Author Archive for Kevin Pease
Hands off my Humanities
Recent economic developments have forced humanities departments across the country to defend their positions more fiercely than ever. With the market turned south and funding pulling a Houdini, money needs to be redistributed in higher education. Many institutions have chosen to cut humanities first because of its perceived lack of practical application.
Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke it
The battle over marijuana took a significant turn as the Supreme Court left California’s Compassionate Use Act, which allows the use of medical marijuana, intact by refusing to hear a suit filed by the San Diego and San Bernardino counties. Local officials in the two counties would not allow their residents to use cannabis as part of their treatment plans and had hoped that the United States Supreme Court would support them. Now, the counties must distribute cards allowing for medical marijuana use.
Raping Justice One Kit at a Time
The rape kit’s importance cannot be underestimated. However, it often is. According to an investigative piece for KPRC Local 2 News in Houston, many women in Texas who are victims of rape end up paying for their own rape kits and in other states, including California, these completed kits gather dust while waiting to be examined.
Bill is Passport to Marriage Equality
As we speak, hundreds of families across the United States are being forced apart.
Violated Rights: Illegal School Search
Savana Redding’s life as a 13-year-old was significantly more complicated than most. When I was 13, my primary concern was what girls thought of me and how soon I could get contact lenses. Others worried about their grades or soccer teams. Unlike us, Redding was stripped searched by school officials based on the uncorroborated tip of a fellow student.
Fighting Charities Gone Wild
Orange County is home to some of the worst charities in the nation. How can a charity be bad, you ask, with wide-eyed innocence? The answer is based on the amount charities actually spend on their respective causes relative to how much funding they actually raise. The Association for Police and Sheriffs in Fullerton managed to spend only 4 percent of its funds while the Association for Fire Fighters and Paramedics in Santa Ana spends a mind-blowing 2 percent of its support on the actual cause, according to Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest evaluator of charities.
O’Reilly Unamused by Eminem’s Antics
Once again, Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly attempted to anger the hip-hop community by criticizing Eminem’s latest music video and the media corporations that produced the work. The rapper recently stepped out of a Michael Jordan-like retirement to release the new single “We Made You” for his comeback album “Relapse.” The famous conservative commentator responded with harsh criticism. These critiques are unwarranted due to the video’s artistic value and the hypocrisy of O’Reilly’s accusations.
The Rush Limbaugh Challenge: CON
With a newly Democratic White House, Rush Limbaugh is experiencing resurgence in popularity and controversy. Limbaugh’s boisterous personality, combined with his far right political views, creates an intense maelstrom of controversy and an equally intense fan base. A Los Angeles Times writer challenged liberals to “expand” their points of view by actually listening to an entire Limbaugh show. The writer, Andrew Klavan, wrote that all the claims made about Rushbo in the public forum are misguided and that he is not really racist, hateful or stupid. Klavan is “throwing down the gauntlet” at our “quivering liberal feet” and telling us to listen to Limbaugh.
TV Showdown: Stewart, 1, Cramer, 0
Two television titans, Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer, collided in an interview that is destined to become one of the defining events of our generation.
Revolution Time: We Need Weed
A California state assemblyman took a revolutionary step when he introduced a bill to legalize and tax marijuana in California. Tom Armiano, who believes that taxing the drug would help relieve California’s financial crisis, began the first steps toward legalizing the famous, or infamous depending on your perspective, plant. If the legislation passes, California will be the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
