JJB Blog

I just sat down and finished a little project I started in 2005. It’s an edit of George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People that includes sound bytes from the news media.

The City of New Orleans Will Never Be the Same - audio - 5:48 - aac

Read on for more background…

During the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, there was a TV special featuring many entertainment stars, to raise money for the victims of the hurricane. One of the stars on the show was rapper Kanye West. When it was his turn to speak on the show, he abandoned the script provided to him, and delivered an emotional and angry message about how poorly black victims in New Orleans were being represented in the news media, and how insufficient the federal response to the tragedy was (see video below).

Houston Hip Hop group K-Otix, infuriated by the tragedy happening in neighboring New Orleans (many refugees were displaced to Houston), and inspired by West’s bold statement, released a song, George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People, which sampled heavily from Kanye West’s Gold Digger (a hit on the radio at the time).

Below you will find the media I used in the edit, and some other media that I thought was important and was worth collecting and archiving.

Media used in the edit

• George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People - audio - 8.7 MB - 3:47- mp3
  

  The original K-Otix single.

• Interview with New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin - audio - 8.1 MB - 11:13 - mp3
  

  This interview is amazing. Probably the most honest and emotional interview you will ever see from a major US politician. Ray Nagin is frustrated as hell with the lack of federal response, and he doesn’t mince his words. I could describe it here more, but it is truly required listening for anyone interested in the topic.

• Tucker Carlson interviews Bill Maher - video - 13.1 MB - 7:21 - mov
  

  Kind of annoying “left vs. right” theater, but hey, Bill Maher is pretty much correct about everything he says here. Covers lots of ground, and shows the absurdity of the messages from republicans at the time.

• Michael Brown on Nightline - video - 9.1 MB - 8:11 - mov
  

  Lots of great moments here. Ted Koppel acts like a real journalist and lets Brown know that he’s a pathetic little man.

• Barbara Bush tours the astrodome - audio - 0.2 MB - 0:08 - aac
  

  Short and sweet. Wow, what a bitch.

Other media

• Kanye West on the Katrina relief TV special - video - mov - 2 MB - 1:39

  The action that started it all. Powerful, brave, emotional, hilarious, awkward. A great moment on TV. Look at Myers trying to play it normal, and then Chris Tucker’s confused face when they cut to him early.

• Several Fox News commentators acting like human beings - video - 9.6 MB - 8:27 - mov
  

  This clip is powerful and fascinating in so many ways. Geraldo Rivera and Shep Smith report the facts from the ground in New Orleans. These Fox News jackasses are usually paid to go to work every day so they can look you in the eye and tell you that black is white. But faced with the situation in New Orleans, they can’t bring themselves to say rosy patriotic things about the government. Witness these plastic soulless creatures go into shock when surrounded by starving babies and rotting bloated corpses.

• George Bush assures New Orleans that everything will be okay, swarm of jowly white guys nod and clap - video - 0.5 MB - 0:18 - mov
  

  I have to admit, even after all these years, I still kind of buy that he believes half the shit he says.

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