On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail.
Commentary
Could a Video Game Developer Win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
How do we account for other language-based forms of expression? If performed works such as theatre or songwriting can be considered literature, where is the limit? And why aren’t video games considered a form of expression?
Journalism in Crisis
In journalism school, students learn their craft while engaging with critical questions about their roles and responsibilities. They are often taught by previous or current journalists, whose work experiences prepare them to help students tackle reporting challenges. Crises ask journalism educators, students and practitioners to grapple with sharing stories about what the future could hold. What will journalists’ jobs look like in five years? Or 25 years?
Antarctica’s Sea Ice Hits Another Low
Even just a decade ago, sea ice reliably rebuilt itself each winter. But something has changed in how the Southern Ocean works and the area covered by sea ice has decreased dramatically.
Taylor Swift’s Homage to Clara Bow
One track on Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” honors a long-celebrated, oft-miscast heroine of American feminism: actress Clara Bow. Bow was a woman way ahead of her time, a star who owned her success and her sexuality. There’s the popular perception that Bow was a victim of her own demons. But her story is anything but a cautionary tale.
Supreme Court Will Decide Constitutionality of Laws Like Florida’s Against Homeless
On April 22, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could radically change how cities respond to the growing problem of homelessness. It also could significantly worsen the nation’s racial justice gap.
A Bittersweet Arab American Heritage Month
April is National Arab American Heritage Month. It should be a time to celebrate the contributions of the over 3.5 million Arab Americans who strengthen our proud nation. But right now, it’s impossible to feel celebratory as Palestinian-Americans reel from the immense pain and horror of an unfolding genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians of Gaza, as Israel’s unrelenting bombardment and mass starvation of civilians continues. Adding insult to injury, Israel is using U.S.-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities.
Loneliness Is Killing Middle-Ages Americans
A study makes clear that middle-aged Americans today are experiencing more loneliness than their peers in European nations. This coincides with existing evidence that mortality rates are rising for working-age adults in the U.S.
Bob Graham Was Among the Rare Dissenters to Dare Resist Bush’s Iraq War Lies and Follies
War fever was rampant in October of 2002 – 9/11 was still raw – and Team Bush was busy smearing anyone who voiced any qualms about kicking butt. Dissent was deemed “unpatriotic.” But Bob Graham had qualms and refused to knuckle under.
Israel’s AI-Aided Massacre of Gazans
The Israeli army used a new artificial intelligence (AI) system to generate lists of tens of thousands of human targets for potential airstrikes in Gaza. One intelligence officer said the system “made it easier” to carry out large numbers of strikes, because “the machine did it coldly”.