Bill to allow ‘tiny homes’ in N.H. raises hopes among fans
hmmmm
Category: Local Interest,
When Brad Pitt Tried to Save New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward
When Brad Pitt Tried to Save New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward – Bloomberg
Sigh….
Construction can be a tough business. They were in over their heads.
….So many ways for well-intentioned folks to get it wrong.
National Butterfly Center to file restraining order on border wall
Customs and Border Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers have awarded Galveston-based SLSCO a $145 million contract to build the first six miles of a border-levee wall system along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
This includes about 200 acres of land that sits on the center’s property south of a levee, about two miles inland from the Rio Grande River.
The land was set aside for the protection of a remnant of native habitat, endangered species such as the ocelot, and the graves of Native American people.
…The center has filed lawsuits to stop construction of the wall. Additional lawsuits filed by the Center for Biological Diversity challenged the waivers granted by the Supreme Court.
These cases are still working their way through the federal court system.
National Butterfly Center to file restraining order on border wall
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The women fighting a pipeline that could destroy precious wildlife at the mouth of the Mississippi
As colonial encroachment expanded, Houma people, the southern neighbors of the Caddo, moved further south into the remote swamps of the Atchafalaya near the Atakapaw, Choctaw and Chitimacha peoples. There, they evaded forced removals due to their inaccessible locations. Those conditions also brought escaped slaves into bayou communities, along with exiled Acadian French settlers from Canada. The amalgam of ethnicities and cultures led to what is known today as Cajun culture.
…In 1994, Exxon began dumping sludge in a waste dump installed next to the mostly Houma community of Grand Bois, Louisiana, making residents sick.
…The state-appointed toxicologist demonstrated a litany of health issues affecting residents, such as breathing, kidney and eye problems, skin rashes, birth defects, learning disabilities, cancer and high lead levels. She cited environmental contaminants as the likely culprit yet ultimately, she did not testify in court to a conclusive link to the site.
…“The BP spill was a disaster for our communities,” says Friloux. “It shut down our livelihood and the ability to provide for our families.” It destroyed the shrimping industry which is vital to the local economy. Similarly, clear-cutting ancient cypress forest and the disruption of sediment patterns by dredging canals and trenches to lay pipeline has choked out the crawfish population.
…The refinery corridor along the Mississippi river in St James – where the pipeline would end – is known as “cancer alley”. The mostly African American community is surrounded by refineries, and reports many of the same health issues seen in Grand Bois. No evacuation route exists should disaster strike, and the only bridge across the river was recently damaged by a barge carrying oil industry construction equipment, which closed the bridge for two months. Hemmed in on all sides by industry and the Mississippi, residents were forced to drive 40 miles round-trip to get essential supplies and to commute across the river for work.
“Forty-one percent of the United States’ water drains through our mighty river,” says Verdin. “The Mississippi Delta is a power point for the planet, a place where water comes to be purified. Yet we are a sacrifice zone.”
…The common ETP practice when a landowner refuses a buyout is to file an expropriation claim, then begin construction on the assumption it will be approved. In one instance however, the claim was not filed before construction began.
The landowners invited activists to set up camp on their property and mount resistance actions. Officers then arrested the activists, who were on land they had written permission to be on (trespassing on pipeline domain is a felony punishable by five years in prison according to a “critical infrastructure” law recently passed in Louisiana).
Construction of the pipeline is now complete on the disputed property, and 18 felony charges remain pending.
…Foytlin became an environmentalist when she volunteered on the BP spill clean up. “I remember pulling a dying pelican out of the water covered in oil, and thinking that pelican didn’t have a voice and neither did the fisherfolk I was with – who were on their knees crying like children”, she says.
“Our goal is to create space where justice can be found”, she says. “Initially, we had three objectives besides stopping the pipeline. First, to establish an evacuation route for St James (the state says it is evaluating options). Second, to lift up the needs of the Atchafalaya Basin. Third, is to activate a group of people to make a better future for themselves.”
They recently added another goal: to bring light to the brutal tactics being used to attempt to intimidate them into submission.
…“Intimidation works,” she says, “but witnessing courage is like an immunization to that fear. That’s who we are at L’eau Est La Vie.”
The women fighting a pipeline that could destroy precious wildlife | US news | The Guardian
sigh….
WV House Democrats condemn anti-Muslim speech, signs
Part of a display for “WV GOP Day” at the Legislature, the signs and pamphlets included statements connecting the religious faith of a U.S. congresswoman from Minnesota to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The House sergeant-at-arms, Anne Lieberman, resigned Friday after one delegate alleged she said that “all Muslims are terrorists.”
…“It’s ugly; it’s hateful; and there’s absolutely no place for it in American politics,” said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha. “Not in the country that I love. Not in the state that I love. We all give up our time during this time of year to come up here and serve our constituents because we love this state. Well, I love everybody in the state, no matter what they look like, who they pray to, who they love. I’m tired of it. It disgusts me.”
…Del. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said doorkeepers and Lieberman went “nose-to-nose with members.” …He said he kicked open the door into the chamber, suggesting a doorkeeper would not let him inside.
…Belinda Biafore, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, also released a statement. She condemned the signs and said, “This isn’t about freedom of speech; this is about hate speech.”
WV House Democrats condemn anti-Muslim speech, signs | WV News | wvnews.com
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Black Arkansas lawmaker is told ‘you need to stop’ by white colleague
“My son doesn’t walk the same path as yours do, so this debate deserves more time,” Flowers, who is the only black person serving on the eight-member committee, said to her colleagues. “When you bring crap like this up, it offends me.”
…As Flowers tried to explain why more discussion was needed on the matter, one lawmaker on the committee attempted to silence her.
Sen. Alan Clark (R), the chairman of the committee, could be seen telling Flowers: “Senator, you need to stop.”
“No, I don’t,” Flowers replied.
“Yes, you do,” Clark said.
“No, the hell I don’t. What are you going to do, shoot me?” Flowers said in response.
Black Arkansas lawmaker is told ‘you need to stop’ by white colleague | TheHill
hmmm
Boulder police to investigate after officers confront black man picking up trash
The man told the officer he lived and worked in the building, and gave the officer his school identification card, but the officer detained the man [anyways.]
Boulder police to investigate after officers confront black man picking up trash
sigh….
N.Y. regulators probing Trump Organization’s insurance practices
Asked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., if Trump ever inflated the value of his assets to an insurance company, Cohen replied, “Yes.”
N.Y. regulators probing Trump Organization’s insurance practices
hmmm
Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders
It’s not like it’s hard to find racism in the history and present practice of Mardi Gras. Just tune in to WYES on Mardi Gras night and watch the “public TV” station’s obsequious fawning over the king of white supremacy, a.k.a. Comus, in his very white mask, at “The Meeting of the Courts.” Get mad about the captains in Ku Klux Klan outfits in all the old-line parades on St. Charles Avenue. Never accept a throw from Proteus. Think twice about watching the Knights of Chaos parade, or Krewe d’Etat and, if you do, bear in mind how closely their satire echoes the spirit of old-line krewes that, in their glory days, led the fight to drown Reconstruction in a shower of blood. But if you’re looking for racism among the white riders of Zulu, you obviously have no clue what’s racist and what’s not in the universe of carnival.
I saw a great sign in the Société de Ste. Anne procession on Mardi Gras day this year. It said, “This Parade Fights Fascism.” Yes, and it does so by inverting and puncturing the prevailing ideological categories of domination. That’s exactly what Zulu is doing by putting black riders and their white allies together in an inverted version of a tool designed for racial oppression.
I realize that the vast majority of Americans have no idea what carnival is, or how to read carnival messages, and that’s OK. But maybe well-meaning liberal observers should take a page from their own playbook and not comment on cultures that they have no exposure to or appreciation for.
Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders | The Lens
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Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc.
Full Script – Official Press Release : NEW ORLEANS (2/13/19) – “Blackface” minstrelsy was a racist and vile form of entertainment popular from the 1820’s through the 1960’s. “Blackface” minstrel shows attempted to mimic enslaved Africans on Southern plantations and depicted black people as lazy, ignorant, and cowardly. In fact, one of the most popular “blackface” minstrelsy characters in America was “Jim Crow” – the inspiration for the harsh and oppressive laws that terrorized Southern blacks decades later. “Blackface” minstrel performances were intended to be funny to white audiences and hurtful to the black community.
Unfortunately, some ignorant people continue to costume in “blackface” minstrelsy through today. Shocking photographs periodically come to light exposing the fact that even some of our most respected citizens still engage in this racist behavior. Recent photographs showing certain high-profile individuals dressed as “blackface” minstrels reveal their hateful intent to demean, disrespect, discount, and demoralize African-Americans. The backlash to their conduct has thankfully been severe and the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc. joins with countless others in condemning this behavior.
Blackface_Virginia Miltary Institute image
Unfortunately, the offensive conduct of these individuals might cause some to confuse those racist actions with our rich history and traditions – which include wearing black makeup during the Zulu parade. Those who incorrectly compare our use of black makeup to “blackface” minstrelsy can first look to our name to dispel that notion. Unlike minstrelsy, which was designed to ridicule and mock black people, the founders of our Social Aid & Pleasure Club chose the name “Zulu” to honor their African ancestry and the continent’s most fierce warriors. (The South African Zulu tribe, using vastly inferior weapons, defeated the British Army in 1879 in the Battle of Isandlwana handing Britain their worst defeat in history.) Zulu parade costumes bear no resemblance to the costumes worn by “blackface” minstrel performers at the turn of the century. Zulu parade costumes more closely resemble and are designed to honor garments worn by South African Zulu warriors.
Z ulu Warriors
Most importantly, the history of Zulu makes it abundantly clear that nothing about the organization, including the black makeup, was never intended to insult or degrade African-Americans. To the contrary, Zulu has always been about celebrating African and African-American culture, strength, and pride. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved Africans were left financially crippled. Unable to afford the cost of funerals, illness, and other necessitous circumstances, blacks formed their own societies or Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs which held social events to raise money for needy members. Following the lead of Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, a group of African-American workers began to gather near their “uptown backatown” homes around 1901. These men formally organized into a benevolent society they named “The Tramps.” The Tramps held informal parades and parties at Carnival time. In 1909, a traveling black theatrical company brought a very popular comedy show, “Smart Set” to the Pythian Theater. The Smart Set contained musical numbers set in a Zulu village. The visual of strong Zulu warriors, with their grass skirts and spears inspired a member of the Tramps, John L. Metoyer. Metoyer embraced that visual and organized about fifty men to form the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. These “Zulus” paraded the following Mardi Gras in 1910. “Masking” is a central part of Mardi Gras. The financial and legal constraints on blacks in the Post-Reconstruction South made makeup (and not masks) the only option available to Zulu members at that time.
In conclusion, Loyola University New Orleans Professor C.W. Cannon has offered insightful commentary on and historical context for Zulu and its tradition of masking by using black makeup stating:
“It’s hard to measure the scope of Zulu’s influence on what the Times-Picayune’s Doug MacCash has called the “new” Mardi Gras, and on what I have called the restoration of carnivalesque carnival, after the dark ages of the white supremacist anti-carnival ushered in by the (formerly and currently segregated Krewes). It’s a remarkable testament to the resilience of carnival spirit that, in the midst of the white supremacist era . . . the Zulu king first stepped off a banana boat in the New Basin canal wearing a lard can crown. The date: 1909. That’s why it’s so upsetting — also a bit absurd — when people who have no understanding or appreciation for carnival aesthetics and social analysis chime in from hundreds of miles away with self-righteous finger-wagging. What they’re about is shaming traditions that are far more revolutionary than they are able to comprehend . . . “Zulu blackface”, the style of blackface worn by Zulu riders, is distinct from other forms of blackface viewed as offensive due to their history as a tool of white supremacist ideology . . . It calls into question the extent to which black people should be allowed agency in representing their own experience; it also places limits on how black people themselves choose to enunciate anti-racist arguments. In the best traditions of carnivalesque practice, Zulu has expropriated racist representations and inverted them as a form of anti-racist resistance. Those who say people shouldn’t try to do that kind of thing just don’t get what carnival is. Maybe because it’s not part of their culture. But it is a part of ours.”
* C.W. Cannon, Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders , The Lens (March 10, 2017).
Col. Clarence A. Becknell, Sr.
Dir. Public Relations/Historian,Emeritus
Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc
Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc. – All yer mates scrawls
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New Orleans Group Accused of Wearing Blackface At Mardi Gras
Zulu is one of the many African-American Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in New Orleans. The clubs sponsor community service projects, serve as social gathering spots and organize lively parades that wind through the streets of the city’s neighborhoods on Sundays. On Fat Tuesday, massive crowds gather along the parade route to watch the floats and try to catch a painted coconut, the Zulu prize throw.
…”The Zulu club was founded in response to the racism that was present in Mardi Gras where black people were not allowed to participate” in the parade-day celebrations of historically-white social clubs, said Shantrelle P. Lewis, an historian who studies blackface traditions, in an interview with NPR’s Michele Martin. For the Zulus, she said, “it was a way to combat some of the racism and segregation taking place in Mardi Gras.”
…”If you’re looking at the Zulu club within a tradition of masquerading and masking… then painting one’s face is a part of Carnival,” said Lewis. And as a proud New Orleans native, she said she finds the Zulu costume to be appropriate, given the context. “While it’s connected to minstrelsy, historically it was more rooted in this idea of a masquerade.”
…”A lot of our traditions have existed without the participation and the scrutiny of people outside of New Orleans. And for the average black person in New Orleans, including members of my own family, they simply do not connect the blackface in Zulu with minstrelsy …and they most certainly are not looking at it as an offense.”
New Orleans Group Faces Calls To End Its Use Of Blackface At Mardi Gras : NPR
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Something About Being Anonymous”: The New Orleans Mardi Gras Mask Market
Transformation of identity is a central element in Carnival, and disguising the face is a key method of transforming identity. Also, Mardi Gras krewes have enjoyed maintaining an element of secrecy (membership in groups may be kept secret; so may the identity of the kings of certain groups, for example, and members of Mardi Gras Indian groups keep their costumes secret until Mardi Gras morning), and a mask certainly helps to maintain such secrecy, enabling people to appear in public without revealing who they are, possibly performing actions with which they would not want personally to be identified. 2 The mask easily becomes emblematic of transformation, and disguise and secrecy come to be thought of as symbolic of the very institution of Carnival and the practices that are part of it.
…Folklorists, anthropologists and historians who have commented on New Orleans Mardi Gras have in fact paid little attention to the ethnography of the mask. Who dons a mask, when and exactly why they do so, how people obtain masks and exactly how they think of them are questions that have largely gone unaddressed, possibly because the basic reasons for wearing masks seem obvious. Indeed, the relatively small amount of attention that has been given to Louisiana Mardi Gras masks has been given to those used for the country form of the celebration maintained by the Cajuns and Creoles who live well west of the Big Easy. Ronnie Roshto has written specifically about the Cajun mask makers Georgie and Allen Manuel (1992), while Carl Lindahl and Carolyn Ware (1997) take a broader view, looking at masks and over a half dozen mask makers in the Cajun communities of Basile and Tee Mamou. Lindahl and Ware consider such issues as how masks enable participants to assume roles, such as that of the sauvage and the beggar (the mask, they say, confers “the freedom. . .to create a new identity” and they note “the dramatic way in which the wearer brings (“the mask ‘to life'” [56]), and their discussion of masks is integrated into a discussion of how the Cajun Mardi Gras plays out, although their primary concern is the masks themselves, including their history and the materials of their construction.
….Carolyn Ware (2007) notes that some communities require hand-made masks for their Mardi Gras “runs,” stimulating a turn toward mask-making by local women. Ware also writes of women running Mardi Gras as having somewhat different requirements for their masks than do the men (for example, the more traditional masks made of painted wire screen mesh were thought by women to be too uncomfortable, leading to needlepoint masks). According to Ware, mask styles differ by community also (“The lavish decoration of a typical Tee Mamou mask. . . would seem over the top in Basile” [2007: 102]), and some participants have preferred commercially made rubber masks.
Something About Being Anonymous”: The New Orleans Mardi Gras Mask Market
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Central figure in North Carolina absentee ballot fraud indicted on multiple counts
The indictment states that he is charged with three counts of felonious obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit federal obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballots.
…The indictment comes just days after the North Carolina Board of Elections unanimously voted to hold a new election in the race because of the taint the controversy has placed on the election.
The indictment spans two election cycles, however. Three of the charges are from the 2018 election and four of the charges are from the 2016 election.
Central figure in North Carolina absentee ballot fraud indicted on multiple counts
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Camp Fire: PG&E says it’s ‘probable’ its equipment will be found to have caused blaze
As a result of the blaze, which claimed at least 86 lives and destroyed 14,000 homes, the company said it recorded a $10.5 billion charge ahead of anticipated claims.
…The utility previously said it anticipated being found responsible for damages from the Camp Fire and other California wildfires. The expectation of huge losses led to the company filing for bankruptcy last month.
…Subsequent inspections of this transmission line identified equipment that should have been repaired or replaced, the company said.
Camp Fire: PG&E says it’s ‘probable’ its equipment will be found to have caused blaze – CNN
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Federal Oversight Begins Friday For Chicago’s Embattled Police Dept.
Chicago police are now under federal oversight as the department officially begins its overhaul. A federal judge and independent monitor, named today, will oversee the changes to make sure they comply with agreed-to guidelines.
…That video, withheld from the public for more than a year, was released and shows a white police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who is black. McDonald, a knife in his hand, appeared to be walking away from police.
…The withering DOJ report — issued in January of 2017 — called the Chicago Police Department’s use of force excessive and racially discriminatory. Soon afterward, Chicago police issued a new use-of-force policy emphasizing the “sanctity of life,” and started holding training sessions for officers.
…Under the consent decree, there are many more changes in store. For example, the Department must produce a monthly report about use of force incidents; it bans police from using Tasers on people who are simply running away.
Federal Oversight Begins Friday For Chicago’s Embattled Police Dept. : NPR
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Becerra doesn’t rule out legal action against journalists
Earlier this year, journalists at the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and its production arm, Investigative Studios, filed public records requests to a state commission and received a database of thousands of police officers and applicants for law enforcement jobs convicted of crimes in the last decade. The data was released by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, known as POST, which determines whether officers and applicants have been convicted of crimes that would disqualify them from serving.
…The letter from Becerra’s office clearly [states] that the reporters could face consequences: “If you do not intend to comply with our request, the Department can take legal action to ensure that the spreadsheets are properly deleted and not disseminated,” the letter states.
The Berkeley-based journalists said Friday that they intend to continue reporting stories based on the database and rejected Becerra’s request to destroy it.
…A new law that went into effect this year mandated the disclosure of some police misconduct records, but some law enforcement agencies around the state have argued that the statute shouldn’t apply retroactively. The attorney general’s office is currently being sued by an open government group for not releasing its own retroactive records.
…“The law is quite clear that a reporter or a journalist can’t be charged with the crime they’re citing,” he said. “That’s clear in the statute itself, and it’s clear under the First Amendment.”
Becerra doesn’t rule out legal action against journalists
If law enforcement does not want to be compared to thugs they shouldn’t use organized crime tactics like intimidation and shake-downs.
Virginia first lady handed out cotton to African-American children on slave cottage tour
“During the tour of the Mansion Cottage, (Walker’s daughter) and two of her (fellow) pages were asked to hold cotton that the First Lady retrieved from a bowl on a nearby table,” Walker wrote in the letter. “Mrs. Northam then asked these three pages (the only African-American pages in the program) if they could imagine what it must have been like to pick cotton all day.”
The interaction comes as Pam Northam’s embattled husband, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, attempts to reconcile with African-American constituents amid scandal over a photo on his medical school yearbook page of a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam originally admitted to being in the photo, but then said he was not — but that he did wear blackface once to impersonate Michael Jackson at a dance contest.
Walker added that the incident with Pam Northam indicated to her that the Northams didn’t grasp the implications of their behavior.
Jeezus….
Comments From The Peanut Gallery 