Multi-generational white Southerners are not any more racist than racists in Colorado, New Jersey, or the new Florida of George Zimmerman. […]
Read More… from Media hypocrisy and the n-word: Was Paula Deen fired for her sins or ours?
Ouroboros: the beast that devours its tail. Wikipedia To “Jack,” an open letter: Many thanks for your comment on my Dec. 11 column about U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s resignation. Your overarching message seems to be that Letten’s disgraced former assistant Sal Perricone really did nothing wrong in commenting publicly on federal cases the office was handling. Informed feedback […]
Read More… from Hey, all you bloggers out there: Any word from Perricone lately?
Mob boss Carlos Marcello. Wikimedia It’s transition time at the local U.S. attorney’s office, now that Jim Letten, the nation’s longest-serving federal prosecutor, and his top three lieutenants have retired in the wake of a scandal involving anonymous online comments. No doubt candidates aspiring to replace Letten have quietly expressed interest to U.S. Sen. Mary […]
Read More… from With Letten gone, ’tis the season for intrigue and wild rumors
After the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal became national news, state Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, sponsored legislation requiring coaches to report suspected child abuse. State Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, also filed a bill, one that extended whistleblower protections to employees who report abuse of a minor by a co-worker or supervisor. The bills […]
Read More… from Those who suspect child abuse carry major new legal responsibilities
They say character is what you do when no one else is watching. But these days I’m wondering: What if someone’s always watching? What happens to character then? And that leads to larger questions, such as how do you even form an authentic “self” in a surveillance society? When Plato wrote The Republic 24 centuries ago, […]
Read More… from Skies will soon buzz with drones—but cops may not like it
An eye in the sky, the Bravo 300 is made in New Orleans but has yet to find a buyer in local government. Photo courtesy of Crescent Unmanned Systems City Hall has reversed plans to use drone surveillance over New Orleans during the Super Bowl in February. That’s surprising, because Deputy Mayor Jerry Sneed had […]
Read More… from A drone of our own! How the city should sell its latest dream
A month after The Lens began asking questions about city officials’ plans to use a U.S. Homeland Security Department aerial drone to monitor Super Bowl crowds, a spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu said today that the city is scrapping those plans. Spokesman Ryan Berni offered no reason for dropping the eye-in-the-sky technology, telling a reporter […]
A lucrative private-security program staffed by deputies provides Sheriff Marlin Gusman with about $100,000 in discretionary money that he uses for questionable expenditures.
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Ex-cop Devyn Swanier lost his job but not his liberty. The young man he bullied thinks justice has not been served. Experts are split on the question. […]
Read More… from Questions surround DA's decision to drop charges in gun-waving cop's case
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | A rookie New Orleans cop who resigned in April after allegedly brandishing two guns during an off-duty altercation at a gas station will not face criminal charges in the incident, prosecutors have decided. “After reviewing all of the evidence, the District Attorney’s office determined that it could […]
Read More… from District attorney declines prosecution for cop who allegedly brandished pair of guns
