Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor

This post has three items:
First:
This article is from AP and touches upon forced evacuation of remaining residents in New Orleans:
New Orleans’ toxic tide

One man says he will refuse to leave. He is healthy, his home is intact and he has all the supplies he needs to survive.

Second:
This article describes aid from Utahns flooding in:
Utah stepping up with aid
I’m a little confused because I keep hearing that only money is being accepted, but some organizations are still collecting food.

Third:
Yesterday Tom called Camp Williams (the base in Bluffdale, UT where 600 Katrina evacuees are currently residing) to attempt to talk to someone in charge to see if he could speak to an evacuee. He was referred to a couple of phone numbers that had no voicemail or answering machine and no one answered the numbers to which he was referred.

Today he is going to find out if evacuees can freely leave the base. We had heard throught he grapevine that evacuees were not being permitted to leave freely because of the fear that there might be “looting” if they were free to roam about…..

Hopefully I’ll have an update later.

About 600 Katrina Victim Refugees have arrived in Utah and are being housed at Camp Williams, in Bluffdale, Utah (about 10 miles south of my home). Here are articles in the local papers I found on this:
Photo Gallery
School bells ring for Katrina evacuees
Sad tales: Doctors, nurses can patch wounds, not hearts
Coping: Evacuees displaying optimism
Utah generosity has evacuees thinking of staying
Hundreds of evacuees spend day away from camp
New Orleans evacuees in Utah find plenty of help
Hope: Scattered families slowly find one another
Camp Williams Has Received Enough Donated Resources
Evacuees Start Looking for Jobs
Several evacuees have chronic health problems
Evacuees of Katrina at Camp Williams
Evacuees not told they were going to Utah
Katrina’s toll: thousands dead
Airlift: For Katrina evacuees, Utah becomes a refuge from the storm
Utah service is balm to the weary
First Katrina evacuees arrive in Utah
Evacuees not told where they’re going

Utah firefighters joined other firefighters from around the nation in a “training”, according to the Salt Lake Tribune article published on Truthout, Frustrated: Fire Crews to Hand Out Fliers for FEMA.

The article points out that what firefighters thought was going to be a training for rescue efforts in Louisiana, turned out to be a training for PR efforts instead. The first task at hand for the trainees is to “stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.”

Wow.

Until this month, I had been amongst the millions of people in this country without health insurance.
Yesterday at a regular staff meeting, we had our “benefits specialist” from the broker handling my employer’s benefits come explain the health benefits to us (because the pamphlets are too vague and confusing…)

One thing that really got me is the “pre-existing” policy. I asked the question about acute infections, like urinary tract infections. Here’s the scoop: I had UTI in July. If I have another one within the next 6 months, the insurance carrier will check the records, see that I was treated in July, and term it as a “pre-existing” condition and not cover it.

My husband is wondering if they consider merely having a bladder a “pre-existing” condition?

As she toured the Houston Astrodome, now home for tens of thousands of refugees from Louisiana, G.W.’s mom has made the statement that the Katrina Victims were already underpriveleged….so the current living arrangements are working well for them.

As if she knows what it means to be underpriveleged and what works well for them.

Read the Common Dreams posting of a New York Post article Barbara: Houston Shelter is ‘Working Very Well’ for Poor

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has released this statement:

Washington, D.C. — Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) issued the following statement on President Bush nominating Judge John. G. Roberts to be Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Judge Roberts knows the Supreme Court as well as anyone in America, having argued 39 cases before it and having clerked for the late Chief Justice Rehnquist himself. I trust Judge Roberts to guide the Court as soundly as did his mentor, and I hope and expect my colleagues will treat his nomination as Chief Justice with the repect and dignity it deserves.”

“Wise”? It’s funny how Hatch does not state specifically **why** he thinks Roberts is exceptional and he does not address any positions on issues, such as abortion and gay rights.

Question to the Utah GOP: Why can’t the entire proceeds from this fundraiser go to Katrina Victims?

From utahpolicy.com

State GOP Senators Raise $50,000

With a senator stationed at every hole, tourney participants could talk golf or politics or whatever burning issues were on their minds. And just to show that Republicans know how to have fun, a light-hearted auction was held at the tournament’s end. With Eastman as auctioneer, top bidder/lobbyist Doug Foxley paid $500 to see what is on Sen. Pete Knudson’s mind (literally). Knudson was a good sport and uncovered his bald head beneath the shag.

Peter Camejo has written an essay formally denouncing people and organizations who do not officially subscribe to GDI principles, labeling them as “Democratic Party supporters” and believing in “lesser evilism” as a political philosophy.

Read the essay at: http://greens4democracy.net/camejo_3.html

Please offer your comments here or on Ken Sain. I have only these things to say at the moment:

First, I think the “lesser evilism” label is being mis-used, over used and is in fact being used to generalize, create labels, and as a vehicle to make unsubstantiated accusations. The concept of choosing “good” over “lesser evilism” is sound . In reality, however, when the choices are limited (like in the 2004 election), those that complain about “lesser evilism” defacto advocate “greater evilism”.

Second, those who have not “officially” or “formally” signed on in blood to GDI are not necessarily opposed to the principles set forth in the GDI mission. There are many Greens who believe in democracy and independence who have chosen not to be part of this group due in large part to the tactics employed by some GDI participants to achieve their agenda and the lack of respect displayed by the most vocal individuals in that group. Who wants to play with folks who employ the same tactics as that of bullies?

Third, I find it ironic to promote “democracy and independence” on the part of Mr. Camejo and other vocal individuals involved in the GDI, when it was individuals here in Utah (who currently have signed onto the GDI loyalty oath) who, with Mr. Camejo’s blessing, purposefully prevented the voters in Utah from having more choices on the Utah ballot by certifying “no one” on the Green Party line, against the wishes of the majority of the membership.(See past posts referencing this sequence of events.) This is a bizarre display of implementing “democracy and independence”, in my opinion.

Lastly, I think it is a great insult and disservice to Greens (who have been and are working extremely hard to help grow the Green Party) to accuse them of not advocating democracy and independence simply because they do not whip out their pens (or keyboards) and sign their names onto a “loyalty oath” (my words) stating that they believe in and will uphold a group’s mission. I believe in the bill of rights, the first amendment and the constitution of the United States but I have not signed an oath stating that I will uphold those principles. Does that mean I am not loyal to these principles because my name does not appear on a document stating that I am? Does that mean that I support other doctrines simply by virtue of the fact that I haven’t signed onto a document outlining my loyalties?

For the record, my loyalties are to myself, my family, and the planet.

I received this action alert in my email box today:

COMMUNITY CALL TO ACTION

RAINBOW WORLD FUND ESTABLISHES HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF FUND

Our Compassion in Action! GLBT People Responding to World Need

Please be part of the world-wide GLBT community’s response to the loss and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina has blazed a trail of destruction throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and hundreds of lives have been lost. Many of the survivors are homeless and in need of food, safe drinking water, and medical care. It is estimated that tens of thousands will need temporary housing for months to come.

Rainbow World Fund (RWF) has established a fund for donations to help the survivors of Katrina. They are responding with food aid — donations through RWF will go to America’s Second Harvest (ASH), the nation’s food bank network. ASH expects that at least ten food banks and hundreds of related agencies were hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Your donations will be used to provide meals and groceries, transport food to survivors, and secure additional warehouse space to assist food banks in resuming and maintaining operations. To donate by check or credit card, click the Donate Today button. Specify “Katrina” when asked where you would like your donation to go. 100% of the funds you donate to the RWF Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund will go toward helping the survivors recover. World Fund has called for the LGBT community to join in supporting America’s Second Harvest, a national food-rescue operation that is working to help at least 10 food banks hit by the hurricane.

To learn more about the effort and to make a donation, visit The Rainbow World Fund at http://www.rainbowfund.org.
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I found these on KCPW:

Help the victims of Hurricane Katrina
Nearly 1,000 refugees from Hurricane Katrina are on their way to Utah. If you want to help, call 866-873-2437 or e-mail katrinavolunteers@utah.gov.

If you want to donate money to relief efforts, the following are some organizations working in the disaster area:

American Red Cross
Globus Relief
Hope Force International
NOKR Inc.
Operation USA
Southern Search & Rescue-Emergency Response Units