Hurricane Katrina

Some of my thoughts on Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans as well as other parts of the Southeast US.


1) I never visited New Orleans but always thought it'll be an interesting place to visit. It had the Mardi Gras, jazz festivals, the Cajun culture, the vodoo dolls, and a mix of French and African culture. There is also some immigrants from Mexico, Vietnam and other nations living there.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind about New Orleans was the rapper Master P and his record label No Limit Records. No Limit was very popular in my last 2 years in high school, and I loved many of their songs like "Make Em Say Ughhh", "Them Jeans", "Miss My Homies" "It Aint My Fault", "Wobble Wobble", and too many others to mention. Cash Money Records (once the home of Juvenille, Hot Boys and Big Tymers) had some great records as well.

2) Even after a devastating disaster, there are those who pimp the pain of the destruction for political persons.

Already, some left-wingers blamed Bush, saying his inaction towards global warming has caused the hurricane.

Meanwhile. conservative preachers have said the hurricane is punishment to New Orleans for hosting gay parades and "Girls Gone Wild" videos.

Meanwhile, Islamic fanatics say the hurricane is Allah's revenge on the US!

Another conservative minister said that the looting of stores after the storm is the fault of liberals for not allowing religious indoctorination into public schools.

Bush is blamed for not having rescuers moving fast enough to save everyone.

To all those complainers mentioned, I want them to shut up already! Their comments aren't helping anyone, all they do is irritate us!

3) Some on the Radical Left say all the looting of stores is OK, because of all the poverty, injustice, etc, etc.

Excuse me, but where's the compassion for the store owners. The store was a way of life for those working there, and now it's all gone. It's bad enough they had to put up with hurricane damage, and now predatory thugs have taken whatever else is left.

If I was a store owner, and people are looting my store, I will kill them!
In that situation, it's my life or their life! They shouldn't even be looting my property in the 1st place! They should know that, and they should be shot at if they intrude!

Look, my grandma raised 8 kids while living in public housing. They were VERY POOR! Yet, if one of her kids found a lost toy in a park, my grandma would tell the kids to put them back where they found it, because it belongs to someone else. And if they insist on keeping it, she would slap them!

I don't like to see people starving and dying of dehydration!

But I'm sick of hearing excuses for punk asses who loot stores and stealing stereos, DVD players and other luxury items! To them, looting isn't about fighting injustice. To those criminals, looting is a fun thing to do.

But it wouldn't be fun if the store owners were shooting at them, right?

4) Hawaii is even more vulnerable than New Orleans. At least there was someplace to escape from New Orleans. But people in Hawaii would have nowhere to run to. We are stuck in the middle of the ocean.

I already started storing several bottles of water a long time ago. I got most of the times I need to store in case hurricane strikes. I'll need to re-check the list one more time, to make sure I got everything I need ahead of time.

5) I will be praying for the recovery efforts for all those affected by Hurricane Katrina, and I will pray that Hawaii be spared that sort of devastation.

Alcohol at UH football games

I'm looking forward to start of the U.H. football season tommorow, as the Warriors take on the Trojans of USC.

Unfortunately, the folks at Aloha Stadium has done the cowardly thing and delayed the decision on whether to ban alcohol at games.

The idea that "getting drunk at games is part of the experience" is stupid. I dont watch sports to get drunk, I watch sports to see the action on the field.

I love to yell and get wild, especially when I'm around friends who do the same thing. But at least I'm sober when I'm making noise at games.

However, when spectators are drunk, they make stupid comments and you want them to shut up. But most of wouldn't tell them to "shut up" because we don't want to get into a fight. That is why so many have said they don't want to watch games at the stadium anymore.

Same thing with nightclubs. I like to party and make noise when the music is playing. However, at many clubs, there's some drunken fools that make stupid comments or start a fight because you made eye contact, or you bumped into them, or they're jealous of your girlfriend/boyfriend.

Gas Prices

We always complain that the price of gasoline is too high.

Gas prices in Hawaii are higher than the rest of the US, so people demand that government do something about it. They want government to make gas cheaper. They don't even bother to find out what are the factors that determine the price of gas.

Demand for oil is rising because China and India (2 billion people combined) are using more oil nowadays! Add to instability in Middle East, concerns about events in Venezuela, the hurricane that hit Louisiana, the refusal to drill in parts of Alaska! And to ship oil to a bunch of islands in the middle of the ocean. Dam right oil would be expensive.

The last time the US had price caps on gasoline (in the 1970s), there were severe shortages. With low prices, it's "1st come, 1st served". After that, there's nothing left.

I get upset when I pay more than I wish to pay. But I also understand economics, so I won't demand idiotic policies like "price caps".

People need to re-think priorities. Who said you need a big house in Kapolei, when you can get an apartment in Honolulu? Save $$$ on gas, and you can get easier access to work and all the fun events in Honolulu.

Teen Pregnancy

Conservatives love to talk about horror stories of teen pregnancy.

They do this because they want to scare young people from having sex.

They say that once a teenage girl gets pregnant, she can no longer live a productive life. BULLSHIT!

There is also stereotypes that those born to teen mothers are likely to end up in jail. That has happened in some cases.

It ain't easy to be teen parent. I wouldn't advocate it. I'm glad I didn't get anyone pregnant when I was in high school.

However, acting as if teen pregnancy is "the end of the world" is idiotic.

When I was working at summer fun, one of the girls under my supervision was born to a teen mother (I knew this because I was classmates with the mother when I was in elementary school, though she did went to different middle and high schools)

But the girl's mother isn't wasting her life on welfare. The girl's mother is currently a nurse.

That tells you that being a teen mother isn't the end of the world!
And that girl in summer fun - she is one of the most well-behaved students under my supervision.

I'm not worried about those born to teen mothers.I'm more worried about those raised by excessively lenient parents.

There was this one boy at summer fun who caused a lot of trouble (ie throwing stuff, pushing, fighting, etc) whose auntie let him get away with anything. In fact, the auntie got mad at me for disciplining the boy.

I'm more worried about the future of the one boy with the lenient auntie then I would about that one girl born to a teen mom.