It looks like the for profit prison industry isn't the only ones wanting to keep their cells filled. This (expletive) sheriff in Louisiana is pissed because reforms in the state's criminal justice system will release the "good" prisoners he uses in his modern iteration of a chain gang. I linked to Raw Story but my Google search showed a variety of mainstream sources for the same thing: Some of the headlines drew the obvious parallel to "slavery."

The California wild fires have now become the deadliest in the state's history. This has been an almost unimaginable year for disaster starting with #45's inauguration. Then along came Harvey, Irma, and Marie followed by the fires. One of the headlines was, I think unintentionally, ironic. It noted that the blistering hot summer following a very wet winter has fueled the fires. I remember when everyone was celebrating the heavy, larger than normal snow pack and the the wet spring because the drought receded from extreme to merely moderate or abnormally dry.