elleshoo9

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What negative aspects? The culture? The food? The architecture? The food? The history? The food?

I've never been robbed or assaulted in New Orleans. And I've never known someone who has either.

Get your head out of your arse and stay in BR, jealous little brother.

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What are you talking about? I said negative aspects of Louisiana culture. Do these sound negative to you? I'm talking about corruption, apathy, low priority of education, obesity and poor health, etc.

I'm born and raised in New Orleans and have lived here all 28 years of my life. I think for my own and don't drink all the 504lyfe cool-aide. This city could be so much better, but it's attitudes like yours that maintain the status quo.

Is there any hope for the negative aspects of the culture of New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole to change for the better? How do you get people into office that can withstand the temptation of corruption? I would think it has to be people who genuinely care for the state/city and have already had their success in life. But the culture of corruption is killing this state. I feel like people have the attitude of "oh it's typical Louisiana/NOLA corruption, it's just part of living here."

Crime, education, and infrastructure are the most visible impediments to economic growth for the city, but corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency or ineptness are the worst in my opinion because these issues aren't nearly as visible but impact the flow of city funding the most. That's why I wish there was a requirement to announce all significant city spending (salaries, contracts, projects, etc.).

(No Message)

I had looked at Jefferson parish budget vs Orleans. $600M vs $1.04B for 2017. Where does that much money go every year?

If I could make one change, it would be that all city spending over a certain (say $100k) amount gets published to the public in a very transparent way. The public doesn't get to vote on each piece of spending, but the city is required to notify residents on where the money goes. That way people are more informed when it comes to election time.

All of this information is available, but you have to dig for it or request it, and nobody has time or desire to actively seek it out. If it was presented to us on a frequent basis, I bet people would be storming city hall with pitchforks

Why did those industries start to leave or shrink? I know banking used to be so much bigger here, it's what my great great grandfather did in the mid to late 1800s when Nola was prospering.

I get that New Orleans property will always be more expensive than Texas property bc New Orleans is limited on the extent to which it can expand.

What caused Nola to be overtaken by Houston and Atlanta in the late 1800s and 1900s? Was it due to the political climate? Obviously New Orleans has a better "feel" than these other two cities historically. If you could clean up New Orleans crime, education, and infrastructure, you'd have companies flocking to locate themselves here I'd expect.

LINK

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Neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt on Alcohol, LSD, and Getting Sacked for His Findings

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Gareth Iwan Jones Gareth Iwan Jones The British psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt had reached arguably the pinnacle of his field as chairman of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Then in 2009 he was summarily dismissed from his position. In May, Reason TV's Zach Weissmueller sat down with Nutt to discuss his sacking, and what he's learned from the psychedelic research he continues to do at Imperial College London. Q: What happened that caused you to lose your job? A: We did an enormous amount of research into the comparative harms of drugs, and I discovered, somewhat to my surprise, that alcohol was actually the most harmful drug in the U.K. I started explaining to the government, "Our drug laws are wrong. Putting people in prison for cannabis possession is not fair, because alcohol is more dangerous." They did not want to hear that. Q: You just completed some research on LSD in conjunction with the Beckley Foundation. Tell me about that. A: It's a fascinating drug. In the 1950s and '60s it was going to solve the world's problems. The National Institute of Health in America funded 140 separate studies. Then as soon as it started being used recreationally, it suddenly got banned. We decided it was time to bite the bullet and do the first brain imaging study of LSD. Q: You were quite literally looking at, "This is your brain on drugs." What is our brain on this particular drug? A: Our brains are trained over decades to do things exactly the same way every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Those structures we thought were hardwired, but it turns out they're not hardwired. They can be disrupted by LSD. We think that explains why afterwards, people often feel different, and better, because the brain's been allowed to work in a slightly different way for the first time. Q: What is the application of that? A: It helps us make sense of why drugs like LSD can change the way people behave in the long term. The founder of [Alcoholics Anonymous], Bill Wilson, became a profound enthusiast for LSD. It works. People are much less likely to relapse back to drinking after they've had a psychedelic experience, because they can see there's a world out there which isn't all about the bottle. Q: Do your brain scans offer any clue as to why psychedelics seem to offer some relief to those with conditions like depression and PTSD? A: Psychiatric disorders exist because people cannot disengage. Depressed people keep thinking negative thoughts: "I made a mistake. I was a bad person." People with PTSD can't disengage from the memory and over time, those circuits in the brain become completely self-determining. They just go on and on and on, even if the person wants to stop them. I think the disruption of circuits, the breaking down of these regimented silos of function of the brain by psychedelics, can help people escape from those underlying disorders. Q: Some critics might think, "Why study psychedelics? We have pharmaceuticals that are designed to treat these disorders." A: The truth is, half of all people who are treated with antidepressants don't respond to the first dose. There are people who never respond. Disorders like alcoholism—response rates are like 10 percent, not 80 percent. So there's a huge unmet need. Q: Are there any policy changes that would enable us to proceed even more quickly? A: Oh yes: We've got to change the regulations. These drugs are all stuck in what's called Schedule I under the U.N. Conventions. We've got to get them in a schedule that allows scientists to work with them without being treated as if they're criminals. Q: How would you envision these types of drugs being integrated into health care? A: These drugs are not drugs you take every day to hold at bay your depression or your anxiety. These are drugs you use with a psychotherapist to change the way you deal with life. So I see them as being enormously powerful ways of bringing psychotherapy and medicine together.

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Any recommendations for a bachelor party weekend camping/canoeing trip? This would probably be in March, and most of us would be traveling from Nola

:cheers:

What do you mean test? Like drug test?

What's your position going to be?

Live shrimp. Tried under cork and bottom at our different spots

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i went on a tangent yesterday but LA is basically doomed there is no solution

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I'm 28 and have lived in Nola all my life except for school at lsu. Grew up uptown and love the unique history of the city and state and many of its residents.

Houston is looking more and more appealing despite telling myself in the past that it's one of the last places I'd want to live. The whole state is way more economically friendly. Much bigger job market especially for my line of work chemical engineering

Why do I continue to live and contribute in a state and city that don't give much back to its producers when compared to other states. I guess the reason is family and roots