Feb 08
Ever since the recession of 2008, we have seen an incline in homeless Americans. The contradiction to this trend is that we have more vacant houses than ever in the U.S. as homes slide into foreclosure and people can’t afford to maintain a mortgage with an outrageous interest rate. When the housing bubble of 2008 …
Feb 06
Khalil, a six year old in first grade, attends elementary school in Southeast D.C. We just finished reading The Little Engine That Could, and began discussing what it means to overcome obstacles and believe in oneself. Khalil is one of the sweetest kids I know, with overwhelming positivity and optimism for the future. He always …
Feb 06
Most people think of women when the words “honor killing” are brought up. As I wrote in a previous post, women around the world are being murdered, typically by their relatives, due to the fact that they have somehow brought shame upon their family. In this post, though, I want to talk about victims of …
Feb 03
Prosecuting human trafficking offenders in the United States is a difficult task at best as public policy does not always support the criminal justice system. Over the past ten years the United States implemented strong public policy measures to address human trafficking and implemented sentencing guidelines to punish traffickers. Prosecution is what I would call …
Feb 01
We observe our environment through all of our senses. Right now, as I feel the keys on my keyboard fall under the pressure of my fingers, I also watch the screen as the letters appear in front of me. I can hear the faint noise of the cars passing outside, and taste the spearmint gum …
Jan 30
Phillip Parker grew up in Tennessee with a loving family and a supportive group of friends. He was upbeat and energetic throughout most of his childhood, and was respected by many. He was also openly gay. Unfortunately, with his confidence in being out of the closet came the consequence of bullying. To a number of …
Jan 30
College tuition has been a critical issue with students across the United States, especially as costs continue to skyrocket every year. However, President Obama recently outlined a series of changes that he felt are necessary to help keep college tuition costs from getting any higher. According to the president, higher education is an extraordinarily important …
Jan 26
Women have their own unique qualities which they bring to leadership and through their global leadership; they lend those qualities to the world as a whole. The fact is that women lead differently than men. Not better mind you, just different. Women are more empathic and consider an element of empathy when making political or …
Jan 26
Several months ago I wrote a post about the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which, to refresh your memory, operates on the basis of gross national happiness, or GNH. GNH replaced GDP and GNP (gross domestic product and gross national product) as the measure of development for the country in 1972 when then King Jigme …
Jan 23
As a chocolate aficionado, I can safely say that I consume chocolate on an almost daily basis. The sweet treat is something that I always have stashed in my backpack or purse, and it always leaves me with a smile on my face. However, I was surprised to learn that there is a sad and …
