Tag Archives: Louisiana

3/14 News Roundup – Pipeline Protestors Decry State Surveillance, Texas Dems Worry Bigger Rifts Ahead With National Party & More

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Via DemocracyNow!: Critics of Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana Decry State & Company Surveillance of Protesters In Louisiana, newly disclosed documents reveal a state intelligence agency regularly spied on activists opposing construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which would carry nearly a half-million barrels of oil per day across Louisiana’s wetlands. The documents show the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness regularly drafted intelligence memos on anti-pipeline activists, including a gathering of indigenous-led water protectors who’ve set up a protest encampment along the pipeline’s route. Other newly revealed documents show close coordination between Louisiana regulators and the … Continue reading →

What is a fair wage for a prisoner’s labor?

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​   Samuel Sinyangwe visited Louisiana a few weeks ago, and wrote about how conscript labor is used there in the state legislature and across government facilities. Some background: Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the *world.* Within that, black people are locked up at much higher rates. pic.twitter.com/Wcc85JCOwM — Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017 I thought I understood racism and mass incarceration. But nothing prepared me for what I saw in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (1/x) — Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017 The thread is worth reading, and Sinyangwe was particularly affected by the sight of prisoners … Continue reading →

If we want single payer healthcare, progressives have to pressure the Democratic leadership

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Meet the Press had Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) on today to talk Health-Care. Cassidy made headlines in May for insisting any healthcare plan meet “the Jimmy Kimmel test”. Cassidy supposedly agrees that healthcare is a right. The devil though, is in the details, and when he began talking about letting state legislatures and governors determine what was “affordable”, I realized it’s just a talking point for him, to appear “bipartisan”. Block grants, or state administered programs allow Republicans to play the game they’ve been playing for several decades. Attacks on progressive programs generally fail under the bright lights of Congress, so they … Continue reading →

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s speech on removing confederate monuments is righteous.

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Mayor Landrieu’s speech concerning the removal of Confederate monuments deserves a lot more attention because it really is quite an excellent speech. It is being compared to LBJ’s commencement address at Howard as a clear-eyed exposition on racism and white supremacy by a white politician. The soul of our beloved City is deeply rooted in a history that has evolved over thousands of years; rooted in a diverse people who have been here together every step of the way—for both good and for ill. It is a history that holds in its heart the stories of Native Americans—the Choctaw, Houma Nation, the Chitimacha. Of Hernando de … Continue reading →