Facebook, for all of its flaws, is a rich source of food for thought if you have the right contacts. Today I was scrolling through my newsfeed when I came across a good friend’s homage to Ambrose Bierce, author of the Devil’s Dictionary and late 1800s prequel to the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen
For many cities with a significant homeless population, a lot of money, time, and effort goes into compelling them to move along. Various methods have been deployed, from spikes embedded in the sidewalk where homeless folks might take shelter from the elements, to the intermittent waterfall that a church in San Francisco built over its
In what is being called a “landmark settlement,” a Minnesota woman has won a lawsuit that will prevent the priest who sexually abused her from returning to the ministry in India. Megan Peterson was just 14-years-old when she alleged Father Joseph Jeyapaul raped and assaulted her in her hometown of Greenbush. The abuse took place
A 29-year-old woman was recently awarded a $175,000 cash settlement from the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a sanitation worker attempted to rape her in her home while on the job. The civil suit was filed by the victim in 2010 after city employee Marcel Sifuentes Rodriguez, who purportedly snorted cocaine just prior to
It was announced on Tuesday, September 27, that New York City has settled with the family of a mentally ill Rikers Island inmate who died in custody for $5.75 million. The information was provided to the press by attorneys for the family and the Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project, who helped work on the
During Tuesday’s first (and only) televised vice-presidential debate between Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine and Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, the issue of abortion was brought up, quickly changing the tone of exchange between the two men. When CBS news correspondent Elaine Quijano, who served as moderator of the debate, asked the question
After what was supposed to be a routine gynecological procedure, a California woman realized it would wind up being anything but. Michelle Doig-Collins visited her OB/GYN in April 2016 for a uterine ablation and tubal ligation; the mother of three had been experiencing prolonged bleeding during her menstrual cycle, which left her in a great
In November of 2012, Cleveland resident Gasia Thomas (pronounced Jay-zuh), who was 12-years-old at the time, was walking to school with her younger sister when she touched a downed power line that remained on the ground after falling during Superstorm Sandy. As a result, the young girl suffered a severe traumatic brain injury among other
Out in the rural hinterlands, it’s not unusual to pass yards with “Protect Religious Freedom” signs. Religious Freedom has become a dog whistle in recent years, with the “Religion” part understood to mean the speaker’s preferred brand of Christianity, and “Freedom” meaning, in practice, the ability to force others, who may not necessarily believe the
With last August’s 500-year flooding in Louisiana fresh in their minds, our pals over at FEMA are editing their flood insurance maps again. These maps are intended to be a reality-based assessment of the likely risk of damage from flooding, with people in the most vulnerable areas having to pay more, often significantly more, for flood