In response to an Instapundit blog post about the things we've learned from Katrina, a reader posited a very important question:
I haven't heard anything about the Emergency Alert System in relation to Katrina. Was it on? Did it work? Did it provide any useful information? I would think that a system that's been tested weekly since the 50's would have been pretty reliable.
According to the FCC's Web site on the subject, the EAS can broadcast an emergency message on all AM, FM and broadcast TV stations and on any cable system with more than 10,000 subscribers. The EAS was developed so that the president could directly communicate with the nation in the event of a national crisis, but since 1963, the system is authorized for local and state use as well.
Thus the question: Was the EAS activated?
I've actually heard people interviewed who claimed they weren't aware of the impending danger of Hurricane Katrina. I find that difficult to believe. On the other hand, plenty of people can't tell you who the vice president is, so it's entirely possible to live in an information vacuum, even in the information age.
Here in Birmingham, our civil defense siren system is activated for tornado warnings. However, if you cannot hear the siren and (A) do not have a weather radio that can be activated by the National Weather Service or (B) are not tuned in to local TV, you could very well be unaware that a tornado is approaching. If you're watching MTV or The Golf Channel, you will miss the warning unless your cable provider interrupts the broadcast or scrolls a message across the screen.
Seems to me that if we're spending money on the EAS, then every time an event such as a tornado or hurricane threatens public health and safety, the EAS should activate and transmit a message across all radio, TV and cable signals.
Our local meterologists constantly preach on the necessity of a weather radio with an alert feature so that you can be warned of severe weather at night during sleep. (Weather radios can be activated for civil emergencies as well.) But for those who aren't plugged in to NOAA or the local news, "we interrupt this broadcast" ought to become a familiar phrase.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
QotD
You gotta laugh or you'll just cry ...
... Sen. Mary Landrieu, who seems to think she’s cute when she’s mad, even threatened on national television to punch out the president — a felony, by the way, even as a threat. Mayor Nagin, who you might think would be looking for a place to hide, and Gov. Blanco, nursing a bigtime snit, can’t find the right word of thanks to a nation pouring out its heart and emptying its pockets. Maybe the senator should consider punching out the governor, only a misdemeanor.
-- columnist Wesley Pruden
... Sen. Mary Landrieu, who seems to think she’s cute when she’s mad, even threatened on national television to punch out the president — a felony, by the way, even as a threat. Mayor Nagin, who you might think would be looking for a place to hide, and Gov. Blanco, nursing a bigtime snit, can’t find the right word of thanks to a nation pouring out its heart and emptying its pockets. Maybe the senator should consider punching out the governor, only a misdemeanor.
-- columnist Wesley Pruden
Monday, September 05, 2005
Rebuilding New Orleans -- from the inside out
How to shore up those levees -- and whether it's a good idea anyway to have a city below sea level -- are not the biggest questions New Orleans needs to answer. Before the city rebuilds the infrastructure, it needs to rethink rebuilding the community itself.
I'll never forget my first trip through the New Orleans airport. I was at baggage claim, and I looked up to see a poster advertising a local strip joint. That'd never fly in Birmingham, I thought. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen fleshpot advertisements in any other airport, and I've been in some big ones: Houston, Atlanta, LAX.
And thus, the big difference between New Orleans and most other American cities. Sleaze, seediness and sin are in your face in the Big Easy. You almost can't get to the sublime food, music and culture without stepping over barf in the streets, without walking past photos of every sex act imaginable posted outside darkened clubs.
A friend who's from this area returned home last year after living some time in New Orleans with her husband and young daughter. She's a bohemian, liberal, nonconformist. I figured New Orleans would be the perfect fit for her, but she told me flatly: "New Orleans is no place to raise a child. The people there are lazy. My husband had the hardest time getting people to work for him."
Don't shoot the messenger -- I'm just relaying what she said.
Another friend, a guy from Phoenix, said you don't do business in New Orleans from about noon Thursday to sometime Monday afternoon. No one is sober enough.
The implosion of the Big Easy is at least partly because the city was already rotting from within. You cannot have a culture of drunkenness and shiftlessness, vice and corruption, murder and mayhem and be expected to hold it together when all hell breaks loose. All the gumbo and king cake in the world can't help you when the waters are rushing in.
Before New Orleans can be rebuilt physically, the people who return there are going to have to think about what sort of city they want spiritually and socially. They're going to have to think about what their city will spend its money on: restoring vintage architecture or advertising strip clubs. They're going to have to rethink Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras. They should keep Cafe du Monde and Pat O'Brien's, but maybe it's time to relegate the sex shows and the street drinking to the outer limits of the city and make the French Quarter safer for women and children.
If New Orleans is to rise again and survive, she'll have to be a different city. She has too many charms not to be built on a more solid foundation of responsible community and governance.
I'll never forget my first trip through the New Orleans airport. I was at baggage claim, and I looked up to see a poster advertising a local strip joint. That'd never fly in Birmingham, I thought. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen fleshpot advertisements in any other airport, and I've been in some big ones: Houston, Atlanta, LAX.
And thus, the big difference between New Orleans and most other American cities. Sleaze, seediness and sin are in your face in the Big Easy. You almost can't get to the sublime food, music and culture without stepping over barf in the streets, without walking past photos of every sex act imaginable posted outside darkened clubs.
A friend who's from this area returned home last year after living some time in New Orleans with her husband and young daughter. She's a bohemian, liberal, nonconformist. I figured New Orleans would be the perfect fit for her, but she told me flatly: "New Orleans is no place to raise a child. The people there are lazy. My husband had the hardest time getting people to work for him."
Don't shoot the messenger -- I'm just relaying what she said.
Another friend, a guy from Phoenix, said you don't do business in New Orleans from about noon Thursday to sometime Monday afternoon. No one is sober enough.
The implosion of the Big Easy is at least partly because the city was already rotting from within. You cannot have a culture of drunkenness and shiftlessness, vice and corruption, murder and mayhem and be expected to hold it together when all hell breaks loose. All the gumbo and king cake in the world can't help you when the waters are rushing in.
Before New Orleans can be rebuilt physically, the people who return there are going to have to think about what sort of city they want spiritually and socially. They're going to have to think about what their city will spend its money on: restoring vintage architecture or advertising strip clubs. They're going to have to rethink Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras. They should keep Cafe du Monde and Pat O'Brien's, but maybe it's time to relegate the sex shows and the street drinking to the outer limits of the city and make the French Quarter safer for women and children.
If New Orleans is to rise again and survive, she'll have to be a different city. She has too many charms not to be built on a more solid foundation of responsible community and governance.
The Helpless, the Clueless and the Lawless
Without pointing fingers, I think it's obvious even now that the Titanic-sized disaster of the breakdown of New Orleans was the result of bad decision upon bad decision, made over the years by bureaucrats and politicians and engineers and city planners and architects and ... the list goes on.
But some things you don't think of -- such as the volatile mix of people that created the hellhole of the Superdome. Or maybe you should have thought of it.
There's never been a diaster of any kind where such a large number of people wound up concentrated in such a small area. And this group was not a representative sample of the populace of New Orleans. No, they were members of three different groups I call the Helpless, the Clueless and the Lawless.
The Helpless: The elderly, the chronically ill, pregnant women, babies, young children. Old people and infants dying from heat exhaustion and dehydration in the richest nation on earth is an utter disgrace. Why more public resources (like alllll those unused buses) were not dedicated to their evacuation is beyond me. It was part of the city's diaster plan but NOT IMPLEMENTED.
The Clueless: The non-English-speaking tourists who apparently don't know what a hurricane is were clueless by no fault of their own. Others who stayed behind -- I hate to say -- stayed because they're morons. Case in point: a conversation Fox News' Shepard Smith had with a bar patron. (I'm paraphrasing.)
Smith: Hey, man, why haven't you evacuated?
Moron: Well, I think things are going to be all right. We've been through hurricanes before. The levees are designed for a category 3 hurricane anyway.
Smith: But this is a category 5! A category 5, man!!
Moron: Well, I think the city has prepared for that. The levees can handle a category 3.
Smith: BUT THERE'S A CATEGORY 5 HEADED STRAIGHT FOR NEW ORLEANS!
Moron: It'll be OK. We've been through hurricanes before.
The Lawless: Arthel Neville, a New Orleanian and former Fox News contributor, told Greta Van Susteren of a harrowing tale she'd been told by Superdome evacuees: A man raped and murdered a seven-year-old child! (He was promptly disposed of by 10 men who beat him to death. Personally, I applaud the posse who dispatched this pathetic piece of crap to his eternal destiny.)
Rape and murder of a seven-year-old. Despicable. Why wasn't there a police contingency at the Superdome?
The Helpless, the Clueless and the Lawless. A deadly, deadly mix.
But some things you don't think of -- such as the volatile mix of people that created the hellhole of the Superdome. Or maybe you should have thought of it.
There's never been a diaster of any kind where such a large number of people wound up concentrated in such a small area. And this group was not a representative sample of the populace of New Orleans. No, they were members of three different groups I call the Helpless, the Clueless and the Lawless.
The Helpless: The elderly, the chronically ill, pregnant women, babies, young children. Old people and infants dying from heat exhaustion and dehydration in the richest nation on earth is an utter disgrace. Why more public resources (like alllll those unused buses) were not dedicated to their evacuation is beyond me. It was part of the city's diaster plan but NOT IMPLEMENTED.
The Clueless: The non-English-speaking tourists who apparently don't know what a hurricane is were clueless by no fault of their own. Others who stayed behind -- I hate to say -- stayed because they're morons. Case in point: a conversation Fox News' Shepard Smith had with a bar patron. (I'm paraphrasing.)
Smith: Hey, man, why haven't you evacuated?
Moron: Well, I think things are going to be all right. We've been through hurricanes before. The levees are designed for a category 3 hurricane anyway.
Smith: But this is a category 5! A category 5, man!!
Moron: Well, I think the city has prepared for that. The levees can handle a category 3.
Smith: BUT THERE'S A CATEGORY 5 HEADED STRAIGHT FOR NEW ORLEANS!
Moron: It'll be OK. We've been through hurricanes before.
The Lawless: Arthel Neville, a New Orleanian and former Fox News contributor, told Greta Van Susteren of a harrowing tale she'd been told by Superdome evacuees: A man raped and murdered a seven-year-old child! (He was promptly disposed of by 10 men who beat him to death. Personally, I applaud the posse who dispatched this pathetic piece of crap to his eternal destiny.)
Rape and murder of a seven-year-old. Despicable. Why wasn't there a police contingency at the Superdome?
The Helpless, the Clueless and the Lawless. A deadly, deadly mix.
Katrinaspam
Today I got my first "Katrinaspam," some doofus who claimed the Red Cross was coordinating with some outfit in the UNITED KINGDOM.
Yeah, that makes all the sense in the world.
Be warned, folks. Disasters bring out the best and the worst in people. Hucksters and scammers will abound.
Sad.
Yeah, that makes all the sense in the world.
Be warned, folks. Disasters bring out the best and the worst in people. Hucksters and scammers will abound.
Sad.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
"Nobody told me there'd be days like these"
An acquaintance and I were talking over coffee about -- what else -- the hurricane, and she said, "You know, from all that's happening, I just have to believe that Jesus is coming back soon."
I reminded her that starvation and violence and catastrophe have happened every day, somewhere on the planet, since the beginning of time. This evening, I heard on the news that a typhoon hit China this week and displaced one million people. They just had their own Katrina, but it was barely a blip on our radar screen.
With all due respect to my friend (who conceded that I had a point), I get annoyed with the hubris of American Christianity and its assumption that catastrophe here is a herald of the Tribulation but catastrophe elsewhere is just business as usual. What, God is going to spare America from the machinations of nature and the forces of evil until the clock is about to run out?
Like everyone else who believes in historic, orthodox Christianity, I concur that Jesus Christ "sitteth upon the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead." Beyond that, I part ways with many of my evangelical compatriots.
Beginning with Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth in the 1970s and most recently with the Left Behind series, evangelical end-times theology has centered around America as a sort of final staging ground of the end of days. In other words, it'll get bad here before the Tribulation, then we'll all disappear before the really, REALLY bad stuff starts happening.
Tell that to the Christians in China. Or North Korea. Or Sudan. Or just Google "persecution against Christians" to find some stories that'll give you nightmares.
Now, Lindsey has a Web site called "Hal Lindsey Oracle.com." Oracle. What, he's a prophet? Does this bother anyone else besides me? Lindsey has been predicting for nearly 40 years that the return of Christ is imminent, and I mean within-the-next-five-to-ten-years imminent. I wonder how many people made professions of faith based on that spurious (and now, obviously discounted) claim and have since drifted away.
(Oh ... Lindsey's site also features a collection of silly and trivial "witnessing" mugs and T-shirts, including one that shows John 3:16 and the words "FIRE INSURANCE." Makes me want to hurl.)
I'd rather take the position that my own pastor did this morning: Hurricane Katrina is just the latest in a long line of evidence that we live in a fallen world. When catastrophe gives birth to depravity and death, we really shouldn't be surprised. Appalled, yes. Compassionate, yes. But surprised?
When Christ warned about "wars and rumors of war" and natural disasters, I think he was saying that this would be the condition of the world until he returned.
And no one is exempt.
I reminded her that starvation and violence and catastrophe have happened every day, somewhere on the planet, since the beginning of time. This evening, I heard on the news that a typhoon hit China this week and displaced one million people. They just had their own Katrina, but it was barely a blip on our radar screen.
With all due respect to my friend (who conceded that I had a point), I get annoyed with the hubris of American Christianity and its assumption that catastrophe here is a herald of the Tribulation but catastrophe elsewhere is just business as usual. What, God is going to spare America from the machinations of nature and the forces of evil until the clock is about to run out?
Like everyone else who believes in historic, orthodox Christianity, I concur that Jesus Christ "sitteth upon the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead." Beyond that, I part ways with many of my evangelical compatriots.
Beginning with Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth in the 1970s and most recently with the Left Behind series, evangelical end-times theology has centered around America as a sort of final staging ground of the end of days. In other words, it'll get bad here before the Tribulation, then we'll all disappear before the really, REALLY bad stuff starts happening.
Tell that to the Christians in China. Or North Korea. Or Sudan. Or just Google "persecution against Christians" to find some stories that'll give you nightmares.
Now, Lindsey has a Web site called "Hal Lindsey Oracle.com." Oracle. What, he's a prophet? Does this bother anyone else besides me? Lindsey has been predicting for nearly 40 years that the return of Christ is imminent, and I mean within-the-next-five-to-ten-years imminent. I wonder how many people made professions of faith based on that spurious (and now, obviously discounted) claim and have since drifted away.
(Oh ... Lindsey's site also features a collection of silly and trivial "witnessing" mugs and T-shirts, including one that shows John 3:16 and the words "FIRE INSURANCE." Makes me want to hurl.)
I'd rather take the position that my own pastor did this morning: Hurricane Katrina is just the latest in a long line of evidence that we live in a fallen world. When catastrophe gives birth to depravity and death, we really shouldn't be surprised. Appalled, yes. Compassionate, yes. But surprised?
When Christ warned about "wars and rumors of war" and natural disasters, I think he was saying that this would be the condition of the world until he returned.
And no one is exempt.
Some Hollywoodites are walkin' the walk
Props to musician Macy Gray for flying to Houston to visit with evacuees there and pitch in a helping hand to volunteer. Ditto to New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr., for going to New Orleans to help out.
Who's minding the store?
If you haven't been reading Michelle Malkin lately, she is tracking just about everything out there regarding Hurricane Katrina.
Even though I'm ready to send Al Sharpton to bed with an aspirin and a teddy bear, practically no one in the conservative blogosphere is giving the government -- federal, state OR local -- high marks for the handling of this catastrophe. In the reaction against the vile and ridiculous accusations of deliberate racism, we cannot simultaneously protect the government from some well-deserved ridicule and blame.
Exhibit #1: The failure of the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana to use public transport vehicles to evacuate the poor. Would that not have made perfect sense? Why in hell were the predators and the prey of the city all shuffled into the Superdome with the near-certainty that the city would be innundated? Just today Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco authorized the use of public school buses for evacuation. TODAY! The hurricane hit on MONDAY and we knew it was headed for New Orleans LAST SATURDAY.
Exhibit #2: Homeland Security Chief Mike Brown's assertion that Katrina would be a "standard hurricane." Yeah. He said that last Sunday. Anyone with a television KNEW that the National Weather Service was sending out apocalypic warnings. My guess is the guy doesn't know what the heck he's doing and it's CYA time. Boy, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that such a doofus is running Homeland Security.
Exhibit #3: We knew for years that a New Orleans flood was a disaster waiting to happen, just like we knew for years that terrorists had plans to hit a major American city. Again, anyone who watches The Discovery Channel knew that because of its geographical situation, New Orleans' could NOT sustain a direct hit by a major hurricane.
My fifth-quarter assessment is the New Orleans catastrophe was the sad result of a very long string of bad decisions and shuffled responsibility made over the years by bureaucrats and politicians at all levels.
Even though I'm ready to send Al Sharpton to bed with an aspirin and a teddy bear, practically no one in the conservative blogosphere is giving the government -- federal, state OR local -- high marks for the handling of this catastrophe. In the reaction against the vile and ridiculous accusations of deliberate racism, we cannot simultaneously protect the government from some well-deserved ridicule and blame.
Exhibit #1: The failure of the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana to use public transport vehicles to evacuate the poor. Would that not have made perfect sense? Why in hell were the predators and the prey of the city all shuffled into the Superdome with the near-certainty that the city would be innundated? Just today Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco authorized the use of public school buses for evacuation. TODAY! The hurricane hit on MONDAY and we knew it was headed for New Orleans LAST SATURDAY.
Exhibit #2: Homeland Security Chief Mike Brown's assertion that Katrina would be a "standard hurricane." Yeah. He said that last Sunday. Anyone with a television KNEW that the National Weather Service was sending out apocalypic warnings. My guess is the guy doesn't know what the heck he's doing and it's CYA time. Boy, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that such a doofus is running Homeland Security.
Exhibit #3: We knew for years that a New Orleans flood was a disaster waiting to happen, just like we knew for years that terrorists had plans to hit a major American city. Again, anyone who watches The Discovery Channel knew that because of its geographical situation, New Orleans' could NOT sustain a direct hit by a major hurricane.
My fifth-quarter assessment is the New Orleans catastrophe was the sad result of a very long string of bad decisions and shuffled responsibility made over the years by bureaucrats and politicians at all levels.
Trivia break
The sordidness and heartbreak of the whole hurricane story is getting me down. Time for a little levity:
I was joyous yesterday when I stopped at a gas station for a snack and saw that Mountain Dew had brought back their Pitch Black soda for Halloween, but with a twist: Pitch Black II is billed as "a blast of grape flavor with a sour bite."
I give it a thumbs-up. At first, I was wanting the sweet flavor of the original Pitch Black, but the more I drink it, the more I'm pleasantly reminded of the flavor of SweetTarts or Pixie Stix of my childhood.
This is really no time for me to get hooked on sugared sodas again, but hey, it's available only through early November.
I was joyous yesterday when I stopped at a gas station for a snack and saw that Mountain Dew had brought back their Pitch Black soda for Halloween, but with a twist: Pitch Black II is billed as "a blast of grape flavor with a sour bite."
I give it a thumbs-up. At first, I was wanting the sweet flavor of the original Pitch Black, but the more I drink it, the more I'm pleasantly reminded of the flavor of SweetTarts or Pixie Stix of my childhood.
This is really no time for me to get hooked on sugared sodas again, but hey, it's available only through early November.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The $64K question
Did anyone catch Geraldo Rivera and Shepard Smith reporting from N.O. last night during Hannity & Colmes?
Geraldo's melodrama nothwithstanding, I was stunned, completely stunned at what the trapped New Orleanians are having to endure. Shepard Smith kept waving toward I-10, saying that there was a way -- at least on foot -- out of the city, but a checkpoint had been established and anyone who tried to leave was being turned away.
What in the crap is going on?
Why not leave on foot? Are they trying to control exit of the stranded? Are they afraid that outlying towns, where there still are utilities and resources, might be victimized by the desperate?
From the chaos we've seen at the Superdome, that might be a reasonable fear. On the other hand, as long as people are literally starving and cooking to death on interstate overpasses, seems a pretty brutal thing to keep them from leaving.
I dunno. Only conclusion I can come to is that the powers that be were caught flat-footed, and there has been no clear and decisive leadership from the get-go.
On the other hand, when was the last time in modern American history that an entire major city was put out of commission? Answer: Never. We just haven't seen anything like this before.
God help us.
Geraldo's melodrama nothwithstanding, I was stunned, completely stunned at what the trapped New Orleanians are having to endure. Shepard Smith kept waving toward I-10, saying that there was a way -- at least on foot -- out of the city, but a checkpoint had been established and anyone who tried to leave was being turned away.
What in the crap is going on?
Why not leave on foot? Are they trying to control exit of the stranded? Are they afraid that outlying towns, where there still are utilities and resources, might be victimized by the desperate?
From the chaos we've seen at the Superdome, that might be a reasonable fear. On the other hand, as long as people are literally starving and cooking to death on interstate overpasses, seems a pretty brutal thing to keep them from leaving.
I dunno. Only conclusion I can come to is that the powers that be were caught flat-footed, and there has been no clear and decisive leadership from the get-go.
On the other hand, when was the last time in modern American history that an entire major city was put out of commission? Answer: Never. We just haven't seen anything like this before.
God help us.
Un-frickin'-believable
New Orleans, pre- and post-Katrina
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/new-orleans-imagery.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/new-orleans-imagery.htm
Blame game
VodkaPundit shares this tantalizing tidbit from an AP story:
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
That story was dated Saturday, Aug. 28 -- the day meterologists and weather realized that Katrina was jogging west and would head for the Big Easy. (Read the story for yourself here.) Another telling quote:
"This is a once in a lifetime event," the mayor said. "The city of New Orleans has never seen a hurricane of this magnitude hit it directly," the mayor said.
He told those who had to move to the Superdome to come with enough food for several days and with blankets. He said it will be a very uncomfortable place and encouraged everybody who could to get out.
Translation: Bush personally begged for evacuation. The CITY of N.O. -- headed by a black mayor -- directed stranded people to the Superdome. (Granted, with a warning about conditions.)
Now, no one should have to die or be raped or whatever because they couldn't evacuate or, in some cases, just didn't prepare adequately.
But my question is: Why didn't the government -- including City of New Orleans -- provide some sort of public transportation out of New Orleans? If we can just stay away from the conspiracy theories and the race-baiting, it's a valid question to ask.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
That story was dated Saturday, Aug. 28 -- the day meterologists and weather realized that Katrina was jogging west and would head for the Big Easy. (Read the story for yourself here.) Another telling quote:
"This is a once in a lifetime event," the mayor said. "The city of New Orleans has never seen a hurricane of this magnitude hit it directly," the mayor said.
He told those who had to move to the Superdome to come with enough food for several days and with blankets. He said it will be a very uncomfortable place and encouraged everybody who could to get out.
Translation: Bush personally begged for evacuation. The CITY of N.O. -- headed by a black mayor -- directed stranded people to the Superdome. (Granted, with a warning about conditions.)
Now, no one should have to die or be raped or whatever because they couldn't evacuate or, in some cases, just didn't prepare adequately.
But my question is: Why didn't the government -- including City of New Orleans -- provide some sort of public transportation out of New Orleans? If we can just stay away from the conspiracy theories and the race-baiting, it's a valid question to ask.
To Hollywood: thumbs-down and a one-finger salute
Forget what I said about Hollywood pitching in to help Katrina victims.
I missed NBC's relief concert last night, and I'm glad I did. Rapper Kanye West went off-script and smeared the President (and virtually every non-black American) with the most vile and racist accusations. According to the AP:
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
Yeah. This is the America that's made you rich and famous. (You can even download Kayne West ringtones.)
Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina's devastation. Then, to Myers' evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."
Granted, the concert was full of entertainers such as the sublime Harry Connick, Jr. and Aaron Neville, New Orleans natives, who are above that kind of nonsense. But what genius picked West to be on this program in the first place? Read on:
While allowing that "the Red Cross is doing everything they can," West who delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was snubbed for an award declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us." [bold mine]
This is a guy who records songs with lyrics like this:
And we gone stay hustling on the block until we caught
And we gone stay showing off that jewelry that we bought
And we gone stay heated in case it's in and out of court'
Cause we some gangstas, I don't know what the f--- you thought
Hello!!! Earth to America!!! The thugs stealing plasma screen TVs and shooting at law enforcement officers -- who do you think they listen to??? Sheesh.
NBC has stated that West's comments were unscripted and in no way reflect the opinions of the network, but Matt Lauer's wimpy apologetics at the end of the broadcast don't make me feel all warm and cozy:
... Lauer noted that "emotions in this country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."
No, Mr. Lauer, that wasn't "criticism," it was SLANDER against our Commander in Chief and every non-black in this country. It was perverse, ignorant, racist excrement. You should have just left it alone instead of trying to recast it as good ol' American dissent.
And whether NBC realized West was a loose cannon is irrelevant. He's a rap pornographer and has no business being on a charity concert during family hour.
Give me a friggin' break.
Tell ya what, Hollywood. Just keep your money. You're going to need it. You insist on showing your contempt and ignorance, and you wonder why fewer and fewer Americans are buying your CDs and watching your movies.
Idiots.
ADDENDUM: Do I think the federal government's response has been effective or speedy? NO. Do I think the State of Louisiana or the City of New Orleans had a handle on things? NO. However, you cannot reduce this situation to a simple "blame Bush" formula, and the suggestion that Bush and all of non-black America would be pleased as punch to see black people die is reprehensible and profane.
I think we've just seen race relations set back about 20 years, thanks to provocateurs like Kanye West.
I missed NBC's relief concert last night, and I'm glad I did. Rapper Kanye West went off-script and smeared the President (and virtually every non-black American) with the most vile and racist accusations. According to the AP:
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
Yeah. This is the America that's made you rich and famous. (You can even download Kayne West ringtones.)
Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina's devastation. Then, to Myers' evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."
Granted, the concert was full of entertainers such as the sublime Harry Connick, Jr. and Aaron Neville, New Orleans natives, who are above that kind of nonsense. But what genius picked West to be on this program in the first place? Read on:
While allowing that "the Red Cross is doing everything they can," West who delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was snubbed for an award declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us." [bold mine]
This is a guy who records songs with lyrics like this:
And we gone stay hustling on the block until we caught
And we gone stay showing off that jewelry that we bought
And we gone stay heated in case it's in and out of court'
Cause we some gangstas, I don't know what the f--- you thought
Hello!!! Earth to America!!! The thugs stealing plasma screen TVs and shooting at law enforcement officers -- who do you think they listen to??? Sheesh.
NBC has stated that West's comments were unscripted and in no way reflect the opinions of the network, but Matt Lauer's wimpy apologetics at the end of the broadcast don't make me feel all warm and cozy:
... Lauer noted that "emotions in this country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."
No, Mr. Lauer, that wasn't "criticism," it was SLANDER against our Commander in Chief and every non-black in this country. It was perverse, ignorant, racist excrement. You should have just left it alone instead of trying to recast it as good ol' American dissent.
And whether NBC realized West was a loose cannon is irrelevant. He's a rap pornographer and has no business being on a charity concert during family hour.
Give me a friggin' break.
Tell ya what, Hollywood. Just keep your money. You're going to need it. You insist on showing your contempt and ignorance, and you wonder why fewer and fewer Americans are buying your CDs and watching your movies.
Idiots.
ADDENDUM: Do I think the federal government's response has been effective or speedy? NO. Do I think the State of Louisiana or the City of New Orleans had a handle on things? NO. However, you cannot reduce this situation to a simple "blame Bush" formula, and the suggestion that Bush and all of non-black America would be pleased as punch to see black people die is reprehensible and profane.
I think we've just seen race relations set back about 20 years, thanks to provocateurs like Kanye West.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Bloggers unite for hurricane relief!!
The GGB will keep the post on top for the time being. Scroll down for newer posts.
The Katrina Blog for Relief Effort has been extended through the Labor Day weekend, and your humble correspondent is jumping into the fray. So far, nearly 1,500 blogs from 24 nations have joined the rally.
The GGB is proud to endorse World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian agency with a fine record of fiscal responsibility and effective intervention. If you have not donated to a charity organization yet, I highly recommend World Vision.
If you happen to donate to World Vision because of this post, please e-mail me and note the amount of your contribution so we can add it to the tally. This is on the honor system, so please be honest!
So far, bloggers and their readers have donated or pledged nearly half a million dollars!! Let's get those numbers up even more!!
The Katrina Blog for Relief Effort has been extended through the Labor Day weekend, and your humble correspondent is jumping into the fray. So far, nearly 1,500 blogs from 24 nations have joined the rally.
The GGB is proud to endorse World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian agency with a fine record of fiscal responsibility and effective intervention. If you have not donated to a charity organization yet, I highly recommend World Vision.
If you happen to donate to World Vision because of this post, please e-mail me and note the amount of your contribution so we can add it to the tally. This is on the honor system, so please be honest!
So far, bloggers and their readers have donated or pledged nearly half a million dollars!! Let's get those numbers up even more!!
Well, they don't all hate us
Australia announced a donation of $8 million to the American Red Cross. “The United States is so often at the forefront of international aid efforts to help less fortunate nations,” Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said. “So it is only fitting that Australia should contribute to the daunting task of helping the thousands of American citizens whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by this unprecedented disaster,” he said.
Thank YOU, Minister Downer!!
UPDATE: The Hurricane relief international honor roll : nations that have offered support, according to the Associated Press.
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Belgium
Canada
China
Colombia
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
France
Germany (uh ... thanks)
Greece
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Hungary
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Lithuania
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Paraguay
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Switzerland
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Venezuela
A fascinating list -- some of these countries are our steady allies, others aren't exactly bursting with resources but still are offering help. Their generosity is touching.
Thank YOU, Minister Downer!!
UPDATE: The Hurricane relief international honor roll : nations that have offered support, according to the Associated Press.
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Belgium
Canada
China
Colombia
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
France
Germany (uh ... thanks)
Greece
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Hungary
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Lithuania
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Paraguay
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Switzerland
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Venezuela
A fascinating list -- some of these countries are our steady allies, others aren't exactly bursting with resources but still are offering help. Their generosity is touching.
And now, a word from the lunatic Right
I was just waiting for something like this to happen.
The blogmaster of Eve's Apple reports that she received an interesting bit of e-mail from an outfit called Columbia Christians for Life. I'll summarize:
The e-mail includes a satellite shot of Katrina that, if you squint your eyes and hold your mouth correctly, somewhat resembles a fetus. (Just like the speckles on this wheat cracker I'm eating look like morse code for ELVIS IS ON MARS.) The conclusion? God is judging New Orleans for its high abortion rate. REPENT NOW!
I guess after the backwards-masking craze wore off, they had go lookin' for encoded messages somewhere.
The GGB is pro-life but largely agrees with pro-lifer Kathy at Relapsed Catholic:
This unattractive face of the pro-life movement is inadvertently responsible for the continuation of abortion, because most self-respecting, intelligent, mature people can't bring themselves to campaign side by side with them. [bold in the original]
At least Robertson and Falwell have, to my knowledge, managed to keep their pie holes shut.
The blogmaster of Eve's Apple reports that she received an interesting bit of e-mail from an outfit called Columbia Christians for Life. I'll summarize:
The e-mail includes a satellite shot of Katrina that, if you squint your eyes and hold your mouth correctly, somewhat resembles a fetus. (Just like the speckles on this wheat cracker I'm eating look like morse code for ELVIS IS ON MARS.) The conclusion? God is judging New Orleans for its high abortion rate. REPENT NOW!
I guess after the backwards-masking craze wore off, they had go lookin' for encoded messages somewhere.
The GGB is pro-life but largely agrees with pro-lifer Kathy at Relapsed Catholic:
This unattractive face of the pro-life movement is inadvertently responsible for the continuation of abortion, because most self-respecting, intelligent, mature people can't bring themselves to campaign side by side with them. [bold in the original]
At least Robertson and Falwell have, to my knowledge, managed to keep their pie holes shut.
Note to the moonbats: Talk to the hand
A contingent of the unhinged Left is blaming Bush for pretty much the entire Hurricane Katrina catastrophe.
One particuarly repulsive person is refusing to give to hurricane relief efforts because he says the Red Staters elected Bush and put conservative policy in place that, according to him, is to blame, and therefore it's the Red States' problem, not his.
Never mind the inconvenient fact that the urban blacks who are suffering so badly in New Orleans more than likely voted Democratic, but what's the truth when you have an irrepressible urge to show your rectum to the whole world? I dare this guy to get a bullhorn and a boat, go down to the French Quarter and tell those people why he's not going to help out.
I'm not going to link to him or any other moonbat. I'm not going to name them. I'm not going to post comments on their blogs. Google them if you want to. I've already spent five minutes perusing their bile, and that was five minutes too long.
True Americans already have them figured out.
One particuarly repulsive person is refusing to give to hurricane relief efforts because he says the Red Staters elected Bush and put conservative policy in place that, according to him, is to blame, and therefore it's the Red States' problem, not his.
Never mind the inconvenient fact that the urban blacks who are suffering so badly in New Orleans more than likely voted Democratic, but what's the truth when you have an irrepressible urge to show your rectum to the whole world? I dare this guy to get a bullhorn and a boat, go down to the French Quarter and tell those people why he's not going to help out.
I'm not going to link to him or any other moonbat. I'm not going to name them. I'm not going to post comments on their blogs. Google them if you want to. I've already spent five minutes perusing their bile, and that was five minutes too long.
True Americans already have them figured out.
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