The Price of Staying Down

On Sunday night Darrent Williams a cornerback for the Denver Broncos was shot and killed in his limo in a drive by shooting. According to reports, Williams did not have anything to do with the confrontation that led to the shooting. I’m sorry a young brother with a bright future lost his life to senseless violence. Many young brothers lose their lives and future to the same kind of violence everyday on the streets. I place no blame at all on Brother Williams. He was just a young man out trying to enjoy himself and he should be able to do that. The question I do have is why does it seem like young, rich black people with legal money seem to hang out in the same circles as thugs anyway. I see photos and clips of young rich white people out all the time and no one ever gets shot. The reason is because they only associate with other young rich people and there is nothing wrong with that. You never hear about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears getting caught up in a drive by with some trailer park trash. Only young successful black people seem to want the same status as hustlers. In the black community, hustle money is legit money so you can get access by being paid even if you are a blatant criminal. You can even get the same status and women (something else I don't understand) entertainers and athletes get. The object is not to get up and get out but to get money. Call me a sellout if you want to, but if I get my hands on a few million you won’t see Pretty Toney n’nem at any of my parties. That’s the whole reason for trying to get paid in the first place. You are supposed to want a better environment than what you had in the old neighborhood. What kind of upward mobility is that? Besides, you can help the people of the old neighborhood a lot more if you are free and safe.

The NBA All Star weekend is always a ghetto fabulous event regardless of where it is. This year it’s in Las Vegas. I would not be surprised if some young famous brother got himself hurt trying to hangout with the leader of the Vice Lords or some pimp named Silky that weekend just to keep up his street creditability. We are all going to be there like one big happy family. Something is going to happen and no one is going to be surprised.

3 Thoughts On.......

The Danziger Seven

• 
  This is just what we needed with a recovery stuck in neutral and high crime rate. Anyone who knows the NOPD knows that those guys have been on edge for years and Katrina made it worse. I just hope we are not about to see a large epidemic of Blue Flu. Living here now is bad enough. I can only imagine what its going to be like with five cops showing up for work.


• 
  If I learned anything from the Duke lacrosse rape scandal it was to not say anything until all in information comes out. Our DA, police chief, and all other leaders in this area talk too loud too soon. The only people who really know right now what actually happened up there are the policemen and the people they were shooting at. Until we see all the evidence we should all be quiet. You can’t get too angry with Eddie Jordan. Some of those officers may have actually done something. It’s his job to bring them to justice if they did. You also can’t pass judgment on the officers just yet. There were allot of strange things going on during that week of Katrina.


• 
  Regardless of the outcome of this whole ordeal, we all need to remember one thing. The district attorneys office and the police department still have to work together for the citizens of the city. I would hate for criminals to get even more of a free pass because some officers took their time responding after being upset over this trial. That is the primary reason that I am giving Eddie Jordan the benefit of the doubt and thinking he must have something solid to charge these officers with first and second degree murder while his office is under the microscope that it has been. He has to feel he’s right because this move is political suicide if he is wrong.

I'm Ready

2006 is over and 2007 is here.

That means that I have to do me.

That means that it's time to get your house in order.

Less not opening mail.
More getting my business in order.

Less not calling my family.
More letting everybody know I am doing okay.

Less getting pissed at little things I can't control
More getting pissed at bigger things that I can help change.

Less watching clips on YouTube.
More reading

Less not being able to say whats on my mind.
More fussing, because that's what I do.

Less being more concerned about other people's situation than my own
More being focused on me.

Happy New Year!

An Example of the Difference

There was a C student who the Supreme Court made president even though more people voted for the other guy. Then he used the nation's outrage over a terrorist attack to send us to war based on bad information even though we didn't really need to at the time. Now we are stuck in this country in the middle of a civil war and more troops die with each passing day. The majority of the country thinks that this war is going bad and wants it to end. He has done such a poor job that the rival political party was able to take control of the House and the Senate primarily because of his performance. Even his own dad tried to save him by sending some of his old crew to help him out of the mess. After all of that, we are now waiting for the same man to come with a new plan to fix his old plan so he can take credit and repair his legacy.

This is one of those times where I feel comfortable in making the following statement....

America would never let a black man get away with this.

Bless you Boys...especially Drew

There is too much negativity in this city to mention.....

There is nothing short of winning the lottery that could ease the stress on our lives down here in New Orleans.....

We just re-elected a man that is about to be indicted for goodness sakes....

With that being said.........

Saints -42 Cowboys -17!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to think Drew Brees for finally making me feel like my team has a legitimate shot to make the Superbowl and freeing me from the curse of Aaron Brooks. Since I was 4 years old I have been waiting for a team like this Can we just make Drew the national spokesman for our city and lock Nagin in his office? Dallas, there was a train coming through driven by Sean Payton and you got in the way. We can wrap up the division Sunday against the Redskins. I'm still mad at them ever since Dexter Manley spit on Jim Dombrowski in 1987 and the referee didn't see it(no I never forgot that..yes, I am a serious Saints fan). On Sunday I will feel revenge when we win the division at their expense.

Ten Steps Backward

It appears that not enough people in the New Orleans Metro area are reading my blog. William Jefferson won in a landslide destroying Karen Carter thanks to the influence of irresponsible community leaders, low turnout and Harry Lee. There are two things to take away from this race.

The first thing is that there is hardly anything a black public figure can do to lose any public credibility. I don't know if he is guilty or not but Congressman Jefferson did have 90K of government money in his freezer. We now live in a city that has re-elected a man under investigation for congress, and a mayor that everyone laughs at. Yet, it's everyone else fault that our recovery is going so slowly. I personally thought that he should have stepped down and not ran again. I also don't think any local officials should have supported him. We already know that Nancy Pelosi and the new leadership in Congress is not going anywhere near him. That means it was selfish and for his own gain. It's kind of like when he came back during the flood, went to the crib in his own military truck to get some "paperwork".

The most important thing is that the numbers from this election prove why this area will always be a joke. Look at the numbers from Jefferson Parish. I know the people in Jefferson Parish don't like the fact that they look racist to the rest of the country after the Spike Lee movie. They may not be racist as much as they are stupid. There isn't a thriving major city in the country whose suburbs think they can function without the use of the big city. Nobody moves to Dallas and actually live in Dallas. They live in Irvin, Cedar Hill, Carrollton and places like that. They might not live in Dallas but they know what name drives the whole area. The New Orleans area is one place where people in the surrounding cities could care less what happens in it. They want to drive into work, make their money and fill the hotels so we can send the taxes to Baton Rouge, but damn if a few people try to cross the bridge to get to dry land(how come no one ever mentions that the first part of the Westbank is actually Orleans Parish?). What if we fired shots at everybody who came here during the day to work downtown? Now, these same people including their crazy sheriff chose to vote for a candidate knowing he will either get indicted or have absolutely no power in Washington just to get back at Karen Carter. Basically, the people of Jefferson sold the city out for a personal vendetta. Jefferson and Nagin together is like political suicide for the most part. They don't care what Jefferson does in DC because most of their houses are dry and their families are not split. Their side of the levee didn't fall. This is why the people that live in the New Orleans city limits cannot be tricked into buying into that regional approach bullshit. The regional approach is going to end up just like the levee system, public schools and every other thing. In the end the people living in the city will get the short end of the stick.

We have to educate and take care of ourselves. It's definitely not coming from our neighbors.

Goodbye Nigga

It would be messed up if Kramer was the start of a cultural revolution.

Paul Mooney said that he would give up using the N word on stage because of how it is now being overly used by black people and confusing everyone.

I agree with that.

Since I don’t believe in throwing stones in the glass house I feel the need to admit that I use the word at least 50 times a day. Sadly, I have used it to describe a certain type of behavior by people that look like I do. Which almost insinuates that no one except people that look like me do the things that make me use the word. That premise alone makes the use of the word unfair to myself. Plus, as a co-worker told me while having this discussion about the word, “who defines the difference between a nigga and a black man anyway?”. That was a question that I couldn’t answer. We are hypocrites. If a white guy says the word once we want to march and ruin his life. A black man can say it all day and it‘s ok as long as we think we are not included. When I was growing up I thought of myself as a black man worthy of distinction and great achievement. That might be because my parents addressed me in that manner. Is it possible that if we keep calling the brothers niggers then they will act in the way that the name signifies?
That’s why as of today I am starting my Anti-Nigga Machine rehab program. I am going to start eliminating that word from my vocab as soon as possible. I don’t want to define my brothers like that. Plus, there are better words to describe someone acting like he has no sense. If Paul Mooney can stop saying it and Richard Pryor can stop saying it that I can. We all need to stop saying it. That way, the next time somebody uses it as a negative term it will truly be negative and the ass whipping can be done without any feeling of hypocrisy.

It hasn’t been easy. I said it five times today out of habit. That’s still down from my average of 50 so I am making big progress.

Now, if I can just get over gentleman’s clubs, Crown Royal and uncut rap videos it will be all good.

Thoughts from a Cold Ass Friday

How does the temperature go from 75 degrees on Thursday to 45 degrees on Friday? I need to watch that Al Gore movie to find out what the hell is going on.

I've been looking at this civil war in Iraq. The Shiites don't like the Sunnis and the Sunnis don't like the Shiites. The Kurds don't even want to be part of the country at all. Somebody needs to ask the question is there any other way to run that country than the way Sadaam did? I would hate to have my son or daughter over there playing referee. In the ghetto when two people want to fight that bad, everybody gets out of the way and lets them go at it.

If the Road Home Program is any indication of how the state of LA is going to handle major disasters now and in the future, everybody living in this area needs to buy a U-Haul and just be ready to relocate when the next storm comes. There is no way you could go through this shit twice.

If you want to see something that is equal parts inspiring and disheartening, watch the clips from the public housing residents protesting the demolition of the projects. I am inspired that they want to come home, but shouldn't they be trying to get a regular house somewhere in the city? I'm sorry everybody. I just don't think we should be that eager to get back in there.

The New Orleans media is the most negative local media in the country and I am willing to bet money on this. The way to get by down here is to not watch the news because if you do you will feel stupid coming back to this awful war zone full of crime to rebuild your life. There is a strong racial undertone……..Then again, the assholes who ignored opportunities to better themselves in other places just to come home early, hang on the block and do the same dead end activities that lend themselves to crime and death don't really help my case at all.

In 2007 New Orleans will hire a new inspector general to review and oversee government affairs. I am predicting now that not only will this person expose years and years of patronage, they will also divide this place down racial lines politically even worse than Katrina did. It's one thing for the poor and disenfranchised to be abandoned during a flood. The leadership of this city can get past that. When you start looking into how those same leaders have failed their own people by taking care of their own political homies for years, everybody's going to put on their dashikis and their afro combs with the fist on them and scream "No Justice No Peace!" to the top of their lungs. Everybody who's white and ask questions in 2007 is going to be a racist. It's already started. Me personally, I hope it all gets made public so some of these people can get their heads out of their ass and stop putting the same people in office under the veil of this one sided black loyalty that has only made politician friend's richer and the community poorer and more susceptible to bullshit like Katrina and broken levees. Just because the other man did backhanded deals for 100 years before you got some power does not mean it's ok for you to do the same thing especially when your people were already in the hole when you took over.

If someone reading this is good at economics I need some help. I need to know why even when my income goes up considerably, I never seem to have any money or possessions to show for it. I can't understand it. I don't have any bling, no Escalade, no stocks, bonds, CD's, property or anything. I'm living the same way I was at minimum wage.............Maybe I am a crack addict and my supplier's product is so good I even forget that I bought and smoked it. I need an intervention or a budget director.

The Saints are 7-4 and in first place in the NFC South. We swept the Falcons and that overrated Mike Vick. For the first time since I was 10 and Magnum T.A was still a professional wrestler, I have a Caucasian hero. DREW BREES IS THE MAN! San Francisco, your ass is next. Tell T.O. get some extra rest in that chamber of his because on December 10 we are coming to Dallas and bringing the drama.

Who Dat Call Da Police

It appears the NYPD has had another "accidental shooting". I don't know what happened for sure but I have three thoughts. First, there were 50 shots. One officer shot 31 times. That means he had to empty his gun and either put a new clip in or pull another gun. I am sure that car wasn't moving by then. I can understand being nervous at that time of night but it takes some calm to reload a gun and empty it again. Second, they are in a car and only one person is driving. What if the passengers in the car didn't realize what was going on? They both got shot at least ten times too. Police officers are trained to shoot accurately and have to be qualified enough that they don't hit innocent people. Then, they were undercover policemen working in a gentlemen's club. I am pretty sure they didn't have on blue uniforms and badges. Those guys might not have even known they were officers at first. There is nothing to justify 50 shots unless some shots were fired back at them. Third, nothing is going to happen. The guy that ran out of the car before the shooting will either have a long rap sheet or will be found with a gun at his house that matches the one the first cop saw and the attention will turn to him. Meanwhile, no one will take what happened seriously anymore because some crazy leader like Al or Jesse will stage a march and cause a big media event when they should be meeting with the police reps in private to get some serious changes done.

It's foolish for the black community to think they can function without the help and protection of law enforcement. However, it is also wrong that the same safety, caution, and courtesy that is extended to the majority of the population not be given to the black community when it comes to how police do their job. Let's face it, a 92 year old white grandmother would have never gotten shot by the police. That breaks down the trust and we end up with the ineffective image of police officers that the community has. I'm not anti-police because when someone does me something I want help. Growing up in New Orleans, I have seen some bad things done by the police force. When something happens in the street and people see it, there is no guarantee that the person you are reporting the crime to isn't the person that sent the guy to do the crime to begin with. That's just something that stays in the back of your mind. I can honestly say that if I was in New York and it was late at night I would stop, park my car and not move a muscle if I was pulled over even if the officer asked me to step out of the car. You want me out of the car and see my ID? You better pick me up and take it out of my pocket. I'm not going to Heaven early because you don't have the nerves to do your job the right way.

Lynching...The Forbidden Topic

I have watched the "Kramer" clip a few times. I will forgive the people in the audience that were laughing because afterall it was a comedy club so maybe they were not sure what was going on. I'm sure there are blogs all over the internet addressing his use of the N word. There is no need for me to get into that part. I will say this. I think I speak for all black people....

We need the word "Nigger" often! We even have created a different spelling for it so it won't be so offensive when we use it. Since I hear it dozens of times a day I won't consider physical violence as a valid reaction towards Kramer going off. However....no one should ever make any comments about lynching. We don't even make jokes about lynching and we laugh at everything. That is off limits. When I hear talk of "being upside down with a fork up my ass", I want to get a big ass gun and wait for the revolution to start. There will be no Emmett Till repeats without some retribution. The only good thing about that night is that Kramer was yelling at some civilized brothers. It could have been some Professor Griff disciples in there that would have burned down the damn club. That might have been cool.

Now I don't feel bad about not ever watching Seinfeld.

The Dumbest Brother

The Votes are in!!!

All precincts are reporting...

It wasn't even a close race....

I am proud to announce that O.J. Simpson has been voted as the most stupid black man in America. There is not another black man in the history of this country that would be lucky enough to escape the death penalty for killing two white people and keep showing up on TV and writing books to rub it in their faces. Any other black man that would have gotten this lucky would have went to Europe or something and never came back. Even Micheal Jackson had enough sense to know that you get out of the way if you beat the rap and he thinks playing Twister with 12 year old boys is ok. Johnnie Cochran is looking at this somewhere wishing he would have let this dumb ass go to jail. I can't believe Fox was going to let this fool actually explain how he would have killed those people.

p.s.

Isn't it amazing that Fox News is the national propaganda machine for the conservative movement in the country but almost every other show they come up with is some sick ass piece of television. How do right wing people take this channel serious when they come up with stuff like the O.J. special and things like " Who Wants to Marry a 500 lb Midget" ? It just goes to show that people will roll with any form of media that says exactly what they want to agree with.

Kind of Scary

Gerald Levert was 40 years old when he had a massive heart attack last week. I would be lying if I said that didn't scare me a little. Gerald was not a small man. Neither am I. I'm not an extremely large man but I am not a little one either. I probably could use some excersize and a diet change. I really don't do anything healthy. I eat way too much fast food during the day and fried food at night. I stopped going to the park and all I do at work is sit behind a desk. Basically, I am just living my way to the same outcome as Gerald. It's hard to let go of bad habits that feel so good. Have you ever tasted Patton's hot sausage? Having a daily cocktail or two probably doesn't help either. Situations like that are not that cut and dry for me. Grandpa was damn near 300 lbs into his 80's and he never had trouble. Of course, I don't know if he ever ate fast food a day in his life. Then I come from that old school New Orleans frame of mind where pot bellys have sex appeal on the right person. Whatever the the case is, I have to make sure I don't put myself in any unneccasary danger. There's enough of that for a young brother already.

I said all of that and still had three porkchops for lunch.....

How can you do this alone?

In life you have circumstances that give you new perspective on some things. This week I have been blessed to get a new outlook on parenting. I just want to say to all the single moms or dads out there. You are wonderful people. You are wonderful for your restraint. How you guys get up every morning, get yourself ready for work and get kids dressed and ready for school for years and years without any breaks or killing the other parent is remarkable. I have been doing it for four days and I am ready to quit my job and be Mr. Mom just to keep from dealing with that every morning. Instead of putting deadbeat dads in jail for not paying their child support. They should make them have to do the morning preperation for 3 months straight. After that, he will gladly pay back support plus interest. If you really want to add some extra spice to the morning add the following equation.

1 bubbling stomach + 30 minutes over sleeping + one three year old that hates the sitter.

It's been a beautiful morning so far....

The N.O. Spotlight

I decided once a week to spotlight a New Orleans native doing great things. I know it's election night and most people are focused on whether the donkeys or the elephants get to steal some money. Instead of talking about that right now, I want to give some love to Mr. Ron Washington. He is the first black manager of the Texas Rangers baseball team AND he is a full blooded New Orleanian (looks like an uptown brother to me).

Congratulations brother Ron. I don't watch baseball all that much but dammit I am rooting for the Rangers.

We Just Ordinary People

I’m just an ordinary guy. I like nice things but it doesn’t define me. I am cool with a good barbeque pit, all the channels on the cable box and cold beer. During my adult life that frame of mind may have hindered my professional growth. The thing is that although I probably could be more advanced, I am totally comfortable and not going crazy like some you are. Don 't take that to mean that I don't want to grow and prosper. I really do. I just think I am a pretty great guy regardless. I struggle with this mindstate because I am usually the only one around that see's it like this. Everyone appears to be in a panic to change where they are except me.
Why can’t we feel good about just having jobs and doing regular stuff. We all need to keep getting bigger houses, bigger cars and bigger debt just to keep feeding that foolish notion that somehow that makes us better people. I can’t prove this but I think we are the only group of people in this country that are never happy being regular people. We are the people who spend money on things way out of heir price range to feel included. Look at our movies, books, schools, churches and television shows. Black people pay attention to the overly blessed and gifted or the drastically ignorant and poor. It’s the upper-class or the thugs with nothing in between. Nobody recognizes the guy that works for the sanitation department or the sisters that work in housekeeping doing what they have to do everyday and are not mad about it. We are expected to want to do better than our current situation. If you do anything less than that you are considered crazy. It’s the reason why brothers lie to sisters all the time about all the things they are planning to do when in reality they don‘t plan on doing anything. It’s the reason the sisters always pick the fantasy guy and end up depressed and unsatisfied. It’s the reason our young people would rather make some rapper who brags about having things they can’t afford their hero instead of the plumber that lives across the street. It’s the reason that same plumber feels bad sometimes for actually liking his job. Nobody around him wants to be who and where they are so something has to be wrong with him. You should feel good about an honest day's work and liking what you do. You shouldn't feel bad for enjoying your modest home and still living in the old neighborhood. The pursuit of material possessions has way too much power in determining our self worth. If you have the means to shine then by all means do so. If you don't have that ability right now, don't look at yourself any less because of it. If you conduct yourself in the right way, you can shine in a hooptie.

Clifton

The N.O. Morale Booster

I’ve been quiet about New Orleans. Certain people had accused me of being too caught up in the condition of the city so I just sat back and watched for the last month or so to see what might happen. Well, it’s been long enough and it’s still the same so I am now getting back on my amateur soapbox and complaining. The biggest gripe I have at the moment about being back in the city is the low quality of life for the citizens and the lack of action to change any of it. I have tosay morale is low. The only people that are having a great time are the thieves, hustlers and prostitutes. Everybody else is in a bad mood or stressed. With that in mind, I am going to list ten things that can be done right away within reason to give some life and morale back to the all the fools that have returned home. They might as well use my list since no one else has come up with anything. These are things to just make everybody feel better.

1. Stop Telling People to Come Home: I know the mayor thought that was the right thing to do but the truth of the matter is that the more people we add without housing to match is the more chaos that goes on. I miss my family but I couldn’t tell them it’s time to go back to their street with a clear conscience. At least they are in a cleaner and safer city where they are now. The Ninth Ward just got water last week and even uptown where I work the water comes out kind of brown. There is no way we could handle another five thousand people without the available housing.

2. Re-institute the city curfew: This is not normalNew Orleans since the storm and we shouldn’t act like it. The reality is that there is nothing to do outside of the French Quarter after midnight anywhere else so we need to have a 1:00AM curfew for everyone and 10:00 PM for kids under 18. Stretch it to 2:00 in the French Quarters to be fair and that’s it. If tourist can’t come up with a way to get drunk and fornicate in the privacy of their hotel then they should have stayed home.

3. Fix the traffic lights: Anyone living here now knows that you can’t tell if some of the traffic lights are green, yellow or red. There’s got to be a grant or something to get money for new traffic lights. It’s a safety issue.

4. Put the Inspector General position on the fast track: We have to show we are ready to change the way things are done down here and that is the whole premise of this position. Also, we need to give him/her the ability to go over all current contracts the city has regardless of how old they are.

5. Potholes, Potholes, Potholes: Uptown didn’t get as much water but they sure have the biggest crater size holes in the street. Your entire car can come up missing. It’s either this or FEMA allows everyone to trade in their car for an SUV.

6. Weekly press conferences by the mayor and city council: One of the biggest problems everyone is having is the lack of knowledge about what’s going on. President Bush might not want to admit the war was wrong but even he knows that you have to explain what is happening and that people’s questions may be valid.We need to have updates even if it’s just to say that they haven’t done shit all week. I can deal with that as long as someone acknowledges me.

7. Turn the Lights back on the lake: If the French quarter where the tourist are can have lights all night, then the lakefront where locals to go to hangout and maybe catch a few catfish. I go to the lake for peace when I want to relax. I’m tired of seeing darkness and barricades. That picture at the top is how the lake looks at 7:00 PM.

8. Threaten to place a toll at all entrances to the city: I realize that everyone in the area and the state would get mad about this and probably call Nagin and the Council crazy but I would appreciate the fact that at least somebody proposed something that was strictly for the benefit of the people that actually lived in the city even if it meant pissing off everybody else. They seem to have no problem doing and saying things that we don't like.

9. Hire a Spokesman: There has to be someone that can do a better of job of expressing the views and wishes of the citizens of the city than Clarence.

10. Stand up to the State and Surrounding Parishes: That talk about being a united metro area is only true for Saints games. Every time something happens in nearby city they use words that blame it on evacuees even though they never actually say any of the perpetrators are from New Orleans. I haven’t seen one thing that proves that. They need to start proving that shit or stopping that shit. I also think that one of the reasons the Road Home program is so complicated is because they put in extra shit just to make sure no one thought that New Orleans people weren’t getting over. I think we need to ask for our own money from Washington and tell them that the reason we have to is because as long as the Superdome, hotel and casino money comes in, the rest of this state could care less if one more “refugee” came home or not. I’m starting to think they like it like this.

Confidence

Confidence

Confidence is essential.
Everyone needs at least a lil bit.
Goes hand and hand with self esteem.
Confidence is my fuel.
I thrive on it.

I lost my confidence.
Been running on empty.
Been looking for that bastard for the last two years.
I have finally found it.
I can't tell you how.
It was probably there all of the time.
Sometimes dark days will hide it from you.

Now I remember that I am the shit.
Accolades and compliments are expected.
I missed feeling this way.
Welcome back old friend.
I need some new theme music.

Clifton

Daddy Stress

I'm not going to name the person that inspired this blog. All I am going to say is that sometimes we have to tell our friends and family the truth about what’s really going on. He will never read this anyway. I am not the perfect father. I can't comb girl's hair. Reading the same book more than once in a day is crazy to me and I refused to watch Barney. Despite these flaws, I have a pretty good idea of what a dad is supposed to do. It's only right since I have the best one ever. The number one thing all brothers must remember is that you instantly become second to your child. My daddy had a wife and 5 kids. He made him the 7th most important person in our house. That man didn't do anything based on his own wants and needs first. I honestly believe that if it wasn't for holidays and his birthday, he would have had the same pair of underwear since 1974 because he never would have bought anything for himself if he thought we needed the money first. When the baby is on it's way it's not about you anymore. I didn't realize this until I experienced it. Babies don't care if you are grieving, or depressed, or feel less than a man, or whatever other kind of hang-up you might have. It's not their job to suffer while you work out your hang-ups. I'm sick and tired of all these cats that legitimize their lack of responsibility because of some sad story. That's not the baby's job to understand the bullshit you are going through. It's your job to try and make sure that they don't have bullshit. I know people from New Orleans have been through a lot. I'm high on that list. What kind of man would I be if I woke up Christmas morning and said 'Hey, daddy don't have any presents because he lost his album collection and couldn't get over it"? That would be bullshit and Tara would have the right to curse my manhood cheap if she saw fit. I couldn't be mad. I tried to tell the inspiration for this blog not to be mad. He doesn't understand that once that mama switch gets turned on in a woman's head, she could really care less about whether or not you don't feel like lifting boxes at work. If lifting boxes buys pampers then lift some boxes. Look brothers, two months after celebrating my first baby's birth, I was laid off, my uncle passed, I was unemployed for 5 months and took a twelve thousand dollar pay cut when I went back to work, then my godfather died unexpectedly, then my grandfather passed away, then came Katrina and I lost my grandmother, then my aunt died of cancer, and the whole time I was tripping. If you read this blog you know that it's been a rough ride. Through that whole time I kept working, got a promotion, my salary doubled, I drove 600 miles a week back and forth, and learned all the names of the characters on the Sprout channel even though I wanted to take off running like Forrest Gump did when Jenny left.


But I didn't because I couldn't.....


I'm Daddy....


I put myself last....


Now get your ass up and go get a damn job to take care of your family!

Only In America

Only in America can a senator get away with going to rehab for liking underage boys and people defend him or hide it just to keep power. I find it funny that once a month Dateline NBC has a show that makes men who do the same thing look like the sickest freaks in the world. In all the years I have been drinking, I have never had enough liquor to make me want to send instant messages to my little brother's friends.

Only in America can we spend years fighting a war for reasons that change every six months. Meanwhile, every little punk-ass leader that wants a rep is talking trash because they know we can't do anything about it. Do you really think North Korea would be testing weapons if they knew we could kick some ass?

Only in America can an entire generation destroy itself behind words with empty meanings like "hate" and "beef" and people think that shit is normal. At least the Muslim kids fight for what they think their god wants them to do. We are dying because someone doesn't like the fact we got new rims.

Only in America can a state develop a plan to help it's citizens get their life and home's back together but make it so damn complicated and full of penalties and rules that no one understands it or really gets the help they need. I was pretty good at trigonometry and calculus in school and I still don't understand how the Road Home program works.

Only in America can a city struggling to recover have a mayor endorse a congressman that had money in his freezer to use for bribes just to return a political favor.

Only in America would that crooked congressman have the balls to run again in spite of his lack of creditability and the need for people to re-invest in his city.

Only in America would that mayor and congressman not have to worry about the locals creating a guerilla army, naming a new leader, and locking all of the current leadership in a undisclosed concentration camp. This is an idea that I contemplate often while riding through empty neighborhoods.

Only in America can a billionaire try and move his football team to another city while the entire region was still in hotels and shelters, then have everyone forget about that a year later. How do you go from being a pariah to getting the key to the city without ever really doing anything special?

Only in America could I write all of this and not have anyone come to get me......I hope

The Chicken Dance...

You know, I was taking me a week or two off from blogging. Sometimes it's cool to just watch things go by and observe without having to talk about it. Then, I run across something that touches me so deeply that I just have to say something. Please watch the video above. I have friends of all races and backgrounds. This has nothing to do with them. I have to say what I am about to say from the heart..............

Niggas should never ever ever dance for chicken. That goes for the chicken dance, the chicken noodle soup dance, and this bullshit up here.

You can disagree and find this shit funny but we have to have some kind of damn standards. We can't shake our ass to everything.