Sunday, September 4, 2005
Peace and hope or something close...What a day. Finally most of the residents of New Orleans have been
evacuated, though there are still unknown numbers of people struggling
to survive on rooftops and in structures. Many medically needy continue
to die at the airport, where they were shuttled to from hospitals, the
Superdome, and the Convention Center. There is hope now because
some lives have been saved, just as there is still the harsh reality
that scores were lost by pure criminal negligence brought upon by
incompetence. 12:18:59 AM | Across the country people are gathering together to do whatever they can. Today I saw firefighters on street corners all over the city, boots in hand, collecting donations for the Red Cross. On a corner near my mother's house two young girls ran a lemonade stand with all proceeds for the Red Cross. And in front of Sam's Wine shop were massive bins, already nearly full, for personal hygeine products, clothing, and other sundries for victims of Katrina. But as we've come to expect, some have offered help and been refused: A
visibly angry Mayor Daley said the city had offered emergency, medical
and technical help to the federal government as early as Sunday to
assist people in the areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina, but as of
Friday, the only things the feds said they wanted was a single tank
truck.
[...] Daley said the city offered 36 members of the firefighters' technical rescue teams, eight emergency medical technicians, search-and-rescue equipment, more than 100 police officers as well as police vehicles and two boats, 29 clinical and 117 non-clinical health workers, a mobile clinic and eight trained personnel, 140 Streets and Sanitation workers and 29 trucks, plus other supplies. City personnel are willing to operate self-sufficiently and would not depend on local authorities for food, water, shelter and other supplies, he said. Flanked at a Friday press conference by a who's who from city government, religious organizations and business, the mayor also announced formation of the Chicago Helps Fund for storm victims. "I'm calling upon every resident of Chicago to donate what they can afford, whether it's 50 cents or 50 dollars," the mayor said. FEMA's director is a horse and pony show operator whose only apparent skill is kissing the president's ass, which is why it is no surprise, though still infuriating, that he refused Daley's offer. If we have a full accounting of just how negligent this administration has been, we need to make sure to list refused offers like this one. This week has left me exhausted. I'm spent. But in twelve hours I am flying to Houston to join my friend Rebecca and volunteer with the Red Cross at the shelters in town, including the Astrodome. On Wednesday we will go to a half-day workshop and this weekend a three-day intensive. I will only be down there for a little over a week because S is coming home on the 17th for his two weeks R+R. But with the training I'll receive this week, I will be able to go down south again after S returns to Afghanistan. I will blog from Houston this week and try to post a few pictures of the relief effort. I feel like I have to go there and do whatever I can, for however long I can. I will stay with Rebecca and her family, and I hope to be able to keep my other expenses low. I talked to S today for nearly a half hour, and most of our conversation was about our government's shameful response to the hurricane. The troops he works with have all sent donations to the Red Cross, as they have been able to follow the devastation this week by reading stories on the web. He is very supportive of me going to Houston and wishes he could go with me. I wish he could too. I can't wait to see him. Earlier tonight I drove down majestic Lake Shore Drive behind a cab with a magnetic ribbon on its trunk. It wasn't one of those ubiquitous yellow "Support our troops" ribbons. It wasn't a red-white-and-blue "God Bless America" ribbon, or a pink "Support a Cure" ribbon, or even a black "POW/MIA" ribbon. It was a blue ribbon, and flying through its center was a spread-winged dove, and across one length of the ribbon read "Peace and Hope." How beautiful that ribbon was! 
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Last update: 10/2/05; 7:47:26 PM .
