Contrary to what many believe, a lot of us who've opposed the New Right and dare to criticize Trump 47 actually do wish that Trump 45 would come back. Trump's previous term actually did have a strong populist element; and the Globalists, Red Pills, and other assorted extremists were the ones sitting outside the fence throwing stones. That situation has very much been reversed, to put it mildly.
Thus when the President signed another Executive Order yesterday, we feared for the worst despite the superficial positive opening. After reading the official statement from the White House and the Executive Order itself (three times to make certain that I wasn't dreaming), it almost felt like 2017 all over again.
"Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe. The number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration — 274,224 — was the highest ever recorded. The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both. Nearly two-thirds of homeless individuals report having regularly used hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, or opioids in their lifetimes. An equally large share of homeless individuals reported suffering from mental health conditions. The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats.
Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order. Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens. My Administration will take a new approach focused on protecting public safety."
The 'new approach' is summarized as follows:
- The Order directs the Attorney General to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit State and local governments’ ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others.
- The Order requires the Attorney General to work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Transportation to prioritize grants for states and municipalities that enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders.
- The Order redirects funding to ensure that individuals camping on streets and causing public disorder and that are suffering from serious mental illness or addiction are moved into treatment centers, assisted outpatient treatment, or other facilities.
- The Order ensures discretionary grants for substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery do not fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use.
- The Order stops sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children, and allows programs to exclusively house women and children.
This move was long overdue. The scourge of homelessness/vagrancy has been a blot on our society for far too long, and the President is correct in saying that the policies pretending to address the problem have failed. Of the number of around 275,000 cited in Executive Order, it's estimated that about 1/2 to 2/3 of that total infest the West Coast. Some cities in California, Oregon, and Washington have become virtually uninhabitable because of it.