Cartoons

Editorial | Our neglected rivers

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2018

When rivers are used as sloughs for waste, pollution, plastic and agricultural runoff, the damage is hazardous, ugly and demoralizing. In a call to action, Prairie Rivers Network is hosting the “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” at Peoria Riverfront Museum…

Editorials | The “Black National Anthem”

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2018

The Declaration of Independence sets forth the principles of our democracy: All people in this country are equal with inalienable rights, among them the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We can believe in the promises of…

Editorial | Colin Kaepernick: Amnesty International Award Winner

Amnesty International gave Colin Kaepernick its 2018 Ambassador of Conscience Award for his nonviolent protest against police violence against black people. The N.F.L. quarterback did not stand for the National Anthem but knelt to protest racial inequality and police brutality.…

Editorial : Gutting science from public policy

Make America Lobotomized Again

“Fact-based,” “research-based,” “evidence-based” –– all terms that used to be the gold standard for evaluating the world and formulating public policy. No longer, at least not in Washington, D.C. Now these terms are banned by the Trump administration. We now…

Editorial | Safe injection sites: sound public policy

by S.A. Shepler

“Data takes the emotion out.” The Rev. Marvin Hightower, president of the Peoria Chapter of the NAACP, said that in an article in the March issue of Community Word about clean syringe exchange programs. Research shows clean syringe exchange programs…

Editorial: Trump bullies and coerces women; attacks basic human right to reproductive freedom

S.A. Shepler

Donald Trump, his administration and his judicial appointments are waging an all-out assault on legal access to abortion and contraception. Consider this case: A 17-year-old woman detained in a refugee center in Texas has been denied access to an abortion…