Spirit Photos

Click on the post headline above to visit Clear Channel's photo coverage of the local efforts to recover from the hurricanes.

Cindy Sheehan Is Sick

A wire-service is now saying that Cindy Sheehan has decided to charge a fee at future speaking engagements. The news service also reported that Ms. Sheehan is "very, very ill."

So she's sick now?

Well so was I when I realized that she's decided to charge people to listen to her words.

Cindy Sheehan...you've really nailed it now.

What do I mean by that?

Send me fifty-bucks and I'll tell you.

Ruthie In DC, Update

Remember when I posted this quote from a news story?

"Sheehan offers no way out of this political conflict or this war."

What do YOU think?

Is the above statement true or is it not?

When we were done with the march, razzing the White House guards [Who reacted when at least a hundred of us shouted "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"] and sharing our philosophies on what makes someone a legitimate U.S. citizen, I sat down on a bench.

And I noticed that signs had been collected and thrown in trash cans. But as people passed by they pulled many of those signs right back out of the cans. And they took the signs with them.

Right on.

Kevin Sites/Hot Zone

Kevin Sites has teamed-up with Yahoo and will be providing us some dramatic doses [Yahoo promises] of the truth from "hot spots" around the world.

THE HOT ZONE

I plan to monitor his endeavor. And I'm sure many other people will, too.

Ruthie In DC, Update

I felt a kinship that I never would have felt if I had come to Washington DC as a tourist.

Oh the feeling!!!

I saw a sea of faces: Grandmothers, young families with babies in strollers [their wide eyes taking everything in], kids that you would see in tattoo parlors and folks that you would meet at Wal-Mart. White, Black, Hispanic, Christian, Jewish and everyone was a card-carrying citizen of the United States of America.

And as I stood there and watched everyone, I flashed on those white crosses at Camp Casey and thought: "There is no honor in being dead. All of these people here today are alive. They have a chance to make a difference today. The dead never will. Death didn't bring my Country freedom. God did. And people like those I am with today."

Amen.

Ruthie In DC, Update

After some networking, speeches and confused meandering around the Washington monument, WE THE PROTESTING PEOPLE finally began to walk.

We walked past the pro-Bush/pro-war people and laughed when a man with a bullhorn told us "You're all going to hell!"

We walked past the fancy hotels that opened their doors to anyone who needed a rest room break or a drink of water.

We walked past all of the tall gray buildings that have "Federal" this and "National" that chiseled into their stone faces.

And when we reached that wrought-iron fence outside the White House, I grabbed a bullhorn of my own and declared: "The longer that I stand here and linger, the more I want to give George Bush the finger!"

PHOTO OF RUTH RADER. NOT FOR DUPLICATION.
All Rights Reserved.

This photo can be found at:
Flickr

And then I turned my middle fingers at the White House.

Yes, Campers, I gave the Bush Administration a two-bird salute.

Ruthie In DC, Update

The morning of the march, I took the bus as far as I could and then walked down past the barricades in the streets. I went to Camp Casey and took the following notes:

_________________________

"It could be called a carnival of caring, a thought-provoking parade or a crowd of concern. It is, by any name, an event that will make 9/24 a date that this population will remember for a long time.

I've met so many people from all over the Country!

Signs bearing slogans are circulating around the Washington Monument. And of course, the media is here, with tripods, lights and cameras in tow.

But in the midst of all of the color and conversation over 900 white crosses silently stand in the grass behind rows of empty boots.

It appears that a multitude of people suddenly have one thing to say: "We're tired of our broken and bloody government and its terrible battle with the Middle East."

The boots and crosses are making an impact without saying anything at all.

So much animation, so much creative expression, so much strength of conviction and all of it is packing a powerful point.

I'm can't wait to get this march moving!"
__________________________

And move it did.

Ruthie In DC, Update

I was getting very tired and a friend of mine suggested that I crash at St. Stephens church.

So instead of attending the candlelight vigil at Camp Casey I took a city bus to an aging church building.

I got a kind smile, a plate of food and a piece of cardboard that I used for my bed on the floor.

Young people who planned to make the most of the next day's march, were rehearsing their strategy in one of the rooms.

After asking several questions, I learned that this group was aligned with the rebels in Seattle, Washington. They not only don't appreciate the present administration but also abhor the worldwide financial set-up.

We related much better with each other than I ever did with the Sheehan-ites at Camp Casey.

Oddly enough, Cindy Sheehan was near that group when she was arrested.

And if you say that was accidental, Ms. Sheehan, I won't believe you.

P.S.: I slept like a baby at that church. Sometimes it isn't what you sleep on...It's who you're with.

Ruthie In DC/Camp Casey

After spending the night at Camp Casey, several remote trucks rolled in by the curb. Floodlights popped on, huge antennas went up, cables were stretched, monitors were strategically placed and skinny female reporters walked over to talk to us.

We refused to comment. We just sat in our circle and looked at each other.

I wanted to talk a blue streak but one of the other guys said "We don't represent Camp Casey or Cindy Sheehan so we really shouldn't say anything."

Translation: If we spoke our minds then Cindy Sheehan would probably not like it.

A man with a big camera over his shoulder walked around us and shone a bright light in our faces.

If I had it to do over again, I would have said every damn thing I wanted to say up to that point.

And I wouldn't worry about Cindy. She can speak for herself.

Ruthie In DC/Camp Casey

I went back to Camp Casey and the place was very crowded. All of the magic of the night that I spent there was gone.

A man got into a discussion with another person and it was obvious that he came over to the Camp to raise hell.

So I got up from where I was decorating a t-shirt with magic markers in the grass and joined the discussion.

Cameras were everywhere. I ignored them. They didn't ignore me.

I talked to the guy for several minutes, working up to my final point, when I felt several arms pulling me back.

Yes, Campers, the very people who made a big deal about being able to speak their mind, tried to shut me up.

That pissed me off. It really pissed me off!!!

I thought about Cindy Sheehan and how she insists on having her say. Then I realized that her "people" [those individuals who stayed inside the tent and snubbed plenty more folks than just me] didn't see me as a unique person.

I asked those "Sheehan-ites" why they thought they had the right to stop me from delivering my opinion. And they flashed me condescending smiles and wandered back into the tent.

Would you have done that to me, Cindy?

Ruthie In DC, Update

When I got into Washington DC, a man named Robert Egger suggested that I stay at the downtown homeless shelter there. He told me in an email that his friend would fix me right up.

This is what happened:

I went to the DC Central Kitchen and finally followed a woman up to what can only be described as Washington DC's dirtiest secret.

Yes, I spent one night there. But I did not sleep alone.

I was accompanied by mice [yes, as in ears and tails, Campers] and roaches bigger than my thumb.

The shelter consists of numerous rooms that are connected by several long hallways. Beds are jammed together. And after checking-out the exits, I know that if a fire broke out, many people would never get off that floor alive.

I went to take a shower and discovered that the ceiling is rotted, hanging down in strips in places and covered with black mold.

When I went to get something to eat, I was told that if I didn't have my own eating utensil, I was out of luck.

A woman donated an extra plastic fork that she had in her purse.

There were a total of three trays available for me to use. Everyone else used their own tupperware or bowls which they washed-out in the bathroom sink.

Toilet paper was rationed and cigarettes were sold for $4.00 a pack from a vending machine by the front "desk."

While I was eating, a mouse fell from a pipe above my head and nearly landed in my food.

After "dinner" I watched the rodents and the roaches scramble all over the kitchen counters.

I decided that it was cleaner at Camp Casey.

Ruthie In DC/Camp Casey

So how did I end up staying at Camp Casey all night long?

When I first walked into the camp, a woman asked where I was from and how I got to the Camp. I told her that I hitchhiked from Portland, Oregon. She asked if she could film a video of me explaining why I had hitchhiked to Camp Casey.

I told her that I didn't hitchhike to Camp Casey. I hitchhiked to Washington DC because I wanted to participate in the protest march on September 24th.

She videotaped me, anyway.

Then she had me sign a large sheet [an actual piece of cloth] that included a U.S. map that was separated into States.

After that I met a man who played a small flute-type recorder and recited poetry [his own] about the damnable George Bush. I also chatted with a girl who's hair was several colors and two young men who both played guitar. One more guy ended up rounding out our little group. He played a mean harmonica.

As the evening grew late and people drifted away, we [our little group] were asked to stay and watch over the Camp. So we did.

The five of us sat in chairs or on the grass and exchanged viewpoints and sang protest songs in front of the Camp Casey tent...Until dawn the next day.

We didn't sleep a wink. We talked about the crosses and felt the spiritual link with them around 3 o'clock in the morning.

By that time, traffic stopped circling around the park and the Camp became our own.

It was at that time, in the perfect stillness before dawn, that I wish we could have let our hair down with Cindy Sheehan. Instead the five of us bonded with each other.

Cindy Sheehan, once again, was nowhere to be seen.

Did you have any idea that we were there, Cindy?

Ruthie In DC/Camp Casey

I arrived in Washington DC and eventually located Cindy Sheehan's Washington DC branch of Camp Casey. The camp, for those of you who never made it there, consisted of: a large tent-like structure filled with tables, chairs, slogan t-shirts, bumper stickers, coolers of juice drinks and boxes of bottled water. Photographs of dead men and women in uniform hung from the tent on all sides along with a huge mural of Cindy Sheehan's deceased son, Casey.

In front of the tent [situated directly across from the Washington Monument] were rows of white crosses. I was told that there were over 900 crosses on display as well as two smaller rows of boots.

Some of the crosses were "claimed" and marked with a name of a loved one who died in the war. Many of the crosses had no name at all.

I spent two-and-a-half days visiting Camp Casey. And I am convinced that Cindy Sheehan has no idea that I was ever there.

Ruthie In DC

I got a short email from Chuck Chambers this morning. I told him that I was checking-out the IRS building and the White House, too. He told me to "stay out of trouble."

That's exactly what I intend to do. Maybe.

I stood outside the tall, wrought-iron fence and watched water spray from a fountain in front of the White House.

"Yeah, it's white, alright" I thought and took out my cell phone. I stood there and sent text to Chuck for about five minutes. Then I noticed a big, beefy guard in a dark blue uniform leading a large dog across the lawn.

I thought to myself: "Ruthie...This is what the Federal Government has come to--->a guard, a dog and a wrought-iron fence. The man inside that house doesn't want to see you today, he doesn't care about you, he never will. THIS isn't your America anymore. Your America belongs to all the roads that you traveled from Portland, Oregon to get here. Your America belongs to all of the people that stopped, gave you a ride, fed, housed and encouraged you along the way. That's YOUR America, Ruthie. None of what you experienced as you traveled across eleven States has anything to do with what lies beyond that big white house."

Cindy Sheehan's group is having a vigil tonight. I hope to be there. In the middle of downtown Washington DC...If not in the real heart of the United States of America.

Ruthie On The Road, Update

Robert Egger, who, among many other incredible things, wrote the book "Begging For Change", told me in an email today "make your voice heard, Sister." So I will.

I went through a tough ordeal last night in the totally paranoid town of Frederick, Maryland. I tried to get shelter [a local cop swore he called everybody that he could think of] and ended up sitting on a stone bench until this morning.

Ahm tired, people!

And it looks like I am going to have to hitchhike down to Washington DC from here. Tonight.

I could have had a bus ticket but I was hesitant about what I would deal with at a shelter in downtown DC. [By the time I got the email, it was too late to get the bus ticket] Robert Egger calmed my nerves [in an email to me] and opened the door to his own DC Central Kitchen for the duration of my visit to Washington.

I thank him profusely for all of his kindness.

And there was a woman who intervened on my behalf today when so many other people stuck up their noses. Yes Campers, those snooty folks closed ranks and stuck together like ribbon stickers on the back of an SUV.

It's going to storm tonight. Meanwhile, Rita is brewing up something bad near Florida.

Hoo wow, Campers...It looks like September is busting out all over!

Ruthie On The Road, Update

I am in Hagerstown, Maryland now. It's definitely New England.

However, it looks as though I will have problems finding available shelter space in Washington DC.

But you know me, Campers, I don't quit on the first try.

I have seen goodness down the road to here. And I have experienced everything from spite [Getting kicked out of a Baptist Church building after explaining that I am going to Washington DC to partake in a war protest] to reverse discrimination [three out of four black women at the shelter here in Hagerstown refused to even speak to me].

Now I will leave Hagerstown and wander down the road toward Uncle Sam Land.

I'm going to talk to Robert Egger [author of "Begging For Change" and founder of the DC Central Kitchen] and confront Michael Stoops [Click on post headline above to read the Stoops story].

More to come, Campers.

Ruthie On The Road, Update

I tried very hard [all night] to get a ride to I-70 east from a ramp outside of Cambridge, Ohio. I didn't get one. Everyone was heading south to Marietta, Ohio. Finally after the skies opened up and I was soaked to the skin, I took the next ride to Marietta.

It turned out to be a very wise decision.

Today I will be leaving south to Charleston, West Virginia [that's the way the interstate goes] and then I'll be heading back up northward and over to Washington DC.

I am, right now, less than four-hundred miles away from our Nation's capitol as the crow flies.

Yep, I am in the country and it's a nice place to be.

Finding Missing Katrina Kids

CNN is going to run a feature all weekend long called
"CHILDREN MISSING AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA" which hopefully will unite some children with their families again.

I think this is a wonderful thing. So go to the website and check out the names, facts and photos and watch CNN this weekend for updates.
Also, click on the post headline above to go to the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children. They are doing a great job of tracking this situation.

Forever Being Idiots again

Yeah, the FBI is on top of...er...Everything these days. Including an out-of-the-way landfill in [of all places] Bangor, Maine.

Bangor's landfill [GASP!] might be the location of a possible significant terrorist threat!!

[rolling my eyes]

Oh Geez...What's next?

Rumors of hit men in the Mickey D's parking lot in Homer, Alaska?

Ruthie On The Road, Update

It's a job keeping this blog going...Especially when I am on the road like I am now.

But I do it. Pretty cool, eh?

I left Collinsville, Illinois and ended up on an on-ramp near a dimly lit intersection.

A guy finally came picked me up and got me to a rest area just before a big storm hit.

I rode out the weather there and then walked back onto the interstate at 6am. I walked several miles, through road construction, to the next exit.

After standing on the on-ramp there for several minutes, a guy in an empty tanker truck stopped and picked me up.

He took me to the small city of Vandalia, Illinois where I walked into the local hospital. I wanted to find out what shelter or services the city has. A nice lady there hooked me up with breakfast and then drove me over to the local Methodist church building.

I attempted to talk to a guy in an office there but a woman came flying out of the back room and told me to go to the sheriff's department.

So I was on my way to the county cop shop when I noticed a petite lady climbing into a big van. Something told me to talk to her. So I did.

She smiled and told me that she was going to the sheriff's office. So I got in her van and she drove us to see the wizard...I mean sheriff.

He really didn't do anything for me.

So the lady and I went back to her house where I ate and slept a bit.

Then she drove me over to the laundromat and I got my washing done.

After that, she drove me back out to the on-ramp to I-70 so I could continue my journey east.

A guy picked me up and took me to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Then a young truck driver picked me up and took me from Indy to where I am now: Zanesville, Ohio.

So I went from Vandalia, Illinois to Zanesville, Ohio all in one night.

I slept and showered at the local Salvation Army today and I will resume my hitchhiking this evening.

I'm headed for Wheeling, West Virginia and I'm out in the country now, ya'all.

Who's Right On The Left?

[Sheehan's Anti-War Protest in Savannah
Will Nunley
WSAV News 3

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The war in Iraq was the topic of demonstration Monday night in Forsyth Park. A group of protestors organized with Cindy Sheehan brought their message to Savannah.

You may remember, Sheehan protested outside of the President’s Crawford Texas ranch for over 20 days this summer, following the death of her son in Iraq.

Another group spoke out Monday night as well. Some were there in support of Sheehan’s message, and some were not. Both sides no doubt want the best for the troops and our country, but they were divided over the method.

At the Forsyth Park fountain, veterans, military wives, mothers, fathers and concerned citizens gathered.

Sheehan's group vocally opposed to the war, touting support for the troops, and to bring them home now.

Others say you can't support the troops without supporting the war.

Some holding candles, others holding signs, they made their messages known.

“Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me. She does not speak for my husband. My husband believes in what he is doing, and it is for the right reasons,” says Courtney Horn, a military wife.

“We don't believe in this war. We want our troops to come home. We want them to come home now, and we want to make sure they are taken care of when they get here,” says Linda Waste.

The protest remained peaceful but emotional.

From here, the Sheehan supporters will join with other groups to march in Washington later this month.]

What Is Cindy Thinking?

If Cindy Sheehan is really moving to Lousianna to get more media attention for her cause then she is truly going to shoot herself in the foot.

I just received notice about this and am in the process of getting the straight information.

Ruthie's Birthday Hitchhike, Continued

As the miles passed,
the woman told me 101 "reasons" why I should love the flag, George Boosh and Jeeesus Churaaast.

"It's bluuud that saves yer soul and bluuud that keeps our Countree fuhree." she declared.

I just tuned her out or told her what she wanted to hear.

She finally pulled into a truck stop and told me to eat a "birthday meal" with her.

Afterwards I went back up on the ramp and realized that I was now standing in the State of Kansas.

Five minutes after I put my thumb out, a man who slightly resembled the writer Stephen King, pulled over in a white van.

A big, black lab stuck his head out the passenger window and let me scratch his ears.

That night the guy, his dog [named "Chance"] and I stayed in a cheap room at a motel near downtown Kansas City, Kansas.

He bought dinner, watched NASCAR and was a total gentleman.

My birthday ended on an unusual but happy note.

Ruthie's Birthday Hitchhike, Continued

This time the passenger door opened and when I looked up I saw a middle-aged woman sitting in the driver seat.

"Whatcha ya'all doin' out here?" she asked in a twang that could only have sprung from Oklahoma.

"Having my birthday" I replied and climbed up into the passenger seat.

"Well, before we get started, I gotta ask ya'all somethin' very important." she declared.

"Okay." I said.

"Do yeuuuwww buhleeeve in Jeeesus Charaaaast?" she asked.

I looked that woman straight in the eye and said:

"I not only believe in Jesus Christ but I also know that His Father would like me to have a much better birthday than any trucker has offered me so far this morning."

Then I folded my arms and sat back in the seat.

"Where are ya'all goin'?" she said, in a much quieter tone of voice.

"Washington DC to protest the United States presence in the Middle East." I explained.

The lady looked at me, looked at the road, looked back at me and started up the truck.

This time when the truck pulled away, I rolled off with it.[post, cont'd.]

Ruthie's Birthday Hitchhike, Continued

"Well" I said to myself, "This is a heck of a way to start my birthday."

After walking across the bridge, down the ramp and onto the interstate, I stood. And stood. Then stood some more.

Finally an eighteen-wheeler pulled over and rumbled to a stop.

I grabbed my pack and ran up to the tractor and tried to open the door. It was locked.

Then a black driver with a round, unshaven face popped his head out of the passenger-side window.

"Where ya goin'?" he asked.

"Washington DC" I replied.

"Oh really." he said and seemed to be upset when I told him my destination.

"Yeah, really." I said and smiled.

"Naw, I'm not gonna do it" he said and shook his head.

Then he got back into his seat, started the truck up and pulled away from the shoulder.

Just like that.

I flipped him off.

About ten minutes later, another truck stopped.

This truck was pulling a tank with placards on it that said "HOT."

Yet the driver pulled the rig up beside me, squealed air out of the brakes, and stopped.

"Now what?" I wondered.

[Post cont'd.]

Ruthie's Birthday Hitchhike

I got picked-up by a guy in a tractor that was pulling about 40,000 pounds of onions on a flatbed trailer. That was my ticket out of the Denver, Colorado area.

Late that night, the guy pulled into a truck stop in the middle of nowhere and went to sleep.

So did I.

A few hours later I jumped out of the truck and walked up to the eastbound ramp to interstate 70.

Another guy pulling onions picked me up and after we were down the road a few miles he informed me that "nobody is allowed to talk in my truck."

I told him to pull over and let me out. He did.

There I was in a little town called "Flagler" or "Fagler" or something like that in rural Eastern Colorado.

It was 5:30 in the morning by this time [on my birthday, September 10th] and I spotted a Conoco station on the other side of the overpass. So I crossed the bridge and walked into the store.

Everything was quiet and I didn't see a soul. My first thought was that something was wrong.

I didn't know if there was a body in the back or a robbery in progress or somebody counting money into a till. But I did not see or hear anyone in the store.

So I stood by the door and hollered in a loud voice "Hello...Is anyone here?"

A woman, with wide eyes [I later decided that she was probably high] came flying out from somewhere in the back of the store.

"You know, there are cameras here and I have a phone." she said, brandishing what looked like a cordless receiver from the 1990's.

"Well, I should hope so." I replied and opened my mouth again to explain my presence there.

But she cut me off immediately.

"I can call the sheriff, too." she declared.

"Please do, that will solve the whole problem." I replied.

"Oh, you want me to call him?" she said, her eyes wide and unblinking.

"Yeah, actually, I do." I said and walked back through the door and waited outside.

A few minutes later a man with tired eyes and a kind face pulled up in some sort of landrover.

He got out and I handed him my ID.

After he ran it, he went in the store and returned with a cold bottle of water.

"Happy Birthday" he said and handed it to me.

"You might want to start hitchhiking again" He advised me "Cuz you're out in the sticks and about sixty-miles from the State line."

"Just go on down and hitch on the interstate" He suggested "With the price of fuel there won't be too many locals coming down that ramp from this gas station."

I smiled, thanked him for the water and headed back over the bridge to the eastbound ramp.

[post, cont'd.]

Ruthie On The Road, Update

Did I want to help? Yes. Did I try to help? Yes. Did the folks in charge accept my help? No.

I have been on the road for several days now. And I am hoping that I can hang on this library computer long enough to type all of my news in today.

First of all, I tried to volunteer to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. And in the end I was turned-down cold.

I came a long way through a whole lotta balderdash to have that happen.

The day before yesterday I passed-through the City of St. Louis, Missouri and asked if I could stay in a shelter. I was told that they are all full and that the City was expecting more survivors of hurricane Katrina.

I accepted the news with grace and moved on.

Yesterday I ended up in a little burg called Belleville which is located not far from East St. Louis, Illinois.

When I caught the local news last night I learned that no more survivors plan to come to St. Louis. And the City had gone all out in preparation for them.

[Things that make ya go "hmmmm."]

You wanna know what happened to me on my birthday????

Hang on, Campers, I'll tell ya!

Bush The bungler

The following is an adaptation of comments that I originally posted in a forum on the "America's Most Wanted" website:

I am on my way to Washington DC to take part in the protest that will include Cindy Sheehan.

How do you like those little green apples?

And by the way, before you go into your little brown worm jokes or post comments about hard cider...Let me have my moment.

Thank you.

Here goes:

Today, George W. Bush the bungler [his word that he gave to himself] admitted and took responsibility for the major mistakes in efforts to deal with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Plain and simple, he knows that he screwed-up. The Federal Government did an awful job of handling that situation and they know it.

Bush also knows that his National approval rating has dropped to 39%, the lowest since he has been President. People are pissed-off and fed up and I am, too.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk to three people from New Orleans. You should have heard what THEY had to say.

The "war" in the Middle East is taking lives and draining money from the United States. That's it, period. The insurgents are still getting their way and the so-called "New Whirled Order" [visualize whirled peas...Get it?] is still in a state of chaos.

Nothing is being resolved. I doubt that it ever will be. What Bush the asshole has spoken about is never going to materialize. Not in my lifetime, anyway.

All the folks over there and all the money over there could have been used and is sorely needed OVER HERE right now!

The war is a complete flex of foolishness.

And I will stand tall beside my brothers and sisters on September 24th in Washington DC and say so.

Thank you.

Amen.

Ruthie Is Fifty!

I will be fifty-years-young tomorrow.[Saturday] Yeah Campers, my birthday is tomorrow. Happy Happy Joy Joy :)!!!

Bemidji Bash

I went to the so-called "House of Hospitality" in Bemidji, Minnesota.

I went there in the middle of the night and was told that they were full and that I would have to leave. I asked if I could sit on quietly on the front porch and the woman got livid.

So I sat on a downtown bench for the rest of the night.

It was two cops with Bemidji PD who stopped their cruiser and gave me the directions to the "Hospitality" shelter in the first place.

The following morning, the United Way put me in a much better position.

Who Dropped This Shoe?

PHOTO BY RUTH RADER
All Rights Reserved

This shoe was laying under an overpass outside of Fargo, North Dakota. It is a child's shoe and was in almost new condition.

The overpass is located miles out of the city in a middle-of-nowhere area.

How did a single, child's shoe end up there?

Killer Dropping Shoe?

PHOTO BY RUTH RADER
All Rights Reserved

I spotted this shoe on the side of the road near Massacre Rock State Park near Burley, Idaho. It looked like it had been placed there.

One shoe. I've seen this phenomenon across the Country. And I don't think that it indicates anything good.

Ruthie On The Road, Update

I am in Pocatello, Idaho and I will board a bus to Denver, Colorado later on tonight.

Larry King Live Aid

Just a reminder that tonight Larry King will host a three-hour special that will focus on how we all can help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The show will go beyond just listing places to send money. Tune in if you get a chance. You just might make someone else happy that you did.

Get Katrina Straight

This disaster isn't a matter of race, or class, or age, or gender. This is a tragedy that knocked a hole in every person in the United States. Everyone.

Hurricane Katrina got everybody and we will all feel her effects this winter. Make no mistake about that.

George Bush and his band of fools thought that Osama Bin Laden was more of a threat than Mother Nature. Now they know that their own foolish assumption gave Katrina more power than Bin Laden will ever have.

And there is no one victim or survivor more important than anyone else. Every person in the Gulf States bleeds R-E-D. They're all human. There's nothing remarkable about them. Their situation is just sad.

We'll do better to band together. This is no time for divisions or hypocrisy.

Katrina:Poor Excuses

Prez poobah la Bush did a camera thing this morning. I wasn't impressed. He gave a weak pep talk after his buddies declared "Yup, yup, we're doing a great job, yup, yup" [pat, pat, pat on the backs and total male bonding]

The only ones that I cared about or have kudos for that participated in that meeting are the guys from the Coast Guard and National Guard.

I swear that I even heard Prez poobah la Bush refer to FEMA pinhead Mike Brown as "Brownie." [made me wonder if that's why he's always trying to make points]

I have been away from CNN for a few hours so I don't know what the rat pack has done since they left that pre-investigative meeting.

But I'm going to go back upstairs now and find out.

Meanwhile, let us all pray that our idiot leaders get their act together and stop ignoring simple logic like:

1.] If you build a city at or below sea-level right next to the coastline in a hurricane-prone area...IT will come! Vulnerability [in any case] is not contingent upon what the poobahs may or may not choose to acknowledge as a real problem.

2.] The money and manpower that was put into the Middle East war effort should have been spent on shoring up the coastline of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Not to mention establishing more protections for the panhandle of Florida!

3.] Many of the hurricane survivors should file a serious class-action lawsuit. There is no excuse for bad judgment.

And THAT, Campers, is what I see to be the bottom line here.

NOLA.COM/Mercy Corps

I am receiving information from a number of different sources right now. The first source that I would like to focus on is Mercy Corps.

They have just sent me the following link:

NOLA.COM is "Everything New Orleans" and includes a FANTASTIC help center. Check this out!!!

Mercy Corps has also sent me a listing of Emergency Shelter Information Points, etc. for Louisiana and other storm-ravaged areas.

Google Unscrewed, Finally!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, you might wonder why I have the words "Screw Google" at the bottom of this blog.

Wellll...Let me tell ya, Campers: It's because last year Google made me mad. And that anger led me to a phone conversation between Dr. Eric Schmidt's [A CEO of some sort with Google] assistant. That was followed by a phone call from the man, himself.

A jerk started a blog on Blogger and made terrible fun of the victims of last December's tsunami tragedy in Southeast Asia. I read it and became outraged.

I told Google to pull the offending blog. They refused. And the battle began.

Phone calls were made, emails flew, and the story was sent, via other bloggers, around the world.

The blog stayed. So did the words "Screw Google" on my blog.

Now another disaster has devastated a population...The one in my own Country.

And for some mystical reason, Google has finally seen fit to do the right thing. Click on the post headline above and you will see what the big G has finally had the decent wisdom to do.

Finally.

And not a minute too soon.

Love And Teamwork

MoveOn.Org has created a Hurricane Housing page on their website. Click on the post headline above and consider housing some of the now homeless folks from the Southeastern United States. LOVE AND TEAMWORK will be the final solution and the saving grace to this tragedy.

Questions?GO HERE

Coping After Katrina, Continued

Nobody, not an army, not a government, not a priest, a rabbi or the pope could stop Katrina.

She came, she hit and she tore a hole in the star-spangled fabric of my Country.

No, nothing and nobody could have ever stopped Ms. Hurricane Katrina.

But we can all work to stop some things that are happening now.

A long time ago, I read a novel titled "A Clockwork Orange." Somehow watching the erosion of decent human behavior in the New Orleans area today reminded me of that story again. Or maybe the crimes are mirroring "Lord Of The Flies."

At any rate, it ain't makin' nothin' down there any bettah, I guarantee!!!

While the holes in the safety net grow ever wider, I'm sure Bin Laden is sitting somewhere laughing his butt off.

Yeah, we're united...Sure we look after our own...That's why we're fighting against terrorism.

If that's really the case, then what the hell is going on right now in Louisiana?

I watched the videos on CNN today and kept reminding myself that athletes once played games in that big domed arena. Now thugs are shooting and babies are starving and George W. Bush is planning to get "up close and personal" from the level of a helicopter.

Come on, States...UNITE!

Or apathy and indifference will make terrorists of us all.

Coping After Katrina

CLICK HERE TO DONATE
TO THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
Even an eccentric person like myself can understand the following statement: "This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control," Ebbert said. "We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."

What a horrible mess.

I would have posted earlier today but I was too busy sending out emails and watching THE coverage on CNN.

I have even called an American Red Cross office and am ready to volunteer my services. Hey, I'm pretty poor and have a lot of time on my hands, so what else would I offer?

To get some direction on what I should do and when, I will watch
LARRY KING LIVE.CNN is planning to broadcast a three-hour "What We All Can Do To Help" directive this Saturday night.

FEMA, who swears that they have a handle on all things post-hurricane, has pulled together their version of a "where to do what."



-My comments continue-