 So, I always try to avoid hyperbole when speculating about the motivations of particular lawmakers when their actions are seemingly unexplainable, but when it comes to this particular story, I don't know what other word to use than evil, because what Mitch McConnell is doing here is soulless, it's cruel, and I'm sorry, it's just plain evil. So, as Jake Johnson of Common Dreams explains, federal waivers that have given U.S. schools the flexibility to offer universal free lunches throughout the pandemic or at risk of ending as Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell, Stonewall are proposed extension of the relief measures potentially depriving millions of children of no-cost meals in the coming months. Politico reported Monday that McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, is forcefully opposing a provision to extend the federal school lunch waivers as part of an omnibus government funding package that Congress must pass by midnight Friday to avert a shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that the average school district will face a 40% cut in federal reimbursements for meals if Congress allows the waivers first approved in March 2020 and extended thereafter to lapse. The USDA's authority to extend the school meal waivers further is currently set to expire at the end of June. Research shows that the school meal waivers in concert with other federal relief programs have helped alleviate costs for low-income families during the pandemic and reduce hunger among poor children, a widespread problem in the United States. So for whatever reason, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is forcefully opposing an extension of a program that prevents children from skipping meals and potentially going hungry. Now, if you think that this wasn't a problem, it is a problem and it's a problem that very much was exacerbated due to the pandemic that, believe it or not, is still going on even if currently we're in a good position where cases and deaths are down. So looking at the 2021 report released by Feeding America, it shows specifically the way that the pandemic has made this issue worse and in 2021 they projected that one in eight people or 42 million Americans, 13 million of which are children, may experience food insecurity. Now, we'll have to wait to see the actual data and the numbers, but this was their projection as of last year. And those at risk of food insecurity saw their situations deteriorate due to poverty and unemployment because of the pandemic specifically. And this is an issue predictably that affects indigenous, black and Latinos disproportionately. So they will be worse off as a result of this program ending if that is indeed what happens. And of course, single parent households are at greater risk of food insecurity because they only have a single income to go off of as opposed to double parent households where they have potentially two sources of income. So overall, the question is, why, why would you be against this? I get that Republicans don't care about the poor, they don't care if people are suffering in this country, but this is something that's really just an easy thing that members of Congress can do to alleviate suffering. And Mitch McConnell is leading Republicans to stonewall this effort. It's just this is incredibly seemingly reductionist, but it's just evil. He's just doing this to be evil because he's a bad person. And maybe he's trying to use people who are food insecure as a bargaining chip. I'm not sure, but either way, this is gross. So let's get to some reactions. 2022 congressional candidate Nina Turner says this is evil, evil. Kyle Kalinsky writes, comic book villain shit, totally agree there. US Senate candidate from Kentucky actually, Charles Booker writes, Mitch McConnell never needed free lunch to get a hot meal at school. He never needed food stamps to survive. Nearly half of Kentucky's children live in households below 200% of the federal poverty line. I was one of them. He doesn't see us. And it's true that Mitch McConnell doesn't see you because he doesn't have to think about you. He never has to think about food insecurity or poverty in general, because he and his wife are very grotesquely wealthy. Forbes estimates that him and his wife are worth anywhere between 20 to $75 million. That is insane. So part of it is ignorance and privilege. And I'm sorry, but part of it, it has to be just pure evil. And I love how nobody is surprised by this, right? Everybody sees this news and we react in a way that is it's, you know, we're expressing disgust, but nobody thinks, wow, this is certainly uncharacteristic for Mitch McConnell. It's par for the course for him. We expect him to do things that are just unimaginably cruel that normal human beings with hearts wouldn't want to do. Most people, I think, are good people and they don't want to see people suffer in the United States where we don't have to let that happen, right? But he just doesn't care. He wants it to happen. I mean, as Kyle said, comic book villain shit. He likes being the bad guy to him. It's some sort of a benefit. But I mean, if you are a Republican Party voter, why are you still voting for this party? Why do you support a party that has time and again proven that they are targeting children for political purposes? It's not just this here where Mitch McConnell is making children who are already food insecure, more food insecure. They're also going after LGBTQ plus children in various states in Texas. They're claiming that a family who loves their trans child, who sought out gender affirmation care, is child abusers and they're going to investigate them. In Florida, they may very well pass the don't say gay law. In fact, it's passed the Senate, but it's just a matter of whether or not Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, will sign that into law. So constantly, they target children and they purport to be the family values party when they just, they don't care about children. They've demonstrated that time and again. So why do you keep voting for this party that is deliberately attacking families for purposes of political expediency? Why support them? Don't you feel bad yourself voting for this? I mean, I don't like to blame voters oftentimes, but at some point you've got to ask yourself, why do you continue to support a party that is pure evil going out of their way time and again to do things that hurts families in America? Why support this? Because of some issue, the deficit, the debt, I don't know, critical race theory, some manufactured cultural war issue that you believe is more salient than feeding children. Why support this? At some point you've got to take responsibility as a voter. This is your party, Republicans, so own it. Don't pretend to be a Christian. Don't pretend to be the party of family values when you keep voting for shit like this. Do yourself a favor and click the join button on YouTube to become a member. Because Mike's doing a great job getting to watch his videos before everyone else is tremendous. Many people are saying this. Join today, folks. You won't regret it.