Noted race 'ho' Al Sharpton (I refuse to dignify him with the title of Reverend) was in Houston to call on local black congregations to help with huricane relief.

One problem -- this slick poverty pimp came to a community where churches of all denominations and ethnicities are already engaged in the process of helping those in need.

While government's emergency planning may have failed the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Al Sharpton called on Houston's black houses of worship today to feed, shelter and comfort the evacuees.

Speaking to about 50 of the city's faith leaders and a handful of politicians gathered inside North Houston's Community of Faith Church, the civil rights activist and former presidential candidate from New York said religious congregations must play a leading role in the relief effort.

"The black church community has always been the anchor in the storm when we have a problem," Sharpton said. "If our people, or any people that come to this city can't depend on the church to open its doors and open its hearts, then we ought to take down the crosses and quit claiming to serve God."

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and Andrea White, the wife of Mayor Bill White, also attended the meeting, which was arranged by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and the Rev. James Dixon II. Dallas Mavericks basketball coach Avery Johnson was there to announce a charity basketball game scheduled for next Sunday at Toyota Center.

Most agreed to take time during their sermons this morning to call on their members to open their homes to displaced families and volunteer to help those who have lost everything.

The Rev. I.V. Hilliard, pastor of New Light Christian Center Church, opened telephone hot lines for evacuees to reconnect with their pastors in Houston.

It's a service that's needed, said the Rev. Charles Southall III, pastor of First Emanuel Baptist Church in New Orleans. He attended today's meeting seeking help for members.

"I have a 1,200-member church and we're just trying to get stabilized," said Southall, who carries a folder full of Omni Hotel stationery filled with handwritten names and numbers of members he's reached so far. "I hear useful planning here today and I'm optimistic."

If Sharpton wants to really engage the Christian community, he will quit distinguishing between the "black church" and the "white church", for God knows no white or black or brown. And he will notice that the churches of Houston have opened their hearts and their doors to people of all races in this time of need.

Al, speaking as a Christian, let me say that we don't need a lying race-baiter (who still won't apologize for his lies in the Tawana Brawley case or for getting people killed because they were "white interlopers" doing business in the black community) to come into town to sow division between black and white. We don't need some charlatan to draw lines and create divisions between members of the body of Christ..

Posted by: Greg at 11:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My darling wife and I haven't had a good vacation in years -- the last was a trip to Boston via Logan airport about a month before 9/11. We've been talking about taking a cruise this Christmas, and had recently decided one.

Well, I guess the ship will be otherwise engaged this year.

Some Katrina evacuees will be housed aboard three Carnival Cruise Line ships, including two initially slated to be docked in Galveston.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is chartering the vessels, which will be crewed by Carnival employees, for six months, Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said today.

The Ecstasy, normally stationed in Galveston, and Sensation, normally stationed in New Orleans, are planned for Galveston, Gulliksen said. Both can hold 2,600 people, he said. The ships will be pulled from regular service Monday.

A third, the Holiday, which normally sails out of Mobile, Ala., will be docked there. It can hold up to 1,800 people, Gulliksen said.

I was looking forward to a getaway on the high seas -- but maybe next year. These folks are more than welcome to our cabin.

Posted by: Greg at 11:02 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Now the last time I checked, sir, the President of the United States lacked the authority to do anything with these school buses that might have facilitated an evacuation. On the other hand, the Governor of Louisiana could have ordered a mandatory evacuation sooner (she did so only after the President urged her to do so), and the Mayor of New Orleans could have directd that the school buses be used for such an evacuation.

As is pointed out by one of Jonah Goldberg's readers, a significant number of folks could have been evacuated if the above officials hac been competent in their pre-hurricane planning and ordered that these buses be put to use rather than be abandined to the storm.

Jonah:

I count 205 busses. When I was a kid, I remember that school busses could carry 66 people. If that is still the case, 13,530 people could be carried to safety in ONE trip using only the busses shown in that picture.

One trip.

Joe

Let's presume that the buses only seat 55 (66 strikes me as sort of high) and they don't over-pack them -- that is still over 11,000 people per trip. In other words, even one run would have evacuated half of those who took shelter at the Superdome -- had the state and local authorities been competent in their disaster preparations. These vehicles might have been able to make multiple runs, and would certainly be available now for evacuation duty. Too bad that nobody order them used

Now explain to me precisely who it was who failed to "get off of their goddamn asses" to make sure that these people were evacuated using available resources? Was it the President? Or was it the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana?

(Hat Tip -- RedState.Org and Junkyard Blog)

Posted by: Greg at 03:33 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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It looks like our friends from Louisiana and other areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina may be staying here in Texas for a while. Fortuantely, there are long-term solutions to the housing problem, since the Astrodome and other shelter facilities are not designed to be permanent housing.

An estimated 18,000 vacant apartment units statewide opened for hurricane victims Friday when the federal government waived special income requirements, Gov. Rick Perry announced Friday.

Families eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency financial aid can receive vouchers to move into the apartments.

The governor sought the Internal Revenue Service waiver as the state mobilized aid for those fleeing Hurricane Katrina.

"We will do all we can as a state and a people to help our neighbors to the east who have lost so much," Perry said.

The effort to move as many hurricane evacuees out of shelters and into more permanent housing coincided with more than 15,000 beds opening up in shelters stretching from Austin to Corpus Christi to El Paso, the governor's office said.

"We're just trying to cut through the red tape for them and get them permanent housing. Obviously the Astrodome is not a permanent home," said Perry spokesman Robert Black.

About 7,000 units are in the eastern, more populated parts of Texas.

I suspect that the Red Cross and FEMA would be the folks to contact about getting into these units around the state.

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Eddie Corral joined the Houston Fire Department in 1955., only the fourth Hispanic to serve as a firefighter in the city's history.

His career was marked by a drive for excellence and dedication to serving and protecting the people of Houston.

He retired from active service to the people of Houston yesterday.

Corral worked his way up the department ladder, rung by rung, taking competitive exams for the next highest post, including the fire marshal job he returned to after being chief.

When he came on board as chief, the fire academy was closed. Twenty-two fire stations had leaking roofs.

"The men had to arrange buckets all over the floors when it rained," he said. There were only two women in the entire department.

When he left, the academy was up and running, the roofs were fixed, there were 80 female firefighters and hundreds of ethnic minorities had been recruited.

Corral jokes that his biggest accomplishment was the annual calendar featuring firefighters. But, as chief and fire marshal, Corral launched several innovative programs that were imitated nationwide, including the Juvenile Firesetters Prevention Program; the Cease-Fire Club, a civilian fire prevention program; and the Triad, a cooperative high-rise safety program with owners of tall buildings.

The fire chief runs the department. The fire marshal, who reports to the chief, is in charge of fire prevention.

Both jobs brought different challenges, Corral said, but he is most passionate about prevention.

"There have been 400,000 people killed in fires across the country since I began my career. But 90 percent of all fires can be prevented. As fire marshal, I took that on as a challenge," he said.

You know, I don't care about Eddie Corral's heritage so much as I do about his accomplishments. He wasn't merely one of the best Hispanic fire chiefs and fire marshals in the country -- he was one of the best, period. Ethnicity didn't enter into the equation. That he is also a fine role model for the Hispanic community is simply a bonus, in my opinion.

There are two quotes that I think sum up Corral's career, both taken from interviews he gave yesterday.

The first talks about how the job of a firefighter has changed over the decades, and how it has become more professional.

"When I started at the fire department, we used have a motto. It was, 'You light them, we fight them.' Now the motto is, 'Seeking opportunities to serve.' That kind of tells you the different thinking that prevails now."

The second tells you of his love for the job, the profession, that has been his passion for half a century.

"I'll miss the excitement of helping people and the sense of duty but, after 50 years, it's time to go. It's been great," Corral said.

"Some wise man said, 'If you find something you like to do, you never have to work a day in your life.' I haven't worked a day in 50 years."

Don't you wish you could express that sort of love for what you do?

And then there is his observation on the men and women of the Houston Fire Department while visiting a number of fire sttions and fires around the city on his final day as fire marshal.

"You can't find a better group of people to work with," Corral said proudly.

Thank you and God bless you, Eddie Corral. May you have a happy retirement.

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Michelle Malkin provides a great post reminding us all that the city of New Orleans is not the only place touched by Hurricane Katrina.

Her post discusses the death and destruction in towns outside of new Orleans (indeed,outside Louisiana) that have been severely effected by the storm.

Cities and towns included are:
CHALMETTE, LA.
SLIDELL, LA.
METAIRIE, LA.
PASS CHRISTIAN, GULFPORT, AND LONG BEACH, MISS.
GRETNA, TERRYTOWN, HARVEY, AND MARRERO, LA.
MANDEVILLE AND COVINGTON, LA.
BILOXI, MISS.
MOBILE, BALDWIN, WASHINGTON, CLARKE CHOCTAW ANDSUMPTER COUNTIES, AL.

Posted by: Greg at 11:35 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Sometimes an article makes one lament that there is no way to round up some members of a community and "vote them off the island".

This is one such case.

Amid the overwhelmingly compassionate response to hurricane evacuees in Houston, a less-welcoming undercurrent is developing among people worried about the impact of thousands of needy, desperate people.

E-mails, blogs and callers to the Chronicle wonder why refugees draw such immediate assistance while Houston's poor continue to suffer. Others fear an increase of crime.

Some are blunt. "Yes, let's rush to bring over the looters and destroyers of public and private property," wrote a blogger.

Some are thoughtful. "I have grave concerns about a city that can't help the people here now that are going hungry and cannot pay the high cost of utilities," e-mailed a Houston woman.

Others feel a burden has been foisted on Houstonians. "I am not a Christian, but I am charitable. That being said, there's a difference between me making a personal choice to give $50 to the Red Cross and my elected officials inviting 25,000 homeless into the middle of my city," a resident wrote the Chronicle's SciGuy blog.

Laurence Simon, a tech support employee for a local company, has mixed feelings.

"I'm glad that we're putting out a welcome mat. These people have to go somewhere. But I don't know if officials are appreciating the extent of what it's going to take," said Simon.

"You can hold the door open on the elevator for more and more people but, at some point, the elevator gets too full and the cable snaps."

About two-thirds of the population of New Orleans and many of the evacuees are black. Some of the e-mails and calls have a racist bent.

But the unease cuts across racial lines. Michelle Louring, an African-American resident of the Greenspoint area, said her neighborhood already has experienced an increase in petty crimes and nuisances she blames on refugees.

Those to object to public and private efforts to provide relief to people effected by Hurricane Katrina would do well to shut up and help o improve the Houston area -- by finding somewhere else tolive. Your sort are not welcome in this town..

Posted by: Greg at 11:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've seen prices jump 40 cents at the station behind my school in 24 hours. I'm not sure if it is a shortage causing it, speculation, or just plain greed. And I'm not sure where the prices will go from here. I do know that I saw prices at $3.00 in Pasadena Texas -- you know, the town where all those refineries from Urban Cowboy are located.

We hear, of course, about the damage to and closure of energy-related facilities. That is bad.

But we may not be in for rising prices for long, if this information is correct.

Gasoline futures fell for the first day in five as some fuel pipelines shut by Hurricane Katrina were reopened and as refiners prepared to restart plants along the Gulf coast.

Colonial Pipeline Co. expected yesterday to raise gasoline and distillate shipments to 61 percent of their normal rate. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it may next week re-start the Motiva refinery at Convent, Louisiana. At least eight U.S. refineries, more than 10 percent of the nation's capacity, remained shut for a sixth day because of flooding and blackouts from Katrina.

``It's certainly going to take a while to get everything back up,'' said Bob Frye, a commodity broker at Access Futures & Options Trading Inc. in Woodlake, California.

Gasoline for October delivery fell as much as 4.9 cents, or 2 percent, to $2.36 a gallon in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $2.365 at 9:41 a.m. Sydney time.

Yesterday, the contract surged as much as 9.3 percent to $2.4650, before closing at $2.409 a gallon, marking a 30 percent gain this week. Prices today have almost doubled from a year ago.

The Gulf of Mexico receives more than half of U.S. oil imports and is home to about 50 percent of the nation's refining capacity. Power cuts, flooding and a lack of workers are hampering refiners' efforts to inspect plants and restore output.

So it looks like many of the facilities may have come through the storms in better shape than we feared -- but getting to them and getting folks to work at them may be a bigger challenge.

And we are being advised by the administration to expect $3.00 gas through Halloween.

But look at the bright side -- only through Halloween. We may have a restoration of supply to near normal before winter sets in.

Posted by: Greg at 03:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I had no intention of writing about the sad story from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, of a woman shot and killed by her brother over a bag of ice. Then I saw this at the end of the story.

The shooting is being treated like a homicide, [Police Chief David] Wynn said.

Why wouldnÂ’t it be treated as a homicide?

After all, the killing of another human being by another IS homicide, by definition.

Posted by: Greg at 12:26 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Search-and-rescue operations halted to stop looting and protect property?

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also ordered virtually the entire police force to abandon search-and-rescue efforts and stop thieves who were becoming increasingly hostile.

First, the priority is wrong. Search-and-rescue needs to be the primary mission, not property protection. What needs to happen is that those caught looting – especially those armed thugs we have all been hearing about – simply need to be shot on sight.

Yes, I have sympathy for those who have been getting food, diapers, and other necessities. However, the situation is so out of control that order needs to be restored ruthlessly. I donÂ’t believe there are many recipes that call for a boom-box, a 32-inch flat-screen television or ten pairs of designer jeans.

Posted by: Greg at 12:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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