"Some prisoners work on the same plantation soil where slaves harvested cotton, tobacco and sugarcane more than 150 years ago, with some present-day images looking eerily similar to the past. In Louisiana, which has one of the country’s highest incarceration rates, men working on the “farm line” still stoop over crops stretching far into the distance." https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
Just had the misfortune of watching #Seattle news on TV for a few minutes. I’ve always found it to be a perfectly pleasant place, but it would seem Seattle is actually a destitute hellscape where I’ll be robbed/gunned down/shanked the moment I cross into city limits.
Thought I was watching Onion News for a second there 😅
It’s so interesting to me to see the way Seattle is portrayed on the news, especially now that I live in #Washington and have spent some time in the city. In my native #Louisiana, saying you wanted to visit Seattle was equivalent to suggesting a nice vacation to Afghanistan. Louisiana has the second highest murder and gun death rates, but conservatives there are much more concerned about “Antifa” in Seattle than black kids dying in their backyard.
From yesterday: Priscilla Villarreal, the controversial citizen journalist from #Laredo, promised to appeal her case to the Supreme Court after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said it was legal to jail her just for releasing public information received through unauthorized channels. Experts suggest it would hurt everyday #journalism if upheld: https://www.texasobserver.org/priscilla-villarreal-journalist-la-gordiloca-fifth-circuit/
"#HeavyRains in #Texas on Wednesday closed schools and elevated flooding risks around Houston in another round of soaking downpours that have made for a soggy and dangerous week across large portions of the U.S.
A stretch of wet and freezing winter weather has swept away vehicles in San Diego, led to high-water rescues in San Antonio and coated roads with ice in the Midwest. Rain was expected to continue pushing across the Gulf Coast on Thursday and Friday."
This is not even a hurricane: just climate changed rain.
" More than a month’s worth of #rain fell in several #Texas and #Louisiana cities from Monday to early Thursday, including Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital.
While heavy rain is relatively common for areas near the Gulf of Mexico, experts say climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of such heavy rainfall events."
Pay attention to what's happening in this case: the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just essentially ruled that it's fully legal to jail journalists for reporting leaked information, or any information they obtain from government officials without going through "proper channels."
Just in: Priscilla Villarreal, the controversial journalist known as La Gordiloca, says she'll appeal her case to the Supreme Court after a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which could threaten journalists across three states.
Big rains headed for Louisiana where recent extremes may put a damper on crawfish harvests. Meanwhile, winter takes a hiatus next week. The upcoming hurricane season has caught the eye of some, so we explain what the data shows this far out and more.
woke up at first light, it was 28 deg F- ran out to put up hummingbird feeders & a hummingbird (I think the same one I photo'd yesterday!) immediately came for the goodies--
at this temp the sugar molecules will keep the sugar water from freezing.... much cooler, & i keep back a feeder to swap out when the other one starts to freeze...
it warms my heart to know they're watching us & think at least some of us can be relied on
Mike Johnson on the corrupt Republican-drawn Louisiana congressional map...
“Should the state not prevail at trial, there are multiple other map options that are legally compliant and do not require the unnecessary surrender of a Republican seat in Congress.” #AureFreePress#News#GOP#Politics#USA#Louisiana
How Many of Your State’s Lawmakers Are #Women?
If You Live in the #Southeast, It Could Be Just 1 in 5
A record number of women were elected to statehouses last year.
But in the Southeast, where some legislatures are more than 80% #male, representation is lagging as lawmakers pass bills that most impact women, like near-total #abortion bans.
For #ThickTrunkTuesday I offer an unusual species. The first photo shows a large #Palmetto#Palm and two smaller specimens growing among #BaldCypress trees at Burden Museum & Gardens in #BatonRouge#Louisiana. The second shows the pond habit where these were growing. Some palms are visible on the shore. These are rather large and thick examples of Palmettos. I took these pictures Sunday while hiking on the trail system there.
The line for the show was so long but we made it. It was pretty good. Also I found out Degas’s family was in the cotton business and had to look it up. 😬
Corrected the #Wikipedia entry for Louisiana French #accordion pioneer Amédè Ardoin 🪗 to say he was Black #Creole rather than Cajun
Nobody had edited that page in years. But within a few hours somebody had gone and made him an “American” musician. With no mention of race or culture or division
Which may be better than mischaracterizing him. But I’m not sure if de-racializing people is the way forward 😞
It’s not my neighborhood so maybe I’ll let others go at it on there
Wikipedia has Black Creole accordionist Amédé Ardoin listed as a “Cajun accordionist” 😖
Buckwheat Zydeco had it written into his contracts that he’d get paid in full and not have to perform if any press materials referred to him or his music as “Cajun” anything
He was militant about defending his Creole identity