Sitting On My Porch Part Fifty Two

I want to start off this post by giving a shout out to my baby brother. Yesterday he had an accident and wrecked the family vehicle. He’s okay but it could have been really bad. Since I am the big brother and knew he needed some perspective I called and told him the story of my very first car. I bought my first car for six hundred dollars from a guy didn’t want me to test drive it. The first night it broke down twice. The second night it broke down three times. On the third night I took all my friends cruising through New Orleans and it stopped running four times. When it was about to stop for the fifth time I panicked and ran a stop light. I hit this guy’s car and he was nice enough not to call the police. It cost me nine hundred to get his car fixed. My car never ran again. I spent fifteen hundred dollars to drive for three days and had to catch the bus forever before I saved enough to buy another car. The moral of the story is sometimes you do things as a young man you can learn from. The other moral is never purchase a car from a guy without any teeth in his mouth and if you do take your dad and not Big G because it will cost you.

I’m inside under the air conditioning vent and a ceiling fan because it is 95 degrees at night time. I went to work today and the heat was brutal. Right now I am sipping on a Red Stripe and trying to watch a Canadian football game. Watching Canadian football in place of American football is like getting a lap dance through a bulletproof glass. It looks like the real thing but doesn’t feel the same. We can’t talk about real football until the great Rickey Jackson enters the Hall of Fame. That’s going to put me in the right frame of mind to defend the title.

I bet you the people in Alaska are really pissed off right now. The Exxon Valdez spill happened in 1989 and they are still cleaning up 21 years later. The Deepwater Horizon spill leaked for months and was supposed to be even bigger than the Exxon Valdez and yet magically the oil on the Gulf Coast appears to be disappearing in record time.

Despite our modest non profit budget, our computer network is set up where no one can install anything or view certain files without the technology director’s password. How was someone able to download and expose Afghan war secrets?

The fact that people are discussing tearing down the Claiborne I-10 overpass shows what gentrification and changing demographics can do for parts of the city. I don’t know what it means to live in New Orleans without the interstate running through the city. I walked under that overpass almost everyday in high school. If you talk to any older people that grew up before the interstate was built you know how much they loved Claiborne St. It just so happens that those neighborhoods were the historically black ones and that’s why no one gave a damn when they made the decision to run it right through the heart of that area. Ten years ago if someone would have went to a City Council meeting and brought this up they would have cut the microphone off and called security. Now in 2010, you get some new residents and a television show named after a historic neighborhood and tearing down the overpass is a serious discussion. I find this fascinating and eye opening.

I wouldn’t be against that kind of project if we had extra money left over after building hospitals and new school buildings. Give me about ten new complete school buildings and two hospitals and I might be on board.

Things going on in the news and around the city lately have been just as aggravating as always but personally I have been in a very good mood. I don’t know why but I am. I hope I didn’t just jinx it.

A Complicated Issue With No Simple Solution

I had a good vacation but I made one mistake. I watched too much news. I got to see and read too much coverage about the Shirley Sherrod, NAACP, Tea Party and Fox News fiasco. It was hard to watch that stuff. It seemed like everyone except Mrs. Sherrod wasn’t thinking clearly. After the health care debate got out of hand I have been able to deal with these racial issues because I know three things. 1. The president’s administration won’t have your back when the drama starts. They don't want any parts of the race debate. 2. Organizations like the NAACP have watered down the issue of race to the point where it’s become limited to name calling and hurt feelings. That doesn't take away anything these groups have done in the past. I respect and honor that but fighting racism in these days and times is much more layered than just someone saying the N word and we have trouble dealing with it. 3. What Fox news is doing is way more about brainwashing white people than it is about me. When we play along we just help the process.

The saddest part about things like this is the way people keep trying to put the issue of race into one box. It’s either has to be all the way one way or the other. In 2010 race is a complicated thing. There are so many ways you can talk the situation that it’s almost impossible to come to a clear conclusion about anything. My opinion changes from situation to situation. I’m much more serious about the systematic things like education and the justice system. I’m much less affected by the name calling and stereotypical things. Only people willing to be opened minded should even attempt to discuss it openly. There are so many other things to take into account than just skin color. There’s education, geographic location, economics and all kinds of other factors. A lot of the issue has to do with life experiences. That actually makes racism more confusing because people can ignore personal experiences in favor of generalizations. We could be living in a country where no two people have the same exact views on race unless they are too dumb to think for themselves and just follow what someone else tells them.

I can only speak for myself. The best way I could describe my attitude about race is that I have a necessary acceptance of a certain amount of superficial racism. I’m sad to admit that but it’s true. Too many white people have done things for me in my life to paint them all with a broad brush. It would be unfair and dishonest to sit here and tell you that I think all white people are trying to hold me back. I couldn't look those folks in the face again if I did that. Besides, I was raised to believe that I could make any person respect me if I carried myself the right way and that’s been true 95% of the time no matter what race the other person is. At the same time I listen to talk radio, I read blogs and internet comments. I know that there is a section of the population that is judging me based on something they heard on the news or watched on BET. I realize that no matter how well I treat my kids, or how hard I work, there will always be someone that looks at me as inferior.

When me and my friends go to a nice restaurant or Best Buy there’s going to be someone in there thinking to themselves that their money is paying for my steak or buying my new television. I can’t do anything to change their minds even if I showed them my check stub and made them realize I make more than they do. That’s their problem and not mine. Why should I be miserable and let them mess up the taste of my steak because of their closed minds? The funny part is that the person doing it is probably telling it to his son and they are both wearing Reggie Bush jerseys. My main focus is my own actions and making sure that the next generation has even better opportunities than I have. That’s the way to move past all of this in my opinion. We just have to work and educate ourselves through it because talking isn’t working.

Some of the people who read this won’t agree with me. Then there will be some others that wonder why I am being so lenient on the white man. Others will read it and say I am lying and can’t wait for the next FEMA check like the rest of the blacks from New Orleans. I could respond to all those people all at once and tell them to get together to kiss my ass but then we would be right back where we started from and that’s exactly what’s happening now. That’s why we need to start ignoring some of these things in the media if they are not going to deal with it seriously.

CP3 Wants To Leave Us

I am not upset that Chris Paul wants to be traded. Basketball is his business and if goes to New York he will have more opportunities to make money. When you are a fan of small market teams that’s just how it goes. I love the Saints as a team more than any individual player because none of them are obligated to have the same passion for my city as I do. I love what they do but I am always prepared for them to leave for better situations. Even though the Knicks have sucked for years and besides the few years in Patrick Ewing’s prime when they got close haven’t been able to win jack, I understand why Chris Paul wants to go to New York. It fits the group of players that he's friends with.

I say let him go as long as the trade doesn’t end up being like the one Memphis did when they sent Pau Gasol to Los Angeles. We need to get at least two starters and a first round pick from someone or it’s no deal. He can stay here and sit out 40 games with a sprain thumb ligament like NBA players do when they want to be traded. Baron Davis already gave us a sample of that stuff a few years ago so we know what’s coming. I was just hoping he at least gave the new coach and general manager at least a season to show him if they could turn things around or not. I guess the people the Hornets hired couldn't match Pat Riley's stature. That's how it goes.

The only thing that’s really going to piss me off is the brown nosing reporters that work around the NBA. They are going to take every opportunity to dog New Orleans like somehow we didn’t do right by Chris Paul. They are going to make it seem like Chris Paul had to escape this dysfunctional place and do the best thing for him and his family(This does not apply to Adrian Wojnarowski). Lebron James had that same message on his Twitter account yesterday. I just want to tell the world that ever since Chris Paul was drafted all the people of New Orleans have done is give him nothing but love and praise. Until this offseason you would have trouble finding anything written or said about him in a negative light in this city. I guess being in a city where you could make the most money and get treated like a hero isn’t as important to a player and his family as it used to be. Maybe I'm just too New Orleans to understand anyone wanting to leave without a good reason.

You know what….. I think I’m just going to go ahead and blame this one on the oil spill too. That way George Shinn can file a claim for all the tickets he won’t be selling if Chris Paul leaves.

Let's Try This Again : New Money Repost

Back in December 2008 the city was having the same problem with the budget as we are now. Mayor Nagin came up with some ideas that the public shot down. Back then I wondered when anyone was going to discuss how to generate more money from new sources so we wouldn't keep having the same issue over and over. Mitch Landrieu is the mayor now and we are having the same problems only everyone seems to be calmer and more level headed because it's him and not Nagin trying to make the numbers work. I wrote this post called "In Need Of New Money" back then and I am posting again because sooner or later I think we need to take a chance on something different. Of course this was written pre oil spill and it seems a little dated but just ignore those parts. The main idea stills stands.

This city budget process is giving me a headache. I am trying to pretend like I care about the odds and ends but to me city services already suck so what’s the big deal. I have been reading and watching but it’s hard to pay attention to. It’s seems to be lots of finger pointing, excuses and division with nothing being done to change the situation for the long term. That’s been the usual routine lately. Why do we only have 30 days to approve a budget anyway? With the circumstances of this city shouldn’t this process have started a few months ago? That way everyone has a chance to go through everything a few times before they decide to cut anything. Here’s what I never hear but I would love to. Why isn’t anyone talking about how to generate new revenue for the city?

There are some folks in the blogosphere that have convinced themselves that all of the extra city money is at Ray Nagin’s house. The truth is that ever since I started following city politics in high school they have had budget issues. Marc Morial used to ask for extra tax revenue every year and never got it. We have to figure out how to get some new money. We might be paying too much for garbage collection. I am certain we didn’t need to spend a dime on crime cameras. Real criminals don’t give a damn about a camera. Even if we corrected all of that we would still be broke.

We need to think outside the box. We got a big river and a port. We own the airport. There’s even an amusement park out in the East even though it’s kind of rusty. I don’t know what the plan should be but since it’s obvious no one wants to pay any extra taxes someone needs to come up with something. Remember when Ray Nagin first got elected mayor he said he wanted to package and sell our water? I guess after watching all the things floating during Katrina we can’t sell that idea anymore. All I know is that there is no disaster loan money left after this budget and I don’t want to hear all the crying when there are about 5 streetlights still lit and a pothole so deep you can reach China.

Just for the record: Cliff wouldn’t be against paying a few more cents on the dollar for the health of the city. We just need to come up with a way that no one would screw with it.

Where Are The Guns Coming From?

Mayor Mitch Landrieu had a press conference with Chief Serpas and other officials here in New Orleans last week to announce they were going to use Project Safe Neighborhoods to try and track down the source of illegal weapons in New Orleans. Personally I wish we could ban all firearms but this is America and we have the Second Amendment plus the NRA so that won’t ever happen. I guess Project Safe Neighborhoods will have to do. If it helps makes the streets safer then so be it.

I’ve known a few cats that operate outside the law but I can’t honestly tell you I have any idea how someone would purchase a weapon like an AK-47. I am sure you could probably find out if I tried but I think that’s a level of access to the underworld that I don’t have. If I knew I would make an anonymous phone call and put law enforcement on the right track. I’m sure there are some people who could do this right now but they won’t because of that dumb ass snitching code. We are going to keep our mouths closed straight to endangered species status. You would think that it wouldn’t be too many places you can get some of these weapons because they are so powerful and deadly. Wal Mart isn’t selling stuff like this. You would think only people with government clearance could get their hands on some of this stuff. How can a teenager who society barely lets out of his own neighborhood get his hands on an entire arsenal of them? I will never understand this and it pisses me off.

While I don’t know how to find a major gun dealer at a moment’s notice I do know that one big problem we have is all the regular honest people who buy guns for protection that eventually end up on the streets. A lot of people arm themselves knowing they don’t really have the heart to shoot another human being but it makes them feel more secure. I know that happens here because people don’t trust the justice system so they feel like they have to do it themselves. They just want to feel safer and I understand that. The problem with this is that there is very few times someone actually gets to use their weapon to fend off a criminal. You might hear about that every now and then but those stories don’t appear to stop other people from trying to do the same thing the criminal that got shot tried to do.

The other thing is that no matter how the stories may appear this is not the Wild West and the majority of us have to go to work and different places. They leave guns in their cars or at home during the day and many of those weapons get stolen and end up being passed around between groups of friends if something happens and they want to use it. I know people have guns around the house to feel safer and they won’t stop having them but I just hope everyone thinks really hard about that decision. Unless your willingness to pull the trigger is as strong as the person you are trying to protect yourself from you don’t need a gun. You might just be adding extra artillery to the streets.

Random Thoughts On A Lazy Sunday

This blog might be kind of long because I am bored and have nothing to do but sit here and type whatever comes to my mind. It’s either this or watching shows about hoarding and murder all day because it’s not football season. I’m hoping it storms today because I spent all day yesterday in the hot sun and I don’t want to do it again. I love the water park in Gulfport but they really need more shade. You know what the sad thing about going to that park is? Half the people in the park are from the New Orleans area. We really should have one of these in a closer distance. If we start planning now a water park can replace the flooded Jazzland in ten years. That's about how long it will take to find people willing to invest in New Orleans East.

Normally on Sundays I would be getting ready for the work week but I have another five days of vacation. These vacations when I stay in the city would be more fun if I had more unemployed friends. The rest is good either way so I am glad I did it.

Excuse this moment of ego but I used to have 60 blog followers and now I only have 59. I want to know who the person is that stopped following me but I try so hard to act like it doesn’t matter if I have followers or not that I never studied the list long enough to have an idea who it was. I hope no one else stops following me because I have rejection issues.

You know we are living in stressful times when so many adults got choked up at the end of Toy Story 3.

The client management software we use at the job has warnings at certain points just to make sure you really want to do what you are about to. One of them says something like “Are you sure you want to add this client as a new client? Have you already checked to make sure this client wasn’t already in the system?” I really wish Twitter and Facebook had them for people who can’t control themselves when they type. It could read something like “Are you sure you want to leave this comment on the internet using your real name when family members, work colleagues and even people at your kids’ school can read this?” Social networking is killing discretion. I know way more about the personal lives of casual acquaintances then I ever wanted to know and they willingly shared it with me and 500 other random people. I have been blogging on this page for six years and I still manage to keep a lot of things to myself. You have to get your point across without going over the line because you never know whose reading.

New Orleans just managed to buy an old hospital building in New Orleans East and hopefully will have it open by the fall of 2013. It may seem like three years are a long way away but the old mayor had four years and couldn’t get a deal worked out. Between deals like this one and people just being prosecuted for crimes that happen during Katrina, it really feels like we are three years behind where we should be.

Is it okay to call the wildlife that gets moved to another state because the place they were living before was destroyed for something that wasn’t their fault refugees? The next time Jeff Corwin is on MSNBC releasing pelicans in Texas I want him to refer to them as refugee pelicans.

We are in the middle of a recession that includes high employment numbers and budget cuts all over the country in state and local governments. I’m sure there is an answer somewhere between the right and the left provided everyone just sits down and talks it through just like people do at their own homes. Somehow media personalities and people who have no bearing on anything like the New Black Panther Party and some guy name Mark Williams of the Tea Party that no one knows have turned the situation into a racial showdown. Whenever my dad would hear about some feud between neighborhoods or housing projects he would always say how stupid it was for them to be fighting when they were all poor, black, and part of the same system. I feel the same way about this current discussion.

The people who sent all those jobs overseas and who gambled with everyone’s money on Wall Street care about one color and that’s green. Now, if you honestly think that one of the reasons the country is in debt is because your tax dollars are being spent to take care of people in the inner city who don’t want to work then spend a few days in your nearest hood. I can guarantee you won’t find a utopia full of happy folks. You will probably find hundreds of people who would gladly switch places with you except no one gave them the education or access to do it. It’s not your fault personally that they didn’t have those things just like it’s not their fault you can’t find a job. Everyone knows its BP’s fault so let’s unite against those assholes.


I’ve been rocking this Sir Lucious Leftfoot album by Big Boi for the last week and all I am asking for is another Outkast album before I make 40. That gives them four years to put it together. I think that’s reasonable.

87 Days Goes Fast

After 87 days BP has finally managed to stop the oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon well. So many other things that were supposed to do this have failed so miserably that I think it’s a good idea to wait until the weekend is over to accept this. You don’t want to think this is over and wake up Saturday morning with the Spillcam back in action. I think the official term for it is cautiously optimistic.

Hopefully that part of the drama is over and we can move on to figure out how many gallons actually leaked, how long will the cleanup take, what’s going to happen when a hurricane comes, will all the dispersant turn our hair green, when can the fisherman go back to work, how to pretend that BP had the only blowout preventer in the world that doesn’t work because we can’t stop drilling for even a day to check things out, and there’s the issue of wildlife to deal with too. We also have to spend some time trying to figure out how the state is so broke despite having a natural resource that is so vital to the country that we put the entire coast in jeopardy just to get it. We have so many wonderful things to deal with if this cap works and leaking is over. Keep your fingers crossed until Monday.

Saints, Second Lines, and Denial: The Danziger 7 Indictment

There is no reason to be happy about the officers in the Danziger 7 case going to jail or possibly getting the death penalty for the shooting of those innocent people. If they are found guilty it will be a good day for justice but a sad day for the city. I’m glad this will be over soon thanks to Jim Letten and the federal authorities. Outside of the families of the officers accused and some of their hard core friends on the force we can all agree on that the officers involved on the bridge deserve to be punished. That part is pretty cut and dry. The part that keeps me up at night is the question of how much do my life and the safety of my people really mean in this city. We try our best not to talk about these things because it makes people uncomfortable. There are a lot of things we choose to ignore in order to keep from feeling stupid about living here. I know I am guilty of doing it to. If we really embraced all the way we have been treated like second class citizens we would have to start a revolution or move and never come back.

It took nearly five years to bring these charges. During that time we had a police chief that never read the report. Our mayor screamed about “Chocolate City” but he never really seemed that interested in what happened on the bridge. There was a district attorney that was so incompetent that the case wouldn’t have ever been tried if the federal government didn’t get involved and it was helped along by a judge that was damn near one of the accused officer’s family. Then there was that whole scene the first time the officers turned themselves in when all their fellow officers and supporters were giving them a hero’s welcome. Now we have to let bygones be bygones and move on even though no one is going to apologize for that spectacle. Then there’s the local news media and their investigative teams all getting together with the “community activists” who can were going crazy behind where Mayor Nagin took his wife to dinner but no one seem to be as concerned with the death of innocent people by people sworn to protect them. Reading about the Danziger 7 is a reality check that we have a long way to go. I guess I’ll take a deep breath and go back into denial mode. It’s almost football season and it’s easier when the Saints are playing because everything is magical. I need about two more months of telling myself the people that live where I do and look like I do have the same value as everyone else and it will be all good.

Sitting On My Porch Part Fifty

This blog post is oil spill free….....

For the last week I haven’t blogged about anything because I was trying to be distracted by trivial things so I could focus on work long enough to take a vacation without being paranoid. I was doing well with my plan thanks to the Lebron James sweepstakes ending with “The Decision” on ESPN. Then the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert and Jesse Jackson had to mess that up and bring up slavery discussion involving a 25 year old multi millionaire living on South Beach. I prefer to keep my racism and sports separate. I will say this. If the slaves could have ran to Miami with 100 million dollars I don’t think that letter would have pissed them off that much.

Chris Paul needs to not play with our emotions in New Orleans and just say he wants to leave and play with his friends like Lebron and Chris Bosh did.

How am I going to avoid the 20 Mel Gibson movies that I love since he's gone crazy?

I read this story about the majority of Americans lacking faith in President Obama. According to the story nearly 60% of Americans lack faith in the president to make the right decisions. That would be even more horrible if the same poll didn’t show that 68% of the same people lack faith in other Democrats and 72% lack faith in Republicans. This is just where the country deserves to be. Nobody trusts anyone. Now we just have to figure out how those same people that no one trusts are going to fix the same problems that we don’t trust them to fix. I’m going to start collecting aluminum cans. In my opinion there are two main issues I see that’s stopping everything from moving past the gridlock. The first thing is independent voters. Stop taking answering these polls about whether you are leaning left or right. You are supposed to be independent. Every time you change your mind before and issue is resolved based on something you hear on television then that side just keeps the same rhetoric until the polls stop moving. You are independent because you don’t associate totally with either party so keep it that way.

The other people I blame are everyone who lets emotion override their ability to think openly about what’s really going on. New Orleans is the perfect example of what happens when everyone votes on emotions instead of looking at the bigger picture. We voted to keep black political power we fought so hard to acquire but some of these people we voted for didn’t know what the hell they were doing. I think that’s happening in America as a whole now because everyone is emotional about what’s going on instead of trying to decide if the person stirring up the emotions knows anything about fixing the situation. There’s a difference between a campaign promise and just talking crazy. If a candidate tells you he’s going to go to Washington D.C and cut the deficit in half with tax cuts and eliminating entitlement programs then you can vote for him if that’s the philosophy that you think is best. On the other hand, if a candidate tells you he’s going to Washington D.C to cut the deficit by stopping the Health Care Bill because President Obama is training a commando unit of the New Black Panther Party that will still the first white baby born in each household then you need to shut up if you vote for that jackass and he doesn’t know the first thing about how a bill becomes a law. The worst thing your leaders can do to you is insult your intelligence and play with your emotions to hide their lack of ideas.

By the way, all the folks that follow Fox News like the gospel need to know that the average black person couldn’t name one person in the New Black Panther Party. I know you are trying to make the president who was raised by his white mother and grandparents who loved and adored seem like he hates white people but you have to do better than The New Black Panthers. There has to be more mainstream black racists than that. If the country is going to be divided for nothing then use someone we care about so we can participate too. Stop believing the hype.

A Crazy Ass Strong Woman

I’m sure everyone has one friend that gets on their nerves. I’m talking about that person that you have all the love for in the world but as soon as you see their number come across your phone you start shaking your head in aggravation. I have one of those and she drives me crazy. Ever had someone going off in a high pitched 7th Ward accent for an hour straight? She’s always going on and on about people I don’t know and it is always too personal. I think in a 15 minute phone call I might say five words. No matter how much I don’t respond she keeps going until I shut her up. Sometimes I get mad and start yelling. Other times I pretend there’s a call on the other end. There’s only so much I can take.

I know that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement of my people. See, 14 years ago she found out she was having a baby right as she started her career as a teacher. Because her son’s dad is a loser and disappeared before he was born, she stopped teaching and took another job that paid more so she could take care of him. Back then teachers in New Orleans made less than I did working in retail. Once he got old enough to go to school she took a pay cut to get a lower level job because it allowed her to be home during the evenings. She’s been struggling ever since. She made it worse by paying for Catholic School his whole life to keep him from the rough terrain of public school. She even moved out of Orleans Parish to a safer spot. Then her mama got sick and now she’s taking care of her. Her son just started his freshman year at St. Augustine High School. She sent him there because she said this was the first time he would have a consistent male influence in his life. That means for the next four years she will continue to make herself crazy trying to pay his tuition and buy the things he needs without any child support. Through all of that she has raised one of the most well behaved young men I have ever been around.

Every now and then I kick out a few dollars for gas money or some groceries so she can make it to payday. I might have to change a flat tire. Worst of all, I may have to sit on the phone for an hour once in awhile and let her vent about everything and everybody even if I don’t know them like I did this morning. As much as all that whining and screaming in my ear aggravates me I love and respect her dedication to making sure her son has the best life possible despite the odds so I take one for the team and do that I have to do. I would love to tell her all of this but then my cover would be blown and she would never be quiet.

Sitting On My Porch After Going To The Essence Festival

It’s 9:00 PM and I just realized that I didn’t take my ribs out of the deep freezer for tomorrow. I like to season my ribs the night before but I guess I won’t be doing that because right now they are frozen solid. Sometimes you have to take a stand. I’m letting everyone know right now that if it’s over 90 degrees tomorrow I am not standing over a pit full of charcoals and suffering until these ribs and pork steaks are done. I will be sitting under the AC and preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

I would like to direct you to a short but heartfelt post written by Bayou Creole titled “Hello It’s Me”. I just want to congratulate her and say that I am slowly approaching that point myself. She’s ahead of the curve because not only did she find herself, she actually can admit she wasn’t the same. You would be surprised at how many people haven’t been able to do that. Go to her page and show her some love.

In keeping with that theme, last night I went to my first Essence Festival night since Hurricane Katrina. It wasn’t the night I would have picked but I took one for the team and sat through Janet Jackson’s 15 wardrobe changes. That lady has a lot of energy. She would probably still be going now if she had to. I had a good time despite not sneaking in my own drink and having to pay Superdome prices. I even saw Rickey Jackson and almost turned into a ten year old kid for a minute until I realized other guys were looking. It also was the first time I wore a fresh linen outfit since the storm. I may have gone again tonight but unfortunately my body isn’t prepared for two late nights in a row so I am home. I still think we should have boycotted due to Maze being taken off the last night but the city needs the money.

Speaking of money and the city, I am looking forward to the mayor’s state of the city speech on Thursday. I hope he keeps it as realistic as it can get so everyone knows that we are in a slow jog to doing better and not a sprint. Mayor Nagin isn’t in office anymore so we should be back to thinking rationally.

Chris Paul needs to keep it real and just say he wants to go play with one of his free agent friends who have been talking to him about being traded. He already knows that the Hornets don’t have a lot of cap space and can’t really change the roster right now. I know he keeps saying he loves the city and all of that but the national media will ignore that and the fact the Hornets have bad leadership and blame the city. You can’t blame New Orleans if the Hornets aren’t successful. We have over 40 years of experience supporting horrible teams and unlikable ownership. Tom Benson hasn’t always been a champion of the community and the Saints have a waiting list for tickets. If the Hornets fail in New Orleans it will be because of the NBA and their elitist attitudes that encourage its best players to abandon small market cities. If you don’t believe me ask those poor people in Cleveland who have had to listen to the media talk about the 2010 free agency season since Lebron James signed his last contract.

When I read about this giant oil skimmer that can process up to 21 million gallons of oil a day being tested in the Gulf in July, the only thing I can think of is why in the hell is this big son of a bitch just being tested in July. Was there another environmental disaster in April that had it occupied? See, if this thing works it’s only going to make everyone more pissed than they are now. That was my oil spill comment for the week to meet my quota as the stupidity continues.


I know everyone went to the first night of Essence for Janet Jackson. She did good but Charlie Wilson was the highlight of my evening. I have to show Charlie some love with some old school Gap Band.