A Border Wall for $55 (Each)

All this recent talk about walls got me thinking. History books are full of examples of the need for and the laborious building of walls around cities, countries and various structures. The Wall of Jericho was built thousands of years before Christ and kept the city’s population safe. For a while anyway.  The City of…

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Placing the Blame for Suicide

If 2019 stays on trend more than 47-thousand Americans will kill themselves this year.  Their loved ones will, understandably, be consumed with grief over the suicide.  But some of them will then go on to try to affix outside blame for the death. Many of them will hire a lawyer and file a wrongful death…

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In 2019, This Pope Needs a Reality Check

During this holiest of Christian seasons who could ignore the latest statements of Pope Francis speaking about the festering child sex abuse scandal within his church? In a Christmas address he spoke of priests who “prey like wolves on their flock,” and a clergy “ready to devour innocent souls.” “To those who abuse minors, I…

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Here’s to New Year Filled With Civility and Less Crime

Professor P. M. Forni, 67, died earlier this month in Towson, Maryland.  He was born in Bologna, Italy and became a proud U.S.   citizen and educator. I didn’t know the man personally, but I am sad to hear that he is gone. Forni was one of the last clarion voices to advocate for civility among…

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Families, Kids and a Flawed Law

This column is dedicated to issues of crime and justice. But this time of year, it seems out of place to talk about murders, wrongful convictions, child abuse, the scourge of drugs and all the other topics I usually opine about in this space. Because this is the pre-Christmas season, I’d like this column to…

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Mass Murder Compensation Compliments of Uncle Sam

The Department of Justice has announced it’s sending the last installment – nearly $17 million of a total $20 million – to aid survivors of last October’s deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The toll from that sniper attack was 58 dead and some 600 physically injured* after a lone gunman took up a…

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Do Migrants Really Commit More Crimes?

We hear so much these days about the migrant caravan straining to cross into the U.S.  Media reports focus on the immigrants’ desire for a better life, the desperation that led hundreds of them to throw rocks and storm the border at Tijuana and the tear gas that forced them back into Mexico. And we…

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More Presidential Pardons for People, Please

Hey, if Peas and Carrots can get a presidential pardon how about the thousands of Americans waiting in line for similar consideration? We recently saw the traditional – some might call it corny and meaningless – spectacle of the President pretending to pardon rotund turkeys to insure they don’t wind up on someone’s Thanksgiving table.…

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The First Step in the Fight for Criminal Justice Reform

So, did you hear? Democrats and Republicans in Washington have promised to cooperate in finding solutions for the country’s lingering problems! After the mid-term elections they promised they would try really, really hard to work together. Color me skeptical. But there is one legislative area where there does seem to be honest bipartisan collaboration:  criminal…

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Record Voter Turnout – But We Can Do Even Better

Phew. The midterm elections are over! You voted, right? Yes? Great. For those who did not join the record-breaking throngs that either cast an early ballot or turned out on election day – you missed out. Voting is one of America’s greatest civil rights and it, gloriously, brings us all together – old, young, people…

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