I love the internet. You really can find anything. Yesterday I heard this sound bite on democracy now that was so cool that I wished I had a transcript so I could print it. And democracy now actually transcribes their shows and posts it on the internet for free. This guy was too cool to believe. Here's the choice quote:
to set the scene, here' s how the reporter started the report
JOHN HAMILTON: It's Saturday afternoon in Orleans Parish, six days after Hurricane Katrina hit. It's here that the waters of Lake Pontchartrain have flooded the Crescent City. What were once the streets of New Orleans are now a series of canals marked only by street signs scarcely breaking the surface of the water. We've come on a small motorboat with Dr. Tooty Sheban and Floyd Simeon. At the helm are two volunteers who rode in from Louisville, Kentucky. We've come to look for survivors.
Floyd Simeon is the guy that's the best. So that you can picture him, here's how Dr. Tooty described him:
JOHN HAMILTON: When you said pirate supplies, what do you mean?
TOOTY SHEBAN: I mean he (Floyd) went and begged. But we always call him The Pirate because he has a big black truck and carries a parrot and all that.
Finally, here's the quote:
JOHN HAMILTON: Floyd, what do you think about the government's response to this crisis?
FLOYD SIMEON: What government? We don't have any government response here. Everything that's taken place has taken place by volunteers and citizens in the area. You know, I don't want to be critical of my government and not supportive. It's just taken so long and it’s so slow. I mean you would think in this situation when you look around me and behind me at all this, why aren't there 50 inflatable boats in the water working a grid making sure all these people are out of here? Why is it just volunteers? That's the only people you see around. And on top of that they're trying to stop volunteers from coming in. It seems like everyone has taken this approach that this has to be handled by the professionals and there's no professionals handling it. And when you look at it and they keep saying people need to stay out, you can't come home, they're telling people in Slidell that, they're telling people in Jefferson Parish that. What really needs to happen is everybody needs to come home and help. That's the only way this is going to get fixed. Everybody has to come back and fix their city. Obviously this area is not ready for people to come back into. But there's places where we can come in. You clear the trees, you clear your roads. Let them hook up to utilities and let's get things going again. It's not just going to happen by everybody sitting and waiting. And that's why we're here. We got tired of waiting.
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8 comments:
are you guys so braindead from flash animation and celebrity gossip that you can't even read this post? substitue brad pitt for Dr. Tooty and Angelina Jolie for Floyd Simeon and the phrase "Paris Hilton's tits" for "volunteers" (actually that's a fun game) and maybe it will seem more intersting to you.
i just feel hopeless. it's kind of hard to comment on.
the situation is obviously fucked. our commander in chief is not making anything better. most of us didn't vote for the yahoo in the first place.
i've donated to Red Cross and Houston Indie Media....what else is there to do?
sorry i didn't mean to get all rick ely on everyone for not reading. people probably just didn't have anything to say. it would be better if it was an audio clip, it was just crazy to hear on the radio.
i really like the idea of a modern day pirate.
maybe if Vann painted his van black and got an eye patch?
I heard Paris Hilton's tits DID in fact volunteer to help out with Katrina relief, but that Angelina Jolie's were not returning calls by deadline.
I liked this quote (you prolly saw it alread; it was in Tuesday night's AP story):
Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard was even more blunt.
"Bureaucracy has murdered people in the greater New Orleans area," he said on CBS' "Early Show." "Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot. Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don't give me the same idiot."
They should have just gone to 826 Valencia for their pirate supplies, duh. Dave Eggers will lead them.
This whole situation is fucked to the nth degree. I can't tell you how secure I feel knowing that an Arabian horse judge and a guy who lied about being a law professor is looking after our safety.
btw, I can barely make out the anti-spambot letters. Does that mean I'm being assimilated?
-sac
The media loves heroic and tragic stories. Remember that their words only reveal one aspect of the entire story. Those who know Floyd Simeon beyond a media interview know that his story is a much darker one. It is great that he was able to help others after Hurricane Katrina. It is the least he can do after all the harm (both physical and mental) that he has caused in this world.
Apparently Think Harder knows Mr. Simeon as well as I do.
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