Dear Citizens of Baltimore City:
My Call to Action to End African American Homicides aims to confront one of the most vexing and critical challenges facing our city: We need to end the violence in our communities.
Even as our police and our community work together to reduce homicides this past year to the second lowest number in a generation, one statistic regarding the victims remains startling. Of the 211 tragic killings in our city last year, 189 of the victims were African American men. Our African American men need to believe in their future. We must be willing to have open and frank conversations about this issue, and those conversations must produce action.
I was particularly inspired by a local meeting that I joined this year on Martin Luther King Day in support of...
Lifestyle
Dear friends,
You are welcome in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
We are a church that believes it is wrong to discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation. All are welcome. We celebrate diversity.
While Lutherans in the U.S. are not of one mind about sexual orientation, the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in North America, has taken a stand as an open, affirming church where all are welcome.
I recognize that some of you have been wounded by churches. On behalf of the church, I apologize for the hurtful comments, exclusion, and discrimination you have experienced. Churches are filled with hurt people who sometimes hurt people. We are not a perfect church, nor filled with perfect people. We follow Christ who forgives and...
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Dear Dr. Dawkins,
Earlier this week, on Twitter, you drew attention to a troubling fact unknown to most people. You pointed out that in the United States and Europe, most children conceived with Down syndrome are aborted. You’re right. Some experts put the number as high as 90 percent. Others suggest that only 65 percent, or 70 percent, or 80 percent of children with Down syndrome are aborted. The actual number is probably very difficult to determine. You have a platform, Dr. Dawkins, an audience, and in some real way I’m very grateful that you drew attention to the pre-natal eradication of people with Down syndrome.
But you made your point about the ubiquity of Down syndrome abortion in order to defend a terrible assertion. You suggested on Twitter, Dr. Dawkins, a moral imperative...
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Dear Dr. B.,
I'm writing to tell you why I'm taking my business to different dental office. Let me explain:
The last time I had my teeth cleaned at your office, your hygienist told me that the bonding on two of my teeth was coming off, and that I should come back so that you could fix it.
So I made an appointment to do just that. I asked you to take a look at the bonding, and you did. Then you took off your glasses and said, "Forget the bonding for a minute. Let's have some fun."
You asked me if I ever felt like no one was paying attention to me when I was in a group, or if I was shy about talking to people.
"No," I replied. "I'm a journalist. I love talking to people."
You said that you suspected that my colleagues were ignoring me—and that maybe I should try to observe...
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To Pans,
People have been talking about our unholy union, how its wrong to love your long rubber handle, the smoothness that is your Teflon bottom. The way you whisper my name as the fat sizzles and pops inside you.
I know I am as confused as you. I have never knowingly expressed such longings before but if society says that's what being Pansexual really means. That I have an inexplicable attraction to inanimate cook ware then I guess that's what it means.
I thought it meant I was free to fall in love with whatever Human Being my heart chose, regardless of what gender they identify as.
I am so sorry, I know this must be confusing to you as well. To suddenly be told that humans find you sexually attractive and emotionally compatible. I make a solemn promise to you my dear pasta...
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Dear Adbusters,
I’m about to celebrate my 33rd birthday here in New York City. Then, in August, I’m heading off to law school in San Francisco in the hopes that I can practice environmental law some day. Corporations have had a huge impact on my decision to go to law school and my desire to work for non-profit and government organizations.
I’ve always been a very vocal young man and have written for a number of gay publications from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. I’ve been a champion for gay rights and the rights of those living with HIV in America today. But the issue that concerns me the most right now is the damage being caused by corporations to humanity and the planet as a whole. It’s a race to the bottom as they drive down wages in America, export jobs overseas to unsafe...
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Dear David,
Late last week, I learned that you had partnered with Chase bank to give Chase Visa or debit cardholders early access to your new album, Listen. Apparently, those who registered their cards with Apple Pay could download your album from iTunes three days before the rest of us.
That's smart, I guess? I mean, it's getting harder and harder to make money selling records, so when a brand like Chase comes calling, I'm sure it's tempting to sign on the dotted line.
But David, I'll be honest with you, the whole thing kind of sticks in my craw, and I was hoping we could talk about it.
It is understandable that you might not understand why this particular deal would not be a bad thing. (Apparently, you told BuzzFeed, "Collaborating is a part of what I do in my creative...
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Growing up in an all girls school definitely has its highs and lows. You make some friends for life but you also get one of the most surreal and inconsistent environments to grow up in.
What I mean by this is that your teenage years are undoubtedly an important period in your development and they shape the person you are going to become in later life. Unfortunately for me, a lot of my school days were consumed with friends who were obsessed about their weight and even formed a 'bulimia group', whereby they'd all make themselves sick together in a bid to stay slim. At that time it seemed like a...I hesitate to say 'fun thing to do' but girls will bond over the strangest of things and you don't want to risk being left out of a friendship group.
Of course we weren't aware of the idea...
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Dear American Women,
I am sorry you were born as females in the west. Because of the toxic culture you’ve been marinated in you will never fully appreciate just how fortunate you are to have been afforded the privileged lives you enjoy. None of this is your fault, of course. Whether you like it or not, third-wave feminism is to blame and it has quite literally stolen any chance you have for true happiness as a woman.
From an early age you will be told that you are princesses and deserve the best of everything simply because you were born with vaginas. There is some truth to this, but not for the reason you’ve been raised to believe.
You see, you could be princesses and eventually even someone’s queen worthy of the utmost respect. The truth is, you are more valuable than men from...
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Dear Ms. Markoff,
We’ve received your cease and desist letter from your lawyer, Mr. Jayaram, in which he demands we abandon the use of our brand’s name, identity, product labeling, URLs, social media handles and the small town reputation we’ve worked so very hard to grow over the past five years. These overburdensome demands stem from Vosges Haut Chocolat’s alleged trademark on the phrase, “Peace, Love, and Chocolate.” Mr. Jayaram also demanded that we “contact (y)our firm within a week of receiving this letter to confirm that (we) have taken all necessary efforts to cease and desist infringing upon (your) Trademark.”
One. Week.
The demands become even more witheringly mind-boggling when we discover that Vosges Haut Chocolat doesn’t use the phrase, “Peace, Love, and Chocolate” in...
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