In NYC, there's a trend of converting vacant office buildings into residential spaces to address both housing shortages and high office vacancy rates. Several factors, including tax incentives and the availability of suitable older buildings, are driving this trend. One of the largest such conversions is underway at 25 Water Street, transforming a former office tower into a residential building with over 1,300 units.
Office-to-residential conversions are hitting record highs in the New York metro area, with a significant increase in the pipeline of such projects.
The New York metro area leads the nation in these conversions, driven by factors like rising vacancy rates and a large stock of pre-World War II office buildings that are easier to convert.
New York City has implemented programs like the Office Conversion Accelerator and a tax incentive program (467-m) to encourage conversions, especially those including affordable housing.
25 Water Street: This project is a prime example, converting a large office tower into a residential building with over 1,300 units and amenities, including affordable housing options.
While conversions are gaining traction, challenges remain, such as the cost and complexity of retrofitting buildings and ensuring adequate natural light for residential units.
These conversions are seen as a way to revitalize downtown areas, bring new life to vacant buildings, and address the city's housing needs.
The city is actively exploring further measures to encourage conversions, including incentives for projects that incorporate affordable housing or childcare facilities.
Thank you for the info.
"Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"
This is performance for the base. Lock up homeless people and addicts so that Trump's evangelical base won't have to see these sad,hurting people
13A allows for slavery and involuntary servitude “as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”. Where else will we get cheap labor once all the so-called “illegal immigrants” have been deported?
The list of words and phrases that we can do without is long -- and begins with the glossing over of meaning and substance by substituting "narrative" for story. A more insidious example is how bald face lies are "misinformation". This implies an innocence behind the "narrative". The result: we can't call out Trump/Republican/MAGA lies. This shapes our discourse, both public and private, denying a need for fact-checks, or eliminated any strength in an opposing argument. In their attempts to “spin” answers (another word we can use without), quotes, policies, and position, words are not just misappropriated but stripped of their meaning. Trump administration's attack on DEI is portrayed as a righteous attempt to root out bias, instead of the reality that its intent is to do the opposite: put in place the very racist policies that DEI was crafted to eliminate. Obvious hypocrisy has no place in any discussion including the antisemites who are now using antisemitism as a cudgel to attack institutions and the expression of free speech. Don't call it a nazi-salute -- its just a wave.
Frank Luntz was or is a Republican consultant that taught them how to weaponize language and demonize others. I think he appeared during Bush Jr & Carl Roves tenure. They are (some) of the architects of our state of division. Then there’s Fox, Murdock & Ailes of course.
speaking of which, John, I think those gys are realizing how dumb trump is and they want him GONE...and they have the means to do it with the epstein files...
Trump lives in a delusional world that he has constructed. Which, of course, makes him unfit for this job. Instead of conforming to reality…..in which he is an extremely unintelligent, I.e. subnormal, individual, he strives to force the rest of us to conform, enable, and confirm his delusional world. Astonishingly, waaaaaaay too many Sheeple accept this, and go along with it! Unbelievably Sad!
Jen, I’d like to propose a phrase we could do without: “Alligator Alcatraz”. First of all, to compare the inhumane detention center in Florida to the famous prison on Alcatraz Island implies the people detained there are criminals, which by and large they are not. It’s also a “cute” name because of the alliteration and the inclusion of “alligator”.
I was recently in Poland where I had a conversation with the clerk in the gift shop at the museum that explains the Solidarity movement (a fantastic museum in Gdansk) who said she had seen pictures of the detention center and thought it looked “worse than Auschwitz”. While in Poland I visited Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin. I could easily see the similarities.
So I propose we start referring to these “centers” as concentration camps. No more cute names.
ABSOLUTELY....there is even a sign near it with a cute alligator on it
We must not condone such brutal behavior - or ALLOW such to be put upon our own citizens. Enough of this despicable rule and heartlessness. Let us fight with everything we have now- before we lose even more of our soul.
It is important to appreciate our social, civic, and public policy approach to homelessness is globally ignorant and insensitive. Public opinion and official policy and program both fail by not recognizing an important contributing factor (among many others). This goes way beyond "Trump prefers barbarism to responsible social (homeless) policy with adequate funding." Even compassionate, humanitarian, progressive approaches to this civic failure do not recognize that the experience of "CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT TRAUMA" greatly contributes to (causes?) homelessness.The general recognition of "mental illness" and substance use among the unhoused only serves to hide this crucial underlying factor and shield us from embarrassing societal failures. In the few studies that have been published about 66% of unhoused people have a history of severe child abuse and/or neglect, with one study showing an incidence of severe head trauma approaching 50%.
We should all recognize that these unfortunate souls, having had a formative, injurious and destructive experience as children usually caused by the parents or caregivers who they most need to trust for survival, have trouble socializing, trusting, getting along with others - or themselves, flee or are inept in work, school or just living together circumstances, and avoid or are unresponsive to "social work," behavioral health," or medical treatment. Basically the skills to belong to and participate in society have been stolen from many of the people who become unhoused. Calling it "mental illness" is really only our way of avoiding the shameful original truth of this disorder.
Certainly there is a shortage of affordable housing and an abundance of abusable drugs, but the pervasive lack of attention to this basic factor contributing to the large unhouse-able population is a crucial societal failure.
Unfortunately, the strict, brutal, inhumane, transactional, strong arm policies of the new administration raise the tolerance and acceptability of abusive behavior to level of national culture and policy. What could go wrong??
Dr Gordon, I know of your work. (I served on a brain injury advisory committee some years ago.) I’ll add here for others reading, that when TBI is not recognized, those who have it aren’t provided with the correct treatment, if any at all. Treating symptoms as though they fall under the umbrella of “mental illness” can be counterproductive. They need time and space and assistance with processing and navigating, among many other things. Rest and quiet space can be far more productive (restorative) than support groups, talk therapy and meds.
Thanks for posting this comment.
Anyone interested, search “homelessness and traumatic brain injury”
PS: I said I’m familiar with your work. It occurred to me after posting, that it may have been a different Dr Gordon who surveyed people experiencing homelessness and people in prisons and showed a high percentage of TBI in both populations. Either way, thanks for posting.