In 2007, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver died from a preventable brain infection. The Maryland youth suffered from a tooth infection that spread to his brain after his family, who had difficulty finding a dentist who would take Medicaid before their coverage lapsed, was unable to afford dental care. After Deamonte’s death, then-Maryland governor Martin O’Malley introduced
After conducting a two-year investigation into the actions of former NSA employee Edward Snowden, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a summary of their findings on Thursday, September 15, 2016; one day before the new film “Snowden” hits theaters. Only three pages of the 36-page report are unclassified, with the other 33 pages
What is fairness? We all know it when we see it, right? Yet somehow, we keep disagreeing with each other about what is fair, especially when we feel like we’re the ones getting shafted in any given situation. I submit to you that the problem lies in the multiple competing definitions of “fairness” that vary
In a unanimous ruling, a U.S. appellate court held Monday that U.S. citizens have no right to elect their governments. By a vote of 3-0 a panel of Sixth Circuit judges ruled against a complaint that challenged Michigan’s emergency manager law on constitutional grounds. Brought by a group of union officials, municipal officials and pastors,
In April of 2013 in the city of Ottumwa, Iowa, 16-year-old Kraigen Grooms live-streamed himself raping a baby girl believed to be between the ages of 12-18 months old while another man in New Orleans recorded and watched the gruesome act. After being identified through social media with the help of a Facebook group known
President Barack Obama has a few things left he’d like to do before leaving office, one of which is designating the first-ever marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean that he will announce today during the Our Ocean conference in Washington, D.C.. Environmental activists couldn’t be happier, as the particular area of ocean has remained
On Tuesday, September 13, 2016, California became the first state in the country to ban the breeding of killer whales and orca entertainment shows after Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will also make it illegal to keep them in captivity. The law will go into effect in June of 2017. The legislation stipulates
It’s hard to remember the days before social media existed. You know, the days when kids rode their bikes with their friends and played outside; when grown adults contributed more to society than cyber-hate behind the anonymity of their computer screens; when people actually read books, went to the library and used the Encyclopedia Britannica
What is the economy for? On the surface, the answer is easy. The economy is the production and distribution of the goods and services that people want or need to live. The term may be politically loaded nowadays, but the concept is basic. Even hunter/gatherers have an economy, though it might be very different from
After months of protesting by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of a $3.8 billion oil pipeline designed to cover four states and carry 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the government has finally stepped in and all I can say is: it’s about time. Despite a ruling by