LIVity

Mardi Gras. I must admit, I wasn't expecting it to happen this year. I have mixed feelings about it not being canceled. I understand that it is probably one of the biggest sources of income for the city. And why not make money to rebuild the city while having a good time?? All the festivities could bring a breath of fresh air after the tragedy that happened in New Orleans this year--a sense of normalcy. On the flip side, there are people, who don't live in the French Quarter, who are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt or repaired. They can't share in the sense of normalcy that is Mardi Gras. I have to wonder if the money that was supposed to be used to help these people is instead being used to fund Mardi Gras. It is a good investment if it will yield profit BUT is it fair to ask people to wait any longer to return home just because their homes aren't in the French Quarter?? That's like saying, "They've waited this long, it won't kill them to wait a little longer." It's not right. Especially when the government is spending more money to rebuild cities overseas (it wouldn't have to rebuild them if it hadn't destroyed them) than it is spending on rebuilding a city within its own borders. I guess it's relying on taxpayers to pick up its slack. Nothing unusual there.

Okay, so since it's been a while since I written, I have two unrelated topics to talk about. The first is about the terrorist plot to use shoe bombs to high-jack an airplane and fly it into a library tower in Los Angeles. I'm very skeptical about this one. I mean shoe bombs?? A library tower?? Come on. It seems like a fabricated story created to show the American people that all the money being sucked out of our pockets is being put to good use. National Security thwarted a plan involving shoe bombs, we can't be mad about that right?? They've more than made up for what they didn't do on 9/11. "It's the things that make you go hmmmm" Secondly, what's with the latest budget cuts?? $39 Billion cut from Medicaid, Medicare, and student loan subsidies. Who is that going to affect?? Apparently these programs are the cause of the $1.3 trillion deficit that we'll be facing by 2010--The Express reported that the cuts are "an important first step to restoring discipline on spending." How much do you think America spends per day on "the war??" Once again, this is a case of the people who need a break being punished for things they have no control over.

"My people steady losing while the rich keep winning" -The Roots Why (What's Going On)

I've been thinking, we need to give our parents' generation much more credit. For instance, the frustration we feel when trying to explain something like Instant Messaging and they don't grasp the concept...yeah, we need to get over it. Think about it, we grew up with computers, pagers, etc. When our parents were growing up, maybe one person in the neighborhood could afford a TV...and it was black and white. How well do you think you could grasp every new piece of technology when it's progressing that quickly?? I think they're remarkable because they're the bridge between simpler times and now.