#5SmartReads - April 14, 2022

Hitha on Old Lady Attitude, one of my new heroes, and the reality of Texas anti-transgender children law

The FDA’s Food Failure (Politico)

It’s easy to forget the FDA stands for the Food and Drug Administration…because the food regulation is kind of slacking compared to the drug side.

This lack of leadership is killing Americans. And that’s not an exaggeration.

“This government dysfunction has a real impact on people's lives. The CDC estimates that more than 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 people die from foodborne illnesses each year – a toll that has not lessened after a sweeping update to food safety a decade ago.”

I don’t mean disrespect to this incredibly important agency, which has a lot of smart people working there with the best intentions to help us be healthier and safer. But without proper leadership and resources (and acknowledging that the very deep pockets of food lobbying groups have made their impact felt), there’s nothing they can do to make the food we consume safer for us.

It’s a criticism I hold both parties accountable for, and I yearn for any administration to act on reforming the food division with the urgency and resources it needs.

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How Congresswoman Katherine Clark Gets It Done (The Cut)

In case the previous read made you lose hope in our government, don’t. There are some incredible members of Congress you may not have heard of because their heads are down doing the work.

Assistant Speaker of the House Katherine Clark is one of them.

This powerhouse is incredibly relatable (she has text chains with friends - albeit hers are fellow lawmakers), looks at her phone first thing when she wakes up, and has her own experiences caregiving both her parents and her children at the same time), and I feel so seen by her and grateful that this brilliant person - who could’ve done anything else - chooses to work every day to make our lives better.

I stan. Also, I love her hair.

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Angry Drivers, Lots of Guns: An Explosion in Road Rage Shootings (New York Times)

As a NYT subscriber, I’m able to gift access to 10 articles a month. Tapping on this won’t impact your allowed number of articles, so click away!

I know the attention is on the tragic subway shooting that happened this week in New York, and rightfully so.

But road shootings? Equally (if not more) terrifying, and far more common. And of course, data isn’t being systematically collected and shared between police departments (and even if there was data, the ATF is not sufficiently funded right now to do much with it).

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I’ve Got OLA—Old Lady Attitude— and I’m Totally Cool With It (ZORA)

I’ve never felt a deeper kinship with an article than this one.

I want OLA merch. I want a tattoo. And I want to live my best OLA and OLE (Old Lady Energy) life as much as possible.

“My temperament is changing, and my expectations are more realistic about everything and everyone while I have OLE and OLA, I’ve always been no-nonsense. I’m patient, but don’t cross me. My OLA will give you a hug after a good correction and I won’t hold a grudge, but I will remind you when you’ve crossed me again.”

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Distraught over orders to investigate trans kids’ families, Texas child welfare workers are resigning (Texas Tribune)

Just because something is legal, doesn’t make it right.

The transgender youth law in Texas is one example of that. And with more and more child welfare workers resigning because they find it impossible to do the work of enforcing said law, more vulnerable children will suffer.

This article goes into deep detail in how these cases are being investigated, the way the law is being applied (and the contradictions that come within the application of the law).

But let’s be clear. There’s nothing about this law that’s designed to protect children and families, as gender-affirming care is carefully administered and tailored to the individual child. Laws that ban or investigate parents who are helping children live their most authentic lives are wrong and will hurt far more children than help them (not just my take - it’s also the position of the American Medical Association).