I am Matt Thomas.

Rebuilding (or not) in Gentilly

The public housing debate has made for dramatic theater in the last couple of weeks while the city, state, and Republican private sector are combining to eradicate what’s left of the black middle class in New Orleans.

So much attention has been paid to the state of public housing in New Orleans recently, I found this reminder about the state of affairs for New Orleans’ middle class to be quite interesting.

No Moonpie for Mobile

Lagniappe:

A member of the newly formed falling moonpie committee said Richardson had agreed tossing a large confection off a 745-foot building was probably not the best idea, and they had thrown around other ideas, including lowering a “classier” crystal or paper mache moonpie.

Richardson seemed content with the paper mache idea as long as it was filled with “thousands of moonpies and had fireworks shooting out of it,” though some expressed doubt the fire marshal would sign off on paper mache pyrotechnics, as it could turn into a giant fire ball and citizens could be seriously burned with falling drips of melted marshmallow creme.

Another plan was to make it like “giant piñata” where people could beat open the moonpie to find thousands of individually wrapped ones. No word on if the city planned to provide implements to beat said piñata with or if anyone thought having hundreds of inebriated revelers wielding sticks on the streets of downtown Mobile also needed “more thought.”

Chris Dodd on Hillary Clinton’s time in the White House:

“That’s not experience, that’s witnessing experience.”

Think Secret Shuts Down in Wake of Apple Settlement. Seems like as good a time as any to admit this: around 2000, when I, shameful though it is to admit, read Think Secret, I sent in a false rumor, later published on the site as a “feature article.” Thus, naturally, I really enjoyed this article:

“It’s really a shame that Apple even decided to pursue this vendetta, and the fact that it ends with Think Secret being shut down completely is a travesty.”

Dear God, there’s also this:

One thing is certain: Nick Ciarelli is to online journalism what Lebron James to the NBA. He’s already changed the game — and he’s barely started playing.

And this:

Of course Apple is fascist scum for shutting down Think Secret.