At a critical level, this reflects the subtle but radical transformation of the Church under Francis. His immediate predecessors—especially John Paul II—were ferocious ideologues and activists with ties to right-wing political parties around the world. They shaped not just internal Church policy but external political…

You claim the cardboard is edible. You are being too generous.

Some years ago I was exposed to TB while working in a school with a large population of kids from a TB active region. My exposure was discovered during a routine screening, when I had what was described as a "loud, angry positive" to the skin test. The nurse actually screamed when I went in to show her my arm—the…

Meant to say "really big babies" but you get the point.

If you've never had a baby, or you're a man and you want some mental image to help you to imagine the experience, just envision somebody implanting a cantaloupe in your intestine (maybe even a watermelon—I had really babies) and then you have to shit it out.

Back then Dr. King was simultaneously derided as a Tom whose day was done, worn-out and useless, servile to white America—and attacked as a radical communist agitator whose "rabble-rousing" posed a threat to the very foundations of so-called "white civilization." To a great extent this fun-house mirror distortion of…

There is no medical corroboration. Those are unsourced leaks oozing their way into the press via a blogger named Jim Hoft who is notorious for repeating right-wing Big Lies. Whether or not Wilson was injured, we have not seen a doctor's report or any other aboveboard testimony.

Wait a minute. So they're not actually public servants? They're really secret police who must conceal their identities to perform their heroic undercover deeds? Now I'm confused.

Some of those cops were shot accidentally by fellow cops during raids as weapons were fired off wildly in all directions. The list of 27 includes military personnel, and also a couple of dogs who are included as "fallen officers."

It must be nice to know deep down that you can subvert the rule of law, fuck over tens of millions of human beings, even menace and threaten people and do your level best to destroy their lives, and nobody's going to come and shoot you in the back for it. Nobody's even going to suggest that ought to happen. Hell, a…

The smear of the dead kid was inevitable. It's almost superfluous, of course—racists have been tossing around a fake "rap sheet" on Michael Brown for days. His blackness alone was proof enough for them that he was a "thug." For them, this is just the icing on their fetid little cake.

I've actually been in fear for my life, for a few seconds that seemed to stretch out into infinity. It's really beyond dreadful to think that possibly you're going to die. In fact you're not truly 'thinking'—it's a moment of shock and knowing rather than thought. It's almost impossible to describe that sudden slam to…

They're funded. American municipalities shell out billions of dollars a year to settle cases of police brutality, wrongful death, perjury, prosecutorial misconduct, etc. New York City alone accounts for nearly a billion all by itself.

It's the worst. I'm sorry you had to watch your grandfather go through this. Studies are contradictory, but even those suggesting a genetic factor describe a very low risk to other family members, so try not to worry too much (easier said than done, I know).

This is hospice at its best. When I worked in a hospice center some years ago I saw lots of variations on the stories people are telling here. We had one patient who had been on dialysis for years and who because of a cascade of health issues had come to the end of the road—even her doctor, who had been too stubborn…