On the problem of gun violence in the United States

18Nov13

How do we address gun violence in our society? The truth is, we need to study violence from the aspect of public health. Members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society say that doing this will be far more effective than treating the symptoms (such as the prevalence of guns out there, the types of guns available […]

Filed under: Gun Rights, Opinion, Politics   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 2nd Amendment, CeaseFire, Chicago, Crime, Democrats, Gary Slutkin, Gun control, gun laws, gun rights, Gun violence, lawmakers, Mass murder, media, Mental health, NRA, Pennsylvania Medical Society, Republicans, violence, Violent crime

Walmart’s Employment Model is a Recipe for Eventual Self-Destruction

14Jul13

Also posted on Addicting Info There are memes floating around the Internet regarding Walmart’s employment model vs. Costco’s employment model, and how Costco’s profits have gone up while Walmart is finding itself in trouble. People are calling on Walmart to pay its employees living wages, saying that if Costco, Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, and more, can […]

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Politics   |  4 Comments
Tags: business costs, business practices, Costco, employee turnover, employment practices, job market, jobs, Labor, Living wage, Minimum wage, skilled labor, turnover costs, unskilled labor, Walmart, Wegman

Live Below the Line, Day 5: My Eyes Have Been Opened

03May13

It’s the last day. I just plain don’t feel well now. I’m unusually tired, I’m perpetually nauseated, I have a seemingly permanent stomachache, and doing some of the more simple tasks around here takes a load of energy I didn’t realize it took before. You become sort of used to the hunger, it becomes a […]

Filed under: Opinion   |  3 Comments
Tags: Developed country, Developing country, Extreme poverty, hunger, Live Below the Line, poor, Poverty, poverty in the U.S., Sub-Saharan Africa, U.S., UNICEF, World Bank, World Development Indicators

Live Below the Line, Day 4

02May13

    I found that merely going up and down the stairs today was more difficult than I’m used to. The hunger itself…has changed from the usual pangs and growlings to absolutely horrible cravings. I’ve had people advising me to go to the store and get lentils for additional protein and nutrients on the cheap, […]

Filed under: Opinion   |  1 Comment
Tags: #belowtheline, employment, hunger, Labor, Live Below the Line, Poverty, poverty line, poverty rate, Poverty threshold, public assistances, the poor, U.S., worldwide povery

Live Below the Line: Day 2

30Apr13

I seem to have a persistent headache today, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s because I’m hungry or if it’s something else. I’ve been hungry like this before, but I was always able to get something filling that would stop the hunger pangs. Today, while my meals are quieting them down, they aren’t […]

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Politics   |  1 Comment
Tags: #belowtheline, hunger, Live Below the Line, Philanthropy, Poverty, starvation, UNICEF, United States, worldwide poverty

Live Below the Line, Day 1. Would You be Able to do This?

29Apr13

One of the challenges I’ve decided to take on is the Live Below the Line challenge this week. Live Below the Line is basically subsisting on $1.50 of food per day or less, for five days. According to their website, livebelowtheline.com, the amount of $1.50 was chosen because this is the globally accepted figure for […]

Filed under: Opinion   |  6 Comments
Tags: developing nations, Extreme poverty, hunger, Live Below the Line, Poverty, Poverty threshold, starvation, World Bank

Reactions to guilty verdict in Steubenville rape case spotlight rape culture in the U.S.

19Mar13

Following the guilty verdict in the Steubenville, Ohio rape case, a lot of people, including media personalities, expressed sympathy for the rapists regarding how their lives will be affected now that they’re convicted sex offenders. It’s hard to find nearly as much sympathy for the victim, however, showing that we are still very much a […]

Filed under: Opinion, Women's Rights   |  4 Comments
Tags: CNN, current-events, Facebook, Ohio, Rape, rape apologists, Rape culture, rape law, society, Steubenville Ohio, Twitter

Michele Bachmann: Why she needs to go

17Mar13

The fact that Michele Bachmann isn’t the most intelligent person around is not an especially well-kept secret. In her bid for the 2012 presidential election, she made a particularly grandiose promise to bring the price of gasoline down to $2 a gallon, demonstrating a severe lack of understanding about what actually drives the price of […]

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Politics   |  4 Comments
Tags: 2012 election, Bachmann, Barack Obama, Congressional Budget Office, Home Affordable Modification Program, Michele Bachmann, Obama, payroll tax holiday, tax cuts, taxes

Men are NOT just animals that are slaves to their instincts

11Mar13

In the last election, and even since then, we were made aware of just how much rape culture still persists in the U.S. To be clear: the term “rape culture” does not refer to a culture of rapists, and a culture that thinks rape is just fine. Rather, “rape culture” refers to putting the burden […]

Filed under: Opinion   |  10 Comments
Tags: Crime, men, Rape, Rape culture, Sex Offenses, Sexual assault, women's issues, women's rights

When the national debt matters and when it doesn’t

10Mar13

Since the deficit has become such a huge political issue, politicians on all sides feel they must address it. Okay, fine. Let’s address it. First of all, what Congressional Republicans want is austerity. Both Greece and the U.K. have put on fantastic demonstrations of why austerity doesn’t work. In the last quarter of 2010, after […]

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Politics   |  16 Comments
Tags: austerity, Barack Obama, budget, budget deficit, deficit spending, Economic growth, GDP, GOP, government spending, Gross domestic product, national debt, sequester, spending cuts, tax cuts, tax increases, taxes, United States