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
A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, former police Sergeant Stephen Matakovich, and the company in charge of security for Heinz Field by 20-year-old Gabriel Despres after the young man was viciously beaten before being charged with felony aggravated assault while attending a championship high school football game at
On Monday, September 26, a 16-year-old Houston, Texas, resident was awarded nearly $8 million in a sexual assault case against her former employer, nationwide fast-food chain Chipotle. After deliberating for just three hours, the jury ordered the restaurant pay the victim $7.65 million in damages subsequent to finding them accountable for the abuse she suffered at
Home to Roost On September 11th, 2001, I drove home from work along the freeways of southern Michigan looking for things. Absurd as it now seems, I kept an eye on the ten and twenty-story glass buildings clustered in Southfield. I scanned that unforgettably blue sky for any rogue airliner that might be evading the
On Thursday, September 29, California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring every single-stall bathroom in the state be made available to all genders. The gender-neutral bathroom bill was designed to ensure the LGBTQ community has access to public restrooms in the state, along with parents and caretakers of opposite-sex children and adults, without facing
Talk about making waves in the fashion industry. Bionic Yarn, an eco-friendly company whose co-founder and creative director is multi-talented entertainer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams, has figured out a way to look good while still doing good for the planet. Using reclaimed plastic bottles, many of which are removed from ocean shores, Bionic Yarn turns
Maverick libertarian economist and author Tyler Cowen argues in his book Average is Over that in the coming years, American society will deeply bifurcate into Haves and Have-Nots. The lucky Haves will become (or remain) quite wealthy by developing tech-based skills that allow them to partner with intelligent computers. This will enable them to work
On Wednesday, September 28, a 14-year-old South Carolina boy went to Townville Elementary School and opened fire, wounding two young boys and a teacher before being subdued by a volunteer firefighter until police arrived. One of the boys suffered a wound to his foot while the other sustained a shot to his leg; the teacher
In what I’m sure comes as a surprise to no one, Donald Trump allegedly pushed his workers to fire any female employees he found unattractive and replace them with “pretty ones” at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos, California. According to a 2012 lawsuit, employees alleged they were constantly pressured by Trump to