When The Levees Broke: Spike Lee

[scout]

Just watched Spike Lee's documentary on HBO concerning Hurricane Katrina. I know we talked about this at great lengths, but after seeing this again I just had to make comment. This injustice of our government has to be the biggest embarrassment since the mass racial killings in our early history. I'm not saying this was racially motivated, but clearly, when the biggest natural disasters in our life time happens and the President of the United States doesn't respond for four days, that's horrific. The one bright spot concerning any agency was the Coast Guard. Who ever was in charge, said the heck with regulations (pilots are required to fly a max. of 8 hrs) and those helicopters flew for up to 16 straight hours. This was life and death, and in those times, you break the rules. A thing Bush knows about, sadly this wasn't on his agenda. I do recall someone not/or being delayed a promotion from the Coast Guard after Katrina. That would be par for the course. Of course, Katrina is not over, there are trailers sitting empty and FEMA has not been tested lately. Just a heck-of-a-job.

[sdaniels7114]

As a fairly experienced airplane pilot (2000 hrs) I can say that 16 hours of that sort of flying is like 30-40 hours at almost anything else. Most of the time a pilot is just sitting there waiting for something to break. Not so in a Helicopter. Its a royal pain just to hover in place, let alone haul up some terrified/injured flood victim.

[FreeTedWilliams]

The same person who is charge of the Coast Guard is in charge of FEMA.

Michael Chertoff

I'm sure Spike was fair in his treatment of this subject matter. Didn't he have a white guy killing Malcolm X in his movie?

[Harry Boy]

SPIKE LEE

Tub of sh!t Michael Moore has more credibility than Lee.

Spike Lee is one of America's leading Racist Bigots, he is a "Black Nazi"

Spike Lee

[Turk]

Originally Posted by FreeTedWilliams

... Didn't he have a white guy killing Malcolm X in his movie?

No, he didn't.

[Harry Boy]

Originally Posted by Turk

No, he didn't.

He wished he could have.

[scout]

Evidently, Harry and FTW didn't see the show. As for Michael Chertoff, your kidding right? How about some logic. Lets see, he says to the Coast Guard, cut all the red tape, do everything in your power to save lives. Then turns to Brownie and says, don't do anything for five days......well, ok you can roll up your sleeves, it will look better.

[Harry Boy]

Originally Posted by scout

Evidently, Harry and FTW didn't see the show. As for Michael Chertoff, your kidding right? How about some logic. Lets see, he says to the Coast Guard, cut all the red tape, do everything in your power to save lives. Then turns to Brownie and says, don't do anything for five days......well, ok you can roll up your sleeves, it will look better.

The United States Of America and President GW Bush didn't do anything because those people were "BLACK" isn that what the Racist Lee is saying.

BULLSH!T

[Real World]

Originally Posted by scout

Just watched Spike Lee's documentary on HBO concerning Hurricane Katrina. I know we talked about this at great lengths, but after seeing this again I just had to make comment. This injustice of our government has to be the biggest embarrassment since the mass racial killings in our early history. I'm not saying this was racially motivated, but clearly, when the biggest natural disasters in our life time happens and the President of the United States doesn't respond for four days, that's horrific. The one bright spot concerning any agency was the Coast Guard. Who ever was in charge, said the heck with regulations (pilots are required to fly a max. of 8 hrs) and those helicopters flew for up to 16 straight hours. This was life and death, and in those times, you break the rules. A thing Bush knows about, sadly this wasn't on his agenda. I do recall someone not/or being delayed a promotion from the Coast Guard after Katrina. That would be par for the course. Of course, Katrina is not over, there are trailers sitting empty and FEMA has not been tested lately. Just a heck-of-a-job.

Government response aside, how about some individual accountability here? If any of you are truly relying on the government to save your ass then it's your fault. Sure the federal govt. response was lack luster, but how about the local and state government? Why is it that they get a free ride? In any case, people need to be aco****able for themselves. When ur dead, blaming Bush won't get you much. The warnings were there for days, yet people ignored them and stayed home. Well, too bad. If the weather says we're getting 20 feet of snow tommorow, and that ur roof very well might cave in so leave, who's fault is it if I stay?

To me, there are too many "dependents" in this country. There are far too many welfare agencies, while there's far too little personal accountability. FEMA has always been a joke. The US govt has always been inefficient. I laughed when Bush threw a $60 billion blank check at Katrina. Total waste of money. Were it up to me I'd have flattened the city, built a landfill, and moved New Olreans to higher ground. Instead for $60 billion of relief funding, we probably got 10 cents on the dollar. The beauty of it all is that the pols and people who screamed for cash, were the first to act appalled when all the fleecing was exposed. HA! Commical. Bottom line? Take care of yourself, I do.

PS, Spike Lee "documentary". Isn't that an oxymoron?




Excerpt:

Over the years, Lee has made political contributions to a handful of candidates, all Democrats. These include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Bradley, Harvey Gantt, and Ronald Kirk.

In October 2005, reports surfaced that Lee would be making a movie for HBO entitled When the Levee Broke -- a reference to the devastating floods of Hurricane Katrina that had engulfed New Orleans the previous month. While details on the film's eventual content were sparse, Lee made it clear that he was in accordance with some other notable leftists who charged that President Bush had not dispatched federal aid workers to Louisiana more quickly because so many of the victims were black. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan went so far as to state, "I heard from a very reliable source, who saw a 25-foot deep crater under the levee breach. It may have been blown up [by the government] to destroy the black part of town and keep the white part dry." When Spike Lee was asked by CNN anchorwoman Daryn Kagan whether he believed the government had purposefully allowed blacks to drown or be rendered homeless, he replied, "It's not too far-fetched … I don't put anything past the United States government. I don't find it too far-fetched that they tried to displace all the black people out of New Orleans."


Sure. His flick is a documentary. Just like Farenhype 411 was.

No thanks, I'll pass.

[Mainefan]

I cannot take seriously any comments, positive or negative, about a film without having personally seen it themselves. All you're doing is revealing your prejudices.

Remember the pre-opening comments about Oliver Stone's World Trade Center movie? He was condemned in 15 different ways by people who hadn't seen it yet. But when it opened, everyone--right and left--was full of praise.

See it--then slam it or praise it, depending on what you think. But don't pre-judge it.