Thoughts From a Bad Work Day

This blog is dedicated to Tracee Ellis Ross……………just because I felt like looking up her picture.

I spent way too much time on that Duke Lacrosse thing yesterday. The truth is that other than the time it gets on the news I don't even follow it that closely. Judging from the comments I got, I think we might have a Rodney King verdict type of riot on our hands if one of them gets convicted.

What in the hell can 6000 troops to do when someone crosses the border
illegally besides shooting them? I hope know one gets hurt. Who knows, they
may end up shooting some of those crazy ass Minutemen. Somewhere on a reservation or at a casino some Native Americans are thinking they should have done the same thing to the Quakers back in the day.

One day a week trash collection in New Orleans is to rats what a free lap dance sign is to men. They are coming from all over by the dozen.

I would be lying if I said that the start of hurricane season doesn't
scare the shit out of me.

The only time I get pissed at national shows that talk about New
Orleans is when they act like any other city would have been able to rebound from massive flooding and being out of business for a month without any problems. It almost makes me wish something happens to another entire city just for the satisfaction of watching their asses
struggle............no casualties of course.

You are not supposed to wish that a bad thing would happen. I need some therapy.

If being stuck in 10 ft of flooding together for a week without food and water can't stop young brothers from killing one another then nothing
will.

Remember when you could listen to black radio and they actually played more than ten songs. It’s funny when they say “up next by request we have Mariah Carey’s new song” and it just went off 10 minutes before.

What are these rappers doing messing with Oprah when she can shut everything down? I like Ludacris but I don’t think you want to start that battle. She ain’t no T.I. She got enough money to buy the record company and fire his ass.

With all the angry negro talk I read on blogs everyday, how long before the government starts monitoring our entries for hints of revolution? They might already be doing it……………I didn’t mean that guys.

Public Service Announcement from my roommate Ced: If your stomach sticks out further than your breast you are not supposed to wear a skin tight shirt. I have nothing to add to that.

I learned a valuable lesson today: It is never good to tell your middle
Aged caucasion co workers that your day is going so bad that you are ready to get yours the "the ski mask way like Biggie". Trust me, they won't get the reference or the joke.

Final Thought: After the last few weeks of watching the New Orleans elections take shape, I have come to the conclusion that black people don't vote simply because none of the candidates inspire them. I have an idea to get us out to the poll. Under all the names of the candidates, there needs to be a special button labeled "None of these Mother F#$@ers". Turnout for everybody would increase by 75%.

My response to the Duke comments

First of all, thanks for reading.

I never expected to get these kind of comments. I wanted to post them both unedited to make sure the comments had their fair play. Listen, I know you guys hate this DA and I know the DNA evidence came back without a positive ID. The question I have is that why would a man put his entire reputation on the line and stage a bogus trial that the majority of Americans think is a waste of time if he honestly didn't think the girl had a credible story or some good evidence. Black people are not that hard to please when it comes to votes. Just the fact that he even investigated the allegations was good enough to get our votes. For the case to go this far there has to be something that none of us know about except for the attornies and the grand jury. To the young lady that sent me the entire rap sheet of the accuser, I havMy e to ask when did you have to be a wholesome girl to be a stripper? And what does all of that have to do with what took place at Duke? How do we know this much about this lady's background anyway? I have never seen a woman that has been a potential victim of rape get this much of her life put out there. You said those boys live's were destroyed. Their lives are not destroyed because there are millions of people like you that already have decided they are innocent no matter what happens so they will have more oppurtunities now than they ever had. See, you guys have proved the whole point of what I said in the original post. You saw those kids and heard about her past and they are innocent with no questions asked. We all know that they won't be convicted. I never said that they would. I did say that with or without penetration or a struggle something happened in that house. I have been to lots of stripper parties in my day. Women dissappear into other rooms with guys all the time. Plus, if they are all teammates and friends, who's gonna really say anything about what happened and break the code? Nobody was going to speak up until someone actually got indicted. Whatever happened in there will never full be fully explained because she has already been labeled a lying ass slut just trying to hurt these good American boys. When she does speak the court of public opinion already thinks its bullshit. Even if you have problems with her story, shouldn't that be up to the judge or jury to decide? Maybe you guys have all been played by a bunch of really smart kids and attornies that know how to manipulate the media. I will not budge from my original point that if this the three black kids from Howard accused of doing something innappropriate to a white woman from Duke, there would have been media lynch mobs all over and it wouldn't have mattered what she did before the night of the party. If the situation was reversed and the lacrosse team were black, I would be saying that they needed to be prosecuted just like these guys are. But, its not three black dudes, it's three white ones and those girls didn't invite themselves to that party. The funny thing is that most black people around the country didn't know anything about this story. I didn't know anything about it until I started hearing all these people on the radio tearing down this girl when none of them were inside that house. Next time these privilaged kids need to contact their families political friends and get this swept under the rug ahead of time like the other high society kids do.

Clifton

Duke, Rape and Justice

This week a third member of the Duke lacrosse team was indicted on rape charges from stemming from the black stripper party these guys had at their house. The young man who will not get his named typed on this blog, proceeded to hold a press conference screaming innocence at the top of his lungs. He actually said that all three of the accused were innocent. Here is the line where the justice system changes for black people. We all know that if this was three brothers from North Carolina A&T that allegedly raped a white dancer from Duke, they would be on TV everyday in orange jumpsuits, shackled and no haircuts. The media would find every bad story about them and their dads and uncles and great grandfathers to the point that the majority of Americans would want them tarred and feathered. There also wouldn’t be all the stories about her past like there is in this case either. I listen to talk radio at my desk during the day and all I heard was how hard it’s going to be to convict these guys because of how they carry themselves and have so much credibility that she doesn't. What does carrying yourself well have to do with getting drunk at a party and taking liberties with a dancer? It has nothing to do with it. Neither does the fact that they didn’t find DNA. If these guys are smart enough to go to Duke just maybe they are smart enough to cover things up. Like I said before, maybe they didn’t penetrate her but they did something to her some kind of way. We know it and they know it but they will not spend one day in jail for this because that’s how the system works. It is easy for people to believe that they didn’t do anything because of their background. It’s also easy for the mainstream to think a black man has done something. Perfect example, Kobe Bryant had a press conference after he was indicted. The charges were dropped against him (something that would have never happen if they thought they really could convict him for violating a white woman). Yet, the majority of Americans still hate him. There are lots of brothers that deserve to be in jail for things they have done. I am not the brother who apologizes for black crime because it usually means a black victim. There are also lots of white people that deserve the same amount of jail time but don’t always get it. The problem is that most black people see it like this and most white people don’t. It’s the kind of thing that might make black people stand up and cheer when Johnny Cochran helped a guilty OJ Simpson beat the system (although Johnny thought he was innocent or at least I hope he did). We cheered because we knew there would be allot of days like this when the black victim becomes the defendant against a class system that has more power than her violation could ever overcome. That’s been going on since we got off the slave ships and it probably always will.



Clifton

To All My Mamas

I would like to take this time to wish all of the mamas everywhere a really happy and wonderful Mother’s Day. I especially want to give props to all the black mothers out there. The single parents, the big mamas and the ones that hold their families down through all the drama and still find a way to make us feel like kings and queens. I have been a lucky man during my lifetime. Besides my own mama who is totally dedicated to the happiness and well being of all her children, I have been lucky enough to have other women in my life that treated me like a son. It’s these women’s influence that has made me the man I am today. Where ever I go and whatever I do, I am always conscious of these ladies. I try my best to make sure that my actions make them proud even if they are not here to see it. I would like to acknowledge the following people.

To Tara: You always think I don’t acknowledge you. You are a great mother and lately have been forced to deal with everything on your own and not once did you complain. I will always love you for that.

To my mother Bernadine Harris: You are the greatest person I know hands down. There will never be another person that thinks I am as great as you do.

To my Grandmothers
Mildred Harris: I haven’t seen you since the storm and you have lost so much. I will never forget the times you told me how much you were proud of me for the man I am now.

Geraldine Louvier: Every single day I shed tears at least one time in your memory. I miss you so much and it causes me physical pain when I realize you are not coming back. I am still eating my spinach J

To my godmother Geraldine Baker: I will be there whenever you need me. I know sometimes I act like you are bothering me but as long as I am here you are not alone.

To my Aunties
Iola Butler: Rest in Peace to the woman who never raised her voice at me…..closest thing to a third grandmother

Anna Thomas : My favorite aunt and the one most like me

Auntie Nell: You helped me do all the things that kids in my neighborhood couldn’t do and I never had to ask. Thank you

Ozella Honore: Rest in Peace. I hope you were there to meet grandpa when he got there to keep him out of trouble.

Shirley Kelly: I am sorry I never came see you in that home. That’s one of my biggest regrets

To all of my play mamas

Mrs. Inez Washington
Ms. Lilly for watching my baby and treating her like your own
My high school counselor Ms. Martin
My cousin Darrolyn Fields
My cousin April Harris
Ms. Mary Williams
Ms. Maude Young
Ms. Claire Williams
Mrs. Patricia Roby
Mrs. Sandra Hartford

If you look into the lives of great men, there is usually a woman or women somewhere close making sure they stay on the right path.

Happy Mother’s Day

Clifton

The State of the N.O.

It’s been a minute since I wrote strictly about New Orleans and the recovery (or lack of). Since the mayor’s race is coming up, this is a good time to get some things off of my chest.

• If Ray Nagin loses this election it will be because lots of black people voted for Landrieu. If that happens, he only has himself to blame and all he has to do is look under the bridge at those flooded cars as a symbol of nothing being done. Like I always say, the average man does not know what’s going on behind close doors. They can only judge things by what they see. The more people that come back to the city, the more frustration grows because everything is limited and no one can give you any information about what’s going on.
• I am glad the city closed the landfill near the Asian community. I have nothing but respect for the Asian community in this city. If it wasn’t for them and the Arab storeowners, there would be nowhere to shop downtown after 7PM. Plus, they are spending their own money to open these stores.
• I am foolish, desperate, or optimistic about bringing my family back to New Orleans East right now. The apartment complexes that are opening are acting like they are running an ocean side resort with all these qualifications. I know you can’t let anybody in but damn.
• I am confused. Every night there are stories on the news about all this crime and turf battles that are starting again. Where are these people staying? I know folks with two jobs waiting for them and can’t find a place to live. How did the thugs get back here so easily? Who are they selling to? Shouldn’t they be easier to catch now since everybody else is working or stuck in their trailers all day? What are the police doing?
• It’s stressful living here right now. The least the city could do is open up the lake at night so a man can go sit and drink a beer near the water and reminisce about his old life. Is it too much to ask to turn the lights on Lakeshore drive and have the grass cut? If anybody is wondering if there is manpower to take care of the lake, there are people cutting grass every day on St. Charles Ave. They even water the flowers near the streetcar line that is not even running right now.
• It is becoming clear eight months after the storm that the working/middle class people of New Orleans are the ones with the biggest headaches in the aftermath. Lots of them have moved to new cities but still have houses they were paying for here. They can’t live in them and they can’t get the money back that they put into them. We don’t have enough money to live uptown in the really good neighborhoods so we are forced to find housing in neighborhoods we worked to move away from and now we will be walking hand and hand with the criminal element. There are allot of programs that are trying to help the homeless, and the impoverished find and maintain housing here. That’s needed and I am glad that they do. However, the future of this city will be determined by how many middle class people stick it out through the bullshit. It’s too bad a large amount of those folks and their families lived in New Orleans East where practically nothing is being done in my opinion.

We must never forget all the people who never made it out of the water.

Long lives the Lower Ninth Ward

Clifton

Hometown Poetry

I got this poem from my homeboy Brandon's site. I don't know the author but I am sure he wouldn 't mind speading it around. The name is called "If you from the N.O. ...... Then you must know". This is for all of my hometown folks.

Second lines and penny candy
Project block parties and St. Mark's dances
Corner stores and corner whores
Ducking out the back door
To skip chores
And G-Nikes and street fights
And street lights would keep night
From beating us home
Home grown on neck bones and collard greens
Cat fish, fried chicken, and red beans
With rice, it was nice
But at what price
My rights?
My lights?
My life?
Now I'm trife cuz a hurricane took away my property
One stormy Monday
I remember
Fat Tuesday and Super Sunday
Fu! neral processions on Burgundy
Fish plates from Broadmore
Po-boys on Chef Menteur
Making groceries at Schwegman's store
And calling out your ward
Like, "five, four"
I remember
Opened flood doors
Were way more than what they bargained for like
Swollen doors and mold up from the floors
Inflated bodies
Too many casualties
And all they wanted was a little more money
But it's too many dying
Too many crying
And not enough lying
I remember
The Joy and Eastlake
Motor bikes on the Lake
Talent shows at St. Mary's
High school sororities and fraternitie! s
And Gregory D!
Davy D, Lonnie and Mannie
Rob Fresh and Raj Smooth
Big Cheese krushin' groove
DJ, DJ Money Fresh, Wop
And Jubilee, Dynamite Dave Soul, Captain Charles
And ya boy, Wyld Weezy!
Club Big Easy and Prime Time
Rumors, Nexus, Velocity and The Bottom Line, on Monday
Whispers on Thursday
And House of Blues every Sunday
I remember
Riverboat Hallelujah and Bonaparte Place
Dooky Chase and fat shoe laces
Monogram name plates and apple rings
These are more than just a few of my favorite things
More than just a fading memory
Cuz see, when I say "Stop. Pause."
If you ain't from where I'm from
; Not even Anthony Hamilton can sing you a clue
So I'mma "make it do what it do" and tell you
Nobody knows what it means
To miss New Orleans like I do
Cuz this is more than just a city
Where my house sits
It's, my heart beat
And even the pot holes in the streets are sweet
And just like "You can't beat Wagner's Meat"
You can't take the N.O.
From the soul of me
See, I'm a Downtown soldier
Little bit of a hard head
From being 7th ward bred
And ALOT of that nine
In my spine
So, I don't mind dyin'
But, "aint no love
In the heart of city"
With no culture
And no people
This is gospel
I'm saying a mouthful
But my heart is empty
Cuz, I remember
July and November
Frankie Beverly, Southern and Grambling State University
Black people in unity
Dressed to impress
And putting all kinds of money
Back into the community
Cuz ain't nothing greasy
About this Big Easy but the chicken
See, we family
We got NanNans, Parans
And play cousins
School kids on corners playing dozens
And "nigga knockin"
And only when the gumbo pot thickens
Do you know your Grandma done put her foot in it
Yes, I remember
The joy and the pain
The sunshine and the rain
And no hurricane will take the main vein fro! m the artery of this country
So please, save the babies!
Raise the levee
My heart's so heavy
But my pen stay steady
So, I'mma "get it ready
Get it ready
Get it ready, ready"
So we can all come home
Cuz, I remember the Dome
And the Convention Center
The French Quarter and the FEMA water
And I don't want my daughter or son, to be
To only have that image of my city
I want them to create their own memories
So that they may grow
Grateful to be from the N.O.
And quick to let anyone know
From the Square in the Congo
To the Indian battles outside of Joe's
We are a speci! al kind of people
Born under the Cajun moon Lullabies sung to voo doo blues toons
Sons of Moses
Daughters of Oshun
From the Beignet to the Etoufee
Flora's and the Hardrock Cafe
Fridays at True Brew
the Square on Sunday
And the jockamo fe fi na ne
Come soon, come soon that day

Cuz, I remember
HOW BOUT U???

Black Jesus?

TV Land had another Good Times marathon on this weekend. Someone at that station really likes that show because they have one once a month. Since it’s not football season and weekends at home are boring this time of year I watched a few episodes. One of the episodes I caught was the day JJ painted black Jesus and Michael put him up on the wall. The entire Evans family had some good things happen and gave all the credit to a picture of Ned the Wino. Everybody loved it except for Florida who couldn’t accept the black man as God even after Michael showed it to her in the bible. Now, I love this episode but I never really thought about it the same way I did Sunday. The things that happen to the Evans that day were just random things but they were willing to give all the glory to black Jesus because he looked like them. Now you can pick up a bible and read about Jesus and determine what color he is but visual images are powerful. My grandmother had a huge picture of The Last Supper hanging in her living room and there was no feet the color of brass and hair of lamb’s wool anywhere. It was just a bunch of white men. The basic reasoning and the essence of white supremacy for people who believe in that idea is that they are superior because God’s son looks like them so they must be the closest to Him. That makes everyone else inferior. That is the whole idea in a nutshell. That’s why so many racist ideas have been validated by people who claim to be religious. It‘s the idea that helped Adolph Hitler make all the Germans go crazy. When the Africans came over on the slave ships the first thing they did was take whatever religion you had and make you worship the image of the blue eyed white man. Pretty soon, the slaves subconsciously believed they were inferior and it made them submissive. You can say what you want about the Nation of Islam. Everyone has their opinion but those brothers are empowered by the fact that they believe they are the original man and the closest to God. Listen, this is just an observation. This blog is not intended to give my opinion on religion. I believe in God and probably think about it more than the average person. I don’t want anybody sending me a page full of scriptures thinking I don‘t believe. If you read this correctly you should understand. If you don’t then it only shows your closed mindedness as far as I am concerned. I hope there is someone willing to answer the question I am about to ask. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. The question is this. Would black people in this country be more empowered and more progressive if we had created our own form of Christianity or other religion as opposed to adopting the one we were conditioned to worship?

Outlook and Circumstance

I have two young ladies straight out of college that work in my office. This is their first full time job in life. I have been working full time since I was 18 years old. A few times a week a discussion will come up about some place or something in the world that I would like to see. This morning it was Italy. I have never been able to pay for that trip. Their ass has always already been there twice. They also seem to have friends from here that are now living on every continent and none of them are in the military. How many people from the hood have friends just hanging out in Rome watching TV? Genetically, there is not a difference in people when it comes to thinking. The difference lies in backgrounds and influence. I am 31 years old and have never been out of the country. The brothers and sisters I know that have been able to travel never go further than the Bahamas or Mexico and they had to work ten years and get a payment plan for that three day cruise. These other folks get trips to Europe as graduation presents in high school. One of the girls here is Jewish. Her brother is going to Israel for a few weeks just to "hang out" and he doesn't have a job. I have never been able to go to the Ivory Coast for a month just to kick it. When you are a kid growing up in the hood, your view of the world is boxed in. Your mine revolves around the 10-block radius that you claim. If there was a kid in my class that had been to California or Chicago, he was a worldly man by our standards. Our circumstances box us in mentally and it continues for our whole life. That's what the armed forces recruiters sell kids in the hood on. "Join the Army and see all the places you will never have the urge or ability to see for yourself." Sure, there are people who move to other cities when they get older but usually they end up in another community like the one they are from just with allot more money involved and they stay there the rest of their lives. Their kids don't travel either because the parents have to work two jobs to come up with that house and car payment. I wish my parents could have sent me to Italy or Japan for my graduation present. Who knows, I may not have returned. I am sure they would have liked to sent me if they knew I really wanted to go. I guess they were focused on buying other things for me like food, clothing and shelter. Traveling is the example for today but there are many areas of life where the same theory holds true. How many kids in the hood get to see an opera, mountain climbing, sailing or scuba diving? Your outlook is heavily influenced by your circumstances.

Being Real From A Cliff Perspective

My name is Clifton. Sometimes, I am very indecisive. I like to drink allot and eat lots of red meat. I often make plans that I really don't want to keep and end up canceling on people. I go to work everyday but I procrastinate to the last minute. I never balance my checkbook. I tend to be very emotional and sentimental about allot of things. I have a strange fascination with hoochie mamas and exotic dancers but I really don't have the nerve to talk to them. I could go on and on about myself but I won't. I have dozens of good qualities to go with this stuff but that’s not the point. The point is that everything in this paragraph is real and honest.

As I get older the one thing that totally aggravates me is people who talk a good holy and moral game towards other people and are really more screwed up than everybody. We all know somebody like this. There's always that one guy who wants to quote to you his favorite passage from the bible whenever you do or say something he doesn't approve of but he has a 200 DVD porn collection on his dresser or that girl who keeps the gospel station on in her car but can't keep her clothes on for anybody. I don't pass judgment on people. We are all human. Things happen to you sometimes and it makes you question and wonder about why it did. I am not inside anyone else's head to know what's going on so I can't tell them not be hurt, angry, bitter or depressed. I may not have the same feelings but I can't tell you it's wrong to have them.

Every now and then I will post a blog and get a comment in my email full of all these reasons why I am not supposed to feel or think a certain way. Some of these people have blogs too. I go to their page and it's full of all kinds of nasty ass poems, naked pictures, and some of the most incoherent and childish thoughts I have ever seen. Just this morning I was checking out something from a person that I read all the time and someone made some comments about the person. I went to the page of the person who made the comment and the first thing I see is a story about his balls? See, it's people like that who usually are not stable and confused. They spend so much time trying to be what they think people will feel is righteous and telling everyone else how to feel that they haven’t' taken a fair assessment of who they are. We all have a little contradiction in us just from living in this frustrating world. There are things you see that are the total opposite of everything you were raised to believe. Then you get older and go out into the world full of positive outlook. Sometimes you end up in a situation that you never pictured yourself being involved in. That’s doesn’t make you a bad person. It just makes you human. This message is for all the folks that sit around and throw stones in their glass houses. Stop acting like you got it all figured out because you don't. It's pointless to tell someone how he or she should feel about his or her own life when yours isn't straight. Plus, you guys are missing all of the fun of finding people just as messed up as you and having a good time.

Clifton

Verbal Gumbo 6

First things first…

I don’t care what comments, inspiration words or scriptures you send me. I deal in the this world. There is no such thing as a good place, a good way, or a good time for someone you love to die. This is not to say that I don’t know they are in a better place. I am just saying that when they are gone, you always think about what would happen if you had one more day or one more year with them. Anybody who says they can totally accept the ones closest to them going away has never lost anybody or is just lying and being phony.

Now on to other stuff…..

I have nothing but love for all the rescuers from the Coast Guard who flew all day and night picking people off of rooftops around the city. They deserve accolade they receive. However, since I have been back here and talking to the people I know now that there are stories of regular everyday citizens (black and white) that swam, built raffs, and used their private boats to rescue their fellow man here in the city. If you talk to people they will tell you that people were out there saving people days before George Bush and FEMA got their shit together and sent the heroes from the Coast Guard. When is someone on any level going to take the time and recognize these men. You know, when my dad and my cousin were pulled from the attic at my parent’s home, it was by a white man from St. Bernard parish in his own boat. Lets give the local heroes some props.

What in the hell would make a black dude wear a Katrina shirt like he went to Freaknik or something? Wearing a New Orleans shirt is fine. I want a few of them myself. Wearing a Katrina shirt is like wearing a picture of the dude that shot you on your chest. Don’t give the bitch that kind of glory.

It’s only Wednesday but two things have made me ecstatically happy already. The first was running into my long time homie Ryan at the gas station. If you have been reading this blog you know he’s the brother that got stabbed in the back in the middle of the court while we were walking. I was happy to see a friendly face here. Everyone else I run into are thugs from my childhood that want get some money for me. I guess it’s the thought that counts.

The second thing that made me happy was seeing a woman that broke my heart walking up an abandon street with a crackhead. Words cannot describe how satisfying this was to me.

Kobe Bryant and Lebron James both losing the MVP to Steve Nash is racism by the media.

I am on not saying this to be funny. Barry Bonds needs some police protection as he gets closer to Babe Ruth. There are three sports figures that white people don't play around with; Larry Bird, Vince Lombardi, and Babe Ruth. If you want to be on their level you better have your act together. If I was Barry I would have the FOI out there with me in the batter's box.

The top three issues of the New Orleans mayor’s race are housing, housing, and housing. There is no reason why I have been here working since the end of January and can’t find a house under 1200.00.

I don’t want to sound like an ass, but why would anyone want to go see the movie about Flight 93 on 9/11. First, who wants to relive that shit all over again. I wouldn’t go to a Katrina movie with a free ticket. The second thing is there were no survivors so we don’t know who really did what. There were heroes on that plane and no one doubts that. No one should make money from their sacrifice unless they are going to donate ALL of the funds to the families of the victims.


Rest in Peace to my aunt Iola “Nanny” Butler. Bye Nanny. Say hello to grandpa for me.

Every now and then the culture of the black community spills over into popular culture and something stupid happens. The perfect example of this is the show "Yo Momma" that comes on MTV. I wanted to watch this show first so I was certain of what was going on. On this show, grown people stand in front of one another and talk about each others mama? I don't know where the producers of this show come from. Where I come from all mama jokes stopped after the age of 10. Any outright disprespect of a brother's mama after that age was serious grounds for an ass whipping and possibly a bullet depending on what your mama's situation was. I don't know where they found these people.

This Blog Has No Title

The following opinions have been influenced by listening to Tupac's Greatest Hits....

Lately there are three things that are guaranteed to piss me off:
1. All these jackasses coming back to New Orleans and starting all this shooting and shit again. What the hell is wrong with negroes? Thank you for validating everything the other part of the community thinks about us. All of this is taking in place in one of the few dry and black neighborhoods in the city. Its funny that the Ninth Ward gets all the press for being this violent place when we all know that uptown is where the real pit bulls come from(no offense to my uptown friends, not all of you are pit bulls). When being stranded for days together in the hot New Orleans sun without food and water can’t make you come together there is no hope.
2. When someone from New Orleans wants to put down the city and brag about how much better it is where they live like they always planned on going there. I don't mind you starting over, and you should be happy. But, don't act like we weren't neighbors 7 months ago and your ass was planning to leave. You were going to die here just like me and you probably still will eventually.
3. People from other cities that keep trying to tell me how to feel or how long I am supposed to be upset about the aftermath of the storm. Let me come to your town, take all of your family and move them around. Then pump 1000 gallons of water in your house. Then, just when you get really homesick and want to come home I will make about 1000 rules not allowing you to even rebuild the house the way it was. Deal with all that and then we can talk on an even level. Until then let us deal with this.

Due to the increasing gas prices its time to make some tough choices. I have decided that until the price goes down, I will decrease my large daiquiri with a shot of rum to a medium daiquiri with no shot and my 12 inch po-boy sandwich to a 6 inch sandwich and hold the cheese. These damn republicans got the gas so high I have to cut back on sandwiches and liquor just to get to work. That's what America gets for electing two ex energy company CEO's to run the country. You know the first revolution in this country started with a tea party to protest being over taxed by the British. I'm glad the president tried to do something today to make the price a little lower. I'm afraid that going from 2.85 to 2.75 isn't really doing a damn thing for me. I need some old school prices. You know, the kind we had before pissing off all the Arabs.

R.I.P. to Proof from D-12 and the man that he shot. It is really sad a talented brother lost his life. It’s just as sad that he was killed after shooting another black man and nobody cares about him or his family because he is not famous. That’s two black men dead and their lives had equal value. That’s why the murders have been allowed to fester for so long. We only care about the ones we know or our family.

It can’t be possible that I don’t qualify for every single one of the hurricane relief programs. Am I rich and no one told me? I am going to be so pissed if one of my grandparents have a trust fund for me that I don’t know about that keeps showing up on a computer somewhere. Then again, that can’t be true because if I had one my credit wouldn’t be so bad.

Finally I have a lesson in life for everyone that reads this. Sometimes a person comes into your life and you get a bad vibe so you end the association quickly. Then years later they come back into your world through circumstances and you think to yourself “This person isn’t so bad. Maybe I was wrong”. Eventually, the person does things that make you realize why you never wanted to be around their stupid ass in the first place. The lesson is : when judging people, following your first mind is usually the right call.

Who's Gonna Be the Mayor?.....I Don't Care

The mayor's race in New Orleans has came and went and now we have Mitch Landrieu and Ray Nagin in a runoff to see who gets to run the city for the next four years. Whoever wins will either get a whole bunch of credit if the city makes strides or all the blame if it falls on its face. It's a risky job to take. I think Landrieu will win if the voter turn out for the runoff is anything like the turnout for the primary. I think I misjudged Black New Orleans' attitude about this mayor's race. I think most of us don't really care who wins. When you really break it down, there isn't a section of the American population that has been more mistreated by other Americans than black people from New Orleans. No one really wants us. We are staying in cities now that look at us as a drain and a burden. Lots of those people in these other cities are black too. Then, our own city knows this and are still dragging their asses to get some kind of progress made. That's what's on the mind of the average citizen when he or she is about to spend 100.00 worth of gas to drive from Atlanta to vote for someone who hasn't really done anything to help them come back home regardless of their color. I have been here since the end of January and I still haven't found a place under 1200.00 a month that I would like to live in. After listening to the debates and judging each candidate, I probably wouldn't have voted either if I had to drive 500 miles. We would have been better off as the third world country as they see us.

My Favorite Hip Hop Verse of All Time

Through the lights cameras and action, glamour glitters and gold
I unfold the scroll, plant seeds to stampede the globe
When I'm deceased, by then the beast arise like yeast
To conquer peace leaving savages to roam in the streets
Live on the run, police paying me to give in my gun
Trick my wisdom, with the system that imprisoned my son
Smoke a gold leaf I hold heat, nonchalantly
I'm grungy, but things I do is real it never haunts me
While, funny style niggaz roll in the pile
Rooster heads profile on a bus to riker's isle
Holdin weed inside they pussy with they minds on thePretty things in life,
props is a true thug's wife
It's like a cycle, niggaz come home, some'll go in
Do a bullet, come back, do the same shit again
From the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable
Guns salute life, rapidly, that's the ritual

Nas from Verbal Intercourse by Raekwon the Chef

Controlling the Media

When I was a young man living at home, me and my dad would always watch the news together. Whenever I would ask him a question about a story that didn't make sense to me as a young black man, he would always reply with the same phrase; "Son, when you control the media, you control what we see". Never has this been more apparent than this week in the news. Two women have dominated the news this week. One of them is Natalie Holloway. She is the young lady that disappeared in Aruba months ago and hasn't been found. Every single news outlet in the country has been covering this story every single day and they won't rest until someone in Aruba has been arrested for her disappearance. I used to look at this story everyday and I felt bad for her because she was young and had her life in front of her. As a matter of fact I think that Nancy Grace is on a personal crusade to have every male in Aruba brought up on charges for kidnapping. One way or another, someone in Aruba will answer for Natalie's murder and the American media will not rest until it's done.
The other story is the Duke Lacrosse team rape case. This story has also been everywhere this week but with a different twist. Every single day there is another story, picture or piece of evidence presented by the media to make this sister look like a black piece of trash who is trying to get paid by lying on these poor privilege kids at Duke. It's like they can't even imagine that she might have been raped and their asses are all covering for one another. If she was a little tipsy when she got to the party, who's to say she didn't get violated by something other than one of their little peckers. For a brief second I almost was starting to think that maybe she could have been lying. After watching the coverage of this story, it doesn't even matter if they don't have DNA evidence. I want her to stand her ground and bring these little bastards to justice if for no other reason than to see the look on the face of all the ass holes in the media on television that made her look like a drunken tramp. Do you think all those people on TV would be making negative comments if some white woman went up to a HBCU for a bachelor party full of wild Negroes. They would shut the entire system down until they found out who it was.
I love living in America. In any other country I would probably be dead already for writing some shit like this. Most Americans of all colors do the same thing every day. We go to work, try to raise our kids properly and earn enough money for some comfort in life. However, there are several cross sections of American life where the line is clearly drawn for black people. The top three are the justice system, the job interview process, and media coverage. We usually expect some sort of bullshit to go on in these three areas but when it's as blatant as the news has been this week it just pisses you off. This is what BET should be used for, some balance. They spend all their time teaching 12 year olds how to dance.

Signs of Life

Since I came back to New Orleans for my job I haven't been focused on anything. I have been here everyday and I even got a promotion. Somehow I still find myself drifting most of the day. The post Katrina stress always seems to have me down. I don't even write blogs as much because I can't think straight.
There is nothing worse than a series of meetings over a two day period to make you want to quit when you are in this state of mind. Last year I went to this same meeting with my entire staff representing our agency. I was a novice, the understudy and the low man on the totem pole. One year later, I was back as the lone representative for the entire program and had the title of coordinator behind my name. I had two choices. The first choice that came to mind was to go Tuesday and sit quietly writing down notes like I am interested then skip Wednesday's session and blame it on some housing appointment or something personal and stay home. I was all sold on the first choice and went in the conference room Tuesday surrounding by allot of smart people. That's when I had a long talk with myself. I told myself "Cliff, you are just as knowledgeable and capable as anyone in this room. Not only that, you were raised by a father that is an ego maniac and his father had the most self confidence of anyone you ever known. You have almost an obsessive pride about your name and who you are. What kind of Harris man are you to sit in here and let these people think your ass don't belong? What would grandpa say? Now open your damn mouth and show them you got skills." That's exactly what I did. I proceeded to demonstrate my training methods, articulate the merits of a closed database and totally shoot down the idea of a state system I feel is designed to have access to my local records. I felt really good. In fact, I felt so good that I went back to work and gave a three hour seminar on the mayor's race (my all Caucasian work staff thinks I should run for mayor of Chocolate City), the rebuilding of the Ninth Ward and why Kobe Bryant is the MVP of the NBA this year. It feels good when I have a day when I am 100% together after the storm. On those days people get the whole Cliff experience: charm, charisma, knowledge, humor, the ability to dominate a conversation and the biggest ego any bald, short, chubby black man has ever had. Grandpa would be proud.

Being Grown

I love being in my 30's. Other than some stamina and 75 less pounds, I don't miss being a teenager or my early 20's at all. My generation doesn't seem to be embracing this grown folk thing too well. We are holding on to our youthful ways for dear life. Holding on to your youthful mind state means holding on to your youthful expectations. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but once you turn 30 you have to be realistic about certain aspects of your plans. I'm not saying you can't do them. You just have to map out a different path. I was on 3 different paths in 2005 alone. Lately when I have conversations with all my 30-35 year old friends, we seem to talk allot about how old we are and how things have not worked out in our lives the way we want. What is our problem? How many of you have actually sat down for a few minutes and honestly thought about all the obstacles we have made it through just to get to our 30's? First of all, we are the first generation of black people that grew up in this country free of any type of legal segregation. The bar for our achievement was set so high that most of us were never going to be able to keep up with all that. We might not have had separate schools and water fountains, but the economic disparity was still there the whole time and no one did anything to deal with that before we came of age. Secondly, around the time I was 9 or 10 years old, crack took hold and held our community hostage. Lots of the things we are dealing with today are the effects of that dark time. This might be a New Orleans thing but I don't know anyone in my age range that doesn't know at least three people that are no longer here because of that drug. The bottom line is that our generation has had to survive allot of shit to get to this point. It's time we embrace our age and respect our experience. I am glad to be in my 30's. I feel like a wise man already and I can't wait until I am 50. Hell, I have already survived the crack wars, record murder rates, heroin addicts, the Galvez bus ride home in 87(you downtown people know what happened on Galvez and St. Bernard), having a girlfriend in the Calliope and the Florida projects, crack babies that are way worse than we are, excessive drinking, high blood pressure and Hurricane Katrina. It can't get much harder than it already has been.

Questions, Questions, Questions

What happened to all that money that George Bush promised the city of New Orleans?

I guess he just lied in front of millions Americans on national TV. That's not so strange for him.

Why are there 500 people running for mayor of New Orleans?

Why isn't Cynthia Willard Lewis on TV everyday fussing about something?

There are enough things in her district to have a new beef about each day. I mean, she did lose her whole constituency to the storm. She should have her own hotline set up just for the Ninth Ward.

What is Leonard Lucas doing running for councilman at large?

This is the same guy that was the district representative for the Ninth Ward and led the entire state legislature in absences. He only sponsored two bills the whole term and the Lower Ninth Ward still didn't have a grocery store before the storm. The only thing he managed to do was open up his mini-mall and a Subway. That's just the guy we need.

Why isn't Paul Morton and Darryl Brister standing next to her complaining on behalf of the thousands of people that give them all that money?

Even if they are doing something behind closed doors that's not good enough. It should be vocal and loud to combat the feelings of frustration. The Bishop should be on TV now just as much as he was when his boys weren't getting in on the contracts from City Hall. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should have never even needed to come down here and organize that march. It should have already been done.

How do all the girls from New Orleans name Katrina feel now that their families won't speak to them?

If the hurricane would have been named Cliff instead of Katrina, how many years of therapy would it have taken to get over that guilt?

I think I need to call my cousin Katrina tonight and apologize for ignoring her. She's a really good person and no one deserves to have a storm that basically wiped out their entire family structure named after them. They shouldn't even name those storms anyway. If anyone bigger than a cat-3 ever hits, it should just be called "That Big Bitch" and followed by the date. Katrina should have been "That Big Bitch on August 29"

How come the folks that went through Hurricane Rita don't appear to be as pissed as all the Katrina victims?

You all should be making more noise. There is enough FEMA money to be squandered away for everyone.

Did it really take the mayor and city council this long to figure out that they should be spending that money on rebuilding apartments instead of trailers?

Did anyone else notice that we will have had Mardi Gras, Jazzfest, and a Saints game before we even open one public hospital in the city of New Orleans?

When the son on Black and White admitted to his parents he let the white kids say nigger around him, why didn't mom or dad slap his ass?

There is never a time when that practice is cool. I don't care how many hip hop CD's they listen to.

How much did VH1 pay those girls to go back on Flava of Love reunion?

Why is Hip Hop the only profession where a black man makes good money and still wants to be considered part of the hood?

You don't see the CEO of American Express (a black man) representing the projects by stabbing the Discover Card CEO at a meeting.

Why are all those black kids, especially the basketball players(who are basically the image of the university) still going to Duke?

If this was 1966 instead of 2006 there would be sit ins and marches every day.

Am I the only person that is totally infatuated with Cynthia Mckinney's stand against racial profiling?

I wish they had the incident on tape to prove her point.

Keep your hair style baby. I think it's fly.

Can we get her to come to New Orleans on behalf of the people?

Why do white people bring their dogs everywhere with them including the office?

You don't know if I am allergic to dogs or not.

Why do black people take stuff from work they really don't need like white out and staplers?

I never got to use the adding machine I took from my old job.

What is the proper amout of work production lost in America between instant messages and e-mail?

There are people that download their favorite IM as soon as they are alone at their desk.

Is there such a thing as a young Caucasian woman at your job that isn't a newlywed or engaged?

I mean they all have fiances and new husbands. No wonder sisters are so pissed when they come home from work. I would be too if I had to sit 8 hours and listen to all that.

Would I be wrong to snitch on the blind guy that smokes in the restroom next to my office door?
It's not that I want to get the man in trouble. It's just that when you are the only brother, you get blamed for stuff like fires.

Finally, this is an actual e-mail I received. The name has been scrambled to protect the victim:
"ya this this be %@$%@$ from 71107 wat the deal is yo main holla at ya boy cuz maybe i can getcha down here agian an we can chill an smoke dat some cake]weed[ ok holla at me ,one"

The first question.... What did the New Orleans Public School system do to him to make him look at that on paper and think anyone would understand that?

The Last question..... Is the fact that I understood exactly what he was trying to say reason enough for all us to get together and file a class action suit against the school system for improper education?

It's alright to talk ebonics sometimes in certain circles but you are never supposed to write it unless it's a Gwendolyn Brooks poem.


One Love to everyone from the Lower Ninth Ward. Peace to all people New Orleans.
Cliff.

Just Venting.....Nothing Personal

This blog was written just for me to get things off of my chest. It is not intended for everyone to agree with or to really piss anyone off even though it might. I welcome any comments you may have even if you want to cuss me.


The election march was cool. I still stand by the fact that we need to be able to vote if we choose to. However, it’s going to be funny to see all those people vote for a mayor and give him four years of power to run a city that its going to take five years to find housing in. Essentially, all these black people are going to run down and vote for Ray Nagin to drag his feet like he’s been doing.

Sometimes I wish that New Orleans was really a third world country like the rest of the world seems to look at us. That would be ok right now to me because then we could overthrow the government, lock up the mayor, sheriff, DA and city council and annex ourselves from the rest of the country. Then we could make some trade deals with other countries on our own and build our own levee system and housing and hospitals and schools and all that other stuff.

One of the strange things about the aftermath of the storm is that there are some people from New Orleans that actually think where they are from makes them more deserving of a natural disaster. If you go anywhere in the world and someone makes a comment like to you, slap them That will be the only thing that makes you feel better. If you catch yourself believing that or affirming what they said, slap yourself. You are a disgrace to your whole family.

It has to be said…….Eighteen months of free rent for people that didn’t have a job before the storm is just too long of a time. My sister is a teacher and she had to pay her emergency money back to the government. The storm was not supposed to make working people’s lives harder and shiftless people’s lives easier. When all of this is up, there will be lots of people in panic and desperate.

The next time someone makes the comment to me that “God doesn’t do anything by mistake” or “Everything happens for a reason” concerning what happened to people because of the hurricane might get cussed out.

I had a conversation with a good friend concerning her child’s father. She was hoping that eventually if they spent enough time together his dad may decide to start doing the things for him that he needs to. Look, when Gabby was born my fatherly instincts kicked in the first five seconds after her birth. If you got a man that doesn’t want to spend every minute he can with his child the minute they are born, put him on child support immediately because you got problems coming.

Why are there so many 30 year old black women that can actually say to themselves that they will always be lonely? I am tired of young sisters talking like they are 65 years old. I am going to get in trouble for this but how many of you have actually thought it was yourself that was the problem. How many women can actually say they know how to be happy or make a man happy? There are thousands of good brothers out there but they don’t have Jay Z’s money or LL’s body. Most of them work for the city fixing streets or something with beer bellies and receding hairlines. You better go look for some of those cats.

After you reach a certain age, sex without passion or feelings for your partner is just like masturbation with allot more drama.

Why would African American people support any type of law allowing illegal immigrants to work in this country without citizenship? With all the joblessness in our community, there is nothing good about millions of people willing to work for half of what we will coming in everyday. We have enough competition already.

Happy Birthday Mama

Today is my mother’s 56th birthday. Like most brothers, I have a undying devotion and love for the woman. I don’t know how to express my feelings for this woman properly. She is my mama, my guidance, my friend and maybe the biggest supporter I have in this world. My entire personality has been shaped on the fact that I never wanted to be the reason she had a bad day or a sleepless night. Thanks to Katrina, this is the first time since I was born I won’t get to see her on her birthday. I hope her whole day and everyday for the rest of her life is filled with smiles. I love you mama because without you, there would be no me.

A Mother's Love

Some say when my children
are old enough to understand the logic
that motivates a mother
I will tell them this:
I loved you enough to want to
know where you were going,
with whom, and what
time you would get home.
I loved you enough to
make you return a chocolate bar
with a bit out of it to a store
and to confess:"I stole this".
I loved you enough to stand
over you for two hours
while you cleaned your room;
a job that would have
taken me 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to
let you see anger,
disappointment, disgust
and tears in my eyes.
I loved you enough to
admit when I was wrong
and to ask for your forgiveness.
I loved you enough to
let you stumble, fall and hurt.
BUT most of all
I loved you enough to say NO
when you hated me for it
This was the hardest part of all!

Author Unknown