The long-awaited “ebook of the dead tree edition” “A work of provocative and exhilarating populism . . . The pieces . . . recall Molly Ivins’s puckish cynicism.” —Publishers Weekly Dear Readers: I am delighted to announce that What Fresh Hell? is now available for...
Levees Not War
Presenting “What Fresh Hell? The Best of Levees Not War, 2005–2015”
The Long-Awaited “Dead Tree” Edition “Mark LaFlaur’s genuine love and concern for the future of Louisiana shines throughout this collection of blog posts and interviews.” —Ivor van Heerden, former deputy director, LSU Hurricane Center, and author of The Storm Dear...
Rising Tide: Still Standing, Unfatigued, and Enduring
Back now from New Orleans for the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Rising Tide X—refreshed and still feeling that positive, creative energy and will to survive and rebuild that we felt at our first Rising Tide (the second annual) in 2007. We shall see...
Ten Years After, and Looking Ahead
A Time for Celebration, but Not for Complacency Has it really been ten years already? Indeed it has: a long ten years. And the work of rebuilding, the labors of love and determination, dedication, devotion, and sometimes of desperation—aided by countless volunteers...
Rising Tide X Is Aug. 29, Tenth Anniversary of Katrina
DeRay Mckesson, Social Justice Activist, Is Keynote Speaker We are registered and all kinds of psyched for the 10th annual Rising Tide conference—“the premier annual new media conference in the GulfSouth”—to be held on Sat., Aug. 29, at Xavier University in New...
We Support Nuclear Agreement with Iran
On Thursday, April 2, in Lausanne, Switzerland, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that negotiators had reached an agreement on key elements of...
At the Intersection of Jon Stewart and Brian Williams
* Jersey Boys. Brian Douglas Williams and Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz both went to high school in New Jersey and held common, low-level jobs before working their way to the top of their respective, and interrelated, professions. * “Finally someone is being held to...
In Defense of Brian Williams, New Orleans’ Loyal Friend
Now He Really Is Under Fire The veracity of the leading network news anchor, Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News, is in question—by his own fault—and now the sharks and wolves smell blood. A feeding frenzy ensues. [ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] Williams has...
Honoring Rev. King, Recommending “Selma”
* “Our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we are exposing the very origin, the root cause, of racial segregation in the...
Après Charlie Hebdo, Thoughts on Free Expression and Islamic Violence
Will we give the enemy the satisfaction of changing ourselves into something like their hate-filled, illiberal mirror image, or will we, as the guardians of the modern world, as the custodians of freedom and the occupants of the privileged lands of plenty, go on...
Annus Horribilis : 2014 in Review
* Good Riddance to a Bad Year In a speech in late 1992, Queen Elizabeth II used the phrase “annus horribilis” to describe Great Britain’s no-good, very bad year (tabloid-quality marital troubles of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, a fire at Windsor Castle, etc.)....
Nathaniel Rich on the “National Crisis” of Louisiana’s Disappearing Coast
“I expected that a lawsuit taking on the entire oil and gas industry—perhaps the largest environmental lawsuit in the history of the planet—might receive major national coverage.” —Nathaniel Rich * In “Behind the Cover Story,” Rachel Nolan speaks with Nathaniel Rich,...
Highlights from “The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever” in The New York Times Magazine
“The idea of making the industry live up to its legal responsibility is not going to die.” —John M. Barry Yesterday, Sunday, Oct. 6, The New York Times Magazine published a cover story titled “Waterworld: The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever.” Aside from the...
Louisiana’s Vanishing Wetlands and “Most Ambitious” Enviro Lawsuit Featured in New York Times Magazine
This weekend you’ll want to go to your nearest newsstand and buy a copy of the Sunday New York Times and go straight to the Magazine for an article of major importance. The cover shows an oil industry “shortcut” canal sliced through Louisiana’s Barataria-Terrebonne...
The People’s Climate March Is This Sunday, Sept. 21
* If Greenland melts, seas will rise 23 feet. Greenland + Antarctica = 38 feet. Or more. “We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it.” —Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington “The door is...
Join the People’s Climate March in NYC Sunday, Sept. 21
You’re Invited—Step On Out “There's a world to march for—and a future, too. The only real question is why anyone wouldn't march.” —“Why We March: Stepping Forth for a Planet in Peril ” * Spread the word and make plans to join the People’s Climate March in New York...
Obama Has Plans for ISIS; Now Congress Must Vote
The Guns of August, September, October . . . Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. —Statement by the President on ISIL, Sept. 10, 2014 * Happy 9/11, everyone, on the...
BP Found Grossly Negligent in Deepwater Horizon Spill
Could Be Fined $18 Billion The fire you see here may be BP’s capital reserves going up in flame. A federal judge has ruled that BP was “reckless,” grossly negligent, and primarily to blame for the April 2010 blowout of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11...
Come to Rising Tide 9 in New Orleans on Sept. 13
The Tide Rises Again | Everyone’s Invited The ninth annual Rising Tide conference on the future of New Orleans will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Xavier University in New Orleans. The keynote speaker will be educator and activist Dr. Andre Perry, formerly of New...
Labor Day Is for the Workers (the 99%)
“Labor Creates All Wealth” “Our labor movement has no system to crush. It has nothing to overturn. It purposes to build up, to develop, to rejuvenate humanity. “It stands for the right. It is the greatest protestant against wrong. It is the defender of the weak. “Its...