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.

Tennessee’s New Abstinence Law Sparks Debate Over Benefits Of Sex Ed

In this Wednesday, April 18, 2012, file photo, Rep. Jim Gotto seeks recognition during a House Education Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee recently enacted a pro-abstinence sex education law that is among the strictest in the nation. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) (MintPress) – The state of Tennessee has put into place a pro-abstinence sex education […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
In this Wednesday, April 18, 2012, file photo, Rep. Jim Gotto seeks recognition during a House Education Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee recently enacted a pro-abstinence sex education law that is among the strictest in the nation. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

(MintPress) – The state of Tennessee has put into place a pro-abstinence sex education law, being heralded as one of the strictest in the nation, which supporters say is a step in the right direction to curb teenage pregnancy rates. Critics on the other hand, charge the new law is harmful as it causes teens to be uneducated about sexuality and

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TSA Under Congressional Scrutiny In Cases Of Misconduct

A traveler is patted down by a TSA agent as they go through security at the Salt Lake City International Airport Wednesday, June 1, 2011, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart) (MintPress) – After having her breasts and genitals groped by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent, a woman who formerly worked as a TSA […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
A traveler is patted down by a TSA agent as they go through security at the Salt Lake City International Airport Wednesday, June 1, 2011, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

(MintPress) – After having her breasts and genitals groped by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent, a woman who formerly worked as a TSA agent in south Florida was arrested for protesting what her lawyers are calling an extremely inappropriate search. Airline passenger Carol Price was traveling to attend her brother’s funeral in

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US And Western Officials Confirm Flame Virus Developed By US, Israel To Hinder Iran’s Nuclear Program

In this file photo made Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, and released by the International Iran Photo Agency, Iranian technicians work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran. (AP Photo/IIPA,Ebrahim Norouzi, file) Update | By: Carissa Wyant Several U.S. and Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in early June, […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
In this file photo made Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, and released by the International Iran Photo Agency, Iranian technicians work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran. (AP Photo/IIPA,Ebrahim Norouzi, file)

Update | By: Carissa Wyant Several U.S. and Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in early June, confirmed that the launch of the Flame computer virus was directed by Israel in a unilateral operation, which was surprising to American intelligence.   Heralded as the first sustained case of cyber-sabotage against a U.S.

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Racial Tensions Overcome As Southern Baptist Convention Elects First Black President

Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Ave. Baptist Church, delivers a sermon during Sunday Services at the Church in New Orleans, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (MintPress) – “I grew up in the hood, and my mom worked two or three jobs. I hung out with a lot of bad guys. I […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Ave. Baptist Church, delivers a sermon during Sunday Services at the Church in New Orleans, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

(MintPress) – “I grew up in the hood, and my mom worked two or three jobs. I hung out with a lot of bad guys. I did a lot of crazy things I should not have done,” said Rev. Fred Luter Jr., a former street preacher who is poised to become the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant body on

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50,000 Rally In NYC To End Stop-And-Frisk, Raising Questions Over Alleged NYPD Racial Profiling Techniques

Demonstrators hold signs during a silent march to end the « stop-and-frisk » program in New York, Sunday, June 17, 2012. Thousands of protesters from civil rights groups walked down New York City’s Fifth Avenue in total silence on Sunday as they marched in defiance of stop-and-frisk€ tactics employed by city police. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (MintPress)—  “Stop-and-frisk […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Demonstrators hold signs during a silent march to end the "stop-and-frisk" program in New York, Sunday, June 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

(MintPress)—  “Stop-and-frisk is the most massive local racial profiling program in the country. All children, of every color, should feel protected by our police, not threatened, harassed or intimidated. Stop-and-frisk is a violation of NYPD policy, our constitution and the basic values of liberty and justice for all,” said President and CEO of

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Healthcare Professionals Help Give Care To Under-Insured Americans

Dr. Winslow Murdoch, right, examines patient Joseph Balinski at his West Chester, Pa. office Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005. Murdoch doesn’t accept any insurance and instead has patients pay him a monthly retainer in an arrangement commonly referred to as a « concierge practice. » The result, Murdoch and his patients say, is better, more hands-on care. (AP […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
A doctor examines his patient at a West Chester, Pa. office Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005. (AP Photo/Bradley C. Bower)

(MintPress) – While the debate over healthcare reform rolls on in America, a handful of healthcare professionals are taking matters into their own hands, offering medical care for patients who don’t have insurance and make too much money to qualify for state-sponsored programs. Some clinics are now charging patients a flat monthly fee, rather

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Anheuser-Busch, Pabst Brewing Co. Blamed For Alcoholism Damages To Tribes

This June 7, 2003 file photo shows a man drinking a beer standing with other Native Americans on the streets of Whiteclay, Neb.The Oglala Sioux Tribe announced Thursday, Feb. 6, 2012, that it will file a $500 million federal lawsuit against some of the nation's largest beer distributors, alleging that they knowingly contributed to the […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
This June 7, 2003 file photo shows a man drinking a beer standing with other Native Americans on the streets of Whiteclay, Neb.The Oglala Sioux Tribe announced Thursday, Feb. 6, 2012, that it will file a $500 million federal lawsuit against some of the nation's largest beer distributors, alleging that they knowingly contributed to the chronic alcoholism, health problems and other social ills on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The lawsuit also targets the four beer stores in Whiteclay, a Nebraska town (pop. 11) on the South Dakota border that sells about 5 million cans of beer per year. (AP Photo/William Lauer, File)

(MintPress)— Alleging that some of the world’s biggest beer brewers have knowingly contributed to devastating problems, including alcoholism, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the Oglala Sioux Tribe is suing Anheuser-Busch, Pabst Brewing Co. and others for $500 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed in February in U.S. District Court of

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