Three important stories to bring to your attention…

Yesterday was one of those days where a lot of stories all hit Twitter, and there was so much that needed to be highlighted that I knew I'd need to sift through the pile and just pick a few. Thus, these are not the three most important stories of the day, but they are the ones I felt had been under-reported, and I want to bring them to your attention, with limited ranting or rambling.

First, you know I've been reporting frequently on trans suicides reaching a shockingly high 42%, but now I've got another disturbing statistic on a different group of a oppressed people: 60% of black women are sexually assaulted or sexually abused before the age of 18, usually by black men. This is a serious problem, but it's not really making many waves in the white media because…hey, not their problem. Unfortunately, this also means it's ignored by a lot of indie news sources too. Everyone passes the buck because it's only a problem for black women. The rest of us shouldn't owe them anything.

That's the standard logic, but I disagree, and I feel that this attitude of "not my problem" shows how little civic duty people feel to defend their neighbors from harm. This is a problem that everyone needs to discuss, even if it's just to get the subject out in the open without delivering a verdict on what's wrong with "those people." And that's what I'm gonna do here. I'm going to give you this story and ask you nicely, politely, please, pass this on to your people on whatever blog or social site you frequent. You don't have to use my approach in delivering the news if you want to also add your opinion, of course. But for a problem this epidemic and complex, I am so, so not qualified to be talking about solutions. All I can do is say "Hey, are you aware of how bad this is getting? Pass it on, please."

The same is true of this second story, where the Mayo clinic is suing over a patent. Now this case is very important, because if you think medical costs are high now, wait until patent trolls patent a few key medical procedures and demand payments for every use of the technology. Then you'll see medical costs go up even faster. However, there's not really much folks can do with this case until after it's over. We get a verdict we don't like, eh, an appeal is possible, and Mayo's got decent pocket depth to handle a few rounds of appeals. It's not cause for alarm yet, but it is one of those stories that I want to say "Did you see this yet?" So if you haven't do read this.

And now, finally, this third story is a familiar ranty refrain for me, and you WILL get some minor ranting. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a politician posing as a cop, has failed to investigate over 400 sex crimes, as well as 32 cases of molested children, some as young as 2. As is typical, the children are convenient light weights to be held out and used by politicians seeking election through fear mongering. Everyone claims to want to protect the kids. But when it comes to backing up words with actual protection, only the most privileged kids get the advantages of the law's protection. Everyone else is screwed. No, in some cases, they're really screwed. And don't get pissed at me for saying it, because while you shout at me, the real villains, the cops not doing their jobs, miss your ire and fury. In other words, shout at me for being flippant about this, and you are barking up the wrong tree.

So on this last story, I would like to request that you try to feel a little real outrage and try some barking emails to Joe and his staff about investigating all crimes, not just the ones that will win white votes next election. And, if you're in this guy's district, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND YOUR CHILDREN, ELECT SOMEONE BESIDES JOE. *Deep breath*

Thank you for your time. And now I'm off to do edity shtuff to a rough draft. (With emphasis on rough.)