Day: September 2, 2005

NBC broadcasted a celebrity Katrina telethon tonight. In general, it was an unremarkable event, except for a certain two minute segment.

Kanye West (who is this guy anyway?) appeared on camera with Mike Myers to deliver a tag-team plea for cash. Myers delivered his lines with the sort of drama you’d expect, but when it was West’s turn, he decided that the speech he was to intone wasn’t quite his style, so he ditched the cue card and instead, stumbled and stammered his way through a Bush slam.

You gotta feel for Mike Myers. You can see him becoming uncomfortable throughout the segment, but still trying to keep his composure. He was doing O.K. until West blurted out, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people”. Mike’s “quick turn of the head” toward West spoke volumes. Too bad the camera cut away. I have a feeling Mike wanted to slug him.

So, congratulations Kanye. NBC issued a statement saying they think you’re nuts, and the American Red Cross was forced to pull out the “we’re a neutral, impartial organization” speech.

You ruined the event, you idiot.

UPDATE: Kanye West booed by football crowd.

UPDATE II: ‘George Bush Hates Midgets‘ 

Found tonight on LGF: 350 aerial images of the Gulf Coast. The detail is stunning. The destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina is more real than ever.

Listening to police and emergency services scanner in New Orleans tonight. As you can imagine, they’re extremely busy. Interesting. Right now they’re discussing the movement of buses; whether to shift some of them to the Superdome or to the Convention Center. The police are arguing amongst themselves as to which option is the better one at this time of night (11:02 CDT)

Halliburton hired for storm cleanup

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.

Uh oh. Here come the conspiracy theories. Perfect timing huh? While I have no doubt that this Halliburton subsidiary won a bidding process for this job fair and square, it’ll be mere seconds before the Left uses this as yet another reason to further hammer Bush.

Shhh…don’t tell Kos, Atrios, the neurotics at HuffPo, or (gulp) anyone at the Democratic Underground. 

…so poor, and so black.

(h/t Alarming News)

Randall, we’re waiting for you to name a source for your lead sentence. If you don’t have one, we expect an immediate retraction.

Appearing at the same moment online.

h/t Gawker

It’s a valid question.

NYT, Alessandra Stanley: “It was as those images of mounting desperation and disorder began dominating the screen that Washington suddenly seemed to snap to attention. The mounting indignation on the ground spilled over into a televised appearance by Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security. As Mr. Chertoff tried to reassure viewers that the federal authorities had matters under control, CNN and Fox News split the screen and had him speak alongside images of stranded refugees, looters, and a bare-chested man, knee-deep in water, battering a store window with a baseball bat.”

I was watching that interview as well as others featuring government officials and the contrast was remarkable.

Related: Delusional, Dysfunctional, Divisive, and Defiant

Buses arrive at the New Orleans Convention Center, Bush comforts refugees, and the Coast Guard evacuates the stranded.

   

Before leaving for Mobile, Alabama to begin his tour of the Gulf States, the president had this to say.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT UPON DEPARTURE
The South Lawn

9:02 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Secretary Chertoff and I just finished a meeting with Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, other members of my Cabinet, as well as General Honore, Admiral Keating, who is in charge of NORTHCOM — General Honore who is our active duty general on the ground in Louisiana, as well — and Mike Brown, who is the head of FEMA.

There’s a lot of aid surging toward those who have been affected: millions of gallons of water, millions of tons of food. We’re making progress about pulling people out of the Superdome. There’s an issue right now at the convention center of New Orleans that General Honore briefed us on. We’re trying to get food and medicine to the convention center. He’s working with the governor, and the adjutant general, and the mayor, to deploy 600 of the newly arrived MPs to secure the site, so that the food and medicine and water can get in there.

A lot of people are working hard to help those who have been affected, and I want to thank the people for their efforts. The results are not acceptable. I’m headed down there right now. I’m looking forward to talking to the people on the ground. I want to assure the people of the affected areas and this country that we’ll deploy the assets necessary to get the situation under control, to get the help to the people who have been affected, and that we’re beginning long-term planning to help those who have been displaced, as well as long-term planning to help rebuild the communities that have been affected.

I’m looking forward to my trip down there, and looking forward to thanking those on the ground, and looking forward to assure people that we’ll get on top of this situation and we’re going to help people that need help.

Thank you.

Even though it’s a bit late, these are the right words.