Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • His Name Was Joshua

    His Name Was Joshua

    After I attended the Homeless Memorial Service I came across a story that made me shake my head. A man, Clifton Moore, had been indicted for the murder of a homeless man named Joshua Rivera, age 54, in Charlestown. The crime was committed on Sept. 6 and according to the published details it was brutal.…

  • Canada’s supervised injection sites impress Mass. mayors during weekend visit

    Visiting safe injection facilities (SIF), where people inject drugs openly under the supervision of nurses, counselors and trained staff, has strengthened one mayor’s opinion and completely changed another’s within the course of one weekend. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh admits he was a strong opponent of the harm reduction strategy, but was impressed by what he…

  • Concord Houses Deal Preserves 171 Affordable Units in Boston’s South End

    A deal struck with low-income tenants of the Concord Houses and the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will allow 171 units to remain affordable for the next 40 years in the South End. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s office announced the agreement which allows tenants earning no more than 80 percent of annual median…

  • Many Women in Healthcare Earn Less than $15 an Hour

    About three-quarters of the people working in healthcare jobs are women, and a new national study from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania finds a large share of them earn low wages and have few benefits. The researchers found 34 percent of female healthcare workers made less than $15 an hour in 2017,…

  • Thyroid Medication Among Most Prescribed in U.S.

    January is Thyroid Awareness Month, and thyroid medication is among the most prescribed in the U.S. Levothyroxine, a common thyroid supplement, is currently the second most filled drug at American pharmacies, according to data from GoodRx. So, why is thyroid medication so popular? Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, president of the American Thyroid Association and a professor…

  • Volunteers Build Beds for Homeless People at Boston Latin

    Volunteers Build Beds for Homeless People at Boston Latin

    Hundreds came out in single digit weather to attend the 13th annual Boston Cares’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, held at the Boston Latin School for the third year in a row, on Monday, Jan. 21. Among them were many news faces who took to various service programs throughout the school, which included…

  • Boston Mayor ‘Impressed’ by Safe Injection Sites, Supports More Education on the Harm Reduction Model

    Boston Mayor Martin Walsh plans to speak more about the good that safe injection sites can have on preventing overdose deaths and reducing harm for drug users after his recent visit to Canada where such programs were front and center. Walsh traveled to Toronto and Montreal this past weekend. He was joined by Chief of…

  • Walsh introduces housing and economic mobility bills to legislature

    Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced his comprehensive housing security and economic mobility legislative package on Jan. 7. The 14 bills are the first of four legislative packages that the City of Boston will be submitting to the Massachusetts Legislature. The six housing bills concern programs and issues such as the Linkage Program, the Community Preservation…

  • Buy Me Boston: Brian Coleman’s new book is a ‘love letter’ to the city’s past

    Buy Me Boston: Brian Coleman’s new book is a ‘love letter’ to the city’s past

    Brian Coleman Rat Sign. Photo by Margot Edwards It may be tough to believe for those who weren’t there, but the Celtics weren’t the only thing happenin’ in the city of Boston throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s – and local historian Brian Coleman is here to remind us of that. Coming in the form…

  • Federal workers protest government shutdown

    Federal workers protest government shutdown

    Senator Ed Markey gives a speech about standing with the people to end the shutdown. Dozens of federal employees rallied at Boston’s Post Office Square in protest of the government shutdown on Friday Jan. 11,  the first day that thousands of federal workers did not receive their paychecks. In December, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously…

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