Saturday, October 10, 2009

Sitting On My Porch Part Thirty Four


Say what you want about America but this picture would not have been on the cover of a major magazine 40 years ago. This display of progress makes me want to sing My Country Tis of Thee. That’s all I have to say about that….


90 degree weather and 300% humidity in October is Mother Nature’s way of reminding us who is really in control. Monday through Thursday was the most miserable four days that I can remember in a long time. Miserable or not it was still better than any weather system with a name attached to it like Gustav or Camille.

Is it a good thing for the country that we have become so cynical and negative that the president can't appear to be happy about winning a prestigious award like the Nobel Peace Prize? I understand that it's still early in his term but it's not like he declared himself the winner. It could be that our leader is just that impressive to the rest of the world that they wanted to give it to him. That's got to be helpful somewhere along the way because we can't fight everybody. Is the lack of positivity going to create a few million jobs? When he comes to New Orleans will he be allowed to at least nod his head a little if we break out a second line band or does he have to stand there as if moving to the funky sounds of New Orleans will be a sign of weakness and bring down his approval rating?

Here's a tip for everyone on how to get through a bad day. Always keep a mental file of the five funniest things you ever saw or conversations you had. For instance, I was having a rough moment last week and thought about the conversation I had with Big G. about what would be the most embarrassing position for someone to find your body when you pass away. That might not sound funny at the beginning but just think about it for awhile.

Rush Limbaugh buying the St. Louis Rams would be perfect for me. I grew up a Saints fan and I hate the Rams anyway. I wonder if his first order of business will be cutting all the players that voted for Obama and replace them with real Americans. If he really wants to make a splash he will hire Glenn Beck as his general manager. He’s proven he can become a force without actually knowing anything. He can probably build a Super Bowl team by convincing other teams that their best player is secretly funding ACORN, wants to take over the NFL and the only way to save the league is trading all the socialists to St. Louis.

Mayor Eddie Price of Mandeville, Louisiana resigned yesterday becoming the latest local official to fall from corruption. The folks in Mandeville should feel sad but at least Eddie did some things for you guys before everything fell apart. That is a pretty nice city to live in. You guys are doing okay. However, I would appreciate a reduction in the hypocritical comments from some of you on the internet and talk radio. The fact is that your mayor has been indicted and mine hasn't......yet.

Meanwhile, in the city where no one wants to be the next mayor, we are approaching a 68 million dollar budget deficit next year. That was Mayor Nagin’s estimate last week. I am sure they will come up with a way to make the impact less but we have a bigger problem. I know no one wants to hear this but we might have to kick in some new tax money. I know when people hear the word taxes in America they have the same reaction as they would if someone was coming to take their first born. I understand that and wouldn’t be excited about spending an extra few cents on the dollar when I went to the store but lets face the following five facts.

1. We suck at economic development and that’s not changing soon. (I would like to see a rule that made this term off limits during the next election cycle.)
2. The national economy is going to affect tourism and our hospitality crutch.
3. Even if the tourist numbers picked up a good portion of that money is going to the state and not the city.
4. You can only raise traffic fines and parking violations so much before the entire city looks stupid. No one wants to pay a 500.00 fine for a blown tail light.
5. With everyone doing so much complaining already, can you imagine what cuts that deep into the budget will do to morale? No wonder no one wants to be mayor.

We have to find a way to generate some new money or we will be going through the same thing every year and I don't hear anyone discussing how we fix that in the long term.


This is my new favorite addition to the MP3 player.

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