humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of politicians, legislators, activists, women in politics and the everyday voter.
October Years
Ask anyone who has reached that certain age if they are better off than their parents were. In this age when refined etiquette and dapper sophistication are sadly missing one who has attained that milestone of longevity many would be hard pressed to say that they are better off than their parents. The golf cart reality of my generation long for the days of all those yesteryears of long ago. Now, more than a half century latter we find ourselves perplexed, filled with bewilderment of how things have turned upside down.
By Dr. Williams7 years ago in The Swamp
Sulawesi Disaster
The country of Indonesia has always proved a difficult place to live throughout human history. This is cause of its location on the belt of fire, the portion of the world that wraps around the Pacific ocean that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Its thousands of islands are littered with active volcanoes. The people of this nation are no stranger to natural bred chaos. Although on the 28th of September mother nature would concoct one of those abnormal events that would cost the lives of thousands. The event ignited when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake ruptured the earths surface near Lende; a small town on the northern part of one of the nations islands. The massive quake would ripple on to form a titan 20 foot wave that would roll right into the bay leading toward the city of Palu. The town of Donggala, city of Palu, Petobo and Balaroa were all severely impacted by the tsunami. Palu got the short end of stick taking the brunt of the wave, this cost thousands of homes to be damaged and the cities biggest bridge to collapse. After several days the death toll has racked up to well over 1,500 people, with a few thousand people still believed to be unaccounted for. 2.4 million in total are believed to have been effected in some way by the fall out of this catastrophe, 600,000 of those are said to be children. The large scale body count is highly due to a warnings system failure, reports from on the ground news agencies said people had little time to prepare for what was to come. Although the Indonesian government may not be to blame. Scientist are speculating over the fact that earthquakes that take place on land usually do not go on to form tsunamis, in retrospect claiming the secondary natural disaster to be no doubt a rare event.
By Carlos Guerra7 years ago in The Swamp
Dare I Say the Word?
Dare I say the word? Thank you, media! You've completely tarnished the reputation of most Arabs and Muslims all around the world. I'm a 32-year-old Arab Muslim male, living in a conflicted state of mind. For the majority of my life, I've lived in the US, but I identify as Arab or Middle Eastern. I've never used the internet to voice my opinions before. I've never been publicly political or religious. My Facebook and Instagram are mainly funny posts and pics from my travels. So why am I all of a sudden interested in sharing my thoughts with the world? Well, I heard someone speak recently, and he opened my eyes to the power of social media. How one idea, one picture, one share, one click can make a huge difference in today's world. So if this article reaches even one person and changes their perception on Muslims and Arabs, then at least I've made a difference somewhere. Now, to be completely honest with you i'm not the most religion person ever, there are even some aspects of the religion that I don't personally agree with. My point isn't to spread religion, just to shine some light on the subject.
By A Bonafide Sapien7 years ago in The Swamp
Jose Antonio Vargas and Joy Reid at Powerhouse Arena
I first heard about Jose Antonio Vargas in 2007 from my wife Tina. She was editing Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's Wikipedia pages, and Jose had called her for an interview in a article he was writing for The Washington Post about the impact of Wikipedia on that Presidential election. Those were early days in the advent of social media—or what I call New New Media (buying a book online is new media, creating a book online is new new media, or consumers becoming producers). Twitter and YouTube were just a year old, and Wikipedia, though a little older, was not allowed as a reference in student papers in probably every class except mine at Fordham University. But it was a new new medium par excellence —anyone who could read an article on Wikipedia could edit it—and Tina and Jose recognized its importance.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Immigration
Broken systems tend to destroy the things that pass through them. America’s immigration system is broken. It is amassed with government officials who do not yield to compassion. The immigration system is strenuous; its complexity leaves people feeling frustrated, dismayed, and powerless. The system leaves the lives of the individuals that pass through it in ruins.
By Carolina Vazquez7 years ago in The Swamp
Impoverished Nation
When the Peterson Foundation sited medium incomes for 2017 they implied that Americans are earning more than in previous years. Not so. When we take a closer look into the demographics of all Americans today medium incomes don't tell the true sorry state of where this country is in. First off medium means the average based upon those earning the most and figure into the equation those who are in low income levels. Where more higher incomes come into the fold it boosts the average incomes so that we really don't realize the actual facts about the majority of workers who are faced with little or no increases in wages. For African Americas their incomes are pretty bleak. They have seen their incomes levels decrease every year for the past few years. For them the majority, not the average income is at or below the poverty level of $36,000 per year. For the rest of us whether we are Asian or Caucasian income levels for the majority have all shrunk.
By Dr. Williams7 years ago in The Swamp
Politics A Level
Multiculturalism is often criticized for breeding tension and social conflict. However, critics of multiculturalism have argued this case in different ways depending on the political tradition from which they come. On the other hand, multiculturalists strongly reject this view arguing that multiculturalism is in fact a way of relieving tension and reducing social conflict.
By Natalie G.7 years ago in The Swamp
Homeless in Paradise
Southern California is stereotypically known as the land of dreams. The weather is almost always perfect, year round. Palm trees sway in the breeze. Winters are typically mild and welcoming. Tropical flowers decorate the landscape. Tourists in designer sunglasses and name brand clothing crowd the sidewalks and local shopping areas. The ocean, desert, and ski resorts are all accessible, within hours of each other. Many of the people who live in Southern California are some of the wealthiest in the nation. Sadly though, things aren’t always glamorous for the residents here.
By Marsha Morgan Medina7 years ago in The Swamp
