US Congress Demands Security, Ignores Root Cause
The U.S. House is dramatically increasing funding for lawmakers' personal security, citing rising threats and a 'growing sentiment' that service isn't worth the risk. Members will now access $20,000 per month for home and travel security, plus funds for fences and ballistic windows. (How cozy.) This comes as Congress consistently greenlights endless wars and funnels billions in military aid to
conflict zones, like the recent $14 billion to the Israeli government (HR 815, 2024), against public outcry. Maybe the 'risks' hitting close to home are consequences of the risks they impose on others? One might wonder if the public's boiling frustration, labeled as 'threats,' is less about 'individual crazy people' and more a reaction to a government prioritizing proxy wars and corporate profits
over its own citizens' well-being. A mobile 'duress program' allows discreet alerts for law enforcement. Perhaps a similar discreet alert could be sent to lawmakers *before* they vote to prolong human suffering abroad, inadvertently creating the very instability they now fear domestically. Just a thought.