1.18.2006

Willy Wonka's name comes up in the Times-Pic

Columnist Chris Rose riffs on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate City in the Times-Picayune, thusly:
The barista, one of those bright and perky UPTOWN people -- and I think you know what kind I mean -- says "Hey, guys, what can I getcha?" and sure, she acts all Ladies' Auxiliary toward us but we all know -- me, King and God -- that all this white girl really wants is to grab up as much property as possible in the Lower 9th and build a couples resort and day spa.

Me, King and God -- we're not stupid.
And thanks to e for pointing it out (and also mentioning a Reuters story reporting "New Orleans officials have agreed to notify homeowners before bulldozing their hurricane-wrecked homes" - so, hey).

I haven't read the speech myself. Wonka's speech, I mean - the one in which he called New Orleans the Chocolate City. I've already heard from my right-wing friends what it'll wind up meaning, which is all it will mean in the end. And anyway I figure anybody who doesn't know by now what's going on in New Orleans isn't paying attention, so what's the point.

And then there's the question of what's going on outside New Orleans. As Democracy Now reported Dec. 9:
Questions still remain over how many people died after Hurricane Katrina as well as the whereabouts of all of the evacuees. The official death toll stands at about 1,300 but thousands of people are still reported missing. Two weeks ago USA Today reported the whereabouts of 6,600 people reported missing have not been determined. And this past weekend Newsday reported the missing includes 1,300 children.
And what flavor do you think most of those folks are?

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3 comments:

...e... said...

wonka's spech is in quicktime in its entirety. i sent you the link-- let me know if you need it again.

...e... said...

i hate to mention it, bt i hasta confess it chere: when i first heard chocolate city i actually thought chocolate meant a blend of balck and white. and now he's saying that's what he meant. which is not what i think he meant, but it was what i first thought. i almost mentioned it at the time, which i'm glad i did not or i'd now be blamed for..something, i'm sure.

wonka is a goner and more power to him, poor man. they'll give him well-desesrved a one-way to the chatterhouse.

...e... said...

"Certainly, state officials feel he's deranged enough to be sent to the [Florida] State Mental Hospital in Chattahoochee, an overcrowded, filthy, sinkhole of a place where the inmates are treated more like animals than mental patients."

oh wait, that's the superdome, sorry.