Missing New Orleans

Spike Lee is in the LA Times talking about his HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina. He's willing to name names.

One of them is Condoleeza Rice. He attacks her for shopping at Ferragamo on Fifth Avenue during the crisis. He doesn't care that as Secretary Of State this wasn't her jurisdiction. He also doesn't care that even during a crisis in New Orleans, life will go on elsewhere. As he puts it:

People died. When you're going to buy shoes while people are standing on the rooftops, waving brooms, you're part of the problem. [Yes, if only she'd put off buying shoes for a week, or perhaps bought a cheaper brand, we'd all be better off.]. She has a particular relationship with most African-Americans, which is—she's really suspect.

Aha, it's because she's black. So let this be a warning to all prominent African-Americans--Spike Lee knows how you're supposed to act, so don't get out of line.

Lee also has residents of the city saying the government blew up the levees. I can see using such footage to show how they feel, but he takes them seriously:

As an African American, I wouldn't put anything past the U.S. government. [Spoiler: very bad reasoning to follow, featuring a faulty premise and an unearned conclusion.] After things like the Tuskegee experiment, you can't just dismiss what these people believe as hocus pocus.

Hmm. I'd expect Spike Lee to have a point of view. I just hope he doesn't use it to drown the truth.