Celine Dion – not one of my favourite Canadians, let me tell you. I abhor her luxurious lifestyle and her huge ego. I love her voice and her heart though and that heart just exploded all over Larry King on CNN. Watch the video here.
Larry King is hosting a live show this evening called “How You Can Help”. He’s had guests from various aid organizations, the chief of the National Guard, and various celebrities including Harry Connick Jr (who also has a tremendous heart), Sela Ward, Magic Johnson, Bill Cosby (no lectures to black people this time), Maria Shriver (who praised the Disney Corporation, of course), Eric Clapton (a man of true soul), etc etc.
Larry has also featured some people who are looking for relatives they’ve lost contact with due to this disaster along with presenting short reports from journalists on the ground. Thank you, Larry. If you want or need more info on CNN’s efforts, visit their site. Alright. Enough of that and on to Celine.
I will post the video of Celine as soon as I find a clip. She basically slammed the stalled rescue efforts and cried her way through the exhortation. She’s donated $1 million, but she said that’s not what matters right now because that will not provide the immediately desparate help that victims still stuck on rooftops need this very moment. She was damn upset. Good for her. I think you’ll agree, when you see the clip or read the transcript, that she spoke for all of us. She is heartbroken at the scenes of people who are still starving and dying of thirst. She is outraged by the lack of help. Larry tried to stop her a few times, but she kept ranting. Good for her! At the end, she sang the song The Prayer, which is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in recent memory and eloquently sends the message that’s needed right now.
So, as a fellow Canadian (yes, I know she’s an American product now), I just want to thank Celine. For all of her faults and as much as I’ve disliked her in the past, I am damn proud of her now.
She was magnificent! I’m not a big fan of her music, but man, she was heartwrenching. I emailed Crooks and Liars to try to get that up ASAP. I wanted to strangle Larry when he asked her to sing. She should have told him to fuck off.
I agree. Thanks for e-mailing Crooks and Liars. I was counting on them to make it available too.
her rant tonight made me bawl like a baby. All week long I have watched and been enraged but watching her tonight the dam just broke. It was unbelievably moving to hear her say what i’ve been feeling all week.
Her comments about the looting were so spot on.
Yes, she was the first person I’ve seen who has said ‘who cares about the people who are stealing 20 pairs of jeans and a TV? Maybe this is the first time in their lives they’ve been able to even touch such a thing because they are so poor’. (loose quote) Damn good perspective.
She does come from very poor roots, so I think she honestly understands the plight of the deprived. I was very glad to see her express her views so candidly and forcefully. People really need to hear and see that right now.
wilfred, that’s exactly how I felt. I haven’t cried all week-it’s been more stomach churning anger and disbelief then seeing her I just sat here in my little apartment and cried like an baby. Something I’m not given to doing.
I liked what she said when King kept trying to say she must feel good about writing a check for a million dollars and she basically said her million won’t do any good today, it’s water/food people need right now..
Did anyone else see Sela Ward earlier? What a contrast. I always liked her but now think she’s an idiot. She said she wanted to say something about race and being from Mississippi she knows what she’s talking about-so she says-and that things have changed and race is absolutely no longer a factor and that people down there are color blind…ok you idiotic moron if you say so I guess it must be true. How can people be so fucken clueless?
I haven’t broken down yet but that’s my way – think now, feel way too much later. I’ve had huge waves of sadness and a few tears but I feel like I’ll just fall apart if I let it all out. I’ve had PTSD for years now and I know my anxiety will get the best of me if I’m not careful. Coming back to BT and writing and writing has helped me deal with all of this. It’s like I just can’t stop. So much to let out…
hugs
I cry at silly things like movies/commercials but in real life things I just don’t cry…or have way delayed reactions. I’ve even been accused of being ‘too calm’ in crisis or when big problems arise. I didn’t know that being ‘too calm’ was a bad thing…I don’t see how screaming/hollering or getting hysterical does anyone any good.
And this is a good place to find a safe haven here at the Trib, to vent, to think and feel knowing others feel the same way. And right now other than donations about all we can do is vent/rant and hope we can turn this immense anger into something positive, espeically politically…as infidelpig says..be the winds of change.
Sela was vacuous. She should stay in Los Angeles.
yes I saw her also. Love her music. She had it right , her check wasn’t important, it was water and food for the people. She expressed exactly what many of us were feeling “Where is the help?” larry king either didn’t get it or did not want to touch that subject of why these people had to wait 5 days for help. More stories are coming out that FEMA and Homeland Security denied help to New Orleans such as the Red Cross, turned down medical teams offered by Chicago Mayor Daley – see Buzzflash.com for stories.
Bush and company have no excuses – this wasn’t our first hurricane or flood.
Thanks for the tip. I also saw an interview yesterday with a Virginia cop who had gathered some of his troopers and supplies together to go down to NO, only to be told they weren’t welcome by the Louisiana State Police. Apparently, there was some jurisdictional/legal problem involved that was later cleared up, but I don’t know if they ever did make it down there. This is no time for red tape.
I found the beginning of the program unwatchable because Larry cut off Christiane Amanpour reporting about just how much the world is stunned. He changed the subject to “What can we do now”.
Celine drove the point home that we are ALL still outraged over what is NOT being done now, and our donations to charities can’t help the speed the rescue work of our government.
Although the cause was noble, I felt King was glossing over and wouldn’t allow reporters or guests to express outrage.
He wanted to get on with his show – on HIS agenda, whatever that may be (no clue). There was not a human moment in his responses to her genuine pain and passion. All he wanted to do was to get his show back on track.
I used to watch him, and thought he was kind and human, but I’m afraid his years in the controlled and corrupted MSM have taken their toll on him. No mercy from me Larry.
2:30 pm ET: Celine Dion is on Larry King’s show right now (rerun)
Oops. That should have been “am”. Regardless, I’ve now added a link to the video on CNN’s site.
Larry King needs to grow a spine. This administration is hiding something. It’s obvious. We have seen this kind of behavior from them before.
Recently, he talked about Evolution and Intelligent Design with a large panel. Guess what was his first question to the scientist representing evolution? Take this:
He knows perfectly well which asses he has to cover and where to kick.
With Celine Dion, he was pathetic. “Your money will certainly do much good”, or something… Jezub, can he “get” that it is not only money or contributing feel-good that are important to people? That people care in what kind of world they want to live…
I get the same feeling, and does anyone else find this
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/05/katrina.new.orleans/index.html
disturbing? Why are the police so bent on removing every last person from the city? Why are they trying so hard to convince them all that there’s NO reason to stay? There’s something very fishy going on.
Thank you Catnip for sharing this very poignant clip. I cannot stop crying. I cannot.
You’re welcome. I watched the rerun last nite and I have to say that she nailed every point that we have all been making too. I’m so glad she spoke from her heart. It was heartbreaking.
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A real, powerful statement from a very intelligent woman – it was not a rant of emotions – she spoke of sound policy and a rational sense of priorities, she cut through all political savvy, excuses and bs.
This is what struck me most: her intelligence, beauty inside and unbelievable composure as an performer, to fulfill the request of LK to sing a song. Great performance by Celine Dion in that part also, with her emotions running high.
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Whoever thought Celine Dion would have an inner Earth Mother! In the past I’ve found her excessive and inane because there seemed to be no there there but this clip certainly makes that assessment obsolete. I am so glad she ranted on. Especially about the utter irrelevance of the repeated focus on looting when the wrong of inaction was so much greater.
Thanks for posting the link to the video. It was very powerful. I’m not a huge Celine Dion fan, but my late mother was, so I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for her, even though I’m not a big fan of her music.
I appreciate her passion and courage for speaking what was in her heart. I think the fact that she is not a native english speaker added to the power of her words.
It is now no longer cool to bash Celine Dion.
I watched her interview twice, it doesn’t get any easier to watch. Her tears just poured out. She is a great person.