So.... I started watching TV again when Katrina started moving towards Louisana.
MSNBC had a benefit concert for the American Red Cross tonight.
I tuned in as I am a major Wynton Marsalis fan (did you know I have played trumpet with that man).
So, like any benefit, they have celebrities and musicians, and they appeal directly to the audience by pre-written scripts.
Celebrities included Harry Connick Jr, John Goodman, Glenn Close, Leonardo Dicaprio, Lindsay Lohan, Eriq LaSalle.....
So.... here's what happened....
During one segment, Mike Myers and Kanye West appear for their part.
Mike does his line about how devastating the hurricane was, how deep the waters are....
And then Kanye... If you are watching, you see he is nervous, jittery. He begins speaking a bit too passionately, too excited. Too fast. And in about 10 seconds.... we realize that this man is not going by the script.
He said, "When you see BLACK PEOPLE, they're looting or stealing, but when it's white people, they are FINDING" (see previous blog)
"You gave them orders to shoot to KILL people who look like me!"
and a line which you know is completely, 100% sincere from the way he is saying it... "I have to talk to my business manager to find out the most that I can give"
The look on Mike Myers' face is unreal... He's trying to stay professional, he's even nodding nervously. Mike then does his next line, "blah blah blah help now"
Back to Kanye.... who says:
"George Bush doesn't care about Black People!"
They cut away from him REAAAAL quick on that, the camera cuts away to Chris Tucker, grinning nervously.
What is so amazing and remarkable about this is this.....
Kanye just released an album, this week right?
He's slated to do Good Morning America, Today, TRL, Tonight Show, etc, all in efforts to promote his album.
The Brotha just jeopardized his entire career in order to make a political statement. Therein lies Integrity. And Passion.
I've only listened to 3 or 4 of his songs in life. I am going out right now to buy his 2 albums. I probably will never open them.
But watch in the next few days to see if this is something that is picked up on. And watch to see how many of these spineless, interchangeable so-called Rappers either move to embrace his actions or condemn them.
You heard it here first.
Friday, September 2, 2005
Bush + FEMA = ?
January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.
April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."
2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."
December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.
Spring 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration.... This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it."
June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chief Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay."
June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.
August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues
with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."
2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."
December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.
Spring 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration.... This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it."
June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chief Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay."
June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.
August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues
with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)