Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Black or White, They’re All Just Kids
A couple of weeks ago, not long after the school shooting in Florida, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesh made this statement while speaking at the CPAC meeting: “Now I’m going to say something that some people will say is controversial. So I’ll say it slowly so all the people in the back can hear me loud…
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Multi-State Coalition to Fight Carbon Pollution
State lawmakers have launched a multi-state coalition to collaborate on legislation to combat carbon pollution. The Carbon Costs Coalition includes legislators from nine states, including Massachusetts. It will help those legislators design strategies to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean, renewable energy alternatives. Jeff Mauk is executive director of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators,…
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Boston Area Workers Defend the Constitutionality of Unions
In just one of 11 rallies across the state of Massachusetts hundreds of union workers crowded outside of the Boston Firehouse, Monday, March 3 to raise their voices against a pivotal Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of imposing union fees in the public sector. The opening remarks of Janus v. American Federation of State…
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Logan Airport Workers Strike For Two Days
Hundreds of workers at Logan International Airport went out on strike Wednesday afternoon, demanding fair treatment by subcontractors for JetBlue. With about 2,500 subcontracted workers at the airport, the strike is one of the biggest worker led actions at Logan in years. The wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers, cabin cleaners and skycaps voted last week to…
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Let Her Rock
She was leaning over the railing at the luggage conveyor. That was the first time I had seen my mother in over two years. I had my luggage in my hand and came around her from behind. Surprised that she hadn’t seen me yet. Wondering why she hadn’t seen me waiting for the luggage…
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New beginnings at ‘The Vagina Monologues’
Photo by Dominique Rouge This week, women across America performed The Vagina Monologues, a play that gives voice to several women’s accounts of sexual trauma. Since 1996, the play has sought to spark awareness for new narratives of female sexuality and empowerment. A particularly notable performance took place at Haley House Bakery and Cafe,…
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From Bulgaria to Switzerland: A Street Odyssey with a Dog and a Cat
“I know about life on the street. I would paint there every day and was in contact with lots of people for whom the street was their home.” Sitting on the cozy and somewhat worn sofa in his small apartment in Zollikofen, no-one would guess that Slavcho Slavov, whom everyone calls Slavo, has lived through…
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Stuck in Section 8 Purgatory: Waitlist For Subsidized Housing Leaves Families In The Cold
When your application for state housing assistance is accepted, the wait list can stretch to up to seven years long. If you need Section 8 assistance for your young family, I hope you’re ready for a decade-plus wait. Hundreds of individual applications for housing can be filled out with nary a positive response. That is…
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Mobile Homeless Outreach Team Gets Last Minute Reprieve From Funding Loss
Update: On Wednesday, Action Boston for Community Development (ABCD) announced their outreach van program has been extended to the end of April thanks to additional funding from the City of Malden. However, ABCD is still concerned the program will shut down after April 30th if they can’t secure ongoing funding. Original story On an unusually…
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