Frederick Reese

Frederick Reese is lead staff writer for Mint Press specializing in race, poverty, congressional oversight and technology. An award winning data journalist and creative writer for over 15 years, Frederick has written about and worked for social advocacy projects and personal awareness efforts. Frederick is a jack-of-all-trades, with work experience as a teacher, a pastry chef and a story writer. Frederick has publication credits with Yahoo!, B. Couleur, and more. A native New Yorker, Frederick graduated from Colgate University in 1999 and Johnson & Wales University in 2003. Frederick started his journalistic career writing for his university’s newspaper, “The Colgate Maroon-News,” before starting and heading his own magazine, “The Idealist.” Most recently, Frederick received a data journalism award from the International Center for Journalists for his minimum wage coverage for MintPress. Follow Frederick on Twitter: @frederickreese

Rice Joins Dropbox Board, Sparks Online Protests

Condoleezza Rice seems an odd choice for Dropbox, a company whose future success depends upon its users believing their data is secure and safe from prying eyes.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
Condoleezza Rice

Few people evoke a visceral reaction as intense as the former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The mere mention of her name has led to screaming matches, vigorous debates and unsolicited condemnation. An example of this is the recent uproar online over Rice joining the board of directors for San Francisco-based Dropbox. Dropbox is a

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Bill Proposes Trading Financial Aid For Share Of Future Earnings

Legislation was introduced on Wednesday that would let investors invest in individuals’ future earnings. Critics worry that this could lead to indentured servitude for indebted students.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, March 6, 2014. Rubio said the US is the one nation that can rally people around the globe against the rise of totalitarian governments. (AP/Susan Walsh)

On Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Tom Petri, R - Wis., introduced legislation that would establish a legal framework for investors to directly invest in the future earnings of individuals. The bill, the Investing in Student Success Act, would offer an alternative means for education funding or educational debt repayment without the

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Texas Rep. Introduces Bill To Make Bitcoins Currency

The IRS has ruled that, for tax purposes, bitcoins should be classified as securities, but a controversial Texas politician wants to return the virtual currency to currency status.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

In his failed bid to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, earlier this year, Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, became the first politician to accept bitcoins as contributions toward a federal campaign. The Federal Elections Commission has failed to establish rules either banning or permitting bitcoin use in federal elections. Its valuation exceeded

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Louisiana Moves To Make The Bible Its State Book

A move to name the Bible as the state book of Louisiana fans the flames of debate on the separation of church and state.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

The Louisiana state Legislature has taken a step toward making the Holy Bible the official state book. In a vote of 8-5, the state House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs agreed to advance the proposal to the full House for debate. The bill, HB 503, threatens to violate the separation of church and state by honoring a specific

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Federal Agency Rejects Expanded Nuclear Fallout Plan

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejects a call to expand emergency zones for areas within nuclear fallout ranges, prompting questions over the agency’s commitment to public safety.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
Nuclear Safety Plant Sites

In 2012, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service filed a request to extend the emergency zone surrounding nuclear plants from a 10 mile radius to a 25 mile radius. In the proposal submitted by the agency to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a secondary area set 25 to 50 miles away from a nuclear reactor would also be created. Here,

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Latest Bank Fine Shows Broken Regulatory System, Out-Of-Touch Industry

Bank of America is the latest major bank to get slammed with fines and orders to repay customers affected by unfair and deceptive practices and products.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
Earns Bank Of America

In June 2013, Americans’ confidence in U.S. banks ticked upward for the first time since 2006, according to polling conducted by Gallup, to 26 percent approval. This represents a 5 percentage point increase from the same time in 2012, as well as the seventh consecutive year the majority of Americans have shown little or no confidence in the

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“Heartbleed” Exploit Deals Major Blow To Online Privacy

A recently discovered coding error has devastating implications for the security of personal information online. It also shows that online privacy may be an ideal that doesn’t exist in reality.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

In Atlanta, a tax return for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was filed by a Wal-Mart associate and his high school buddy. The return, filed last year, bore Holder’s name, Social Security number and date of birth. The pair bought Holder’s information from a black market website, which they used to process a large number of fraudulent

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