I’m too tired to post much, but the trip back went well. We didn’t encounter too much heavy traffic, although it was clear that lots of people are returning to Houston. And we had no trouble at all getting gas. So, back to normal, I hope. Oh, yes, we did find this reminder of Rita’s visit in our next door neighbor’s yard–from our tree.
I woke up this morning and read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There I was informed that Governor Rick Perry had announced an evacuation return plan for going back to Houston in stages to avoid the traffic jams that occured on the way out. Unfortunately, nowhere in that newspaper did I find a story that told what the evacuation plan was, who was supposed to return when. I did, however, read about how no one is following the plan anyway. Could that be not only because Texans are independent and tend to want to make up their own minds about these things (which is true), but also because the major newspaper in the Fort Worth/Dallas area didn’t even bother to print the plan? I finally found Gov. Perry’s plan.
NOTE: I cannot verify that the Star-Telegram does not have the evacuation return plan available somewhere at its website because registration is required to access the website, and I won’t register. However, I searched my Sunday paper fairly thoroughly before leaving for church this morning, and I don’t believe it was there.
According to the WSJ, we’re not supposed to go back until Tuesday. I’m mostly concerned about having gasoline available along the way. I just heard a rumor that gasoline supplies are low to nonexistent as far away as Brownwood in west/central Texas. We’ll see . . .
I don’t mind being called a refugee; we’re taking refuge from Rita in Fort Worth with relatives. Maybe it won’t be as bad as Katrina since we don’t live in the New Orleans “bowl”—no levees to break. Anyway, we’re here until Sunday at least. We’ll know by then what Rita hath wrought.
We left yesterday (Wednesday) morning, apparently just in time. Word is that I-45 out of Houston/Galveston is gridlocked with cars bumper to bumper all the way up 100 miles north of Houston. Governor Perry has blocked the southbound lanes of I-45 and opened them for northbound traffic all the way through Houston and beyond.
All our neighbors in southeast Houston were preparing to leave as we left yesterday. Everybody boarded up their windows as best they could and made plans to get out. Even those who said earlier in the week that they would stay changed their minds as Rita turned into a category 4, then a category 5.
The weather is great here in Fort Worth–warm with a bit of a breeze. I’ll try to keep everyone posted on our adventure in hurricane evacuation. Oh, yes, the news article I just read helpfully reminded me that hurricane season doesn’t end until November 1. 🙂
Upton Sinclair, b. 1878, socialist author of The Jungle, a novel about the meat-packing industry that resulted in passage of The Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) and The Meat Inspection Act (1906)).
Upton Sinclair, letter of resignation from the Socialist Party (September, 1917)
I have lived in Germany and know its language and literature, and the spirit and ideals of its rulers. Having given many years to a study of American capitalism. I am not blind to the defects of my own country; but, in spite of these defects, I assert that the difference between the ruling class of Germany and that of America is the difference between the seventeenth century and the twentieth.
No question can be settled by force, my pacifist friends all say. And this in a country in which a civil war was fought and the question of slavery and secession settled! I can speak with especial certainty of this question, because all my ancestors were Southerners and fought on the rebel side; I myself am living testimony to the fact that force can and does settle questions – when it is used with intelligence.
In the same way I say if Germany be allowed to win this war – then we in America shall have to drop every other activity and devote the next twenty or thirty years to preparing for a last-ditch defence of the democratic principle.
I wonder what Sinclair would say about the war in Iraq were he alive today? Also, just out of curiousity, did anyone else become a vegetarian for a week or two after reading The Jungle in high school? I would strongly suggest that you NOT read Sinclair’s muckraking classic if you are squeamish or if you wish to remain comfortable in your meat-eating habits. Then again, if you want cheap motivation for a healthier diet . . .
Subtitled “one man’s escape from persecution in the Sudan,” this autobiography reads like a novel. Wiliam Levi, the founder and president of Operation Nehemiah, was born in a village in Southern Sudan and grew up in Uganda in exile from his native land as a result of persecution and war in Sudan during the 1960’s. He returned to Sudan as a young teenager to go to school, but soon found that Islamic persecution intensified and interfered with his schooling and, eventually, threatened his life. At one point, William and couple of other young men decide to flee to Kenya in hopes of continuing their education. They are arrested, however, and charged with intending to join the Southern rebels against the government in Khartoum, the SPLA.
It’s funny what you think about when you know you are marked for death. Perversely, I was filled with regret that I would not be able to go to school. When you are seventeen, you have your whole life ahead of you; but for me, the desire to finish school was the first thing that came to my mind. (p. 183)
William experiences torture but is able to escape from the custody of the Sudanese government soldiers. He and his family see that he must leave Sudan, and William eventually travels to Egypt, then Turkey, then France, and finally seeks asylum in the United States. Throughout all his travels and adventures, William remains faithful to God and to his vision for obtaining an education for the sake of serving his people in Southern Sudan.
I was impressed with several things in William Levi’s life as I read his story. First of all, he is passionate about becoming educated. His family sacrifices for the sake of William’s education, and his first thought after gaining asylum in the U.S. is to further his education. Oh, that our children would realize the value of education and the riches that they have here in the United States in being able to pursue an education amid an abundance of educational resources.
Secondly, I am inspired by Mr. Levi’s steadfast faith. At his baptism, William’s grandfather gives him a choice of weapons: the Bible or the axe? Wiliam consistently chooses the Bible and faith as his weapons to defeat both earthly and spiritual enemies. None of his struggles are made to seem easy, either, whether it’s the difficulty of living with worldly roomates or the confusion of not knowing where God is leading and how He will provide. The Christian life requires faith in a God who is there even when we cannot see His ways, and the story of William Levi gives numerous examples of the real life application of this kind of faith.
Finally, I see in William Levi a man who is dedicated to service in the name of Jesus Christ. At the very end of the book, Mr. Levi concludes:
In 1972, there was a peace accord, but eleven years later it was followed by renewed oppression and genocide. Please help us build a strong and united biblically based Christian community in the South Sudan and throughout the entire country during this window of opportunity.
He then tells about some of the ministries of the Nehemiah Project: church planting, education, trade school, health care, ministry to Sudanese widows and orphans, investment in micro-businesses, agricultural projects and construction and infrastructure projects. Surely ministries like this one and projects that are grounded in a deep Christian faith are the hope of Sudan and of Africa. The novel I read a few months ago, Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo does a good job of showing the problems and the temptations inherent in any kind of relief work, especially in Sudan and northern Africa. This true story, The Bible or the Axe? sounds a note of hope. The problems and divisions in the Sudan are rooted so deeply in history and in the sinfulness of the human heart that Christ is the only hope.
As usual, I’m sure these people have more information about everything than I do. But I just don’t get it. I was at the Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) this afternoon, and I began talking to a nice-looking young lady. She told me she worked on a cruise ship and was flying out to South Africa. It seems that FEMA had rented out her cruise ship for the duration and sent home all the women crew members and staff (over a 100 of them). FEMA was planning to house hurricane evacuees on the cruise ships. From the Galveston Daily News:
Few flood victims were willing to move from Houston to floating shelters in Galveston, so federal officials on Wednesday canceled their plans to place them here at a cost of between $30,000 and $60,000 per victim during the next six months. Carnival, the cruise line that owns the ships, apparently still will get the $236 million FEMA agreed to pay.
FEMA officials said they had other options for using the vessels.
When (Galveston) city officials first heard of the plans, they faced a number of questions: Who would provide police protection? Transportation? Water? Sewer? Trash pickup? Health care? Schooling for children? Who would pick up the tab?
Did you get that phrase “other options”? It turns out that, according to my airport informant and according to the Miami Herald FEMA is going to take the ships to New Orleans and use them to house relief workers! At a cost of $30,000 to $60,000 per aid worker??? I don’t know what these people are thinking.
FEMA and the Red Cross are obviously “making it up as they go along” in regards to Katrina relief efforts, not that I blame them. As everyone has been saying over and over, the situation is unprecedented. The Red Cross shelter near us at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church has been serving over 300 storm victims all this week. From their website:
Late Friday night we were suddenly informed that the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the authorities charged with managing the national response to the Katrina disaster had made the difficult decision to close the community based shelters in the Houston area and consolidate relief efforts and resources at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Our dedicated shelter team, the local Red Cross folks and our staff shared our frustration and tears over this abrupt change in direction. In the past few days we had been told to plan for as little as a week or two of sheltering to as long as 3 months. Our community has responded with overwhelming generosity, bringing our shelter up to speed as one of the finest very quickly. By the grace of God and through the generosity of the community we have provided housing, meals, material needs and care for nearly 400 resident guests and over 1,000 other displaced people in the last week. Consolidating shelters will permit the available resources to be managed and deployed more effectively.
Eldest Daughter and I were discussing this decision this afternoon. It seemed to both of us that community-based efforts where individuals could connect with individuals instead of being “warehoused” in the Astrodome or another convention center were preferable. In fact, I would expect the Red Cross officials to be encouraging families to house families and churches to house families so that the larger facilities could be cleared as soon as possible. But, as I told my daughter, I have no expertise or experience in the area of crisis or disaster relief, so I defer to those who do. I understand wanting to make sure that everyone receives the services they need. Anyway, it seems that the Red Cross changed their minds:
Updated 9/3 at 9:05PM: Just as the school busses provided by CCISD rolled in this morning to transfer our shelter residents, we received new information from the crisis management officials. We were “turned back on” and asked to immediately prepare for the return of our guests and the addition of more. So as of this evening we are at our current shelter capacity and our guests are enjoying 400 lbs. of fine Texas Bar-B-Q!.
Did anyone ask the peo0ple from Louisiana what they would prefer to do? Are they still free citizens with the right to make their own decisions? Churches helping refugees to survive and get back on their feet, this is what we need. At least, it seems so to me. But I’m no expert.
Everybody says that it’s too early to start pointing fingers and assigning blame for the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina relief. Well, I’ve been helping with relief efforts on a very small scale, and I will continue to help. However, while I and my family continue to offer our money, time and energy to those who have lost their homes and material goods and, in some cases, their hope, I have some questions. If anyone knows the answers to these questions, I would truly, honestly like to know:
1. Whose responsibility was it to order the evacuation of New Orleans and surrounding areas and to provide means of evacuation for those who had no transportation, Mayor Nagin or President Bush?
2. Whose responsibility was it, after people were told to go to the Superdome and to the NO Convention Center for refuge from the storm, to make sure there was adequate food, water and security for those people? Mayor Nagin or President Bush?
3. I have read that there was only one day’s supply of food and water in the Superdome. Is this true?
4. Were other cities (Dallas, Houston, etc.) asked to prepare to receive refugees from the storm before Katrina hit? Or did those cities simply offer to help after the refugees began pouring in and after they saw that the city of New Orleans had no ability to cope with its own problems whatsoever? (Not to imply that we begrudge the help. I’m sure that the people of NO would do the same for us were the roles reversed. I’m not so sure, however, I would trust the city government of of New Orleans to do anything.)
5. Is there any way, and are there any plans, to rebuild New Orleans on higher ground? If Holland can build dykes that will hold back the ocean, why can’t New Orleans do something similar? I really want to know. I’m not an engineer, so maybe I’m asking a stupid question. If so, tell me why. I don’t mind being corrected or informed.
6. Has the mayor of New Orleans done anything constructive either to avert this crisis or to alleviate the suffering of the poor people left in New Orleans? Or has he spent this entire time cursing at the feds and raving like a maniac?
7. Does anyone who criticizes any level of government in this crisis, local state, or federal, have any actual examples of things you would have done differently?
8. Why has all the new focused on New Orleans instead of Biloxi or Gulfport or Hattiesburg, Missisippi? Is it because these communities were less damaged by the storm, because the flooding was much more severe in New Orleans, because New Orleans is bigger, or because New Orleans was so mismanaged and poorly governed?
9. Finally, what have we learned? What will be different when a hurricane destroys Galveston or Mobile? Or even Houston?
Tony Blankley: “What shall we call these 14 senators? Trustees, Regents, Governing Board Members, Blessed Ones, Lord Protectors, Proconsuls, Oligarchs, Cabalists, Conspirators, Usurpers? For the moment it doesn’t matter. History will give them their final designation. Certainly they see themselves as saviors of the Senate traditions.”
Peggy Noonan: “Back to the senators. Why did they put on that performance the other day? Yes, it was sheer exuberant egotism; it was the excitement of the TV lights; it was their sly conviction that if they laud themselves they will be appearing to laud the institution; and it was, no doubt, the counsel of their advisers that in the magic medium of television, if you declare you are a “hero” often enough people will come to associate the word “hero” with you. Advisers, you must stop telling them this. Please.”
Cal Thomas: “Why are Republicans afraid to use power? The excuse that they haven’t had it that long is no longer valid. They’ve held power in Congress for a decade and now have united government. It must be a character flaw. They prefer the praise of liberals to the affirmation of their conscience.”
Thomas Sowell: “The Senate Democrats hung tough and the Republicans wimped out. The Republicans had the votes but they didn’t have the guts.”
I just received this email forwarded from Tim Lambert, Republican activist from Texas:
Subject: Constitutional Option Alive As Democrats Crack On Judges
As promised, an update on the judicial nominee front …
Last night, an arrangement was reached by fourteen of my colleagues. I was not a party to it, and here’s why…
I do not agree with it because it does not get the job done of ensuring fair, up or down votes on all judicial nominees sent to the Senate by the President.
It is my firm belief that–on principle–all judicial nominees deserve an up or down vote on the floor of the United States Senate.
The new understanding, if followed in good faith, affirms my principle to some extent. It marks some break in the partisan obstruction of the past two years, and ensures that seven outstanding jurists-including Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor–will get the fair up or down votes they have long deserved.
But it does not grant fairness to all other jurists. It still allows mindless filibusters to be triggered at the whim of a minority more interested in obstruction than progress.
And that is a shame.
So make no mistake, the Constitutional Option remains on the table. If the minority again acts in bad faith–if they resume their campaign of mindless judicial obstruction–I will NOT hesitate to call it to a vote.
Not for a second.
For too long on judicial nominees, the filibuster was abused to facilitate partisanship, and subvert principle.
We have exposed the injustice of judicial obstruction in the last Congress, and advanced the core Constitutional principle that all judicial nominees deserve a fair up or down vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
So the Senate will begin to execute this arrangement, with a vote up or down on Priscilla Owen. Giving up their minority-party led obstructionism, the Senate invoked cloture on her today by a vote of 81-18. Priscilla Owen–after four years, two weeks and two days–will finally receive the fair, up or down vote she deserves.
And, mark my words, more judges like her will follow in the days ahead. I hope the minority will respect the will of the majority, and give judges the courtesy, the respect, of a fair, up or down vote.
Bill Frist
=============================================
Another question: What does this mean? IF Frist no longer has the votes to change the filibuster rules since seven Republicans have signed on to this deal, how can he say the option is still on the table?