Thank God for Mardi Gras

As Mardi Gras approaches and the city breaks into revelry there is a particular group of individuals that surely is thankful for these celebratory days, namely, the homeless.  In order to make the city as attractive as possible, the homeless gathering in Treme under the Claiborne Avenue bridge is once again being disbanded by city workers and these individuals placed in subsidized apartments.  How long they will be permitted to remain there is anybody’s guess, but at least they are out of view to the tourists.

Sadly, this appears to be the only solution the Cantrell administration has to deal with this chronic problem, and after Carnival ends this population will once again grow on full display for all residents.

When the city will enact a realistic and sustainable plan to deal with the homeless in New Orleans is an unknown, but thank God for Mardi Gras to give these folks some temporary relief.

Just maybe some of that city income from Mardi Gras could be dedicated towards dealing with this problem permanently, instead of using the yearly band-aide solution.

Lazy Parents

Several months ago, I penned an opinion on the public outcry to ban certain books from libraries that were deemed inappropriate or offensive for children by certain individuals.  These regulations even went so far as to allow only a one individual to raise a complaint in order to have a book reviewed for banning.  At the time I raised the issue of where the role of the parent fit into all this regulation, and how parents now days would rather have government regulation of their children’s behavior rather than assume the role of good parenting.

Today, the news media reported that a federal judge in Ohio has halted the implementation of a new law that would require children to get parental consent to use social media apps such as FaceBook, TikTok, SnapChat, Meta, X, etc.  In his ruling the judge claimed the law was an infringement on free speech and overly vague.

For me this law was more than that. It was yet another example of lazy parents who feel they have no responsibility in regulating their children’s behavior; an attitude that is clearly borne out by the rise in teenage crimes.

Additionally, there really is no need for such a law.  There is already a function on all smart devices that allows online sites to be blocked from the device.  It’s called “Parental Controls.”  And there is another function called “Delete” which allows the complete removal of an app from the smart device.   However, it is obvious that many parents today don’t want to be perceived as the ‘bad guys’ by their children and simply want to use the scapegoat of government regulation to enforce their online behaviors. 

Well, I can tell what parents should be doing irrespective of any law.  They should assume the ‘bad guy’ role, monitored their kid’s search history, review what apps he/she are using, and if you feel they are inappropriate or being used abusively (bullying), deleted them.  If your children defy you and put them back on their smart device, take the device away.  Simple isn’t it?

News flash for parents, you don’t have to be your kid’s friend or buddy.  Instead love them, nurture them, and for God’s sake take responsibility in monitoring their behavior.  It's called parenting!