after watching the coverage of the insanity and incredible mismanagement of the astrodome situation by the federal agencies, margaret and I put together two bags of clothing, one of men's and one of women's and we headed to the astrodome to drop it off. This was around 1:30am. we get to the dome and they had already let in all the buses to the parking lot (after the fire marshall cocksuck tried to send over 120 buses away saying there was a fire hazard with so many people in the dome, even though there was just under 8000 at the time. The mayor told the fire marshall to fuck himself. this is bigger than laws and regulations) it looked like cops were turning away people who tried to drive in, so mags and I parked outside the dome and walked in with our bags of clothes. there was no official anything on the way in. very few cops, no federal oversight whatsoever. we walked to the dome and asked arund about where to take these clothes only to be told by cops that they were not accepting donations. I thought that to be BULLSHIT. The administrators and politicians kept saying they did not need anything that they had enough of food and clothes, but anytime the eporters managed to talk to any volunteers or doctors or red cross people, all they could say was "we need EVERYTHING" and "whoever is telling you that there are adequate or suficient supplies of ANYTHING, from food to manpower, is delusional." so I found a red cross worker and asked and she said if we took it into the dome someone would definitely use it. so we walked down the east ramp, into the saddest, most surreal scene I have ever witnessed in my life. we found a volunteerr who took the clothes we brought and told us how much they were appreciated and we went over and signed up to volunteer. First of all, the Red Cross is the ONLY organization doing anything remotely organized. they ahve NO federal help. NO national guards, NO military personnel, Nothing at all. they are stretched to the limit in every possble way.the federal government is screwing these people over. it was chaos, but a slightly controlled chaos, and while it was inded heart wrenching to see those people, the babies, the SMELL (not B.O. It was the smel of sewage from these people's clothes. the ones who had not yet gotten to the showers weer weatring the same clothes they have had on for 4 days.) the sight of the babies, the little children, the elderly,....

and yet it was also uplifting because there were literally hundreds of regular Joe Houstonians, regular people saying FUCK THIS who showed up to help. That made it better, and yes, while it was rough in there, the conditions were a MILLION times better than where these people had come fro, and let me tell you, to a man, to a person, they were grateful and appreciative and humble.

so we got a badge and a wristband (orange wristbands designated volunteers) and looke dfo someone to help or someway to help. we were told that they needed hep in the astro arena, or reliant arena, whataver, but they were setting it up as shelter and as a medical facility to aid those ill getting off the bus and those ill in the dome. I was told to try and notifiy the firemen and paramedics at reliant arena that they needed to find mor transport to carry the ill and sick. they had just two of those short handicapped accessible Metro buses ferrying people to the arena to get treatment. Mags and I waljke dover there and it was just crazy. cops standing around sitting on their ass. somehow the command center for red cross had managed to set up tables and computers to get medical info on these people, andthey had set up a large area with beds, essentially a makeshift MASH unit.

there is NO oversight over there. volunteers showing up were just jumping in and helping where they could. I spent an hour unloading 3 18-wheelers full of cots and blankets and stuff like that, Red Cross stuff. the volunteers were incredible. Just regular people, just dudes and ladies. margaret spent that time in another area setting up hundreds if not thousands of cots with a small army of volunteers, and keep in mind most of these volunteers showed up after midnight, having seen and heard the news. I got word that 3:30am was the deadline for then they would open the doors and start letting refugees in. we unloaded the trucks (heavy heavy shit) and everyone got to setting up cots and tables and places for the to sit and stuff.

the people there...the people who showed up to help, just people who live close to the dome, it was nowhere near enough, but we all managed to get it done. the situation was drastic. volunteers will be needed from now on for months, but the first days are the most insane, the most hectic and urgent, and it was crucial that someone show up to help set up reliant arena.

there was a sigma phi epsilon chapter, there were half a dozen high school air force ROTC kids in uniform, there were dozens of single older men, men who were awake late enough to see the news and the need, there were women and burly guys and young dudes, lots of young dudes.

we go th e trucks unloaded and I found mags and helped put up the rest of teh cots. around this time it was 4:30 am and Maga nd I were spent. we could barely walk our feet hurt so bad. we had been awake for almost 24 hours already, so we headed out. we walked back to thecar and saw that around 4:30am, there were just a dozen or so buses still to unload their passengers.

we made it home around 5:00am, and coud not sleep for a bit, and passed out around 6:15am. we woke up at 8:10am and came into work.

this is happpening to US now, to Houston, and these people may be here to stay. it was overwhelming to see the heart of Houston, which ted koppel on nightline was mentioning over and over again, how the people of houston, the regular people, have taken it into their hearts to help. how people were just showing up all day and night at the dome asking "what you need?' then leaving and coming back a few minutes later with $500 worth of baby clothes, or water, or food, or bread or whatever 3as needed. the generosity is amazing. the city of houston alone has already raised over 9.6 million. That is TWO DAYS worth. Two fucking days. The channel 11 (CBS)pledge drive raised 6 million in one day alone. Once all the people are settled in and the most urgent needs are met, it will not neccesarily be so crucial to have a lot of voluteers at one time, just a steady stream of them day and night.

My rage and indignation is aimed squarely at our retard monkey president and his fallacious supposed homeland security organization, who have bungled this from the get go, whether due to complete ineptitude, or willful ignorance, it is a horror that we should never let those fucking greedheads live down. the only, and I mean ONLY, reason that the federal government is slackin on this, and not doing EVERYTHING they can to help, is that the people thar are and were left in new orleans, the poorest whites, poorest blacks, are POLITICALLY WORTHLESS.

that is the only thing this adminitration cares about, maintaining, through political rhetoric, the false front that they are caring compassionate people, when in fact they just want to maintain their near-stranglehold on power. I want to see an uprising, I want to see that fucking GRIN smacked off that retard monkey fucks face. he has yet to vist any sites in person. he has flown overhead in air force one like the priviledged fucking bastard he is, gaining a bird's eye view that allows him to stay away from teh real human tragedy, the suffering, the rapes, themurders, they were and are raping CHILDREN in teh new orleans convention center. it is a state of total anarchy. He choose to fucking harp on stopping looters. FUCK THE LOOTERS! They are taking things, worthless things. take care of the fucking people. He gets on TV and gives a press conference and GRINS> That retard monkey fuck GRINS during this. all has done is make up excuses and excuses for why the federal government and FEMA have not reacted with speed. the head of FEMA himself tried to actually lay the blame on the people who did not leave. how do you leave a city, a city surrounded by impassable swamps and lakes and shit, when you are dirt poor, have no car, have no way to get around? How did they expect these peoplem to fend for themselves? This is the sickest thing I have ever seen and I will never forget it and everyone need sto do as much as possible, even if it is just taking a carload of paper towels or white bread, over to a shelter, but they realy need it at the Dome. do not listen to the talking heads teling reporters that they do not need donations or support. they are not in touch. they are not IN teh dome. They are fuckig bastard fucks. Take whatever you can to the dome yourself. The red cross managed to finally set up a somehwat organzed drop off point at the dome for donations of items and food. the government has left not only the poor refugees high and dry, but also the people of Houston and every other town and city that seeks to help, high and dry. May their supposed souls rot in fucking hell.