Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Tell Mass. legislators to step up funding for suicide prevention
A field of pinwheels represent suicide victims. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons I was recently asked to address a group of volunteers who wanted to talk to their representatives and senators about ensuring a small increase in the state budget’s line item for statewide suicide prevention in 2018, which is being discussed in the legislature now.…
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Thousands in Boston Gather to Protest at March for Science
The Boston Common was filled with thousands of people protesting for science on Saturday afternoon. The event, which was originally planned to be a march, was changed to a protest due to the overwhelming size of attendees. Although the website emphasized that the gathering would be nonpartisan, many of the speakers voiced concerns about President…
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The 2017 Food Tank Summit discusses farming, food surpluses and waste
The 2017 Food Tank Summit Series took place over two days at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and drew speakers from the agricultural industry, including nutritionists, chefs and farmers. The theme of the summit was “Investing in Discovery,” and the panels discussed a number of issues, including access to healthy, inexpensive food for…
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Hello readers! Spare Change News is conducting a brief survey so that we can get a better idea of who our readers are and how we can best serve them. All you have to do is click the link below and answer ten simple questions. Thanks! -Spare Change News Staff Transaction Preferences of Commuters Survey
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Comic addicts and signed book junkies
Photo credit: Wikimedia commons There are people who appear normal in everyday life but who are out there collecting comics, spending hours of their time like dope addicts, working feverishly to complete hard-to-come-by runs of particular issues. For example, #37 of “Swamp Thing” by Alan Moore is the first appearance of John Constantine, who has…
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Rev. Al Sharpton: “We Are Not Going Backwards”
On January 19, the eve of the presidential inauguration, the Rev. Al Sharpton stood outside Trump International Hotel in New York City with Mayor Bill De Blasio, filmmaker Michael Moore, actor Alec Baldwin and thousands of protesters to kick off their 100 days of resistance to the president-elect’s agenda. “We are sending you a message…
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Room in the inn: A dispatch from an Arizona center for asylum seekers
I parked my car in the dark, isolated lot on the edge of the University of Arizona campus between First United Methodist Church and a parking garage. As I walked through the alley, there were a few guys curled up with their sleeping bags and dogs. They seemed to be sharing a meal on a…
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Common Sense: Transitional programs work for the homeless
When last we spoke, I talked about the closing of two transitional programs in Boston. The reason HUD is cutting funding for all transitional programs is they would rather put that money into Housing First and the latest Band-Aid solution—rapid rehousing. According to HUD, “the Rapid Rehousing program will provide services to individuals and families…
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Eight Dollars a Month: An Idea For Solving Homelessness
Some of the biggest problems we face in Boston are unemployment, city budgeting and understanding where our tax money is being spent. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the national debt equated to $59,143 per person or $159,759 per working taxpayer in March 2016. Having such a high debt ratio to the population,…
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Denver’s big hopes for tiny houses
Photo: Wikimedia Commons If all goes according to plan, two new temporary tiny house villages will be built in Denver in 2017. The aim of building them is to provide an alternative type of shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The first will be called Beloved Community Village and is being organized in part by the…
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