Veering off from typical TAL fare, this week’s episode is about a drug court in Glynn County, Georgia. Well, it’s more about the woman running this particular drug court, Judge Amanda Williams. Her sentences are so severe that people who forge checks for $100 or are caught with two pills of prescription drugs they don’t have a prescription for face four and five years of drug monitoring, drug classes, and sometimes “indefinite” amounts of time in jail for not following orders in the way Williams approves of.

So, I’m gonna write about two things today that have absolutely nothing to do with each other except for the fact that they piss me off immensely. And I can’t believe this is the insane direction in which we continue to head. First is Whole Foods general bowing to Monsanto, the greedy creator of Frankenfoods and your local child born with two heads (just you wait). For my second beyond-annoyance, anger, grief and wishing men could get pregnant so this wouldn’t even be an issue, the new bill that would re-define rape cuts to the heart of the “equality” women supposedly won in this country 30 years ago.

Here is the first review in what I call the Hand-Crafted Series that I’ll be doing through December: a look at products and gifts made by real people with a real heartbeat (hint hint – they make great gifts!). Long live handcrafting, whether it’s a candle, a book, or an opera. This one looks at the new travel e-book by Shelley Seale and Keith Hajovsky, How To Travel For Free (or pretty damn near it!). And pay close attention to the site over the next couple of weeks, because giveaways of some of the products are definitely a part of the deal. You just gotta sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Twitter and you’re eligible.