Police have interviewed a 10-year-old boy about the incident, in which a girl, 10, was sprayed in the face.

The can of pepper spray found four days after someone sprayed a 10-year-old girl in the face at a local mosque was discovered inside the mosque, a Dayton police lieutenant said.  Read more...

by Special Correspondent Thea C. Lim, originally published at The Shameless Blog

On Friday, September 26, the end of a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West — the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail — were distributed by mail in Ohio, a “chemical irritant” was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers.

Read more...

For the Brown family of Houston, Texas, this is their third time staying in a Red Cross shelter. They evacuated after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and now Ike.

Cynthia Brown, her daughter Tamica, and Tamica's four children are staying in a San Antonio shelter staffed by the Red Cross and other partner organizations.

The Browns were displaced from their Houston home for nine months during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The children attended seven schools during this period of time. Cynthia summed up their situation by saying, "Life is very precious. Things can always be replaced, but you only have that one life to live."

-Judy Sperling-Newton

In Starting Over, Simply, I spoke of my evacuation for Hurricane Ike and my increasing eagerness to end that evacuation, returning home to confront the realities of a post-hurricane world. As I said,

"I’m even more anxious now to be home. As power is restored, communications become more reliable and people begin to make contact, the desire to SEE what has happened is almost overwhelming. Today I’ve talked with people in San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Little Rock and Tulsa - all waiting to come back, preparing to come back, longing to come back…. to our home. With Mom safely tucked into the heart of the family, it’s time to turn around and head back, to find out what needs doing, and do it."

Now, it's time to begin the story of that coming home, and my first experience of "what needs doing"....

Wednesday, September 17

Even by Kansas and Missouri standards, it was nippy this morning. Still, I couldn't help myself. With my first cup of coffee in hand and a liquid moon shimmering in the haze of first light, I kicked off my shoes and dug my toes down into the bluegrass that hadn't been mowed in days. There's nothing like it in Texas - long, luxurious grass with a fragrance that doesn't even need cutting to fill the air. Bermuda and St. Augustine are fine grasses, but they'll never compare to a silky midwestern lawn. Standing there, I suddenly heard a sound I hadn't heard for a year or more - the cry of a goose. Looking around, I saw it immediately. Coming straight out of the north, it was quite solitary and honking with the enthusiasm of an out-of-control trucker. Flying low and straight over the rooftops, it headed due south, never varying its speed or direction. As far as I know, it's still going, and probably will beat me to Houston.

I've always loved geese, and one of my favorite childhood songs was Frankie Laine's Cry of the Wild Goose. It came to mind this morning, as did Gordon Lightfoot's Restless, another paean to the wandering spirit so often portrayed by images of geese. Watching the goose this morning and hearing the music in my mind, I realized I was restless in a new and utterly unexpected way. It's the restlessness of youth, of anticipation, of eagerness for a future that's yet to be revealed. One of the basic choices rebuilders face is whether to attempt to re-create what was, or create something fresh and unexpected from the debris left scattered about.

In the most basic sense, the question is whether those pieces of debris belong to a jigsaw puzzle or a kaleidescope. Is the task to make everything fit together seamlessly, despite damage to the pieces? Or, might it be to twist and turn the lense, letting the pieces fall into a new and more beautiful pattern as they will? It's a question I'll be pondering tomorrow on those final miles home.

Thursday, September 18

When I left Tyler this morning, I had no idea what to expect of the day. After stopping in Nacogdoches for the little pile of "things" I'd left there, I headed off into an amazing tangle of wires, downed trees and scattered limbs that stretched alongside the road for miles and miles. It wasn't constant, but it was clear that Ike's winds had barely calmed as he worked his way through East Texas. The power crews and tree trimmers were doing their work, though, and here and there a stoplight worked, or people were pumping gas.

As bad as the wind damage was, the surge was worse. Coming across the Hartman Bridge from Baytown, I couldn't see the location of a marina I'd always enjoyed, but I knew that it was gone. Closer to the bay, the debris still left beside the road was unbelievable.Before I reached my home, I made a swing through one of the closest marinas and was completely dumbstruck. In one pile of debris, the wheel of a Lexus pulled from the water was nearly covered by planks and sheared pieces of boat hull. Two huge fuel tanks floated in the water, and the metal gangways to the docks had been pulled off, twisted like gum wrappers and thrown up onto the grass. One boat had been dismasted, and then was pierced by its own mast. The stench of diesel, rotting garbage, sewage and decomposing plant life was overwhelming.

And then I came home. I've never won a lottery in my life - until today. The building was standing, and without damage. The electricity was on, and the water running. The palm leaves, occasional shingle and flotsam from the water rise had been cleaned up. Even the bottom apartments didn't receive any water damage. Neither Mom's apartment nor mine was damaged in the least - not even by wind-driven rain. The stray kitty I grieved over so came running to meet me, and my neighbors had kept her food and water bowls full. The plumeria and cape honeysuckle I'd finally just shoved into a corner of the breezeway and abandoned were perfectly fine, and every plant on my balcony looked precisely as it did when I left, if just a bit thirsty.

It's the most unexpected and utterly unbelievable thing I've ever seen, and I am grateful beyond words. There will be work to do, for sure. The power has been off, and the refrigerators will have to be emptied, cleaned and restocked, and there is some work to be done with the plants, but after a good houseclean and unpacking, life at home will be just as it was - even better, with that good housecleaning finally done!

Work will be something else. There is unbelievable damage. I'll be meeting tomorrow with several of my customers and surveying some of the marinas. Boatyards here will have limited capacity for repair work, at least for the time being, and I may be traveling for a while. In another week, I'll know which customers I have left, and a schedule can be developed. It's not going to be easy, but at least the first steps can be taken as early as tomorrow, and I'm eager to get on with it.

It's time now for some supper, a hot shower, and another call to Mom. We're working out some plans for her return, as well, but that will be a bit later, once I've done the out-of-town work that I'll need to be doing.

I am blessed beyond belief, and after getting settled can begin to find ways to put all these blessings at the disposal of others who weren't so lucky. I simply don't have any better words than "astonished" and "grateful" to describe my feelings. It's going to be an interesting few days!

To be continued...

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When Hurricane Ike blew through my neighborhood (and he did, quite literally - the eye went over my house), he swept away much of the area's history.  The TopWater Grill in San Leon is gone, as is the shrimp fleet that supplied the best restaurant in the area with fresh catch.  Never mind the Boardwalk, that generic tourist trap that locals never go to unless relatives come to town and demand the tour.  The Classic Cafe is flooded, and Portofino.   Skipper's (breakfast 24 hours a day), Okie's Liquor (do they really still sell Everclear out the back door?) and Joe Lee's (never give in to the developers, damn it!) are nothing but shells.  Even Marybelle's, an honest-to-goodness waterfront bar with dead bodies in the restrooms (in the old days) and home to the infamous "Miss Wharf Rat"  contest is gone, swept away by the back side of the storm into the shallows of Galveston Bay.

Between nervousness over Gustav, twinges of anxiety over Ike and the need to think about all of the "what if's" associated with each storm, it became hard to focus, and harder to post.  I haven't posted here in so long it seems like months since WordPress was part of my life.  When it became clear that, this time, Texas was in the sights of a mammoth hurricane, it became impossible to think about anything but preparation.  When it became even more clear that Houston and Galveston were not going to escape at the last minute, survival was all that mattered.

When it comes to hurricanes, I take the Chicago-school-of-voting approach.  I evacuate early and often.  Remembering the disastrous evacuation for Rita, I pitched a sufficient number of fits that I managed to cram my mother and my cat into the car two full days ahead of landfall, and we landed in Tyler, Texas for the duration.  Now, Mom is in Kansas CIty, I'm back home, and I'm assuming the cat will come out from under the bed eventually.

I still can barely think, but the time has come to begin life anew, and so I am going to post some entries from a little blog I kept going through the events of the past week on a weather-related site.  It will bring me back to Wordpress, help me remember how to do this, and allow me to begin thinking things through, one entry at a time.

I am so grateful to those who have contacted me in one way or another.  I'm grateful to be alive, and grateful that I'm in a position to begin helping others.  One day, I'll probably have a really good cry - but just now, I'm going to just enjoy remembering, and telling you a little of what it's like to move through a hurricane......

Monday, September 15

One of the things you learn when traveling with an (ahem) older person is that a running start for the day isn't always possible. So, having wakened my mom for the trek to KC, I wandered out to find coffee, and found a group of AT&T workers as well. Eight restoration crew vehicles were parked outside our room, and the guys were getting ready to head down the road. We had breakfast together, and it was wonderful to be able to say "thank you" to some real people who are going to be helping put things back together.

Driving north from Nacogdoches yesterday, it was amazing and deeply touching to see the caravans heading south, toward Houston and Galveston. I'm sure similar groups are heading south, albeit a bit more east: down to Orange, Beaumont, and so on.  There were 26 -- yes, 26 -- large Salvation Army vehicles/trucks, many with generators trailing behind. There were tree trimming services convoys, from Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, New York.  I saw Army vehicles, some sort of power restoration convoy with "thingies" (booms?) on them, fuel trucks from Shreveport, and electrical service trucks from North Texas.  It was an amazing sight, that brought tears to my eyes.  Thank God there are people in the world willing to give of themselves for others.

I said "thank you" to those AT&T men, and shook every one of their hands. If you happen to see someone around who helps you on a daily basis, you might think about saying "thank you" as well.

 
Monday, September 15 (Evening)

After a nice, long day full of driving, we got as far as Joplin, MO, about 2-1/2 hours from our destination. That's when I called it a day. For the first time in a couple of weeks, I found my thinking a bit "bloggish", and one of the things I was thinking was: I've got plenty of gas for the car, but I do believe I'm out of gas! So, here we are in Joplin. It's cold here (70s?) and utterly beautiful, with clear blue skies, light northerlies and some very nice people. We had supper at the Olive Garden next to our motel, and we'll head out after a good night's sleep.
 
Oklahoma was full of wonders - pollen, for one thing. I don't know what's floating around in the air, but it's potent and far more annoying than mosquitos. All you sunflower lovers and growers would be astonished at the fields filled with what I assume to be very small wild sunflowers, but there also are fields full of cultivated flowers. It's true - they do face the sun! We saw lots of turtles on the side of the road, no doubt due in part to the terrific amount of water everywhere. There were hawks soaring, as well as egrets and great blue herons. I've never seen OK look so green.

Humanis Evacuatis is everywhere, too. I've talked to folks from Beaumont (on their way to Tulsa), High Island (on their way to Dallas), Texas City (on their way back home), League City, Deer Park, Clear Lake City, Nassau Bay and Shoreacres-the-town. Everyone wants to tell their story, again and again. There's something about us that must be recognizable. People keep saying to me, "You must be an evacuee". Maybe it's the flip-flops and sunglasses - I left home looking like a poster for Ron-Jon's surf shop.

Little by little, people are making contact, and comparing notes. There is damage, there is uncertainty, there is grief - but there is a great deal of realism as well, and what appears to be a commmitment to small, achievable goals on the way back to normalcy.

One note of particular interest to me is the list of marinas in the area with their damage reports. I work primarily in Portofino and Lakewood Yacht Club. I have four Grand Banks trawlers on the west side - I'm going to be nervous as can be until I can get back and see which of my "babies" are all right.

Blue Dolphin Marina - 95 percent undamaged
Boardwalk Marina - 80 percent undamaged
Clear Lake Marine Center - 90 percent damage
Clear Lake Shores Marina - 70 percent damage
Hilton Marina - marina wiped out; 15 percent of boats undamaged
Lakewood Yacht Club - 80 percent damaged/destroyed on west side; 90 percent undamaged on east side
Portofino Marina - 80 percent undamaged
Seabrook Ship Yard - marina 50 percent damaged; shipyard 80 percent damaged
South Shore Harbor Marina - most boats undamaged, some torn sails
Waterford Harbor Marina - minimal damage
Watergate Marina - 60 percent damaged; many boats sank 

Tuesday, September 16

Rolling up Highway 71 from Joplin, I made a sudden decision to bypass the Harrisonville cutoff and follow the freeways through the heart of Kansas City. I suppose my sense of sudden displacement was making me a little nostalgic. My first apartment was in KC, not to mention my first exposure to the blues, good barbeque, and "cultural diversity". (Does anyone out there remember the Jewel Box on Troost?) Pulling a little Muddy Waters from my stash, I couldn't help but smile, listening to the soundtrack of an earlier life. 

I'm in my aunt's living room now, after an afternoon full of errands, discussion and planning. Some cousins dropped by, and we had a homey midwestern supper of stew and cornbread. Then, I repacked all the bags. Tomorrow, I'll leave early in the morning for Tyler, where I'll repack those danged bags yet again, pick up some supplies for friends in Seabrook and Kemah, throw a couple of gas cans in the car and set off. Like Dorothy, I expect to say a time or two, "Nope. We're not in Kansas any more".

I've heard from three of my customers, and the reports are mixed. One fellow, whose boat was at Portofino Harbor, sustained little damage. He's moving it on to Waterford Harbor, where it will be available for me to continue working on it. Waterford is about two miles from me, so the location is good, too. On the other hand, a couple for whom I'd worked for fifteen years, through three boats, called to say that they had lost their current vessel. It was tied up on a fixed pier at Lakewood Yacht club when the surge arrived. It was torn from its dock, picked up and deposited in the middle of a grassy area in the center of the club, split down the middle. The grassy area used to be the location of some Club cabanas, now gone. What makes it especially grievous is that their boat, "Family Time", was in fact the center of their family life, home for sail-camp grandchildren, church outings and the "alone time" so important for couples. I nearly cried when I heard the story - only one of thousands still to be told.

Two other customers who are moored next to each other sustained damage when a bow line came free and they smacked against each other during the storm, but they are repairable. An entire dockful of luxury yachts - 60 to 90 feet - sank together, still attached to the dock they tore loose. Diesel tanks from shrimpers were found in a nearby parking lot, metal gangways were twisted off and thrown onto boats, and rigging gave way. But it still isn't as bad as it could have been.

I'm even more anxious now to be home. As power is restored, communications become more reliable and people begin to make contact, the desire to SEE what has happened is almost overwhelming. Today I've talked with people in San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Little Rock and Tulsa - all waiting to come back, preparing to come back, longing to come back.... to our home. With Mom safely tucked into the heart of the family, it's time to turn around and head back, to find out what needs doing, and do it.

To be continued......

I wish i could have chosen not to deal. A week ago i was sitting in a hotel room in waco, having fled with my animals for safety, my house is in the mandatory zone for evacuation so little choice, not that i would have chosen to ride this one out. I came away from all this very lucky, the house wasn't damaged, a few missing shingles, a little fence damage, just mostly some major tree damage. On wednesday after coming home i hit the wall, crumbled. I don't know if i have the constitution it takes to deal with this - i've seen so many with such bravado and cavalier attitude - i just wanted to and did crawl into and not leave my hobbit hole, work is the necessity for leaving tomorrow. The cost of taking down trees, the expense of having to evacuate, the never getting ahead of the bills ....

There was some humor - inroute to waco within an hour slycat had peed on me and boudin had thrown up twice all over the back seat - arriving in waco and checking into the hotel i discovered boudin was also scared of climbing stairs. I just did what i had to do to get us through waco - i think it's the responsibility of having to be the decision maker / responsible one 24/7 that i'm just so over - this just brought it all to a head. Really wish for once i'd meet a man willing and worthy of sharing this life with.

Louisiana residents are worn out from hurricane evacuations this year.

Some are financially tapped out, too.

For Hurricane Gustav, I evacuated my wife and son to Destin. I estimate my gas, hotel and food expenses at $500 to $1,000.

Unlike after Hurricane Katrina, the federal government, it seems, is being more careful and more conservative with financial assistance. FEMA is not depositing $2,000 or so apiece into residents’ bank accounts like it did after Katrina. Is it because of reports of fraud and misuse of the Katrina aid? Remember the federal audit report that showed Katrina debit cards were used to buy champagne and "Girls Gone Wild" videos?

Now, in the wake of Gustav and Hurricane Ike, many evacuees are figuring out how to cope with the cost of evacuating. Some homeowners insurance companies could help cover these costs, but some companies will only cover evacuation costs if there was damage to the policyholder’s home, according to news reports.

For this hurricane season, some people have incurred a lot of personal expenses.

The CityBusiness poll question this week asked readers how much hurricanes have cost them this year. A total of 310 people voted as of about 2 p.m. today. Most said the hurricanes have cost them between $1,000 and $5,000. The second-most popular category was $500 to $1,000.

Some people are still waiting to hear from their insurance adjusters to learn how much more the hurricanes will cost them. For those still waiting, if their damage is less than their deductible, they will find themselves coughing up hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to make repairs.•

But as it turned out, it was beautiful in Daytona Beach.  We were at a time share which, being the second week of September, was largely inhabited by retirees.  There were not many people there as it was the off season so we had no problem identifying each of them.  By day two we had assigned names to each of them.  There was Sunscreen, the old guy with skin the color and texture of beef jerky.  He would be at the pool or in the ocean by 7 am and spend most of the day in the sun.  He would put a layer of sunscreen on his head so thick I thought, looking from our balcony, it was white hair.  But no, it was several ounces of SPF-45.  Then he would oil the rest of his body so it would simmer without actually turning to leather.  One afternoon he swam past my wife with what looked like a cigarette in his mouth.  But when he submerged he removed it and held it aloft like a periscope.  That's when she noticed it was a Tootsie Pop.  So we had to change his name to Kojak.

Then there was Bar-B-Q, who was at the grill for lunch and dinner every day we were there.  And Mullet, the middle-aged guy with the long braid hanging halfway down his back.  And Cutie Pie, the very pretty young lady who was with Bald Spot.  And here would come Ms. Cellulite, flapping in through the gate to the beach.  The coolest person there was the one we could barely see, Wind Surfer.  All we saw of him was his kite careening through the air and his dim silhouette flying over the waves.

Being on the coast one would naturally think, seafood.  Yes, there were plenty of seafood restaurants throughout the area and we did eat at a couple. But I have to tell you, NO one anywhere cooks seafood as good as anyone in Louisiana.  Not even a 4-star Florida restaurant can serve anything close to what any and every Louisiana cook puts on the table day to day.  It's all in the spice.  Louisiana uses it, others don't.  And Louisiana has a take on presentation.  Sure, Floridians can serve a fillet of fish with a side of garlic potatoes and a sprig of parsley, but it can't hold a candle to dumping a load of hot crawfish, potatoes, corn and sausage on a table covered with newspaper.  And never wear a white shirt to a crawfish boil, it won't be white when you're done.

Seafood aside, it was a delightful week.  I was able to cook some excellent steaks, made easier because Bar-B-Q already had the grill hot.  And the rip tide lessened as Hanna made her way up the coast so we were able to spend some quality time in the surf.  We even were able to relax as Ike bypassed our home town, choosing Houston as his primary target.  As Ike turned north, my brother in Cincinatti got more damage from it than we did.  He lost a tree and was without power for 15 hours.  Welcome to our world.  I need to e-mail him to say that I know a great place to evacuate if he needs to get away.  And no need to bring sunscreen, Kojak has plenty.

It's a strange thing to drive away from your house and wonder if it will be there when you return. It was great to know we'd see family and be safe with them, but still. . . .there's just an ominous feeling that overwhelms you. As you laugh and enjoy visiting with each other or participate in the activities of the day, you can't escape the passing thoughts of the destruction going on in the place you call home. Even the most joyful moments are tinged with a hint of anxiety - maybe it's a lack of faith, but it's definitely real. In spite of the forboding feelings, we tried to make the best of it. We even had some friends who called is a "Hurrication" - and they defined it as a vacation forced upon them by a hurricane. Our "hurrication" included a visit with my mom and family, a trip to the park, a trip to the Ft Worth zoo, a visit to Scott Crenshaw's new church (New River Fellowship), visits with Joe Torrez (my old youth minister), with Leroy Krolczek (Mike and Patti's best friend), and with Hans Googer (an old youth of mine.)

After our last evacuation, Miranda and I have gotten pretty good at the whole thing. We can drive away and still feel confident that everything that really matters to us most is in the car with us. It's nice to know that we're not too overly attached to our stuff.

I don't want to finish this post with the view that everyone had a "hurrication" like we did. I recognize that there are many in our community, some close friends who have extremely difficult circumstances to return home to. We will be a part of the efforts to clean up and restore our community. As Miranda and I drove through town today and saw the destruction first-hand we felt very blessed to have had so little damage ourselves. I also noticed how many people were sitting out on their porches and in the yards just talking and being neighbors to one another. It's our prayer that these circumstances will bring out the best in people and God will use it to draw us closer to one another. As the Genesis 50:20 says, it may have been intended for harm, but God intended it for good. Maybe by the end of all the relief efforts, we'll all consider it a "hurrication."

Anyway, here are a few pics from our "Hurrication."

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I watched the storm from the front door when it came in. It was surreal. It was like watching a movie. It was even crazier when I saw my dog in the front yard trying to catch the rain in his mouth. Stupid dog...The sleep I got after the storm was the best I had in my life. As I drove fromHouston to Austin to San Antonio because of the lack of rooms, I thought how vulnerable we are. People were complaining on the radio about the lack of electricity and water, but what about the people who lost their homes?

I am very sad about the people who lost everything. Those people could have been my family. I am very grateful. Now that's out the way. I can start bragging and complaining about my evacuation/vacation. San Antonio was beautiful and we stayed in a beautiful, luxurious suite at the Marriott. I ate a great breakfast and got a relaxing massage at the spa. Simply divine. I ate the best Mexican food and did some shopping. Also, I bought some paintings and some handmade home accessories. I love to shop!

I love my family, but they were killing me. Too much together time is bad for the psyche. Especially when you have a bipolar sister, a pregnant loud sister, a whining mother and a crazy aunt. Shit....that was exhausting to write. Plus my BlackBerry broke. I swear I go through phones like panties. As a Houstonian, we drive to the corner store. In San Antonio, people walk, hike, bike and skateboard. Needless to say, I am not used to drinking margaritas and walking twelve blocks. Fuck.

So here's to Hurricane Ike: Dude, fuck you. You fucked up my favorite getaway, Galveston. Papa's Pizza on the Seawall Blvd. was the best. Every Spring Break, my family goes out there. You cut off our power, gas supply, groceries, entertainment. You gave the 4th largest city a fucking curfew. I hate you bitch. I am home now ready to go. But where? I have a quarter tank of gas and 2 hour wait at Shell. Gas and ice are the new Texan gold and silver. Ike, you are so fucking awful that you fucked up the Midwest. Damn. Don't come back, you sonofabitch.

...Is it any wonder why Obama finds it problematic connecting with US?

"WE ARE THE PEOPLE OUR PARENTS WARNED US ABOUT!" ...and why Obama doesn't like US!

He cannot control or Lead the People Our Parents Warned US About! Because we know a "PHONY" story when we hear one and we know a phony Con Man when we see and hear one..

HURRICANE MEDIA BLACK-OUT IKE DEVASTATION, Gov Rick Perry Blames Others!

..STARTING TO SMELL LIKE A COVERUP!

I think it's important to start asking questions. Where are all the people who decided to stay put in Galveston, the Bolivar Peninsula, Crystal Lake and the West End and sit out hurricane Ike?

There have been unconfirmed reports of sightings of over 900 bodies floating aimlessly in the ocean!

by: Matt Glazer
Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 05:00 PM CDT

Houston journalists are irate and concerned as a total media blackout occurred in the wake of Hurricane Ike. It's good to see the media on the ground stand up to Perry and the emergency management on the ground.

Think Progress wrote:

"reporter Wayne Dolcefino revealed that media have been blocked from covering Hurricane Ike's devastation. In a press conference, Dolcefino pressed Gov. Rick Perry on why media aren't even allowed to fly over parts of Galveston Island, noting that media access was far better in Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Perry tried to brush off Dolcefino's concerns, but eventually passed blame to federal official"

Vince at Capitol Annex added this yesterday when the rumors began bubbling about Perry's inability to manage the situation.

"Dolcefino went on to compare the media's lack of access to the situation in Myanmar, where the media was denied access to many areas hit hard by disaster there.In addition, some sources tell Capitol Annex that local government leaders and some legislators have already begun to criticize both the state response and FEMA's response to Ike, although none of that has been covered by the media yet."

Either Perry is unable to coordinated with FEMA to get media the proper access or he is intentionally preventing the media from getting information back to those affected by Ike.

"Somebody else pointed out in those comments that spilled oil wouldn't look so good either in light of the big push for offshore drilling. Bodies and oil floating in the ocean together..."

Wayne Dolcefino is doing a great job.

To see the full video of Rick Perry passing the blame to the federal government (who wasn't present at the press conference) click MUST SEE VIDEO here.

I don't mean to be insensitive, but I don't know what I am seeing at around min 6:25 on the video. Are those bodies floating or is it a school of sharks cruising the shoreline?
BE SURE TO READ THE COMMENT SECTION

Read the Peace Corps announcement.

Peace Corps's top priority is the health and safety of it Volunteers who yearly practice safety drills in case evacuation becomes necessary.

See this update from the Andean Information Network, including an email message from an evacuated Volunteer.

hurricane ike

i live north of houston. we had a hurricane sweep though here early saturday [9/13] morning. i love hurricanes. i plot them. i am amazed at their sheer power and strength. i find the wind beautiful and inspiring. don't get me wrong. i am in no way implying that i welcome the devastation and destruction that so often accompanies them. in fact, i abhor it.

i was not in a voluntary or mandatory evacuation zone. in fact, we were told to shelter in place [meaning not to leave the house] and to 'hunker down'.  we stocked up on supplies, medication, filled up the car with gas, taped the windows, secured everything and still had damage, but thankfully, survived the worst of it.

however, the reason i wanted to blog about this is not because of any of that. there are, i am sure, thousands of blogs posted across the web where you can read different accounts of the storm, see pictures, videos, and even historical comparisons of ike with past storms.

the reason i am writing is that i find some circumstances surrounding ike very unusual.

• the path of ike was unusually unpredictable
• the storm seems to mimic the "galveston hurricane" of 1900 [09/08/00] in many ways including direct hit, storm surge, and tide
• there was very little rain and what rain there was appeared extremely fine and misty [observation, talking to others in the area, local news updates, and report from HPD officer located downtown houston during storm] in fact, on 09.08.08 during passage over cuba, the rain rate remained at under 10 millimeters per hour
• there was no thunder heard [observation & talking to others in the area]
• there was no lightning seen [observation & talking to others in the area]
• the storm encompassed over 600 miles and had an eye of over 60 miles accross at one point
• it did not weaken quickly over land
• although area residents had ample warning and federal disaster aid was set up before the storm even hit, it somehow was delayed for approximately 3 days
• the storm surge was equal to that of a category 4 or 5 storm, causing extensive damage some 10 hours or more before the storm [weather channel live reports]
• the storm was reported to maintain 100 mph winds [for hours] even though the pressure was dropping and the storm was moving over the warm waters of the gulf [observation, live news feed]
• although winds were reported to be at about a sustained 110 mph, more damage was done than is/was listed as a possibility with winds of that force or category
  
• the president did not tour the area until 3 days after the storm
• photos of galveston island have been limited and repetitious, in fact, up until 3 days after the storm, the news was showing the same 4-5 photos on all networks and surprisingly, differing photos could hardly be found on the web  [observation, internet search results, fox news, cnn, msnbc]
• 3 days after the storm, residents are finally being allowed on the island in a "look and leave" manner, with an escort and a limited time to survey damage to their own property
• ike was one of a series of storms that developed within a matter of days; each which took a different path and had a different outcome, not so unusual, but it seemed as if several were triggered at once until one got it right. although stacked storms are not unusual, especially at the peak of hurricane season, these all seemed to originate at or about the same area, which is unusual
  
• downtown houston never did lose power and sustained very little damage although the storm went right through there, including the eye and eye walls. [HPD patrol report downtown houston]. the media reported severe damage. in contrast, areas to the n, s, e and w did have substantial damage
• reportedly, the army corps is not allowing fema onto the island [yet to be confirmed]
• the mayor of galveston stated she would not evacuate the island [this on wed/thur] because it was too late and an evacuation was not possible. she evacuated the island on friday.
• the galveston mayor also said they would not attempt rescues of persons remaining, but thankfully, they did
• supposedly the chief of police for hpd stated that 12 hour shifts could stop 3 days after the storm. the mayor demanded they continue and the area put out a national plea to other police officers to come and help. but not until 3 days after the storm.
• the media has been moved away from the storm operations center in galveston.  check out this blog for more information about the lack of information coming out of galveston
• no coverage or official announcement has been given about the condition or damage of/to NASA besides a general closing announcement and some damage reports. ??? isn't this kind of an important place?
• curfews are in effect not only in blackout areas but in operational areas as well
• almost all of the houston-area refineries are down shooting the cost of fuel up throughout the nation
• the stock market fell 500 pts by friday
• even youtube images of the island are limited to one official flyover video which is very blurry
• today the mayor of galveston told the residents that would participate in the look and leave program that they would not see the coastal devastation that they had seen on the news because it had been cleaned up. cleaned up? already? wait. the mayor has cancelled the "look and leave" program because of traffic congestion and has announced that it will not be tried again. seems this would have been expected and provisions made to deal with it before the program was initiated, that is, if the plans were formulated to be successful in the first place.
• it appears that marshal law is in effect in galveston although the mayor denies it. however, channel 13 local news announced that marshal law is in effect on what is left of boliver peninsula
• nearly 65,000 people live on galveston island. reportedly, over 33% decided to ignore mandatory evacuation orders. to date, the death toll, estimates of people rescued, sheltered, evacuated do not even begin to add up to 65,000.
• all of this fell very close to the seventh anniversary of 09.11
• we haven't heard a word of campaigning or even had a visit from either of the presidential candidates. they seem to be keeping their distance [all i could find searching were sympathy-related statements; granted, obama is helping to solicit donations by linking to the red cross on his website and through emails, but you would think they [obama and mccain] would want to be here in person

please don't get me wrong. this blog is not meant to complain. we were lucky and my heart goes out to those whose fate is yet to be determined.  it is simply my try at putting words this vague yet pervasive feeling that something is just not natural in this whole ordeal.

what became of the 140,000 people who faced certain death from hurricane ike?

media coverage limited on hurricane ike

wordpress blogs on hurricane ike

De Curtin -- CertMkt

Um tempo atrás rolou uma evacuação na Curtin. haha. Até hoje não sei o que aconteceu de verdade.

Som de sirene! Engraçado que tava no café com uma amiga e de repente sai uma garçonete dizendo só pra avisar vocês, tá rolando uma evacuação, ok? A gente se levantou, olhou e olhou e voltamos pro mesmo lugar. hehe. E como dá pra ver nas fotos, o pessoal saiu das salas, mas ficaram todos por ali mesmo. Sem entender nada.

However as we decided to head back today to Katy to my family's house I decided on Sunday to go to a coffee shop, get online and see what I could learn about traffic, gas, etc.

But on Sunday, Abilene proper is shut down.  While I admire that quality in the City, it was very frustrating to be looking for wifi and not being able to find it.

Eventually I ended up at a Starbucks and was able to get online (albeit not for free, but maybe I'm just cheap).

I got what I needed and headed back to the (temporary) house and the family got the idea that instead of leaving in the morning to leave then (eventually it ended up being midnight before we got to Katy).

It was an adventure and there's too many funny situations, sad moments, and tense discussions to go too in depth, but it will not be an experience I soon forget.

Thank you very much to everyone who checked in on me and everyone who pitched in to help us when we needed it.

God bless,

Jake

Go Ravens!

Marshall D'Avary Hall, a University of New Brunswick arts building, was evacuated after three people fainted and others fell ill.

Fredericton Deputy Fire Chief Bob Martin told CTV.ca that six people were taken from campus to the nearby Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital and others were placed in quarantine at the Aitken University Centre, which is next door to the evacuated building.

A spokesperson for UNB said students and staff that were in the affected building are being kept together and being monitored as a health precaution.

The university's website shows that classes have been cancelled in the building for the day. A comment attached to one posted cancellation suggested the cause may have been a gas leak.

Martin said it's too early to speculate on a possible cause but said the city's hazardous materials team are inside the building and are conducting air and water safety tests.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080915/UNB_evacuation_080915/20080915?hub=TopStories

14 September 2008

Warning:  What follows is a long-winded commentary having nothing whatsoever to do with the above photo.  For those dear friends who just don't feel like reading another rant by MaritaBeth, please know that I forgive you.   ;-)  Feel free to skip to the very end of this post and just read the last paragraph.  But, if you take the time to read the whole thing, I'd love to hear your points of view!  Please comment!

*****************

Yesterday, I wrote that the storm (Hurricane Ike) didn't seem to have been as bad as we'd feared it would be.  That may be true.  And, since most of our friends were far enough north and/or west, or had evacuated to even safer spots, our friends seem to be fine.  Many without power, some downed limbs, and one house now in need of new shingles, but the people are fine.  Even at TRF, all seems to be well.  I will continue to check in on folks I haven't heard from yet,  but so far we are thankful. 

Our beloved Galveston Island itself, however, does not seem to have fared so well.  I have been trying to find everything I can possibly read regarding the damage there, and the current conditions.  It seems that more than two thousand people defied evacuation orders and are now needing to be removed from the island.  Most of those no longer have transportation of their own, so it falls to the Red Cross, FEMA, and other volunteer organizations and emergency services to help these folks.  It is good that such organizations exist to help.  It seems ridiculous to me, however, that they must use their energies and resources to now help those who didn't bother to help themselves last Thursday and Friday. <sigh>

I read that over forty structures in Galveston are no more.  We know of the loss of restaurants, shoppes and at least one hotel out on the seawall.  Kyle saw one heartwrenching photo of the remaining corner of an older home---the corner where the 1900 Storm Survivor placque was mounted.  One Flickr photographer has a couple of photos of the historic Strand about four feet under water, and that was from Friday!  I'm still trying to track down information about other parts of Historic Galveston, and of course, the Tremont Hotel in particular. 

What we do know, is that it will be quite some time before things can return to any semblance of normal, there.  Storm damage to city infrastructure is severe---there is no power, no water, no sewage.  That means, of course, that the area is basically uninhabitable.  Those crazy enough to try to stay have already and will continue to place themselves and those who will eventually have to rescue them, in danger of injury and disease. 

I don't get it.

Many who know me well, will remember that I have always had a very healthy fear of earthquakes. (I know, this seems non-sequitor, but bear with me.) Earthquakes petrify me, mostly because with our current technology, we are almost helpless to forecast them.  I know the experts are working on this, but basically, if you live in a zone where fault lines and seismic activity are commonplace, you simply never know when it's going to happen.  And for all of my lifetime, we've been half expecting "the big one" that causes most of California to fall into the ocean.  That scares me to death---no warning, just instant ocean-front property in Arizona! 

In the process of explaining (or justifying) my fear, I've always pointed to hurricanes as natural disasters you can "live with."  I grew up in the northeast, where although fewer than here near the Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes were a potential part of summer.  You learned how to put away lawn ornaments and furniture, take down awnings, even board up windows.  You knew "what to do."  And here in Texas, where almost every season seems to bring a good scare or two, its even more accepted that we get warning, and we can prepare.  Sure, we never know exactly what Mother Nature is going to throw at us, but we have a pretty good idea, thanks to the folks at NOAA, and decades worth of experience.  We know sometimes weeks in advance that there's a potential threat.  We can watch the tropical storm via satellite, see what it does in the Caribbean, and mentally prepare.  Then, the experts create charts and graphs and maps that tell us what the storm will likely do.  We have time to board up windows, move furniture to higher ground, and make travel plans!  Then, ultimately, we have time to save ourselves, if not our property.  

How ignorant does a person have to be, to ignore all those warnings?  How selfish does a human have to be to place the lives of his pets and even his children in danger due to his own stubbornness?  Nowhere to go?  That's what the Red Cross would rather do---provide shelters and food and clothing for those displaced.  If they could concentrate their energies there, and not have to spend as much time and money rescuing those who didn't bother to heed the warnings . . . . GRRRR!  It makes me crazy!

I read one article this morning, where someone who was just now leaving Galveston, was quoted as saying, "next time they should warn us about this, not about the storm."  She was referring to the lack of city services, the sewage in the streets, the decaying food, the smell . . . where has she been?  I saw and heard and read many a warning, that the aftermath of the storm would be just as bad or worse for people, than the storm itself.  And really, how much intelligence does it take to know what's at stake?

Did I mention, I don't get it?

***************************

Addendum:  I know I'm not alone.  Here is a very nice article on an MSNBC Blog by journalist Mark Potter. In case my link isn't permanent and you later have to search archives:  the name of the article is "Hard Lessons in Hurricane's Aftermath."

***************************

My photo today is of Kyle at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival site.  He's sketching the back of our East Wind Games booth, so that we can get serious about our plans to do some needed booth improvements.  We took a bunch of measurements, and now have an updated picture in our heads on which to base our plans.

~MB

Then a hurricane was coming my way, so I spent a lot of time watching the weather channel and worrying.  The path changed and it wasn't headed toward me, but I didn't want to take the chance that it would alter again.  The house was boarded up and we were outta here.  

We went with some friends to Laredo.  On the way there, Scamper crapped on the seat of my car.  Monkey threw up on the water bottles in the back AND in my diaper bag.  The hotel we stayed in was awful.  After running around for an hour, Eliana's feet were BLACK.  She would have been cleaner if she'd been running on dirt.  Needless to say, she wore shoes after that.  

I let her run herself ragged, but she was still difficult to put to sleep.  She screamed for an hour.  I cried.  I finally managed to get her to sleep at 11pm.  The AC stopped working at 1am.  Since Eliana was sleeping, there was nothing I could do about it.  By morning we were both miserable.  I cried some more.  

My friends and I decided to try to find someplace better to stay.  We started calling around and most places didn't take pets.  We finally found a place that did and it sounded nicer.  My friend and her husband went to check it out while I stayed with the kids (Eliana and 2 boys, ages 13 and 10).  When they came back, we all left.  

The new place was SO MUCH BETTER.  My room wasn't huge, but it was clean and had a king-sized bed.  The shower was enormous.  Their room had 2 queen beds and was really big.  It was perfect for everyone to hang out in.  We went out to lunch and spent some time walking around the mall.  It was actually pretty nice.  Eliana and I rode on the carousel.  

When went back to the hotel and found out they have a happy hour in the lobby from 6-7pm.  Free beer, popcorn, pretzels, and peanuts!  It was 6:30, so the adults decided to head down.  The boys were more than responsible enough to watch Eliana for an hour.  (We should all be lucky enough to have kids as great as these.  I am not even kidding, they are awesome!)  Had a beer and some pretzels.  We had been gone for an hour and when we got back, Eliana was sleeping.  The older boy said she was sitting on the bed next to him playing with her toy laptop.  He said she got tired of playing with it, pushed it away, laid down and fell asleep.  I cannot even tell you how amazing this is.  Yes, she's always been a great sleeper and (usually) easy to put down, but NEVER that easy.  We all hung out and chit-chatted until about 10:30. 

I carried Eliana into our room and laid her on the bed.  She didn't wake up.  I hated the thought of leaving her in a diaper all night that she'd already been in for a couple of hours.  She was lying on her tummy, so I carefully got her skirt off and changed her diaper.  While she was on her tummy.  And asleep.  And she didn't wake up.  Yes, I'm sure she was breathing.  She slept peacefully all night long and woke up at 5am.  I gave her some snacks and she played for a couple of hours.  Then she climbed back in bed and went back to sleep.  She must have been so worn out from the day before.

The man friend knocked on the door at 9 to tell me they had called some friends of theirs who didn't evacuate and everything was safe to come home.  So we packed up the cars, had a little breakfast and headed home.  

I still have boards on my windows.  I never lost power.  We didn't have to leave, but hindsight is 20/20.  Better safe than sorry and all that.  I'm glad to be back, but I feel like I'll be cleaning for a week.  The house was all nice until I ransacked it trying to pack up to evacuate.  

Tony's still gone for a couple of weeks, so I have time.  And it's not really that bad.  

I'm so thankful everything turned out ok and we were safe.  I hope my friends in the path stay safe and don't suffer too much damage.  I'll be thinking of you.

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