N. Philadelphia serial killer and rapist Gary Michael Heidnik, who inspired the character Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs,” manipulated the psychiatric and justice systems until the end. But at that end, he had one last, truthful thing to say.
By Thom Nickels
Chris Gibbons: A high school essay contest reminds us what patriotism looks like
As we celebrate our Independence Day, perhaps the inspired words of a few local high school writers will help to dampen the divisions between us and re-inspire a sense of shared patriotism.
By Chris Gibbons
Larry Platt: The forgotten victim of MOVE
Yes, the story of the city’s mishandling of MOVE remains is another horrible indignity in a tragic saga. But today’s retelling of MOVE is also tragically incomplete.
By Larry Platt
Robert Petrone: Christopher Columbus is the greatest hero of the 15th & 16th centuries (pt. VIII): The Final Voyage to Freedom
Christopher Columbus was none of the epithets with which his detractors repeatedly characterize him — and all of the historical resources show this unequivocally. Part eight in a series of eight.
By Robert Petrone
Elizabeth Stelle: An election crisis like no other?
If you think 2020 is bad, you don’t know 1876.
By Elizabeth Stelle
Robert Petrone: Christopher Columbus is the greatest hero of the 15th & 16th centuries (pt. VII): The First Civil Rights Legislation of the Americas
Christopher Columbus was none of the epithets with which his detractors repeatedly characterize him — and all of the historical resources show this unequivocally. Part seven in a series of eight.
By Robert Petrone
Stu Bykofsky: Why I reject ‘systemic racism’
The moment of my real race awakening came in 1955 with the murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi for supposedly flirting with a white woman.
By Stu Bykofsky
Robert Petrone: Christopher Columbus is the greatest hero of the 15th & 16th centuries (pt. VI): The Arch-Nemesis Bobadilla
Christopher Columbus was none of the epithets with which his detractors repeatedly characterize him — and all of the historical resources show this unequivocally. Part six in a series of eight.
By Robert Petrone
George Hofmann: Although it all seems like more than we can handle, we have been here before
Hindsight is 20/20, and in this tumultuous year, it would serve us well to remember how Americans have previously overcome political divisions that struck the nation’s core.
By George Hofmann
Robert Petrone: Christopher Columbus is the greatest hero of the 15th & 16th centuries (pt. V): The Second Voyage
Christopher Columbus was none of the epithets with which his detractors repeatedly characterize him — and all of the historical resources show this unequivocally. Part five in a series of eight.
By Robert Petrone