I am trying something new today. Play along with me. I would like readers of this blog to please offer your answers to the following question:

Why is the Sky Valley Chronicle publishing 50 cent’s mug shot as its “photo of the day?”

The photo appears in the paper’s “breaking news” section. Sky Valley is a constellation of small overwhelmingly white towns in Washington State.

The best answers to the question will receive one of the following prizes and will also be posted on the blog:
1. a new hardcover copy of the book Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire
2. a copy of the chapbook “Until I Am Free: Voices of Youth Sentenced to Life Without Parole” Edited by Kevin Coval.
3. a new hardcover copy of Hard Time Blues: How Politics Built A Prison Nation by Sasha Abramsky
4. A new hardcover copy of I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies From the Women of York Prison by Wally Lamb
5. A new hardcover copy of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore

Note: My blogging will be sporadic over the next couple of weeks. I have hit another crazy busy stretch with a couple of court cases coming up, several events, and a lot of grantwriting. I will post when I can during this period.