At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found.Officers have beaten members of the public, planted evidence and used their badges to harass women. They have lied, stolen, dealt drugs, driven drunk and abused their spouses.Despite their role as public servants, the men and women who swear an oath to keep communities safe can generally avoid public scrutiny for their misdeeds.The records of their misconduct are filed away, rarely seen by anyone outside their...…At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found.Officers have beaten members of the public, planted evidence and used their badges to harass women. They have lied, stolen, dealt drugs, driven drunk and abused their spouses.Despite their role as public servants, the men and women who swear an oath to keep communities safe can generally avoid public scrutiny for their misdeeds.The records of their misconduct are filed away, rarely seen by anyone outside their...WW…

Shakespeare gets it. He feels your hangover. He knows that frantic scramble for your wallet, your keys, and your phone when you wake up on your friend’s couch after a night out drinking. That double-checking you got your credit card back from the bar. He hears you when ask your friend, “Oh my God, how much did I spend last night?” He understands you’re bloated from the pizza that saved your blood sugar levels at 3am. He, too, longs to dry out today but will inevitably be putting back beers in just a few hours. You’re only back home for Christmas for so long, he tells you. His thigh is also...…Shakespeare gets it. He feels your hangover. He knows that frantic scramble for your wallet, your keys, and your phone when you wake up on your friend’s couch after a night out drinking. That double-checking you got your credit card back from the bar. He hears you when ask your friend, “Oh my God, how much did I spend last night?” He understands you’re bloated from the pizza that saved your blood sugar levels at 3am. He, too, longs to dry out today but will inevitably be putting back beers in just a few hours. You’re only back home for Christmas for so long, he tells you. His thigh is also...WW…

Outside, a sterile sun was already burning through the gauzy clouds over the mountains. Dumping out the dregs of yesterday’s coffee, I spotted pink chunks in the sink. Some washed down the drain as I filled up the carafe; others were crusted onto the stainless steel. Was this me? I thought. I don’t remember doing this.  I remember a bouncer all of sudden asked me to leave the bar. I know I wasn’t rowdy. I wasn’t even terribly drunk, I think. I remember folding slices of peppered salami and sourdough bread into my face after the taxi got us home, as I remember we didn’t eat dinner...…Outside, a sterile sun was already burning through the gauzy clouds over the mountains. Dumping out the dregs of yesterday’s coffee, I spotted pink chunks in the sink. Some washed down the drain as I filled up the carafe; others were crusted onto the stainless steel. Was this me? I thought. I don’t remember doing this.  I remember a bouncer all of sudden asked me to leave the bar. I know I wasn’t rowdy. I wasn’t even terribly drunk, I think. I remember folding slices of peppered salami and sourdough bread into my face after the taxi got us home, as I remember we didn’t eat dinner...WW…

Today I can laugh about it. She ended up dumping him and came out as a lesbian, I learned through the grapevine years later. And when asked to explain that semester out of school, I usually just leave it as a “personal matter,” as if it was an illness. I suppose it was, in a way. I don’t talk to either of them now, though from time to time, late-night whiskey steers me towards Facebook. He’s helping launch a craft brewery. She’s married and has a child with her partner. I’m happy for them. Really. And I actually can’t say it took me a long time to get there. Once I was over it, of course....…Today I can laugh about it. She ended up dumping him and came out as a lesbian, I learned through the grapevine years later. And when asked to explain that semester out of school, I usually just leave it as a “personal matter,” as if it was an illness. I suppose it was, in a way. I don’t talk to either of them now, though from time to time, late-night whiskey steers me towards Facebook. He’s helping launch a craft brewery. She’s married and has a child with her partner. I’m happy for them. Really. And I actually can’t say it took me a long time to get there. Once I was over it, of course....WW…

I’ve been preoccupied with two people this year. The first, of course, is William Shakespeare. The other, alack, is Donald Trump. I’ve avoided writing about the latter. It’s not that I don’t see the man everywhere in Shakespeare’s plays. I see him in Richard III’s Machiavellian machinations. In Richard II’s incompetence, overreach, and rashness. I see him in Iago’s Janus-faced manipulations. In Timon of Athen’s extreme egotism. In the glib sexual presumption of Falstaff as he appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor. It’s that I’ve wanted to keep the two separated. Maybe because I’ve felt the...…I’ve been preoccupied with two people this year. The first, of course, is William Shakespeare. The other, alack, is Donald Trump. I’ve avoided writing about the latter. It’s not that I don’t see the man everywhere in Shakespeare’s plays. I see him in Richard III’s Machiavellian machinations. In Richard II’s incompetence, overreach, and rashness. I see him in Iago’s Janus-faced manipulations. In Timon of Athen’s extreme egotism. In the glib sexual presumption of Falstaff as he appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor. It’s that I’ve wanted to keep the two separated. Maybe because I’ve felt the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJane Gamble typically trains her camera lens on birds. She’s a passionate birder who lives in Alexandria, Va. But when the birds are boring, she’s more than happy to shoot some squirrels.“I think for wildlife photographers, squirrels are like Victoria’s Secret models,” Gamble said. “They’re easy to photograph, and they always look good.”Well, hers certainly do. Gamble’s photo of a gray squirrel reaching up to some pink crepe myrtle blossoms as rain begins to fall was the winner of the 2020 Washington Post Squirrel Week...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJane Gamble typically trains her camera lens on birds. She’s a passionate birder who lives in Alexandria, Va. But when the birds are boring, she’s more than happy to shoot some squirrels.“I think for wildlife photographers, squirrels are like Victoria’s Secret models,” Gamble said. “They’re easy to photograph, and they always look good.”Well, hers certainly do. Gamble’s photo of a gray squirrel reaching up to some pink crepe myrtle blossoms as rain begins to fall was the winner of the 2020 Washington Post Squirrel Week...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareIf Alice Reighly was around today, I would love to sit with her and watch the Oscar-nominated movie “Promising Young Woman.”Alas, that’s impossible. Reighly died in 1973 in her 80s.I enjoyed the film, if that’s the right word to use for a movie that’s about sexual violence, victim-blaming and the male gaze in extremis. It stars Carey Mulligan as a woman who dresses provocatively, then heads to bars and pretends to be drunk. We watch as men attempt to take advantage of her before she turns instantly sober, like an avenging...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareIf Alice Reighly was around today, I would love to sit with her and watch the Oscar-nominated movie “Promising Young Woman.”Alas, that’s impossible. Reighly died in 1973 in her 80s.I enjoyed the film, if that’s the right word to use for a movie that’s about sexual violence, victim-blaming and the male gaze in extremis. It stars Carey Mulligan as a woman who dresses provocatively, then heads to bars and pretends to be drunk. We watch as men attempt to take advantage of her before she turns instantly sober, like an avenging...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTo get to the rock that a witch froze to death on, you head south on Route 5 toward Leonardtown, Md., then turn right at the sign that reads “Religious Freedom,” next to the Neighborhood CBD Store (“No RX needed”).You go through Leonardtown’s quaint downtown, then hang a left. Go past the historic jail until you get to Tudor Hall, an old plantation house that overlooks Breton Bay, a small bay in St. Mary’s County.You can’t miss the dead witch’s rock. It’s ovoid, about the size of an ottoman and up on a raised wooden...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTo get to the rock that a witch froze to death on, you head south on Route 5 toward Leonardtown, Md., then turn right at the sign that reads “Religious Freedom,” next to the Neighborhood CBD Store (“No RX needed”).You go through Leonardtown’s quaint downtown, then hang a left. Go past the historic jail until you get to Tudor Hall, an old plantation house that overlooks Breton Bay, a small bay in St. Mary’s County.You can’t miss the dead witch’s rock. It’s ovoid, about the size of an ottoman and up on a raised wooden...WW…

I issued the usual complaint to my wife: “I don’t know what to write about.” Henry VIII was in the books but no inspiration was coming to me. I had come down with a bad case of PPMD: Post-play Moping Disorder. Symptoms include: writer’s block, acute unoriginality, sore purpose, intellectual nausea, and mild gas. “Your mother,” she said. “Huh? My mother?” “You haven’t written about your mother.” She was right. I had written about my stepmother. I had written about my brothers. About my father and grandfather. About old friends and new friends. I had written on many occasions about...…I issued the usual complaint to my wife: “I don’t know what to write about.” Henry VIII was in the books but no inspiration was coming to me. I had come down with a bad case of PPMD: Post-play Moping Disorder. Symptoms include: writer’s block, acute unoriginality, sore purpose, intellectual nausea, and mild gas. “Your mother,” she said. “Huh? My mother?” “You haven’t written about your mother.” She was right. I had written about my stepmother. I had written about my brothers. About my father and grandfather. About old friends and new friends. I had written on many occasions about...WW…