Tag: news

New Washington Post Investigation Uncovers Scope of Opioid Epidemic

Image: Unsplash

According to a new investigative report published by the Washington Post on 16 July 2019, more than 76 billion opioid pills (most commonly oxycodone and hydrocodone) were sold in only six years (between 2006 and 2012).

This information was received by the Post from a database run by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The hub contains information on every single pain pill sold in the United States, all the way down to small pharmacies in every town across America. Luckily, the Washington Post has also helped organize all of the data figures to be much more digestible.

Click here to see the data for your community.

With the information given, the team of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists — including Scott Higham, Sari Horowitz, and Steven Rich — was able to take a deeper dive into the spontaneous rise of legal pain pills which fed the opioid epidemic.

The role of prescription painkillers in the ongoing crisis is so prevalent that, in 2016, the American Society of Addiction Medicine found that four out of five new heroin users started out by abusing legally prescribed pain pills.

They found that just six companies were responsible for distributing 75% of the painkillers during the years studied: McKesson Corp., Walgreens, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, CVS, and Walmart.

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Image: The Washington Post

Even more damning, only three were responsible for manufacturing the drugs: SpecGx (a subsidiary of Mallinckrodt), Actavis Pharma, and Par Pharmaceutical (a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals).

 

In the ongoing largest civil action in U.S. history, previously undisclosed company data became public — allowing the press, such as the Washington Post and WTP, to examine and interpret it. The plaintiffs allege that Purdue Pharma is the responsible for triggering the opioid epidemic as we know it today with the invention of OxyContin, their brand of oxycodone. Purdue Pharma was ranked fourth among manufacturers (with approximately 3% of the market share) at the time.

The database, full of information from the ongoing court case, reveals that each company knew exactly how many pills it was shipping and dispensing with ultra-refined specificity. Not only does the data show plain numbers, but it tells when they were aware of the volumes, year-by-year and town-by-town. In each and every case, the companies had no problem releasing the painkillers to the streets of communities big and small — despite frequent red-flags.

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Image: The Washington Post

When the orders for prescription painkillers skyrocketed in states like West Virginia — where there was a 67:1 pill-to-human ratio — it was the responsibility of the distributors to file a report to the FDA which would have put an immediate block on suspicious orders. Seeing as companies would be disincentivized to stop sales of their own products, it never happened, and states like West Virginia and Kentucky suffered with the highest addiction rates (along with overdose rates).

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Image: The Washington Post

Following the release of the information in the DEA database, some companies were receptive to comments.

Company spokeswoman for Cardinal Health said that the company has learned from its experience, increasing training and doing a better job to “spot, stop, and report suspicious orders.”

AmerisourceBergen ridiculed the information, saying that it “offers a very misleading picture” of the problem. The company said its internal “controls played an important role in enabling us to, as best we could, walk the right rope of creating appropriate access to FDA approved medications while combating prescription drug diversion.”

Walgreens still dispenses opioids, but the company claims that it has not distributed prescription-controlled substances to any of its stores or facilities since 2014. Spokesman Phil Caruso said, “Walgreens has been an industry leader in combatting this crisis in communities where our pharmacists live and work.”

Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS, said that the plaintiffs’ allegations about the company have no merit and CVS is aggressively defending against them.

A Mallinckrodt spokesman said in a statement that the company had produced opioids only within a government-controlled quota and sold only to DEA-approved distributors.

Actavis Pharma was acquired by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in 2016, but a Teva spokeswoman said they were unable to “speak to any systems in place beforehand.”

A DEA spokeswoman, however, declined to comment Tuesday “due to ongoing litigation.”

Walmart, Purdue, and Endo also declined to release a statement on the matter.

For more details, visit The Washington Post to read their takeaway.

An Open Letter to Tucker Carlson

Image: RawStory

As a teenager in America, and in most people’s valid opinion, an American citizen, I do not know where to begin on the comments you have made.

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts and currently live in Erie, Pennsylvania. I have lived in the United States all my life, have a legal birth certificate, social security number, passport, and more… yet you still have the audacity to say that, because I am under the age of eighteen, I am not an “American citizen” as much as you, Donald Trump, Uncle Sam, or anybody else.

I am Jewish. I am Latino. I am American.

Being any of those things does not strip me of my American citizenship in the least, and neither does my age.

My religion is a part of who I am as an American. I love being Jewish—especially in a country that allows me to express my religion without the fear of persecution or punishment. I love getting to educate people and being the one that gets to help other people grow as individuals by teaching them about my religion and what it means.

My heritage is no less significant to me than my religion or citizenship. Being Latino is also a part of who I am. I am a product of my family who came from South America, and I love to brag about it because it makes me feel like I am a real contributor to what is the great, American “melting pot.” Nobody could ever take my culture, history, or family away from me—not even you. To me, none of this, in any way, makes me less American.

I still feel as proud to pledge allegiance to the American flag as anybody else.

I just want to know—if it isn’t my religion or ethnicity—then what is it that makes me less American than the people around me? According to you, I’m not an American—I’m just a teenager.

This is what you said a couple weeks ago:

Video: FOX News

I would like to clear the air here: We are ALL Americans.

If you genuinely think that teenagers are not Americans, then I think you are about to be pretty surprised.

Across the nation, we teens have organized school walkouts, protests, marches, and other events to exercise our First Amendment right. We are fighting together against ignorant people like you who think that, just because we are not eighteen, we cannot have an opinion, exercise our God-given right to protest or challenge arrogant people like you. We want to show that we have a say in our future and that people such as yourself do not deserve to speak for us—people who would rather let us take the fall (literally) just so you don’t have to lose your guns.

If you ever had any respect for us and stopped to listen to what we had to say, you would know by now that we never asked for anyone to lose their guns. We only asked for common sense gun laws—to put in place reasonable restrictions on the Second Amendment, just as there are the same restrictions on our rights to free speech and rights to privacy. If you think we are being unreasonable just look to the Supreme Court Heller decision, and you will see as plain as day, that while it holds that the right to bear arms is not related to service in a militia, it is not unlimited and that guns and gun ownership would continue to be regulated.

We teens have to live in fear at our schools. We don’t exactly think that this makes a ‘conducive’ environment for learning, do you? Nor do we think that arming our teachers makes for any more of a ‘conducive’ learning environment, but we already know that you don’t care. What you do care about is assisting the gun manufacturers to increase their revenue. You would prefer that you get to keep your guns—end of story.

I keep going over it in my head, but I just cannot answer this one question. I would really love it if you could answer it for me: Who exactly would it take to be killed in a shooting for you to realize that enough is enough?

Would it be a group of innocent civilians? No—we already saw that at the Pulse Nightclub, Las Vegas… (the list is way too big to count).

Would it be a group of church-goers like yourself? No—we already saw that in Charleston, Nashville, and Sutherland Springs.

Would it be a class full of high school students like myself? No—we already saw that at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Would it be a class full of kindergarteners? No—we already saw that at the tragic Sandy Hook shooting.

What would it take for you to realize that the one life person would be worth more than all the guns in America? I just struggle to understand how somebody who is adamantly “pro-life” can have such blatant disregard for all of our lives. Somebody who was really “pro-life” would care about the life of a human being after they are born. What is the point in fighting for their life before it is born if you are just going to let them be shot someday after they are born by somebody with an automatic weapon that they shouldn’t even have?

We are fighting for our rights—for our lives—and whether you like it or not, we are equal American citizens with free speech, the right to organize, the right to assemble, and the right to protest.

I would really love to learn more about what you think, and so, while I have been rather firm and harsh in this open letter, I would also like to invite you to an interview with WTP Magazine if possible to sit down and your thought process when you made the statement saying that we teens are not Americans. I am not asking this in an antagonistic way. I am only asking this because I genuinely want to learn why you believe this.

Hopefully, when we are done, you can realize that if we are old enough to be shot, then we are old enough to have an opinion on being shot.

If you are seriously interested, like I am, in taking me up on my offer for an interview, please send me an email at harrison.romero@wtpmag.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

WTP EXCLUSIVE—Life Isn’t Often as Black and White as it Appears: Hard Questions with Rachel Dolezal

Ty:For the record, please state your full name and any titles or affiliations that you would like to have listed.

Rachel: Publicly, I go by Rachel Dolezal and I am an artist, activist, and author.

Ty: Thank you for that information. Jumping straight into it, a few years ago you caught national attention for identifying as a Black woman. In November 2017, the Theta Iota chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., the Harvard University Black Student’s Association, and I hosted an event at Harvard University that covered womanism. Womanism is a school of thought that was born out of the idea that traditional feminism was not fully inclusive of the interests of the Black woman and that nobody would ever advocate for those interests better than a Black woman herself. Opening from a place where you see yourself as a Black woman, what is the essence of Blackness to you? What are the defining characteristics and what life experiences have informed your idea of Blackness? On the flipside, what is the essence of Whiteness to you? What are those characteristics?

Rachel: I taught a course at Eastern Washington University titled, “The Black Woman’s Struggle,” and featured textbooks such as “Words of Fire,” “Assata,” “Joys of Motherhood,” and “Women, Race & Class,” and I would describe myself as a Womanist more than a Feminist because I agree that race/class/gender are intersectional. I see Blackness as consciousness and commitment in the struggle for equity and justice; Blackness is not always skin color but is a philosophy and a political stance on issues affecting justice, or as Dick Gregory said, “a state of mind” that is Afrocentric or Pan-African in emphasis. Blackness fights relentlessly against the oppressive forces of colonialism, racism and White supremacy, seeking to free all those who are oppressed historically or contemporaneously and build a more inclusive and equitable society. Blackness acknowledges that we all come from a Black Mother in Africa—aka we are all members of the [Black] human race, and Africa is not only the birthplace of the human family but also the birthplace of civilization, religion, and community. Conversely, Whiteness is a state of mind and a stance that is Eurocentric, with the view that western culture, ideas, and aesthetics are superior and should be dominant. I see Whiteness as oppressive, repressive, and suppressive of others, seeking domination and subjugating others to the goals of capitalism, patriarchy, and imperialism.

Ty: When you look at the world we live in, it can be argued that you would have been better situated as an ally to Black and brown communities by identifying as a White woman and using the privilege that comes with that designation to take your passion for community advocacy past the glass ceiling that many Black and brown women face every day on their fight for social justice. Discuss your approach to it all. Was there a point where you felt like you had to embed yourself within the African-American community in the way you did to affect the most change?

Rachel: There are White allies and Black leaders in the struggle for social justice. I was seen as each of these for a decade in the past twenty years of my life. I identified as a White ally before I read Audrey Smedley’s book, “Race in North America: Origin & Evolution of a Worldview” and went on to read other books by Black women about the fiction of race, such as “Fatal Invention,” “The Nature of Race,” and “Chosen Exile,” by Dorothy Roberts, Ann Morning, and Allyson Hobbs. During the time that I felt I was “fated” to being a White ally—or White in general—when I believed race to be a biological reality, I was constantly having people argue with me that I was “really part Black” and just “passing for White” due to the neighborhood I lived in, my dexterity with braiding and doing Black hairstyles for women, and my intense passion for championing social justice causes in ways that were specifically empowering to Black youth and families. Similarly, when I shed the myth of race and embraced that Blackness really described my state of mind more than Whiteness—and I had already essentially exiled myself from “the White community” at this point—I had some people arguing that because I looked mixed or was light-skinned, I wasn’t Black enough for diversity photo ops or to lead social justice causes. One thing always remained constant, to this day: White supremacists have always hated me no matter whether I was functioning as a White ally or a light-skinned Black leader. I definitely feel there were fewer barriers to accomplishing the work I intended to do for the community, for the ten years I was seen as Black. Although the hatred of racist groups soared, I was constantly harassed by cops, and I received 50% of the pay of my White male and White female predecessors in a job (aka there was definitely a cost in terms of social discrimination), there was a place of belonging for me, a space where I could relax and be myself in the Black community. I wasn’t looked at with suspicion or made to prove I was safe as an ally; people didn’t clean up their houses before I came over or go out of their way as if I was a stranger; I was family and that felt good to have a home. I was definitely able to affect much more change being true to my core essence and fitting into the community, being seen for who I am inside and not being kept on the fringe of the movement due to my White parents. Anyone looking at my resume and accomplishments can see that my leadership flourished from 2005 to 2015.

Ty:You have stated before that you felt inherently tied to the Black community from as early as childhood. There are critics who would say that this contradicts your lawsuit against Howard University on the basis of racial discrimination because the litigation was seemingly a very definitive statement in favor of declaring your Whiteness. How do you respond to those critics?

Rachel:Online critics clearly haven’t taken the time to read my book or give full consideration to the context of that singular situation. I went to Howard eighteen years ago and had not yet become conscious of the nature of the race worldview being a social construct, so at the time of my application I did not identify as “Black” but there actually was no “race” category on the application at the time I applied. I sued to regain my scholarship on the basis of pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination, and race discrimination in the original claim only because the person who removed my scholarship (while I had a 4.0 and was 7 months pregnant) was retaliating against me for refusing his sexual advances, and he referenced pregnancy, gender, and race in his reasons for pulling my scholarship. I love Howard and always will; it was the only graduate school I applied for because it was my dream school. However, as I explain in my book, living in DC isn’t cheap and with my Black husband and almost-born child depending on my financial aid, I had no other option but to fight to keep my spot for my last year of graduate school. It was a justice issue, and I trusted the only attorney I could find who would do pro-bono to handle the case with his legal expertise. I am a proud alumnus of Howard and a donor and am grateful that the Howard University Magazine featured my memoir on the Bison Bookshelf.

Ty:Did any of the harsh criticisms voiced ever cause you to consider that any of what you had done was wrong or have you always believed that in your heart you were doing the right thing with the way you have chosen to live your life?

Rachel: Most of the “criticism” was fueled by what my biological parents said on tv (and what they said was based on their goal of shutting down my Black sister’s sexual harassment case against our older White brother (I was her key witness, and sadly the vitriol and hate of so many people resulted in her case getting shut down and she never got her day in court) and what people heard from other biased sources. The critics didn’t wait to hear my whole story or take time to try to understand how both things could be true—aka I was born categorized as White but identify as Black. A lot of the anger was based on either ignorance or bias against me that was connected to racial pain in America. I regret that this situation was used to poke the pain of Black women specifically because if it would have been presented in a fair and positive way I think it would have had the opposite effect. It could have been presented as my life being an extreme act of solidarity, or as “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,” or to copy another is to compliment, etc. But in our very reactive culture online, people rushed to throw me under the bus—and back up the bus and throw me under it again—and again—and still. I don’t think most people even know how I actually live my life, still to this day, so their opinions matter less to me than the positive outcomes I work toward for my children.

Ty:Very briefly, describe your thoughts on the Trump presidency thus far.

Rachel:Disgust. Frustration. Anger. I don’t know where to begin. Time is up for sexism, racism, classism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia. It’s time for equity and justice; it’s time for reparations; it’s time for inclusivity in all respects of identity; it’s time to build a brighter future for our children, and #45 is not contributing anything toward these goals. I hope #46 along with collective action of The People can overcome the damaging effects of this presidency and this becomes fuel to propel a lot of great political and social action.

Ty: With all of the controversy around you being taken into consideration, I don’t genuinely believe you to be a bad person. I never have. If anything, I may have felt that you were confused, misunderstood, or some combination of those two. Nonetheless, from an objective standpoint, it is very apparent that you have a passion for community advocacy and you seem to be very genuinely invested in promoting advances in social justice. In a world full of negativity, such an energy can be harnessed to yield exponential positivity if employed right. Rachel A. Dolezal, what can we expect from you in 2018? How will you continue to be an ally in the years to come?

Rachel: I will never quit and am no less committed to The Cause or the community than I was in May 2015. I’m the same person and will continue to fight for justice locally, nationally, and globally whenever and wherever I have an opportunity. My involvement has been hindered the past three years due to ongoing unemployment (amid weekly job applications) and the perpetuation of negativity online and in the media. I have been in survival mode trying to provide for my three sons and my sister. I am not a liar. I am not a fraud. Scientists say that by 2050 the majority of this country will be mixed, and we are not doing much to prepare for that future. I hope we can unite together to undo racism and push for equity and justice for future generations. I’m ready.

Ty: Thank you very much for your time. It was a pleasure to be able to hear your perspective and a privilege to be able to interview you.

Survivors in Trouble

Image: Vineyard Gazette

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It has been seventy-seven years since the Shoah ended, and the number of Shoah survivors is shrinking rapidly as many of them reach their nineties even turn one-hundred. In a very short amount of time, there will be nobody left to tell their stories. Tragically, those who are still with us are living in poverty.

According to the United States Census Bureau, only ten percent of adults sixty-five years of age and older are living in poverty. According to The Blue Card, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides Shoah survivors financial and living assistance, an estimated one-third of the 100,000 survivors in the country live at or below the poverty line.

Survivors like Madga Rosenberg, who lost her entire family in Auschwitz in occupied Poland and now lives in Long Island, are living in poverty.

We’re dying out. In ten years, there won’t be a Holocaust survivor left.

Of the 50,000+ survivors residing in the New York Metropolitan area, 52% are considered “poor,” meaning that they are living below 150% of federal poverty guidelines or with an individual annual income fewer than 18,000 dollars, according to Selfhelp, an organization that has been helping victims of Nazi crimes since 1936.

Hanan Simhon, the vice president of the Holocaust Survivor Services at Selfhelp, says survivors from the Soviet Union have it particularly bad—eighty percent of them living in poverty.

They came here much later in their life at the fall of the Soviet Union, with no Social Security, pension or any type of supporting income for retirement.

Marsha Pearl, the executive director of the Blue Card, lists many factors as the reasons why the Shoah survivors are struggling.

They tend to be very isolated, losing their families during the war and then either did not or could not have children. Many started working in menial jobs because they did not have the language skills. Today they are in their eighties and nineties, and it is beyond difficult to make ends meet.

The victims’ troubles are not only caused by their advanced age and language barriers but medical experiments that put them at higher risk for diseases such as cancer.

Sami Steigmann spent his early childhood years in a Nazi labor camp. He was told by his father, years later, that he was subjected to various medical experiments which still cause him pain today at age seventy-eight.

I’m a proud person, I never wanted to reach out for help.

After years of struggle and “getting involved with the wrong people,” he found himself homeless. That was when he finally agreed to be recognized as a survivor and mentally disabled, receive reparations from Germany, and move into subsidized housing.

Marsha Pearl recognizes this unwillingness to step forward and accept help due to embarrassment, even when there is nothing embarrassing about it.

Many are embarrassed to be in this situation, feeling as if they’ve failed twice—not being able to save their family and now having to turn for help. People with food stamps in the grocery store are trembling and afraid that someone will see them. Many of them wait to come forward because they are too ashamed.

Today, Sami Steigmann lives in a tiny studio apartment in New York, but he now must leave his home for twenty years because the building has recently been sold. Steigmann fears he will no longer be able to volunteer as a tutor to teach students about the Holocaust.

The Blue Card, which serves 2,500 survivors nationwide, experienced a 20% increase in requests for assistance in 2016. Of those they service (77% female), 67% cannot leave their homes without aid, and 78% have trouble performing everyday activities such as getting dressed, washing, and cooking.

Selfhelp has 1,400 residents in ten affordable housing sites throughout the New York area and a waiting list of 4,000. Two-hundred fifty survivors are sitting on a waiting list in Brooklyn to be assigned to a social worker with about three to four new clients registering daily.

Hanan Simhon reminds us of one critical fact that nobody thinks about.

These are limited resources for a limited time—there won’t be new Holocaust survivors taking their place.

Personal stories and quotes: CNN

“This Is Not a Drill”: False Alarm Terrorizes​ Hawaii

Image: The Australian

Imagine enjoying the glowing beaches of paradise one moment and fearing total, nuclear annihilation the next. Well, that’s exactly what happened to residents of Hawaii and vacationers Saturday morning.

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Notification sent to all phones in Hawaii at 8:07am HST

BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

That’s the message that was sent out to all of Hawaii via emergency alert notification. Many people began to panic, and wonder if North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un had finally reached his boiling point. As all activities came to a sudden halt, residents and tourists called loved ones, took shelter, and were preparing to die. Little did they know, in spite of what the message said, this was a drill, but it was also a colossal failure.

Moments after the alert was sent out the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted out that there was no missile threat to Hawaii, but it wasn’t until almost 40 minutes after the initial alert that a second one making the correction was sent. How could such a mistake be possible? A human error, according to officials.

“It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift, and an employee pushed the wrong button,” stated Hawaiian Governor David Ige, while speaking to CNN on the alert broadcasted through television, radio, and emergency text message to all of Hawaii. Later, in a tweet, Ige has also promised to never let it happen again, but to many Hawaiians, his promise seemed empty and blame began to fall upon Ige, and his Twitter began to fill with angry responses like this one,

Responses like this are justified, considering that over a million people believed that today would be their last day on earth, all thanks to a careless mistake that could have been prevented.

To see the type of impact this alert had on Hawaii, this is a video from the Univeristy of Hawaii at Manoa showing people in a full sprint for safety after seeing the notification:

 

Make America Great… For Once

Although we do not regularly acknowledge it, for many of us who are in our early to mid-20s, we are the last of the “house phone generation.” We are the last of those who did not spend the entirety of our everyday lives surrounded by technology. We are the last of those not connected to devices every day. The social implications of this reality are arguably the reasons why things are increasingly being said and done in modern times without any regard for the real world repercussions of these words and actions.

As a political operative for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign on the ground in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, I decided to do my best to fight for sensible leadership in such a world because I understood the risks of having a socially and emotionally incompetent president as the leader of this great nation. When Donald Trump won the election in November 2017, despite the man that he had shown us all to be, I wanted to believe that his administration would appreciate the gravity of their newly elected and appointed positions.

I was so damn wrong.

The election of 45 almost decidedly made the reality of identity politics in America ‘right versus wrong’ in a world where it was just ‘Democrat versus Republican’ before. Differences in philosophy have very quickly shifted to differences in morality. Every “Make America Great Again” hat is a loud vote for discrimination. A loud rallying cry to all who support the rhetoric plastered on the hats to ‘make America hate again.’

Admittedly, I never understood the MAGA slogan as anything but a blatantly coded message of white supremacy. When I would ask Trump supporters what the phrase meant, none could really give me any definitive elements of what it would take to make America great. The usage of the word “again” especially bewilders me because it implies that we must go back to some period in this nation’s history where things were better. My biggest problem is that I can think of no such time period.

Challenge yourself to interrogate this concept and think about a time when America has been better than it is right now in terms of social progress, even with an unqualified Trump leading the way. Should we go back to the time when thousands of Native Americans were slaughtered for occupying lands that they had called home for generations? Should we go back to a time when LGBTQ existence was unacknowledged because of how much of a societal taboo it was? Should we go back to the time when women were powerless accessories to society if they were without a man to represent them? How about taking a visit to the days of slavery or the viciousness of the Jim Crow era that saw many people of color mistreated on a systemic level?

Our America is more progressive now than it has ever been and even still, we have so far to go. There is a divide between police and black and brown communities that needs to be addressed in order to make America great. There are members of the LGBTQ community still fighting in 2018 to enjoy their right to peaceably exist and live life on their own terms. There are women in 2018 still fighting for the right to make the same wages as their male counterparts for the same work. Equality must be established in order to make America great. There are hardworking immigrants in 2018 that are fighting for their right to enjoy the American dream free of persecution. There are Muslims in 2018 that are fighting for their right to peacefully practice their religion in light of post-911 xenophobia and the sensationalism of such by even some of our top government officials. Acceptance must happen for America to be great. When all of these things have begun to happen, we can finally make America great for once.

Ironically enough, Donald Trump stands in stark opposition to all of the things that could actually make America great. Equality and acceptance aren’t the kinds of words that come to mind when I’m forced to think of a man who has disrespected and offended so many different groups of people. Just recently, he referred to a set of very noble nations as “shithole countries.” That’s spicy talk from a guy who’s doing his very best to turn this great nation into a shithole country with his tweets, divisive rhetoric, and blatant disregard for the level of decorum and honor professionally required of the office he holds.

Suspected Military Coup in Zimbabwe

Image: Toronto Star

On Wednesday, soldiers in Zimbabwe took over the headquarters of ZBC, the nations state-run broadcaster. They then blocked access to government officers. As of today, there is no statement acknowledging it as a “coup” and the military insists that President Robert Mugabe is safe with his family. The first sign of a takeover was a fleet of tanks proceeding towards the nation’s capital, a video was posted on Twitter of the procession.

It appears that the commander Constantine Chiwenga has called for an end of the 93 year-old president’s, Robert Mugabe’s, reign of the nation.

As of today, new information has been released that President Mugabe and his wife are under house arrest but insist that they are safe. Several sources believe that the President’s latest move to fire Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had large support to take over for the ailing Mugabe, was what provoked the suspected coup.

More info will be posted as it comes in.

Have Your Dentures Been Missing for the Last Week? Did You Vote in Portland, Maine? We May Have Found Your Teeth.

Image: Fixodent

First reported seven days ago by the Portland Press Herald, a local paper, and eventually reported 4,000 miles and an ocean away in Malta, if you haven’t heard about your own teeth by now, all of us here at WTP Magazine are sure hoping this works.

So you didn’t realize by breakfast time that you can’t chew? It’s fine. We all skip breakfast some days. We just want to make sure you get your dentures back safe and sound.

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Image: Portland Press Herald

The teeth were found by an election clerk at Merill Auditorium. They have been placed in a plastic bag and can be found at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall.

Reportedly, somebody had called the City Clerk’s office yesterday concerning the dentures, but the City Clerk, Katherine Jones, told The Rachel Maddow Show:

[T]he questions he asked did not match the dentures we have.

This statement obviously prompts one interesting question in particular: Did more than one person remove and misplace their dentures while voting in the same place in Portland, Maine?

We don’t know.

What we do know is that if you happen to have misplaced your teeth at Merill Auditorium while voting, then you should call the City Clerk’s office at (207) 874-8610 or (207) 874-8300.

If calling is somewhat of a problem because—well—you don’t have any teeth, emailing is also an option. You can email the City Clerk at klj@portlandmaine.com.

Whether it was something that was just so jaw-dropping on the ballot or whether the decision was just so hard that you had to pull out your teeth to think clearly, we sure hope that you find your teeth just fine.

Riding the Blue Wave: The Big Win for Democrats in the 2017 Election

Image: Ap News

Democrats all over America, on both local and state level, have a reason to celebrate for the first time since the 2016 General Election. This is because Democrats won gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey as well as countless victories on the local level. While many Republicans are downplaying the Democrats win as “Blue winning Blue,” party leaders such as Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says that he can “smell a wave coming.” That wave, of course, is referring to the 2018 Midterm Election where Democrats are projected to flip both the House and Senate. As the chair of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez said about the election:

We’re taking our country back from Donald Trump one election at a time. This is not just one night. It is a trend.

This recent off-year election was expected to set the tone for the midterms in 2018, and this clearly sent a message to Republicans.

Ralph Northam, the Obama-backed, Democrat in the race to be Virginia’s next governor, beat the Republican, Ed Gillespie, who was backed by President Trump. This sent a shock to many Republicans who expected to win the swing state—the only southern state Trump didn’t take in 2016. Later, Trump tweeted, “Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for.” Although Gillespie used many of Trump’s campaign policies and sent out a robo-call recorded by the President, he had refused to make any public appearances with him. It seemed like Gillespie was trying to distance himself from Trump, but his efforts came to no avail; a recent poll by The Washington Post showed that about 30% of Northam supporters voted for Northam to send a message against Trump. This win wasn’t the only big win for Democrats that evening; they picked up many local offices and elected several historic candidates.

In New Jersey, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Phil Murphy (D-NJ), beat Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R-NJ), this election and has successfully ended the “Chris Christie Era” and took out another trump backed candidate. Virginia elected one of the nation’s first openly transgender State Representatives Danica Roem who ousted the ultra-conservative incumbent, Del. Robert G. Marshall. Another historic victory took place in Erie, Pennsylvania where the citizens elected Tyler Titus to serve on the Erie School Board, making him Pennsylvania’s first ever openly transgender candidate to be elected to office. Democrats also picked up multiple seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and won many local elections. While there are many reasons for Democrats to celebrate, they must not lose sight of the big picture.

The Democrats won many unexpected elections in states all over America, however some races couldn’t have been closer. In Erie, Pennsylvania, the race for County Executive was decided by approximately .3% with incumbent Kathy Dahlkemper at 50.15% of the vote and Republican challenger Art Oligeri at 49.64% of the vote. This difference shows that although the Democrats won they weren’t able to sit in comfort and won’t be able to until margins like this don’t exist.

The Democrats’ big win garnered some great publicity for the party and showed the Republicans that the Democrats are healing and ready to win, however, they shouldn’t stop working hard or take this for granted. With many close results in blue territories, Democrats need to revisit their strategy and focus more on grassroots campaigning. If all goes well, a much bigger “Blue Wave” could flood the midterms with a sea of blue and might just flip both the House and Senate.

 

Who Shot Rep. Scalise?

Image: ABC 13

Just a few days ago, a gunman opened fire on a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. The gunman was soon identified by the FBI as James T. Hodgkinson, a sixty-six year-old from Illinois.

James T. Hodgkinson was a resident of Belleville, Illinois, and a very staunch Democrat. His Facebook page contained several critical posts of President Donald J. Trump. In one, Donald Trump was described as a “traitor” who “has destroyed our democracy.” The Facebook account’s banner had an image of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a notable candidate in the Democratic primaries of the 2016 presidential election. His profile picture had the American flag and said, “Democratic Socialism explained in 3 words: We the People.”

Michael Hodgkinson, the shooter’s brother, said in a phone interview to the New York Times, “I know he wasn’t happy with the way things were going, the election results and stuff.”

A man by the name of Charles Orear told The Washington Post that he met Hodgkinson when they worked together in Iowa on Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign. He had described Hodgkinson as “very mellow, very reserved” and a “quiet guy.”

He was this union tradesman, pretty stocky, and we stayed up talking politics.

Former Mayor of Alexandria Bill Euille told the Washington Post he spoke to Hodgkinson almost every morning at the local YMCA which is so close to the baseball field where the shooting occurred that one of the bullets landed in the indoor pool.

He was a very nice person. [H]e sat in the Y’s lobby for hours and hours. Outside of myself, I don’t think he knew anyone else in town.

Hodgkinson owned a home inspection business in Belleville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Hodgkinson was a licensed home inspector from 1994 to 1997, and also held a liscense from 2003 to 2016, but it was never renewed.

According to The Belleville News-Democrat:

Hodgkinson has a varied arrest record in St. Clair County, for offenses such as failing to obtain electrical permits, damaging a motor vehicle, resisting a peace officer, eluding police, criminal damage to property, driving under the influence and assorted traffic offenses.

According to The Daily Beast:

In 2006, he was arrested for domestic battery and discharge of a firearm after he punched a man’s girlfriend “in the face with a closed fist,” according to a police report reviewed by The Daily Beast. When the man walked outside of the residence, Hodgkinson aimed a shotgun at him and later fired one round.

Hodgkinson was also “observed throwing” an unidentified minor “around the bedroom,” the police report said. Police identified the girl as his daughter. After the girl broke free, Hodgkinson followed and “started hitting her arms, pulling her hair, and started grabbing her off the bed.”

When Hodgkinson’s girlfriend tried to leave in a vehicle, he reached inside and “turned off the ignition,” the report said. “James then pulled out a possible pocket knife and cut [her] seatbelt.”

The charges were dismissed, according to court records.

James T. Hodgkinson was a prolific writer who often submitted letters to his local newspaper for more than a decade.

After learning that Hodgkinson had volunteered on the Sanders campaign, Sen. Bernie Sanders publicly detested his actions and any acts of violance.

Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values.