war on poverty

Imagine Being Locked Up in Prison because of Bad Forensics

"Out of the 351 cases in which the Innocence Project used DNA to exonerate wrongfully convicted defendants, flawed forensic evidence contributed in nearly half. Many Americans, especially those who think shows like Forensic Files and CSI accurately represent real life, believe that forensic evidence presented in criminal trials must be valid. But we have known for years that many forensic evidence techniques are highly subjective and unreliable."

Continue ReadingImagine Being Locked Up in Prison because of Bad Forensics

Libya after US ‘liberation’: Where lives are auctioned for $400

"A recent clampdown by the Libyan coastguard means fewer boats are making it out to sea, leaving the smugglers with a backlog of would-be passengers on their hands. So the smugglers become masters, the migrants and refugees become slaves."

Continue ReadingLibya after US ‘liberation’: Where lives are auctioned for $400

Guess Why Hundreds of Bus Boys Just Lost Their Jobs

"Earning a small wage is better than earning nothing at all due to unemployment. It’s easy to vilify restaurants and other companies when they respond to higher costs with layoffs. But it’s important to place the blame where it belongs. In this case, it’s bad policy."

Continue ReadingGuess Why Hundreds of Bus Boys Just Lost Their Jobs

California Considers $1,000 Fine for Waiters Offering Unsolicited Plastic Straws

"The Democratic majority leader in California's lower house has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their beverages unless they specifically request one. Under Calderon's law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw in it would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000."

Continue ReadingCalifornia Considers $1,000 Fine for Waiters Offering Unsolicited Plastic Straws

Give Haircuts To Homeless Veterans, Receive Threats From Licensing Board

"A cosmetology license requires '25 weeks [of training], more than an EMT, certified nursing assistant or truck driver.' Ducey views the cosmetology board as 'bullies' and is urging the passage of Ugenti-Rita’s bill, which would make it easier to obtain a license."

Continue ReadingGive Haircuts To Homeless Veterans, Receive Threats From Licensing Board

Sessions Says to Courts: Go Ahead, Jail People Because They’re Poor

"Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions retracted an Obama-era guidance to state courts that was meant to end debtors’ prisons, where people who are too poor to pay fines are sent. These burdens fell disproportionately on African-Americans. The push to abolish debtors’ prisons will continue, as community advocates and local officials press on. It would be preferable, of course, for the federal government to fulfill its role as a leading protector of basic constitutional rights. Unfortunately, Mr. Sessions has made clear that under his leadership it will not."

Continue ReadingSessions Says to Courts: Go Ahead, Jail People Because They’re Poor

US Experimented on Hundreds of Poor Pregnant Women With Radiation

"Somewhere between 750 and 850 women were given trace amounts of radioactive iron in a 'cocktail' drink during their pregnancies by health officials they trusted. Dr. Paul Hahn, the lead researcher behind the experiments, claimed that the study was intended to record the absorption of iron during pregnancy. Vanderbilt spokesman Wayne Wood told the Washington Post that all of the files were destroyed by the research team in the 1970s."

Continue ReadingUS Experimented on Hundreds of Poor Pregnant Women With Radiation