Thursday, June 10, 2010

Where Are All the Celebrities and Benefit Concerts for the Gulf?

We're over 50 days into the Gulf oil disaster and isn't it strange how the Hollywood and entertainment crowd hasn't been flocking down to the Gulf to lend a helping hand? I haven't seen a single benefit concert where George Clooney, Sting and Bono preen for the cameras and tell us to do something!

Where is Obama's army of volunteers to selflessly sacrifice their time and pitch into clean the beaches stained with the oil from our Dear Leader's benefactor?

Do you suppose if this happened on Bush's watch the left would be so silent?
In case anyone is questioning it, celebrities are terribly concerned about the Gulf of Mexico. Actor Sean Penn has said he "cares about New Orleans." Actor Brad Pitt has spent days in the region assisting with relief efforts. And Jamie Foxx has raised more than half a million dollars to help those living in the area put their lives back together.

Oh, wait: That was in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - when George W. Bush was President.

Back then we saw A-listers come out in droves to shout about the man in charge, draw attention to the need for assistance and help marshal resources in the relief effort.

Angelina Jolie, who has often mentioned her love of New Orleans in interviews, sent letters to members of Congress and the White House. Penn visited the wreckage on a tugboat, with a shotgun (photographer in tow). John Travolta personally flew supplies to the area on his private jet, while dozens of more famous faces donated to and participated in a nationally aired telethon.

Now that the gulf faces a crisis that's poised to be potentially worse down the road for the region, Hollywood celebrities are not only absent from the area - they are practically silent. Unlike after the earthquake in Haiti in January, there hasn't been an overwhelming response of donations, large-scale fund-raisers, contribution-driven Web sites and hotlines or public service announcements encouraging Americans to do all they can to help out the fishermen or the oil-drenched ducks.

Not because celebrities don't want the media attention, but because their guy, Barack Obama, is in the middle of the mess.

On Sunday, at the MTV Movie Awards, which are famous for their red-carpet political talk, you never would have known that the country was being hit by arguably the largest environmental disaster in its history - because any mention would have reminded viewers that the horror movie is still happening and Obama is still playing the role of supporting actor.

At a benefit concert in 2005, Kanye West proclaimed that Bush doesn't care about black people.

If that logic is correct, I guess Obama doesn't care about pelicans. Or fishermen.
It's pretty clear Obama cares only about himself.

No comments: