The worst child molesters are in Congress and the White House

I watched the sentencing of Dr. Nassar, convicted of molesting under the age of consent Olympic athletes. CNN ran the court drama for hours, interjecting comments from their regular panelists telling us what a monster Nassar was, sometimes concluding that he is the worst child molester of all.

The judge told Nassar, “It is my honor and privilege to sentence you,” and observed, at one point: “Our Constitution does not allow for cruel and unusual punishment. If it did . . . I would allow some or many people to do to him what he did to others.”

So if Nassar should be repeatedly raped for his crimes, as the female judge suggested, what about the many worse child molesters, such as those who serve in Congress and the White House?

What about those who pass laws to give billions of dollars to billionaires and transnational corporations who do not give a damn about this country, even as millions of children go hungry in the richest nation on earth? Isn’t that child abuse? These are children whose hunger interferes with their education, and they do poorly in school because of it.

According to Feeding America, about 1 in 5 American children lack proper access to food at some point in the year.

Sixteen million American kids struggle with hunger each year.

Sixty-two percent of teachers say children in their classrooms come to school hungry.

Why don’t members of Congress shut down the government until something is done about this, like they try to do with phony Russia investigations? The reason is clear: poor children don’t contribute to campaign financing, and of course, they don’t vote.

If poor children were special interest fat cats who stuffed congressional pockets with money, they could get laws to do whatever they wished. They could trash our environment. They could steal billions from “defense” programs. They could protect themselves from bankster scams that impoverish millions.

Why doesn’t CNN do an hours-long program pointing out how poor children are made to suffer in the wealthiest nation on earth? Can it be because corporate media owners, board members and advertisers don’t give a damn about anything beyond enriching themselves at any cost to the public interest?

Most Americans are unaware that the disparity in wealth is worse in the USA than almost any other industrialized nation, because their controlled media makes this a low-profile story, and their Congress is concerned about financing campaigns above all else.

It should be obvious, therefore, that this massive, horrible child abuse is enabled by the major media, Congress and the White House. We should agree to call these people child molesters, as this atrocity goes unchecked decade after decade.

Each of the major media and elected members of the government have the ability to say they will do nothing else but headline this issue until it is resolved. The cost to taxpayers to feed poor children would be a fraction of what “defense” contractors steal from the public annually–money flushed down the public toilet.

Until this is done, we should refer to members of Congress and presidents as child molesters. People in other major industrialized nations would be outraged if something like this happened to their children. Americans are largely kept ignorant of the biggest problems in the country so that the ruling plutocrats can lie, cheat, and steal our resources.

Jack Balkwill has been published from the little read Rectangle, magazine of the English Honor Society, to the (then) millions of readers USA Today and many progressive publications/web sites such as Z Magazine, In These Times, Counterpunch, This Can’t Be Happening, Intrepid Report, and Dissident Voice. He is author of “An Attack on the National Security State,” about peace activists in prison.