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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (77397)	8/23/2006 3:25:57 PM
From: SiouxPal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362702

Remembering The French Quarter Laser Show; Spike Lee Sheds Light on Bush Camp's Hypocrisy Melissa Lafsky 08.23.2006 huffingtonpost.com It's easy to remember Bush's address from Jackson Square last September. Seventeen days after Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast, with hundreds of thousands still stranded, lethargic recovery efforts trickling forward and a major city still in the throes of emergency, our nation's leader spoke to us at last. He appeared straight from the center of French Quarter, the background ablaze with lush trees, phosphorescent buildings and a statue of Andrew Jackson. It was a somewhat surreal image, hopeful yet vaguely reminiscent of an acid-laced Disney World TV spot. True, a few astute bloggers noted that the colors were a bit too camera-ready and the clock on the tower to the left of Bush's head never moved during his speech. But many wanted to believe what the scene seemed to reveal - that a seeming-hopeless situation was finally under control, that a recovery plan was in full effect, and that, most symbolic of all, the lights in New Orleans were back on. Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which debuted over the past two nights on HBO, provided an authentic and moving account of both the events and aftermath following America's worst natural disaster. It isn't fun or easy to watch, and it runs every human emotion through its full paces at top speed. But one moment that struck me with its emblematic power and pure tragic comedy was the recount of that fateful speech on September 15, 2005. Lee shows us footage from the address, Bush perched behind his podium, making forceful, comforting promises to lead New Orleans back as pastel beams bathe Jackson Square in incandescent blue light. Then the director cuts to an anecdote from Joseph Bruno, a New Orleans attorney who maintained his office in the French Quarter. Bruno recalls how he had been walking through the neighborhood and, seeing the lights in the square, assumed the electricity was back on. A quick survey of the blocks surrounding the square proved his assumption correct. In buoyant spirits, he called everyone he knew to let them know they could come back, that the lights were working. The next morning, he arrived at his office ready to resume business and flipped on the light switch - only to find nothing. The Bush camp had swept in, turned on the lights, floodlit the French Quarter like a Steve Wynn hotel for the President's address, then switched off the power and piled back onto Air Force One. In a word, Bruno's words were flooring. The truth comes as no surprise, but hearing accounts of it firsthand drives home the administration's sheer audacity. Their M.O. is incredible in its simplicity: Sweep in over two weeks later, soothe the public with some careful art direction and clever set design, then close up shop and rush home to continue a strict policy of insulated apathy. As Wynton Marsalis said during his fourth act interview, Katrina pressed the country's face to a mirror, and for the first time we weren't able to turn away at the sight of our own hypocrisies and weaknesses. Now, a year later, painfully few of the promises Bush uttered that night have been kept. This time, filling the mirror background with shiny lights and swaying branches won't be enough to keep our eyes away from the fissures in our government.