The Sassy Gazette

Florida Man, QAnon Mom, and the Collapse of Common Sense By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette Because the truth shouldn’t need a tinfoil hat. Welcome to America’s Conspiracy Carnival Somewhere between “The Earth is flat” and “JFK Jr. is coming back,” the collective IQ of the nation took a nosedive and no one yelled “pull up.” Instead, we handed the wheel to Florida Man in his jorts and QAnon Mom with her “Save the Children” sign duct-taped to a Stanley Cup knockoff. Conspiracy culture isn’t new. But it has mutated. What used to be whispered over beer and bad cable TV is now shouted in 4K with ring lights and hashtags. We didn’t just lose the plot we sold it to Facebook for ad revenue and a promo code for brain fog supplements. Florida Man Starter Pack Gas station hotdog. American flag shorts. Logic: Missing. Florida Man: America’s Chaos Mascot Florida Man isn’t one guy. He’s an entire demographic of poor decisions and Publix receipts. He’s the headline legen...

Trapped in a Purple Chairless Cage Wendy Williams, Conservatorship, and the Abuse of Power Hiding in Plain Sight By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette Wendy Williams the uncrowned queen of daytime television  gave us unfiltered truth, eye-popping celebrity gossip, and the unforgettable phrase, “How you doin’?” But in 2025, the real question is this: Why is Wendy Williams still locked away in a memory care facility when she’s improving, lucid, and ready to reclaim her life? Yes, there was a time she needed help. But help is supposed to empower, not imprison. This isn’t healing it’s containment disguised as concern. The Guardian with the Gavel: Sabrina Morrissey Since 2022, Wendy’s life has been overseen by court-appointed guardian Sabrina Morrissey. Under an Article 81 guardianship in New York, Morrissey controls Wendy’s finances, health decisions, and even personal relationships. At first, there were valid concerns: health issues, possible exploitation, and d...

A Soldier, A Patriot, A Father: A Memorial Day Dedication As we mark another Memorial Day, I find myself thinking about the man who first taught me what this day really means my dad. He didn’t need to give long speeches about sacrifice or loyalty. He lived it. Every single day. More Than a Soldier My father proudly served in World War II and the Korean War two defining moments in global history. He was one of those rare people who wore the uniform not for glory, but out of duty. But his service didn’t end when he came home. In many ways, that’s when it truly began. He was active in the DAV (Disabled American Veterans), the American Legion, and the Moose Club. For him, these weren’t just social clubs they were sacred spaces where veterans gathered, supported one another, and stayed connected to the country they served. Flags, Family, and Tradition Growing up, the night before Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Flag Day meant something special in our home. My dad would...

Blood Money & Broken Promises Part Three of "The Billionaires Who Profited from Our Pain" By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) They paid their way out of guilt and politicians cashed the check. As overdose deaths devastated the nation, the billionaires and corporations who fueled the crisis were finally forced to pay up. But the question isn’t just how much they paid it’s where the money went . This wasn’t justice. It was hush money. And the victims? Still waiting. Act I: The Great Opioid Settlements Between 2020 and 2024, more than $50 billion was promised through opioid lawsuit settlements from: Purdue Pharma / Sackler Family McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Johnson & Johnson McKinsey & Co. This money was meant for treatment programs , harm reduction , and compensating victims . But in reality? Much of it was rerouted, mismanaged, or simply vanished into political black holes...

The Recovery Racket: How Predators Infiltrated the Addiction Economy Part Two of "The Billionaires Who Profited from Our Pain" By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) They broke us with pills. Then they sold us the cure at a premium. In the aftermath of the opioid explosion, a new gold rush began. It wasn't about healing. It was about repackaging the pain for profit. From luxury rehabs to insurance fraud to fake wellness gurus, Part Two of our exposé dives into how the addiction economy became a racket and how predators made fortunes off the desperate and grieving. Act I: Rehab, But Make It a Gold Mine The U.S. now spends over $40 billion annually on addiction treatment. But much of that cash isn’t going to healing it’s going to private rehab centers built more like resorts than medical institutions. Luxury centers charge up to $100,000 for 30-day stays with minimal actual care. Staffing is often low or unqua...

The Billionaires Who Profited from Our Pain A Deep Dive into Who Really Made Money During the Opioid Epidemic And Where That Money Went By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) They sold us pain relief and left us drowning in addiction. While families across America buried loved ones lost to opioids, a select group of billionaires and corporate executives quietly cashed checks, rebranded reputations, and bought their way into high society. This wasn’t a tragedy of oversight. It was a business plan. Act I: The Sacklers America’s Legal Drug Dealers No story about opioid profiteers can begin without naming the Sackler family , owners of Purdue Pharma and creators of OxyContin , the drug that lit the match. Purdue’s marketing pushed OxyContin as “non-addictive”a claim they knew was false. The Sacklers pocketed over $10 billion before declaring bankruptcy. Despite lawsuits and public outcry, not a single Sackler has faced jai...

Does Pittsburgh Have a Serial Killer? By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed. Pittsburgh: home of pierogis, black-and-gold sports fervor, and... possibly a serial killer? It’s a question that’s haunted the Steel City’s rivers, alleyways, and Reddit threads for over a decade. A River of Questions: The Deaths of Dakota James and Paul Kochu Two names you’ll hear whispered anytime this question comes up: Paul Kochu and Dakota James . Both young, promising, and last seen alive after a night out in Pittsburgh’s South Side and downtown bars. Both were later found dead in the Ohio River . Both cases were ruled accidental or undetermined yet neither family is buying it. Paul Kochu (2014): A nurse who vanished after a night out. His body was found three months later, downstream in West Virginia. Dakota James (2017): A graduate student and openly gay man whose body surfaced 40 days after disappearing. His family insists the timeline and ...

What the Government Lied to Each Generation About – A Century of Gaslight What the Government Lied to Each Generation About A Sassy Gazette Special Report Subtitle: A 100-Year Timeline of Gaslight, Betrayal, and Blame-Shifting  Generationally Packaged. Table of Contents Silent Generation: “Pearl Harbor Was a Surprise” Baby Boomers: “We’re Winning in Vietnam” Generation X: “The War on Drugs Will Save You” Millennials: “Go to College, Get a Life” Generation Z: “We’ve Got Your Future Covered” Generation Alpha: “Technology Will Make Life Better” Finale: The Lies That Keep on Lying – A Century of Gaslight PART ONE: The Silent Generation Lie: “Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise.” Truth: Warnings were ignored. Plus: Operation Paperclip, nuclear fallout denial, Japanese internment, and Tuskegee human experimentation. PART TWO: The Baby Boomers Lie: “We’re winning in Vietnam.” Truth: The Pentagon Papers proved otherwise. Also: MKUltra, COINTEL...

From Grief to Greeting Cards: The True Story Behind Mother’s Day By Richie D. Mowrey for The Sassy Gazette Because even holidays have a backstory especially the ones that make you feel everything all at once. Jump to Section This One’s Personal It All Started With a Grieving Daughter 1908: The First Mother’s Day 1914: Congress Jumps In The Holiday Gets Hijacked Today: A Billion-Dollar Love Letter What It’s Really About This One’s Personal As most of you know, I’ve battled opioid addiction for over 20 years. It’s a truth I carry with me every day and it’s one of the reasons this holiday hits so hard. Because of my addiction, I hurt the one person I love most in this world: my mother . She had to make the painful decision to disown me and love me from a distance for about a year. And let me tell you  that was the hardest year of my life. There were no calls, no hugs, no “Happy Mother’s Day” text with a heart emoji. Just silence. Just ache. We’...

Patient Zero: Monica Lewinsky and the Scandal That Shamed a Nation Patient Zero: Monica Lewinsky and the Scandal That Shamed a Nation By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) I. The Girl in the Blue Dress: A Scandal is Born In 1995, a bright-eyed 22-year-old Monica Lewinsky arrived at the White House as an unpaid intern, full of ambition, intelligence, and youthful naivety. What followed wasn’t just a political firestorm—it was a national crucifixion. By 1998, her name had become synonymous with scandal, humiliation, and a society drunk on slut-shaming. While President Bill Clinton lied to the public with his now-infamous line, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky," Monica was sacrificed at the altar of political preservation, media ratings, and partisan theater. This wasn’t just a scandal. It was a feeding frenzy. The press hounded her. Late-night hosts shredded her dignity. Public opinion...

  The Sackler Curse How One Family Helped Engineer a National Funeral By RICHIE D. MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette “Gentle with the grieving. Brutal with the guilty.” Table of Contents A Personal Note Introduction: A Nation in Mourning Chapter 1: OxyContin The Original “Oxi-Coffin” Chapter 2: How to Buy Silence in Washington Chapter 3: The Other Devils in the Room Chapter 4: Settled Doesn’t Mean Solved Chapter 5: What’s Been Done for the Victims? Final Words: From Empire to Eulogy A Personal Note I survived what has taken so many others. The opioid epidemic has shattered lives, broken families, and left behind trails of unimaginable pain. My own dependence nearly destroyed everything I held dear. I’ve watched good friends die, some after just one use. This crisis is complex. Yes, we as addicts must take accountability and fight for our recovery. But let’s not sugarcoat the truth. What Big Pharma did was calculated, ruthless, and devastating. Far to...