Exoneree John Thompson, of New Orleans, was awarded millions in compensation for wrongful incarceration but has been unable to collect. How much would you need to be paid to spend 25 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola? It’s just a thought experiment. I’m not putting any money on the table. And if I […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Punchline drunk: Knock-down fight at a stand-up comedy club
Weapon of choice for open mic stand-up hopefuls. Comic punchlines were interrupted by actual thrown punches last night at Carrollton Station during the weekly “Think You’re Funny?” open mic stand-up comedy show. Green performs at Carrollton Station, sans assailant. photo: Scotland Green Only 10 minutes into the program a fight erupted in the side alcove […]
Posted inOpinion
Busting Jon Johnson shows early promise of a new kind of news
Councilman Jon Johnson’s indictment and abrupt resignation last week caught political observers off guard, but the gist of his wrongdoing was disclosed by my former colleagues at The Lens more than a year ago. The Times-Picayune, which recently announced savage newsroom cuts as part of a transition away from daily print publication, only managed to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Obama linked to civil rights heroes – in Alabama, not Louisiana
A detail from the Alabama tourism pamphlet links President Obama to heroes of the civil rights era. l While stretching my legs at one of the Alabama “Welcome Centers” along Interstate 10 last summer, I browsed through a formidable collection of pamphlets touting the state’s various tourist destinations. I’d never seen so many travel brochures […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Confessions of a literary impresario: Love's labor not lost
Los Angeles-based writer Matt Sumell reads at a Room 220 event on May 3 at the Antenna Gallery Outdoor Auxiliary. I ordered an obscure novel from an independent publishing house in Brooklyn on May 11, 2011, the day the book was released. A few hours later, the publisher, whom I’d never met, emailed me and […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Premature adulation: Should we even ask if Anthony Davis will fit the "Bill"?
After reading Times-Picayune sports writer Jeff Duncan’s June 28 column on the NBA draft, only one question remained on my mind: “Who the blazes compared Anthony Davis to Bill Russell?!” As you’re probably aware, the New Orleans Hornets selected Davis with their top pick in the recent draft. And for good reason. The University of […]
Posted inOpinion, Schools
Why fight it? Let’s embrace textbooks Loch, stock and barrel
Say you’re an executive for a growing company that intends to relocate to the Southeast. One morning, while perusing your robust web news round-up, you click on a Business Insider article. It’s labeled “Hot,” because it’s being so widely viewed and shared. The first sentence begins: Thousands of children in Louisiana are being taught that […]
Posted inOpinion
Steve Gleason to Times-Picayune fans and staffers: "No White Flags"
When former New Orleans Saints player, current ALS fighter and forever fan favorite Steve Gleason posted this inspirational commentary to a private Facebook group called “Friends of The Times-Picayune Editorial Staff,” it immediately drew scores of “likes” and 40 grateful comments within the small, tight-knit group. Many wrote that Gleason’s take puts the situation of scaled back […]
Posted inOpinion
Reset the hook: something educators should do-now
The first lesson I ever taught was in Pachamama, Ecuador. I was a wet behind the ears Peace Corps volunteer, and it was my first charla, or workshop. I was delivering a presentation on the importance of cropping sheep tails to a group of seasoned campesinos, who obviously knew far more about ovine management than […]
Posted inOpinion
Changes at The Times-Picayune lay bare the roots of a national trend
The recent changes at The Times-Picayune to stop publishing a daily paper and instead publish three days a week are unfortunate for the residents of the city and surrounding areas. However, it was only a matter of time before this or something similar happened given what’s been happening to newspapers across the country for the […]