Carissa Wyant

Carissa Wyant is a former MintPress columnist specializing in faith, race and social justice issues. She has been published in the Huffington Post, Patch.com, American City Business Journals and various local publications around the American Midwest.

As Damages From Tornadoes Soar, Republicans Call For Cuts To FEMA

(MintPress)—  While damages from natural disasters have been climbing to record highs in the U.S. over the last few years and experts are predicting another active tornado season for 2012, Republicans are acting to cut spending on government agencies that help predict and mitigate damages from severe storms. Tornadoes cut across Texas Tuesday, tossing semi […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Josie Juarez, right, sits in the ruins of her home with boyfriend Clinton Wurzbach, Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in Devine, Texas. Her home was destroyed when a tornado touched down in the town of five thousand, about thirty miles southwest of San Antonio. Juarez' fifteen-year-old daughter, Jesse, who was the only person home when the tornado hit, survived by taking shelter in the bathroom. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

(MintPress)—  While damages from natural disasters have been climbing to record highs in the U.S. over the last few years and experts are predicting another active tornado season for 2012, Republicans are acting to cut spending on government agencies that help predict and mitigate damages from severe storms. Tornadoes cut across Texas Tuesday,

Read Full Article

Domestic Terrorism Cases Reveal Hypocrisy and Racism in US

(MintPress)— Last week, several members of the Michigan Militia were loosed into the American populous after a federal judge deemed the US government’s case against them didn’t have enough merit to warrant locking up the extremist group’s leaders. The government’s case against seven members of the gun-toting, anti-government Christian militia was dismissed by US District […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant

(MintPress)— Last week, several members of the Michigan Militia were loosed into the American populous after a federal judge deemed the US government’s case against them didn’t have enough merit to warrant locking up the extremist group’s leaders. The government’s case against seven members of the gun-toting, anti-government Christian militia

Read Full Article

Controversial New Film Tackles Bullying, US Government Steps Up to Address Growing Problem

(MintPress)— A 12-year-old girl in Rhode Island was lured to her classmates’ house, under the premise of attending a slumber party, then savagely beaten. The victim was punched, kicked, bitten and scratched by two 12-year-old girls and two 13-year-olds on March 24. The four girls responsible for the attack are facing criminal charges following the […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Kim Myers holds a poster used to promote a memorial fishing derby in honor of her son, Brandon, who killed himself in February of 2007, in Lee's Summit, Mo. For Kim Myers, Brandon's death is the result of what she calls incessant bullying that his teachers and other administrators at Voy Spears Elementary School failed to stop. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

(MintPress)— A 12-year-old girl in Rhode Island was lured to her classmates’ house, under the premise of attending a slumber party, then savagely beaten. The victim was punched, kicked, bitten and scratched by two 12-year-old girls and two 13-year-olds on March 24. The four girls responsible for the attack are facing criminal charges

Read Full Article

Criticism And Points Of Convergence Emerge From Pope’s Tour Of Cuba

(MintPress)—  Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of his three-day trip to Cuba Wednesday, celebrating Mass and delivering a homily calling for change in the country to hundreds of thousands in Havana’s Revolution Plaza Wednesday. “Cuba and the world need change,’’ he said, “but this will only be accomplished if each of us asks ourselves […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Pope Benedict XVI and Cuban President Raul Castro walk outside the Revolution palace at the end of their meeting in Havana, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The meeting took place behind closed doors on the pontiff's second day on the island.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

(MintPress)—  Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of his three-day trip to Cuba Wednesday, celebrating Mass and delivering a homily calling for change in the country to hundreds of thousands in Havana’s Revolution Plaza Wednesday. “Cuba and the world need change,’’ he said, “but this will only be accomplished if each of us asks ourselves the truth

Read Full Article

Justice Served? Families of Afghan massacre victims paid by US

(MintPress)— The United States has paid tens of thousands of dollars to family members of victims killed in a shooting rampage allegedly perpetrated by an American soldier. MintPress previously reported that US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales stands accused of leaving his post on a base in Afghanistan in the middle of the night March […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Afghan villagers pray over the grave of one of the 16 victims killed in a shooting rampage in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 24, 2012. Mohammad Wazir has trouble even drinking water now, because it reminds him of the last time he saw his 7-year-old daughter. He had asked his wife for a drink but his daughter insisted on fetching it. Now his daughter Masooma is dead, killed along with 10 other members of his family in a shooting rampage attributed to a U.S. soldier. The soldier faces the death penalty but Wazir and his neighbors say they feel irreparably broken. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)

(MintPress)— The United States has paid tens of thousands of dollars to family members of victims killed in a shooting rampage allegedly perpetrated by an American soldier. MintPress previously reported that US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales stands accused of leaving his post on a base in Afghanistan in the middle of the night March 11,  and

Read Full Article

Occupy’s Creative Antics in Targeting Big Banks

(MintPress)— Occupy protesters from the West coast and beyond have been tangoing with big banks, and some of the institutions are bowing out in response to the pressure. Minnesota-based U.S. Bank closed its branch office on the University of California Davis campus this week, after activists began protesting regularly outside the bank’s doors back in […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant

(MintPress)— Occupy protesters from the West coast and beyond have been tangoing with big banks, and some of the institutions are bowing out in response to the pressure. Minnesota-based U.S. Bank closed its branch office on the University of California Davis campus this week, after activists began protesting regularly outside the bank’s doors

Read Full Article

Drugs used to Treat PTSD Creating Devastating Problems for Vets

(MintPress)— Powerful drugs used to treat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are leading to a whole new host of problems, including suicide and substance abuse,  for struggling veterans, according to a government report released earlier this month. Morphine and other powerful painkillers are currently being prescribed to US veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress along […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
A recent Iraq vet undergoes a medical assessment. (Photo by Multimedia Photography and Design-Newhouse School)

(MintPress)— Powerful drugs used to treat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are leading to a whole new host of problems, including suicide and substance abuse,  for struggling veterans, according to a government report released earlier this month. Morphine and other powerful painkillers are currently being prescribed to

Read Full Article