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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA tiny light in a MAGA relative . . .
A niece has a child with epilepsy. She has been diving deep into the research on epilepsy - so she has a good idea what her daughter is up against both financially and medically. (Incidentally, her daughter is at higher risk for seizures resulting in death while sleeping - which seems to be what killed Jessica Aber - former US attorney)
But she inherited her politics from her dad - she's the only female on that side of the family who is in the Trump cult (most of the males are; most of the women are on the mid to far left). I have been struggling not to be rude to her about her how her daughter's health needs conflict with her politics.
Well - at least that bulb is now lit. The CDC Epilepsy program was hit with cuts today - which she just posted about.
I'm not sure it is devastating (her word) enough to be more than a dimly lit bulb . . . but better than nothing.
And . . . I wonder if the cuts to the epilepsy program aren't payback, in some way, for Jessica Aber's work which would not have made any friends in the Trump administration.

marybourg
(13,369 posts)What I haven't been able to figure out is why she didn't realize they were coming for her since the day her daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy - at least a year ago. It isn't as if they were hiding what they intended to do to all those "freeloading cripples."
marybourg
(13,369 posts)Never them.
One of the many tricks our minds play to protect ourselves?
GoneOffShore
(17,778 posts)I've posted a particularly relative paragraph.
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/27/us-disability-rights-trump
Historically, the way a government treats disabled people can be an early indicator of its broader social policy intentions.
For instance, disabled people are the proverbial canary in the coal mine with respect to the effects of global climate change.
“Disabled and older people face significant barriers during these disasters, such as the inability to evacuate … or [access] important information,” said the MacArthur Fellow and Disability Visibility author Alice Wong via email. “As someone who is ventilator dependent, power outages are a concern during storms or wildfires that trigger rolling blackouts. I am privileged enough to have some backup batteries but they would not last more than one to two days. I guffaw when federal and state agencies give advice such as preparing a go bag and stocking extra medications because that is simply out of reach for many disabled people.”
(In 1933 Germany) a law called for compulsory sterilization of those with “hereditary diseases” including deafness, blindness, schizophrenia, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, chronic alcoholism and a host of other conditions. A 1935 expansion of the law required mandatory abortions on the fetus of a parent with one of the listed conditions. Approximately 400,000 disabled people were sterilized in Germany and annexed territories during this period.