Vision, Dignity, Achievement Sat, 12 Aug 2023 11:06:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2021-NCC-Logo-Site-Favicon-150x150.jpg 32 32 /2017/11/editorial-we-must-improve-our-treatment-of-puerto-rico/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editorial-we-must-improve-our-treatment-of-puerto-rico /2017/11/editorial-we-must-improve-our-treatment-of-puerto-rico/#respond Wed, 01 Nov 2017 18:41:38 +0000 https://72375d9a61.nxcli.io/?p=10794 Editorial By Monsignor William J. Linder
When Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico Sept. 20, the island hadn’t yet recovered from Hurricane Irma. Maria officially killed 49 people, though the actual number is likely higher, and caused catastrophic damage that has turned into a humanitarian crisis. More than a month later, the majority of the island is still without power and could be without it for many more months.
Residents there are also struggling to get water and food. Images show people waiting in long lines for basic supplies and even drinking water from contaminated sites.
Being without electricity and water is absurd in this day and age. We have to pool all the resources we can to make the people there whole as quickly as possible.
The government’s response to Puerto Rico was much different than what occurred after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Hurricane Irma hit Florida. Why? Prejudice. I think we’re treating the people of Puerto Rico like second class citizens.
Our country is better than that. Or it should be.
President Trump visited the island after the disaster but didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation. He’s not the one suffering. He lives in the White House, which has much more than the basic necessities.
The president has said the recovery effort in Puerto Rico is more difficult than the mainland United States because it’s an island and it was in poor shape before the hurricanes hit. This should not be an excuse to justify the slow recovery time.
The people of Puerto Rico continue to suffer. Without access to clean drinking water and power, the death toll from Hurricane Maria could grow even higher, which would be a great tragedy.
We have to correct this injustice facing our fellow Americans. If the president can’t, then he has to go.

]]> /2017/11/editorial-we-must-improve-our-treatment-of-puerto-rico/feed/ 0 /2017/03/editorial-trump-and-the-media/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editorial-trump-and-the-media /2017/03/editorial-trump-and-the-media/#respond Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:16:41 +0000 https://72375d9a61.nxcli.io/?p=10778 Editorial By Monsignor William J. Linder
President Donald Trump is back at his old antics.
Roughly after a month on the job, the President held a campaign-style rally because he said he wanted to speak directly to the people with his unfiltered message. Two days earlier, President Trump held a press conference at the White House where he stood up and painted the American news media as being “out of control.”
Let’s be clear on this point. The news media is the one that’s acting “out of control”?
During the campaign, then candidate Trump spouted off incendiary comments and sparred with the media, which were two guaranteed ways to garner lots of coverage. Remember, for this former reality television show host, any coverage is good coverage.
That is except if you’re talking about damaging internal leaks.
President Trump railed against the intelligence community for leaking information that ultimately caused Gen. Michael Flynn to get the boot as national security advisor, and similarly harangued the news media for reporting on the details released.
High level leaks are a gravely serious issue and should be dealt with. Even more so is the fact that the president appears to be at war with his own government’s intelligence-gathering agencies by labeling their actions as criminal and illegal. But I am also disturbed by the fact that President Trump sat for two weeks on information that raised concerns of whether Flynn had in fact lied. Action forcing Flynn to resign only came after the leaks became public knowledge and were reported by the media.
President Trump certainly threw Vice President Pence out in the cold, when Pence had to read for himself in news reports that Flynn had misled him regarding communications with Russia’s ambassador.
The firing of Flynn and the intelligence leaks that prompted his sudden departure further highlight a disturbing theme that has become deeply woven into the Trump administration’s narrative: its relationship with Russia.
And that’s the rub. The sound and fury generated by the Trump administration thus far, by rabidly attacking media outlets, has only served as a distraction from much more serious issues at hand.
What Flynn said to the Russian ambassador is still under investigation by the House Intelligence Committee.

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