Weekly Reality Report

August 29, 2024

What is the Weekly Reality Report?

The Weekly Reality Report is published every week for paying subscribers. It includes a roundup of the previous week’s articles on Reality’s Last Stand, a reading list of interesting opinion pieces with summaries from around the web, relevant news headlines to keep you informed, and a special Moment of Zen.

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An Evening with Richard Dawkins

I am honored to be hosting Richard Dawkins in Portland, OR, on October 4 at the Schnitzer Concert Hall! Tickets to this event are available now at the link below.

Please comment any questions you would like me to ask him.

Endangering Vulnerable Kids | Christina Buttons

For City Journal, Christina Buttons, an independent journalist, wrote about the potentially harmful effects of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's child welfare policies, particularly focusing on the recently enacted Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act. While hailed by progressives as a step towards racial equity, the law has raised concerns for endangering some of the state's most vulnerable children. The legislation aims to reduce racial disparities in child protection cases by making it more difficult to remove "disproportionately represented" children, such as those from Black or minority backgrounds, from homes where they may face neglect or abuse. However, critics argue that this approach has kept children in unsafe environments under the guise of promoting racial equity, potentially exposing them to further harm.

Buttons highlights the troubling trends in Minnesota's child welfare system, pointing out that Black children are disproportionately represented in child maltreatment cases and face a higher risk of fatal outcomes. She underscores the law's provisions that weaken the standards for removing children from harmful situations and prioritize rapid reunification with families, despite Minnesota's high rate of failed reunifications and repeat abuse cases. The article further critiques the redefinition of terms like "imminent physical danger," which may prevent necessary interventions in cases of parental substance abuse—a significant factor in many child welfare cases. According to Buttons, these policy changes, while intended to address racial disparities, could inadvertently lead to more preventable deaths among vulnerable children, raising serious concerns about the direction of Minnesota’s child welfare reforms.

Read the full article.