Opinions
Everyone can help kids avoid preventable deaths
“I learned in my childhood in Africa that a child may be born in poverty but poverty is never born in a child. The worst aspects of poverty are not the deplorable outward conditions, but rather the erosion and eventual destruction of hope and therefore dreams.” Too Small To Ignore, Dr. Wess Stafford
Billy Bob discusses touchy subject of gay rights
In the world of alternative dispute resolution, the parties are represented by equally articulate and intelligent advocates. These are their stories. [“Law and Order” sound. You know the one.]
When the numbers are considered, guns are good
Last week, the Law Weekly published an opinion piece by Naureen Mohammad decrying the persistence of D.C. gun violence in the wake of last year's Heller decision. Ms. Mohammad wrote the piece after finding a handgun under a flight of stairs at the Columbia Heights Metro stop.
Redesigning Humans or Humanity?
“Redesigning humans … that’s really what we’re about to embark upon.” – Dr. Gregory Stock, UCLA School of Medicine
Flying is an excercise in courage and psychology
The image on the news is one of nightmares. A cargo plane in Japan soars up into the air like any other, falters, then plunges back into the cement, exploding into a fireball, and flipping down the runway as flames and smoke fly from the wreckage.
Marijuana policy: now more even more misleading!
As many people are likely aware, Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced a new Obama administration policy regarding the use of federal resources to conduct operations against dispensaries involved in providing medical marijuana. Under the new rules, the federal government will only raid dispensaries that are determined to be operating in violation of both state and federal law.
Stewart versus Cramer telling of media failings
I am not an economic expert by any means. At an Oklahoma “Odyssey of the Mind” competition over ten years ago, I came in third place in the state in the economics category, but I have no idea how I did it. I don't understand complex financial instruments, barely even understand mortgages, and if someone tries to explain a concept as simple as short-selling to me, my brain looks for an escape hatch.
Taxes a tool for social good, not bullying to conform
Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill imposing a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid out by certain companies receiving federal bailout funds to certain employees. The legislation, which was passed in response to public outrage over bonuses paid to employees of insurance company AIG, is attempting to recover these paid bonuses that were otherwise allowed by an amendment to the bailout bill (and for those of you who haven’t been following “As the Bailout Turns,” in our last episode Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd claimed that it was the Obama Administration, specifically Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner that pushed for said amendment, while Geithner seemed to point the finger at Dodd).
Unanswered questions taint DPS firing
Officer Gabriel Spencer, who has protected our campus for more than eight years, was fired on Mar. 13 without ever being able to see the accusations made against him. Officer Spencer worked the graveyard shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., five nights a week, patrolling the campus so that each of us can sit safely in class preparing to one day be part of the justice system.
Guns in D.C. are still foolishly dangerous after Heller
On my way to Ani DiFranco’s concert on Saturday, Mar. 7, I found a gun under the stairs at the Columbia Heights metro, which is somewhat ironic because my favorite Ani song is "To the Teeth," a musical rant against the media and politicians who glorify and defend guns. The gun was just lying on the ground where anyone, even a child, could have picked it up and used it. Leaving a gun in a public place within the reach of a toddler is not only illegal but also morally reprehensible.