Calls Border Abuse “Horrific” and States Sessions’ Biblical Reference “Contrary to Everything I was Every Taught”
Via Onward Together, Secretary Hillary Clinton sent the following urgent message this morning:
“What’s happening to families at the border right now is horrific: Nursing infants ripped away from their mothers. Parents told their toddlers are being taken to bathe or play, only to realize hours later that they aren’t coming back. Children incarcerated in warehouses and, according to more than one account, kept in cages. This is a moral and humanitarian crisis. Everyone of us who has ever held a child in their arms, and every human being with a sense of compassion and decency should be outraged.
Even as I warned this could happen on the campaign trail–that Trump’s immigration policies would result in families being separated, parents being sent away from their children, people rounded up on trains and buses–I hoped it would never come to be. But now, as we watch with broken hearts, that’s exactly what’s happening.
We can be heartbroken, but we shouldn’t be hopeless. There’s something you can do to help.
The test of any nation is how we treat the most vulnerable among us. First Lady Laura Bush made that case eloquently in the Washington Post this weekend, writing: “This zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.” She’s absolutely right. We should be a better country than one that tears families apart, turns a blind eye to women fleeing domestic violence, and treats frightened children as a means to a political end.
Meanwhile, Jeff Sessions is trying to use the Bible to justify this cruelty. Let me say this: I went to a lot of years of Sunday school and even taught it from time to time, and what is being done using the name of religion is contrary to everything I was ever taught.
I still believe in the vision we share for our country, and I won’t let scared children become victims of partisan politics. Alongside the organizations that Onward Together partners with, we can and will elect politicians and enact legislation to protect the most vulnerable among us — but first, we have to address the urgent needs of families at the center of this crisis.
Make a contribution today, and your donation will go directly to the groups doing this work right now:
1. Seven Bridges Middle School opens, 2003. It seems like a long time ago now, and many town residents didn’t even live here yet when it happened – but what a big deal it was when Seven Bridges opened! Built at a cost of $32.5 million, Seven Bridges has since housed half of the district’s fifth-through-eighth graders and all of the children who attended those first years are now post-college age. Prior to the opening of Seven Bridges, fifth graders attended the elementary schools.
3. Chappaqua resident Hillary Clinton is re-elected to the Senate, 2006. Senator, Secretary of State, neighbor and valued community member; and so many in Chappaqua fervently wish her upward trajectory hadn’t stopped there. But who knows what the future holds? More from both Clintons, no doubt, and many in town were gratified when the pair solidified their roots by purchasing the property next door in 2016. Photo by Marianne Campolongo
4. Glass wall added to front of library, entrance re-configured, 2006-7. A bond vote to fund this project went down in the 90s so the library took the long view and started saving, library director Pamela Thornton said. Those who enjoy the bright and airy periodicals section in particular look back with gratitude.
5. Our Family of Readers statue comes to Chappaqua Library, 2010. It’s a terrific addition to a public space and perfect at sending a favored message of libraries: reading is for everyone. Created by sculptor Penelope Jencks, the sculpture was installed at Reader’s Digest headquarters in 1993 and presented to the library when the company left Chappaqua for Manhattan, Thornton said.
7. Chappaqua Community Garden opens, 2012. A space to grow at 233 N. Greeley Ave., this garden has “about 20 plots in the middle of town,” according to the website of Intergenerate, the organization that manages it. This year, expect to see black-eyed Susans, cosmos and more blooming in the pollinator garden outside the gate, Suzi Novak, the garden’s coordinator and Intergenerate board member, said. While there’s a short waiting list for spots in the Chappaqua garden, at press time there was plenty of room at the new community garden slated to open this spring on the site of the old Millwood Swim Club on Route 100, Novak said
8. Strawberry Festival reaches 75th year, 2012. And it made it to the 80th too–with no end in sight, this beloved event is low-key and lovely. Strawberry shortcake is never outdated.
The construction project, called Streetscape, will improve roads, sidewalks, public spaces and infrastructure as well as beautify with new street lamps and plants, as reported by The Inside Press last August. Downtown shoppers will be glad when the project’s completed which is scheduled for October of this year. 
14. New turf field and renovated track opens at Horace Greeley High School with a community celebration including obstacle courses, face painting, and a varsity football game on Sept. 8, 2017. Schools superintendent Christine Ackerman told the crowd at the celebration, “We are so fortunate to live in a community that supports our students in so many ways.” These were some of the projects funded by the bond approved in 2016.
