10th Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, it wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast from Florida Panhandle to Louisiana; most of the damage was concentrated from the MS Gulf Coast to Greater New Orleans. Damage was $108 billion, roughly 4x the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew. Government officials were pointing fingers at each other, blaming each other for not being prepared for Katrina, residents ignored warnings from city, state & county officials to evacuate, etc. Nobody will forget about Katrina, even those who aren't from New Orleans or the Gulf Coast. New Orleans has come a long way, but there are houses still standing from flood damage; water covered to the roof. Uptown, Central Business District and French Quarter avoided the worst of Katrina because they were built on higher ground, it was the inner-city of New Orleans that was hit hard. The housing projects were flood-damaged beyond repair, so they were torn down (not only because of flood damage, but age and being notoriously violent) and rebuilt.

New Orleans' violent crime issue has made national headlines as the city retains its title as Murder Capital of America, with a murder rate 10 times the national average. Reasons for this are poverty & drugs, and a terrible public school system. Before Katrina, New Orleans murder rate escalated to 10x the national average. New Orleans was on pace to record 300+ murders if Katrina wouldn't have hit. Post-Katrina, New Orleans' murder rate declined by 80% while the crime rate escalated in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Baton Rouge. Houston suffered the worst of New Orleans' criminal element as the city recorded 375 murders in the year following Katrina. New Orleans & Houston goons clashed for street supremacy. Houston ghetto criminals fought to protect their drug turf, and New Orleans criminals tried to take over new territory. It's interesting that while New Orleans' crime rate dropped, it increased in other cities that took in evacuees.

In my view, most of the blame goes on residents for ignoring warnings from government officials to evacuate. A lot of residents assumed that because they survived Betsy and previous storms for years, they could handle Katrina. Katrina showed them what time it was when she ravaged New Orleans. 80% of Greater New Orleans was flooded. People who could afford to leave, did. Those who couldn't afford, had to do the best they could to survive Katrina. Regardless, even the most destitute of citizens had plenty opportunities to leave New Orleans, but because of their disobedience, they paid the price.

My heart goes out to New Orleans because it will never be the same. When I visited New Orleans a couple weeks ago, I thought to myself "Katrina ravaged this city 10 years ago." Many of them relocated to Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. because they didn't want to run the risk of another storm. I don't blame them. Many times, having a way out involves relocating elsewhere for a better life. Many New Orleans natives still have love for their hometown (as they should), but a lot of them won't go back because in their eyes, there's nothing to go back to.

Gov't Economic Policy: Rick Nappier

One time for Rick Nappier for breaking down the economic climate as it relates to these shootings.

Rick Nappier

1 hr · Edited ·

In a way, I blame all these shootings on government economic policy.

When jobs become scarce, people get nervous about their current work situation. They come to work thinking that today might be their last day because of layoffs, or being fired unjustifiably.

If they economy is booming, the worker has the advantage because they can leave for a better job, or leave for a higher salary. Not in this economy. Companies have the upper hand because they can work you like a dog because "where else are you going to work"?

The labor participation rate is down to 62%...the lowest since 1979. This means only 62% of the people available and willing to work can find employment. So hell yes, people are nervous about losing their jobs to layoff or getting fired.

When you lose your job, you are about 2-3 months from being homeless if you can't find other employment. The unemployment checks are about 70% of what you could not live on anyway.

Blacks, in particular, typically get the short straw when it comes to employment. Blacks don't own many companies. Unless it's state, federal or county employment, black people represent a small percentage of the private sector workforce. Many blacks don't network nor have colleagues in high places.

And in California, most blacks don't speak Spanish...so they are out of luck again with nothing in their favor. I remember an employee in Sacramento at a national bank was laid off because most of the clients sitting in the lobby were Hispanic and he didn't speak Spanish. So he was mostly emptying the trash and doing clerical duties from the work the Spanish speaking bank reps generated. He was laid off three months later sipping on a refill coffee at Starbucks. I said "what's up playa?". He said he got laid off because the big bank only wanted bilingual bank reps. I told him that he had better take some Rosetta Stone language courses.

So black people's mental state are on the fritz right now about their careers and livelihoods. I tell all black people that they had better start their own businesses so they can stay above the fray or you will become a likely, unfortunate statistic.

In summary, a booming economy causes less work related stress and provides more employment opportunities.

Truthfully...

Truthfully, I'm tired of pro athletes getting in trouble for nonsense. These guys have fame & fortune, and still make poor decisions.

Truthfully, most churches are full of bums. 15-20% of church members are actively involved whereas the vast majority aren't doing nothing.

Truthfully, if blacks want commercial investment in their neighborhood, stamp out drugs & violence and commercial investment will come knocking. The only businesses that seem to thrive in black neighborhoods are low-income grocery stores, liquor stores, chicken joints, etc.

Truthfully, I can't wait for Tallahassee Centre to reopen. For those of you who aren't familiar, Tallahassee Mall is being converted into an outdoor lifestyle center.

Truthfully, War Room is going to be the best Christian movie I've seen in a while. It gives new meaning to fighting for a marriage.

Truthfully, if you're not trying to help someone who's struggling, do me a favor and shut up because some folks love to have their mouths running and they're not saying nothing.

Truthfully, it's inexcusable for any able-bodied adult NOT to know how to cook. What are you going to do, survive by eating out 24-7? Stop being lazy.

Truthfully, some inner-city single mothers need to cut the crap. She's dressed from head to toe, but her kids look a mess, shakes head. Both mom and kid should look fly together.

ICYMI: Controlling Husband | Steve Harvey in the Morning on WDAS

ICYMI: Controlling Husband | Steve Harvey in the Morning on WDAS

This lady feels like she has no say in her marriage. The husband works & is involved with his children. The wife says he's controlling because he makes all the decisions in the household. Isn't that what the head of household does? Maybe he doesn't trust her decision-making ability so he has to make all the decisions. Even if she has good input, the man makes the final decision. She should be grateful she has an involved husband, because some men aren't. Either they aren't around to guide their family, or some men would rather defer the decision making to their wives. Just because she doesn't have a say in the marriage doesn't mean the boys will grow up dogging women or the girls being shown that they don't matter. When she says her husband is controlling, she really means he won't let her do what she wants without accountability.

Strawberry Letter: Open Marriage

Dear Shirley Strawberry and Steve, 

I am a successful, mature, 24 year old woman with a very optimistic view on life. Some have used the words naive to describe my personality, however I disagree. I am open to the idea of having an open (minus the introduction of other men) marriage. We have rules set in place, no men, no sleepovers, no double takes, and we always protect ourselves. With all this said, is it naive of me to think that an open or sexually free relationship will work? I believe that it can, due to the fact that for some couples it can be a fun and exciting experience. For some, it may bring a couple closer together or give them the sexually satisfying life that they BOTH want and need. Help me to understand if what it is I am doing is wrong for others to disagree so much so with the decisions I have and will continue to make. Personally, I will not live my life based on others opinions but I would like the opinion of a neutral, third (and maybe fourth) party. Thank you for all your comments and advice. 

One thing about these Strawberry Letters is whenever the writers ask for advice, they always get what they ask for. This letter is no different, so with that said, here goes. Naive isn't the word I'd use to describe her desire for an open marriage, more like foolish. First, she's out of her ever-loving mind to think an open marriage is going to work. I say that because open marriages allow for infidelity to destroy a marriage. You and your spouse are sexing someone else, and feelings are bound to develop for someone else. When it comes to open marriages, there are no rules. It's easy to see what she's doing wrong; she's opening the door for infidelity. She obviously has no respect for her marriage if she's entertaining this foolishness. 

You can't say no (wo)men, no sleepovers, etc. because that defeats the purpose of an open marriage. If she's going to have an open marriage, throw all rules out the window. Marriage is ordained by God, a sacred bond between a man & woman to honor and cherish each other for life. I don't see how an open marriage could bring a couple closer together. On the contrary, open marriages would tear couples apart because one spouse may catch feelings for their sex partner and we know how that goes. Once is not enough, some folks want to keep pushing the envelope to see how far they can go.

I Rep My City

Some blacks are like "I Rep My City", which usually means they rep the hood side of their city: Violence & drugs, poverty, police presence, etc. Many times, some blacks never represent the good aspects of their city because to them that's boring. There's no excitement in representing Stop The Violence movements, or famous inner-city residents who come back to their old hood to give back. That wouldn't draw as much attention as gang warfare, drug pushing, and assault rifle fire. Little do they realize all that negative attention is drawing potential investment away from black neighborhoods because no one wants to invest in a violence & drug-ridden community. These are the same blacks that complain about having to drive far to get what they need. Maybe if some inner-city blacks started taking pride in their hoods, that maybe commercial investment would come. Part of that involves working together to get the criminal element out, and showing support for positive initiatives designed to bring light into distressed areas of their city.

In Love With The Struggle

Some black folks are in love with the struggle; they wear it as a badge of honor. It's not wrong to want more out of life.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) August 19, 2015

I'm convinced most black folks love to struggle. Let me explain: Every other conversation goes something like this: You have to go through the struggle to appreciate the blessing, or you can't have prosperity without struggle. That may be true sometimes, but what about those who have good fortune without struggle? There are some people who know how to avoid struggle by being strategic; every move they make, they weigh the risk(s) & benefit(s) before they make a move. If the risks outweigh the benefits, they don't move forward. If the benefits far outweigh the risks, they proceed. That's not to say their entire road will be a smooth ride because there will be hiccups along the way that are out of their control, but successful folks always find a way around those hiccups and keep trucking. 

The only time "struggle" should be worn as a badge of honor is if you have conquered your obstacle; otherwise, you can become so comfortable with struggling that when you finally make it out, you feel strange because all you've ever known was struggle. You won't know what to do with your blessing so you take it for granted. I don't know about anyone else, but I welcome all the breakthrough I can handle because I've struggled enough to last a lifetime. Contrary to what some blacks may think, there really is no honor in the struggle. You're always worrying from one minute to the next how you're going to get this, how you're going to get that, etc. Life is too short, enjoy the sunshine sometimes.