True odds are often misstated. Proctologists understand this fact well, since so many of their patients, at least on Seinfeld, explain their unfortunate predicaments in the same way: “It was a million to one shot, Doc. Million to one.” So, if a “million to one” means little in a proctologist’s examination room, would it be […]
Author Archives: Mark Moseley
Mark Moseley blogs at Your Right Hand Thief. Until mid 2014, Mark Moseley was The Lens' opinion writer, engagement specialist and coordinator for the Charter Schools Reporting Corps. After Katrina and the Federal Flood he helped create the Rising Tide conference, which grew into an annual social media event dedicated to the future of New Orleans.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Are we still waiting for Superman to corrupt our kids and culture?
Recent events have only confirmed the fears I expressed in my first “Waiting for Superman” post. I warned about the dangers of linking educational reform efforts to the so-called “Superman” character, but nobody listened. No one seems to care that Superman is, at root, a phony. His real name is Kal-El, and he’s an illegal […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Student takes role of David to creationist’s legislative Goliath
Zachary Kopplin undertook an unusual “science project” for his senior year at Baton Rouge Magnet High School. He’s defending science itself, by advocating for the repeal of the Louisiana Science Education Act. Kopplin rightly views the legislation as costumed creationism – ridiculous Trojan horse legislation that lets instructors teach scientific “controversies” where none exist. He […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Commenter’s mookery is of Biblical proportion
I miss Ashley Morris in all sorts of ways, but oh lord do I miss his responses to outsiders who casually blamed New Orleanians and Gulf Coastal residents for being so… afflicted by calamity. Morris popularized a special term for these nimrods, which immediately came to mind when I read a stunning example of heartlessness […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
It’s "The Jungle" out there, but we can feast on fresh local food
In ninth grade, I asked my classmate Ted why he didn’t eat hot dogs. He claimed he had worked in a hot dog factory the previous summer. “So?” I asked. Imagine being shirtless in a stinking hot warehouse, Ted said. You’re knee-deep in strange meat, and have to pitch it into a vat with a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Shepherd needs to pull up his big-boy britches
In August 2007, after City Councilmember Oliver Thomas resigned and admitted to taking bribes, his attorney was asked about the possibility of Thomas providing helpful testimony to Federal prosecutors. Shepherd ultimately confessed, and assumed total responsibility, but
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
He blew like a warm summer’s eve, but should we have preserved his home?
On Jan. 7, we learned the City of New Orleans tore down the childhood home of jazz great Sidney Bechet. The news disappointed preservationists and jazz enthusiasts, who believed the blighted house should’ve been restored and designated an historical landmark. The AP reported: Jazz lovers worry that the zeal to “renew” New Orleans is threatening […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Bermdoggle: The real barrier that Gov. Jindal will have to overcome
If you’re a tax-raising child molester who snorts bath salts, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is your worst nightmare. Otherwise, as the social network kids like to say, Jindal is pretty “meh.” (Translation: “not so much”.) For example, this Gambit story by Jeremy Alford on the evolution and cost of Jindal’s sand berm scheme is pretty […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Comparing Detroit to NOLA after Katrina not so far off
I once mocked a pundit for comparing Detroit to “post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.” I’m rethinking that.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Ohio State gets a Boehner; Arkansas gets the bird
I love to handicap college football games by carefully analyzing the merits of each team’s mascots, and factoring in ominous current events that might foretoken disaster for a particular football squad.