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Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff Refuses To Resign
Over Handling Of Hurricane Katrina Relief
Louisiana Offical: The Federal Gov't Has Abandoned Us
Survivors From New Orleans Speak Out About Week of Horror
Kanye West: "Bush Doesn't Care About Black People"
Rev. Al Sharpton: President Bush's Response "Inexcusable"
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's Desperate Plea For Help
New Orleans Activist Malik Rahim Blasts Mayor Nagin
DN! Producers Describe the Devastation in New Orleans &
The Survivors In Baton Rouge
Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff Refuses
To Resign Over Handling Of Hurricane Katrina Relief
Michael Chertoff appears on Meet the Press and defends the
federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. [includes
rush
transcript]
Criticism continues to escalate over the federal response
to hurricane Katrina. Both Democrats and Republicans have
expressed outrage over the lack of coordination and the press
has been unusually tough when pressing authorities for answers.
On yesterday's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert interviewed
the Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff.
- Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press
- Michael Chertoff, Director of Homeland Security
Louisiana Offical: The Federal Gov't Has Abandoned
Us
On Sunday Aaron Broussard, the president of Jefferson Parish
appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press and accused the federal
government of abandoning the people of New Orleans. He broke
down crying, as he recalled how the mother of one of his colleagues
died after waiting days to be rescued. [includes rush
transcript]
- Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana,
appearing on Meet the Press.
Survivors From New Orleans Speak Out About Week of
Horror
We go to Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans where thousands
of hurricane survivors are staying. The airport has become
a triage center where the oldest, the youngest and the sickest
lay desperate for help.
As residents continue to be evacuated from the city, thousands
were brought to the airport which was serving as a giant triage
center. Inside the terminal building, the scope of the disaster
revealed itself in grim detail. Hundreds lay in stretchers
lined along the floors, people slumped in wheelchairs waiting
for help. Among those who remained were the oldest, the sickest
and the youngest. Those who had waited for days to be evacuated
from New Orleans now faced the crisis unfolding at Louis Armstrong
airport.
- Displaced residents speaking on September 3rd.
Kanye West: "Bush Doesn't Care About Black People"
On Friday night, Grammy-award winning hip-hop superstar
Kanye West delivered a blistering critique of President Bush
and the administration”s response to the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina. "I hate the way they portray us
in the media," West said. "If you see a black family,
it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're
looking for food." [includes rush
transcipt]
Only a few weeks ago, the 28-year-old West was on the cover
of Time Magazine and was named to that publication”s
list of 100 most influential people in the world. The magazine
reported that his eagerly anticipated latest album titled
"Late Registration" and released on August 30th,is
widely expected to be the biggest selling record of the year.
West was one of several celebrities and singers participating
in a live telethon and concert produced by NBC News titled
“A Concert for Hurricane Relief.” Performers included
New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis and
Aaron Neville. Other speakers included Lindsay Lohan and Leonardo
DiCaprio. The live broadcast was run on NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC.
West was paired with comedian Mike Myers and was not scheduled
to perform, but to read from a script prepared by the network.
The segment began with Myers speaking about the devastation
Katrina has left in the U.S. south. Then Kanye West departed
from his script.
- Kanye West, speaking on NBC Friday night.
Rev. Al Sharpton: President Bush's Response "Inexcusable"
More public figures have spoken out, lambasting the government”s
slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Reverend
Al Sharpton spoke in Houston on Saturday and said that race
played a role. [includes rush
transcript]
He called President Bush's response to the crisis "inexcusable."
He noted the difference between the governemnt”s rapid
response to the hurricane in Florida last year that hit mostly
white upper-middle class areas and to Hurricane Katrina that
hit the mostly black New Orleans and Mississippi.
- Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking in Houston.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's Desperate Plea For
Help
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin expresses outrage and frustration
during an interview last week by a local New Orleans radio
station. Nagin demands greater effort and quicker delivery.
Last Thursday night New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the
slow pace of federal and state efforts to rescue the tens
of thousands still stranded in flooded New Orleans. Earlier
that day, he had issued a desperate S.O.S for help as crowds
at the Superdome swelled to 30,000 with another 25,000 at
the convention center. The sidewalks were packed with people
without food, water or medical care, waiting for buses that
did not come. Nagin was interviewed last Thursday night by
Garland Robinette on WWL AM a local New Orleans radio station
that is reportedly the only radio station that has remained
on the air in the city. Nagin demanded that more be done to
help the citizens of New Orleans.
- Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans
New Orleans Activist Malik Rahim Blasts Mayor Nagin
Malik Rahim, veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans,
is interviewed in the Algiers neigherborhood by Democracy
Now! producers. Rahim talks about what should have been differently.
We turn to Malik Rahim who had his own critique of Mayor
Nagin's response to the devastating Hurricane Katrina. Malik
Rahim is a veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans.
For decades he has worked as an organizer of public housing
tenants both there and in San Francisco. He recently ran for
New Orleans City Council on the Green Party ticket. Democracy
Now! producers John Hamilton and Sharif Abdel Kouddous met
with Malik Rahim on Sunday afternoon in the Algiers neighborhood
of New Orleans, which lies on the west bank, and is the only
part of the city that is not flooded. They drove with him
to get ice, water and food for his community. On the way,
Malik began by talking what he would have done differently
to deal with the storm.
- Malik Rahim, New Orleans Organizer of Public Housing
Tenants
DN! Producers Describe the Devastation in New Orleans
& The Survivors In Baton Rouge
Democracy Now! producers John Hamilton and Sharif Abdel
Kouddous join us from Baton Rouge. On Saturday they made it
into New Orleans to witness what's left of the devastated
city. [includes rush
transcript]
- John Hamilton, Democracy Now! Producer
- Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! Producer
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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