Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Theodore Roosevelt bust by Gutzon Borglum. Boston, MA. – In the State Library at the Massachusetts State House there is a sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1858 – 1919), who served as the 26 th President of the United States. Roosevelt was born in Manhattan, New York City. In addition to serving as president from 1901 – 1909, Roosevelt served as Vice President of the United States, Governor of New York, and Assistant Secretary of the US Navy. The bronze bust of Roosevelt was sculpted in 1919 by John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum. Borglum is best known for designing the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota. On the bottom of the Roosevelt sculpture it reads: Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919). 26 th President of the United States. Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Environmentalist. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum (1867 – 1941).

On January 7, 2019, five rebels in the west African nation of Gabon attempted a hostile takeover in Libreville – the capital of Gabon. The five rebels were Gabonese Army soldiers. The coup attempt occurred at the national radio station. In a statement made while seizing power of the radio station, the insurgents called for a “National Restoration Council.” The rebels argued for other soldiers to seize control of Gabon’s airports, transportation systems, and weapons depots. The coup attempt was thwarted and two of the rebel soldiers were killed. Gabon, a former French colony, is a major producer of oil. Since 1960, Gabon has had only three presidents. Approximately 1/3 rd of Gabonese citizens live in poverty. In 2009 Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba — the current president of Gabon, succeeded his father Omar Bongo as head of state. Omar Bongo spent 41 years in office, winning seven consecutive terms. President Ali Bongo’s time in office has been marred by a French government investigation in...

In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed legislation to drastically increase funding and staffing levels in order to deal with drug overdoses within the state prison system. Governor Newsom’s plan would create an initiative that would offer medications to treat opioid addiction for California prisoners. These medications include: buprenorphine, methadone, naloxone, and naltrexone. The Governor’s proposed treatment initiative would make California the third state in the US to provide comprehensive drug and alcohol treatment in prisons. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the other states with comprehensive treatment programs for inmates. Despite spending millions of dollars to restrict the flow of drugs into state prisons, the California state prison system has the highest rate of drug overdoses among any state prison system in the United States. Opioid overdoses are not only a problem that is confined to the California prison system.   Nationwide, 47,600 people died...