Bush to New Orleans Jazz Legend: "Pick Up All the Trash"

[bigtree]

Sat Jun 23, 12:31 AM ET

The Nation -- Before Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and ruined many of its cultural landmarks, people from all over the city -- all over the country, in fact -- would flock to the Bywater section to see trumpeter Kermit Ruffins' weekly gig. I was in New Orleans immediately before Katrina and had the privilege of hearing Ruffins play. Inside a small, smoky bar, with his band positioned literally inches from its raucous audience, Ruffins commanded the room, using popular R&B arrangements like John Legend's "Ordinary People" as his platform for long, cathartic improvisations.

After the show, I spent twenty minutes talking music with Ruffins' sidekick, the then-19-year-old prodigy, Trombone Shorty. A few of Shorty's young friends stood nearby and listened in. The street was filled with the sound of easy chatter from liquor-sodden revelers who had stepped outside for a smoke. A Stevie Wonder song drifted from inside the bar. I think it was "My Cherie Amor." I was a world away from the dour east coast jazz scene where staggering door fees, drink minimums, and dress codes created an uptight atmosphere that favors the well-to-do, excludes young people, and keeps listeners at a distance from performers, who are often conferred undue reverence.

Anyone who saw Ruffins in his element knew that behind the Bush administration's incompetent response to Katrina was a deep-seated disrespect for the culture that thrived exclusively in New Orleans. The White House had no idea what was at stake when Katrina bore down on the Gulf Coast. To Bush and his cronies, New Orleans was little more than a cesspool of black Democrats. By the time the city was flooded, their consituency was safely evacuated.

Yesterday, George W. and Laura Bush hosted Ruffins and his band, the Barbeque Swingers, at the annual Congressional Picnic. Bush's remark to Ruffins is the ultimate symbol of his disdainful attitude towards the culture of New Orleans that he allowed to drown under the floodwaters of the Mississippi: MR. RUFFINS: Well, thanks for having us.

THE PRESIDENT: Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers, right out of New Orleans, Louisiana. (Applause.)

MR. RUFFINS: Thank you. Thanks for having us. We're glad to be here.

THE PRESIDENT: Proud you're here. Thanks for coming. You all enjoy yourself. Make sure you pick up all the trash after it's over. (Laughter.)

God bless you, and may God bless America. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070623/cm_thenation/45207556

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Surprised ** didn't issue an admonishment not to sell the trash on ebay

[eleny]

2. Lots of trash to be taken from the White House, IMO

[Octafish]

15. I like the sound of that on soooo many levels.

What kind of, um, man treats another man -- a guest, no less -- as an indentured servant, a "garbage man"?

Bush shows himself to be lower than whale dung. Again.


PS: Thanks, also, for an outstanding image, eleny.

[eleny]

19. Thank you, O

Btw, you ask what kind of a man does such a thing. A cocky sob who likes to hurt and get away with it. If he tried it in a neighborhood bar, he'd be thumped to a pulp.

[Marnieworld]

3. He should have said, "Sure, right after you clean up New Orleans?"

Telling a black man to clean up. This is up there with teasing the blind man for wearing glasses.

This man is no longer an embrassment. He is a humiliation. And this article calls it disdain? Disrespect? It's contempt. :grr:

[DefenseLawyer]

4. Remember Dear Mother

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." - Barbara Bush, September 5, 2005.

[WinkyDink]

5. Retort: "I'll pick you up at 8."

[tanyev]

6. What. An. Ass.

[Tulum_Moon]

7. He was out of line.

That should only be said by the event staff! Who made him the boss of everyone?

[NMDemDist2]

8. WTF???

did you forget your sarcasm smilie?? :wtf:

[rodeodance]

13. Part of his 'folksy" talk!----bad manners to me!

[uppityperson]

18. Event staff should tell performers to do janitorial job?

[Straight Shooter]

9. "Make sure you pick up all the trash after it's over ..."

... BOY."

Not spoken, but it was implied. OMG, what a prick he is.

God fuck you, bush, and God fuck anyone in America who laughs at your condescending jokes.

[donsu]

10. I'm surprised the band didn't rush smirk and choke him to death

may smirk suffer

[pacalo]

11. "Can we start with the White House?"

[VP505]

12. He should have

said: Yez sir Master Bu$h ??? What an a**hat that sorry excuse of a President is.

[kestrel91316]

14. That would be "Massah Bush".

[bigtree]

16. I wonder how long they'll keep this on their site?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070619-13.html

[tbyg52]

17. I'm surprised the band agreed to attend

But I guess you can't turn down George IV with impunity.

What a self-centered, tin-eared jerk.

I realize that's the least of his shortcomings, but if he'd just sat home and lived off Daddy's money, which is all he's fit for, that would have been all we'd have had to be concerned about.

But, no, he had to go out and live off Daddy's *friends*--and their poor shareholders'--money, and from there into politics.

[roody]

20. Is this Mr. Ruffins?

Scroll down.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1145367

[MilesColtrane]

21. On behalf of Mr. Ruffins and the band I'd just like to say,

Fuck you, you brain damaged, red necked, evil, racist, cracker, mother fucking shit stain of a human being.

Our children's children will be cleaning up the mess you've made of this country.