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.
Posted in Uncategorized
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?
Posted in Uncategorized
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
Posted in Uncategorized
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 John Roberts will make an exceptional Chief Justice. He is widely recognized by Democrats and Republicans alike as one of the finest legal minds of our time. He has proven to be a brilliant lawyer, and a wise judge on our nation’s “second-highest 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.
Posted in Uncategorized
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
Utah’s GOP Senate majority raised about $50,000 Tuesday during its 5th annual golf tournament at Thanksgiving Point. About 34 foursomes competed for $1,700 in cash prizes. The tourney is a fundraiser for GOP candidates, but Sen. Dan Eastman said part of this year’s proceeds (approximately $5,000 to $6,000) will go directly to hurricane Katrina evacuees living at Camp Williams.
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.
Posted in Uncategorized
David Rovics has released his newest song to the public:
New Orleans
David Rovics
Everybody knew that it could happen
The likelihood was clear
The future was coming
And now it’s here
They had to fix the levees
Because otherwise they’d break
On one side was the city
Above it was the lake
It was in the daily papers
In bold letters was the writ
What would happen
When the Big One hit
But every year they cut the funding
Just a little more
So they could give it to the Army
To fight their oil war
In National Geographic
And the Times-Picayune
They forecast the apocalypse
Said it was coming soon
Preparations must be made, they said
Now is the time
It was years ago they shouted
Inaction was a crime
They said the dikes must be improved
And the wetlands must be saved
But Washington decided
Instead they should be paved
Because malls were more important
Than peoples’ lives
So put some gold dust in your eyes
And hope no storm arrives
New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans
Years and years of warning
No evacuation plan
It was just if the waters rose
Just get out if you can
There were no buses
No one chartered any trains
There was no plan to rescue
All of those who would remain
All the people with no money
All the people with no wheels
All of those who didn’t hotwire
One that they could steal
Thousands and thousands of people
Abandoned by the state
Abandoned by their country
Just left to meet their fate
New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans
And the people died
And then they died some more
They drowned inside their attics
An army of the poor
An army of the destitute
Who couldn’t get away
And the world will remember
These sad and awful days
When people shouted from their houses
Dying on their roofs
When people came to find them
They were turned back by the troops
They died there with no water
They died there in the heat
They were shot down by the soldiers
For trying to find some food to eat
New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans
And now the city is in ruins
A massive toxic sea
Scattered through the nation
Half a million refugees
Here we are
In the richest country on the earth
Where the color of your skin
Determines what your life is worth
Where oil is the king
Where global warming is ignored
Where the very end of life
Is the place we’re heading toward
Where it’s more than just a metaphor
The flooding of the dike
And if we don’t stop this madness
The whole planet will be like
New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans
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.
Posted in Uncategorized
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.
——————————————
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
Posted in Uncategorized
Source: VHeadline.com Venezuela
Friday, September 02, 2005
US president George W. Bush suffers from PVS while New Orleans drowns
VHeadline.com guest commentarist Carlos M. Pietri writes:
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has issued a “desperate SOS” for thousands of people stranded with no food or water at the city’s convention centre.
This is happening in the most powerful country of the world, a country that spends $5.6 billion dollars a month invading Iraq and sells $12.4 billion dollars in arms in a year.
But this is also the United States that does not have resources to help all those affected by the hurricane Katrina.
In addition to this, they have a president who is permanently on vacations (more than 100 days a year!) … which does not allow him to react suitably. We suppose that he is at the moment going through PVS (post-vacational syndrome) … the time that it takes for a person to resigning him/herself to mediocre destiny and let him/herself succumb to the anesthetic effects of daily routine.
At the beginning of August, the Louisiana National Guard complained publicly that most of their equipment was in Iraq?
ABC news local affiliate said that tens of amphibious vehicles, jeeps Humvee, airships and generator units were outside the country … with particular emphasis on these facts as the reason for their low participation in the prevention and performance activities in the Katrina hurricane crisis.
Meaning … that the US government was very much aware of the situation and, even so, failed to plan for contingencies that have since befallen the stricken areas.
The (US) National Guard has participated in rescue operations and maintenance of order in the disaster zone … but about six thousand members of the Louisiana and Mississippi Guard had to watch the catastrophe from 11,200 kilometers away … in Iraq.
40% of the Mississippi National Guard and the 35 percent of the Louisiana Guard are in Iraq … isn’t the current emergency sufficient excuse to bring them home?
Most definitively, I do not understand how this is happening in such a rich and powerful country … and I do not talk here about an act of the nature, but about a US government that was not prepared to face the consequences to reduce the disastrous effects on human lives in their own back yard.
In my humble opinion, what is worse is that the US government is putting greater emphasis on materials lost instead of the amount human lives lost.
Well, we already know that the outcasts from society are those who have always suffered … and will continue to suffer while we do not understand that their pain is also ours.
Will it only be then that the Bush administration understands that other people’s pain exists?
Carlos M. Pietri
cpietri@cantv.net
Posted in Uncategorized
UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DISCUSS
EVOLUTION
State board to discuss evolution
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah state Board of Education is expected to take a
stand Friday on teaching evolution in the classroom.
Though it will be the first time the state board addresses evolution with
an official position, the move is to simply reaffirm what is already being taught in Utah classrooms, said Brett Moulding, state curriculum director.
The board will review the statement at 8 a.m. Friday in the curriculum meeting at 250 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City. IF approved, the board will vote on it at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Posted in Uncategorized
