Kelly in Kansas

ScrappleFace: Democrats Demand Justice Just Like Rehnquist: "ScrappleFace500.gif
Democrats Demand Justice Just Like Rehnquist
by Scott Ott

(2005-09-05) -- Just hours after the death of William H. Rehnquist, Senate Democrats demanded that President George Bush nominate a replacement whose ideology and judicial philosophy match that of the late Supreme Court justice.

'When Sandra Day O'Connor retired, we insisted Bush appoint a centrist to replace her and maintain the balance on the court,' said one unnamed Senator. 'Now, we demand that the president name a right-wing, conservative, originalist to replace Rehnquist for that same reason.'

The Senator explained that balance is the most important feature of the high court, trumping ideology, logic and the intent of the framers of the constitution.

'As much as we'd like to have another lefty like [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg, we must maintain balance,' the anonymous legislator intoned. 'Even if it means overturning Roe v. Wade, we Democrats shall remain true to our principles.'
http://www.ScrappleFace.com"

I just received this but think it is still worth posting. Since the email says he wants word to get out, I have left identifying details (including name) in.

I sent my donation here

>> Aug. 31, 2005
>>
>> This is a dispatch from New Orleans from Dr. Greg Henderson, a
>> pathologist who recently moved from Wilmington:
>>
>> Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your
>> prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at 2 p.m.. I wanted to update
>> all of you as to the situation here. I don't know how much information
>> you are getting
>> but I am certain it is more than we are getting. Be advised that almost
>> everything I am telling you is from direct observation or rumor from
>> reasonable sources. They are allowing limited internet access, so I hope
>> to
>> send this dispatch today.
>>
>> Personally, my family and I are fine. My family is safe in Jackson,
>> Miss., and I am now a temporary resident of the Ritz Carleton Hotel in
>> New Orleans. I figured if it was my time to go, I wanted to go in a place
>> with a good wine list. In addition, this hotel is in a very old building
>> on Canal Street that could and did sustain little damage. Many of the
>> other hotels sustained significant loss of windows, and we expect that
>> many of the guests
>> may be evacuated here.
>>
>> Things were obviously bad yesterday, but they are much worse today.
>> Overnight the water arrived. Now Canal Street (true to its origins) is
>> indeed a canal. The first floor of all downtown buildings is underwater.
>> I
>> have heard that Charity Hospital and Tulane are limited in their ability
>> to care for patients because of water. Ochsner is the only hospital that
>> remains fully functional. However, I spoke with them today and they too
>> are
>> on generator and losing food and water fast.
>>
>> The city now has no clean water, no sewerage system, no electricity, and
>> no real communications. Bodies are still being recovered floating in the
>> floods. We are worried about a cholera epidemic. Even the police are
>> without effective communications. We have a group of armed police here
>> with us at the hotel that is admirably trying to exert some local law
>> enforcement. This is tough because looting is now rampant. Most of it is
>> not malicious looting. These are poor and desperate people with no
>> housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of
>> themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the people are armed and
>> dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal street is occupied
>> by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons.
>> We hear gunshots frequently. The looters are using makeshift boats made
>> of pieces of styrofoam to access. We are still waiting for a significant
>> national guard presence.
>>
>> The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many
>> people in the hotel are elderly and small children. Many other guests
>> have unusual diseases. ... There are (Infectious Disease) physicians in
>> at this hotel attending an HIV confection. We have commandered the world
>> famous French Quarter Bar to turn
>> into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about seven doctors and PAs
>> and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical
>> facility in the central business district and French Quarter.
>>
>> Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under
>> police escort. The pharmacy was dark and full of water. We basically
>> scooped the entire drug sets into garbage bags and removed them. All
>> under police excort. The looters had to be held back at gunpoint. After a
>> dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine.
>>
>> In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the the French
>> Qarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many
>> will be from the hotel, but many will not. We are anticipating dealing
>> with
>> multiple medical problems, medications and and acute injuries. Infection
>> and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water
>> shortages are imminent.
>>
>> The biggest question to all of us is where is the National Guard. We hear
>> jet fignters and helicopters, but no real armed presence, and hence the
>> rampant looting. There is no Red Cross and no Salvation Army.
>>
>> In a sort of cliché way, this is an edifying experience. One is rapidly
>> focused away from the transient and material to the bare necessities of
>> life. It has been challenging to me to learn how to be a primary care
>> phyisican. We are under martial law so return to our homes is impossible.
>> I don't know how long it will be and this is my greatest fear. Despite it
>> all, this is a soul-edifying experience. The greatest pain is to think
>> about
>> the loss. And how long the rebuid will take. And the horror of so many
>> dead people .
>>
>> PLEASE SEND THIS DISPATCH TO ALL YOU THING MAY BE INTERSTED IN A DISPATCH
>> from the front. I will send more according to your interest. Hopefully
>> their collective prayers will be answered. By the way, suture packs,
>> sterile gloves and stethoscopes will be needed as the Ritz turns into a
>> MASH
>>
>> Greg Henderson

New Orleans Left to the Dead and Dying - Yahoo! News: "New Orleans Left to the Dead and Dying

By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - The last bedraggled refugees were rescued from the Superdome on Saturday and the convention center was all but cleared, leaving the heart of New Orleans to the dead and dying, the elderly and frail stranded too many days without food, water or medical care.

No one knows how many were killed by Hurricane Katrina's floods and how many more succumbed waiting to be rescued. But the bodies are everywhere: hidden in attics, floating among the ruined city, crumpled on wheelchairs, abandoned on highways.

The last refugees at the Superdome and the convention center climbed aboard buses Saturday bound for shelters, but the dying goes on."

This from a friend:

Here is a personal impression of the refugee situation as events are unfolding in Houston. Not surprisingly, this issues dominates almost everything in the city--even football. At Texas Southern University we have already enrolled 300 students from New Orleans.

One of our graduate students, a woman who works as a fairly high-level administrator with the hospital district, spent all day Thursday screening arrivals at the Astrodome. She said most were mentally ill, about half were HIV positive, and many had weapons (maybe 10%). Efforts to enroll students is school are undermined by the lack of information about innoculations and the poor health of many who arrive. She expressed her personal concern that these people will never leave, that they are mostly dysfunctional, and we will be supporting them for the rest of their lives. This woman is in her early 30s and African American.

We drove around the Astrodome yesterday evening. It was an unbelievable site. The traffic was very heavy--almost gridlocked. There are crowds of refugees clustered at various points outside the grounds of the Astrodome. Several hundred were crowded into a Burger King parking lot across the street from the Dome and Fannin and 610; several thousand were milling about in a shopping center parking lot off Kirby at OST (about a quarter mile down the street from the Dome). Crowds also are hanging out at the light rail station across from the Dome (the evening one refugee, with his music ear-pods at high volume ignored warning shouts and stepped into the path of a train).

The crowds outside the Dome, of course, are refugees trying to get out of the confines of the large shelter. Some are engaged in ordinary activities--several were jogging around the perimeter, or just walking; others are just milling about. The overwhelming impression is the trash. It's everywhere.

The Astrodome area is a huge compound containing the Astrodome, Reliant Stadium (the NFL football stadium), a huge convention and exposition center that's about two years old, and the old Astrohall (an old convention center that's slated for demolition). The whole area has been landscaped and, except for parking areas, is park like. Now it's all covered with trash--empty water bottles, plastic bags, and general rubbish.

Earlier in the day I saw clusters of refugees pan-handling, mostly in the Montrose area (4-5 miles from the Dome); another small group was outside of a post office asking for money. On Kirby, just north of the Dome there were larger clusters with signs panhandling among the cars on the gridlocked streets. Many were giving them money.

Of course media trucks with their satellite transmitters extended were everywhere. If you hear that not that many are here, it's not true. There are currently 23,000+ in the Dome and the adjacent convention center, and another 5000+ in the downtown convention center. There are dozens of other refugee centers around the city housing 1000s of others. All in all there are an estimated 200,000-300,000 refugees in the city. Every hotel is full and many have taken frineds, relatives, and even strangers into their homes. As soon as they return from their current cruises and disembark their passengers, 2 Carnival line cruise ships will be moored in Galveston, where each will house 2800 for six months.

The cruises scheduled for these two ships have been cancelled or rescheduled on other ships. The city has cancelled all conventions scheduled for the downtown convention center for September; tonight's football game between TSU and Prairie View at Reliant Stadium has been canceled. The Six Flags Amusement Park across the street from the Astrodome has been closed until September 10. The Houston City Council will meet in a special session on Labor Day to approve $10,000,000 for immediate support of the refugees.

I just heard that a caravan of 11 busses with c 5500 refugees just arrived (it's 10 p.m.); they will be triaged for medical issues, fed, but sent on. The word is that Houston and all of Texas is full.