New Times Broward/Palm Beach, Aug. 19-25
"Mother of Haiti" by Bob Whitby
Carole Demesmin has released four world beat-flavored CDs. A "voudou" priestess, she travels between homes in Florida and Haiti to care for afflicted clients. And she was dubbed "Mother of Haiti," by journalists there for her political activism. In his detailed portrait of Demesmin, Bob Whitby explores the nuances of an oft-stereotyped religious and cultural practice while telling the remarkable story of an unusual woman.
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The Stranger, Aug. 19-25
"Feasting and Thieving at the Iowa Straw Poll" by Dan Savage
In 1996, syndicated sex/advice columnist Dan Savage (aka "hey faggot") highlighted the circus elections have become by registering Republican and representing his district at the GOP convention. His reports from that stunt were some of the most scathing, engaging political reporting I've read in years. He's at it again, this time filing from the Iowa straw poll, where he broke several laws and made out with a heap of booty. Savage doesn't pretend these exercises in democracy are about anything other than buying votes with hard-earned campaign donations. And he takes a few well-aimed potshots at the GOP hopefuls along the way. I only wish he'd apply his poison tongue to the Democrats, who are equally deserving.
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Orlando Weekly,
"Dead Man Talking" by Edward Ericson Jr.
A human head bursting into flames. A 320-pound man left alive because 700 volts too few surged through him at the time of his execution. These are just two recent results of faulty electric chairs being used in Florida's death chamber. In this chilling piece, Edward Ericson Jr. studies a new challenge, not to the death penalty, but to this particular method of enforcing it.
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Memphis Flyer, Aug. 12-18
"Auctioning Elvis" by Mary Cashiola
Mary Cashiola goes behind the scenes as archivists at Graceland prepare to auction off a nice chunk of their collection to raise funds for a couple Elvis Presley Enterprises charities. Elvis devotees are up in arms over this senseless act of kindness toward the less fortunate, declaring that insensitive collectors will snap up the Presleyan goodies and take them forever out of public view. Most of it has been locked up in warehouses for decades, so it's hard to see what the difference is.
About the writer
Jenn Shreve is a writer in Oakland, Calif. Her Alt column appears every Friday in Salon Media.
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