Send in the Clowns

Beginning last August, a wave of creepy clowns swept the collective consciousness. The first few examples were but a trickle: mysterious sightings in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that ended up being a marketing ploy, an incident in Greenville, South Carolina, where clowns tried to lure children and adults into the woods. Perhaps these events inspired others


McDonald’s Employees File 15 Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

Fifteen employees from various locations throughout the country have recently filed federal sexual harassment complaints against fast-food giant McDonald’s through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Though the EEOC is legally barred from confirming whether discrimination charges have been filed, a group of workers who are pushing for unionization and higher pay known as “Fight”


NCAA Now Facing 43 Lawsuits Over Football Concussions

Last week, 18 additional class action lawsuits were filed against the NCAA for their alleged mishandling of concussions, bringing the total number to an astonishing 43. The players involved in the cases are seeking damages for injuries they claim are a direct result of concussions they sustained throughout their college football careers that were not


IRS Scam Callers Closer to Justice

In a deeply satisfying turn of events last week, 70 people were arrested in Thane, near Mumbai, India, for allegedly posing as IRS workers to cheat Americans. The IRS scam calls have increased in recent years as entire call centers were staffed by people whose full time job was to call Americans, especially recent immigrants,


Amber and Josh, A Potential Conversation

Amber brings two coffees and sets one down in front of Josh, the green feathers of her rising-phoenix tattoo glinting in the sunlight. “It’s all about trust,” Josh continues. He has begun explaining why he and Amber will be voting for Hillary Clinton. “So you started without me,” Amber says as she sits. Amber and


Georgia Faces Lawsuit Over Fining Abuse Victims

On Wednesday, September 5, the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a federal lawsuit in the state of Georgia on behalf of 22-year-old Cleopatra Harris against the city of Columbus, a number of police officers and judge Michael Cielinski after Harris was ordered to pay a fine for refusing to press charges against her boyfriend,


Civil Suit Against Ferguson Police Dismissed

A $40 million civil rights lawsuit filed by protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, against the city’s police force has been dismissed by a federal judge. The suit alleged the attending officers used excessive force during the demonstration, which began in response to the 2014 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed with his hands


Bipartisan Empathy: Is it a Trap?

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


Lawlessness

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