The Plight of Dwight

Photo by Jack GouldTHE PLIGHT OF DWIGHT Reading the latest Catholic Worker newsletter Call to Faithfulness, you get the feeling that Isaiah House is under assault. The city of Santa Ana has deemed the Cypress Avenue homeless shelter overcrowded, a religious mission without necessary city permits and no place for children—even children who have no other place. Catholic Worker's Dwight and Leia Smith, who argue they're running a shelter, not a mission, have plenty to deal with without getting hassled by the city. The economy is in the crapper and so are donations. More people are out of work, so there are more new homeless. Other relief agencies, some as far away as Long Beach, keep sending those they can't shelter to the Worker, where there's no room at the inn. Dwight Smith says he was recently forced to tell a homeless woman with throat cancer and a wheelchair-bound husband that he was out of money and space. If you can't spare some bucks, this not-a-mission shelter that is in the crosshairs of a city that spends federal low-income housing funds on jail cells could also use blankets, unused bus passes, diapers, baby wipes, postage stamps and other everyday items. Donations and prayers are gladly accepted at 316 S. Cypress Ave., Santa Ana, CA, 92701-5808. Oh, and you're more than welcome to send letters to Mayor Miguel Pulido demanding that he get the city of Santa Ana off the backs of the Worker. His Honor is at 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA, 92702. His e-mail is mp*****@ci.us">mp*****@ci.us. Call him at (714) 647-6900.

ALL FIRED UPSan Diego photographer Miles Torres came up with a nifty way to show the world the infernal hell wrought by Southern California's wildfires: he's putting real-time photos from the front lines on his website (www.pbase.com/milest/sandiegofires). But when Matt Drudge linked to that site from his infamous Druge Report, it opened Torres up to the world wide wackpack. Where previous visitors had left comments for Torres like “nice photos” and “we're praying for California,” Drudgians brought their own nutbar world views along for the ride. Now, initial media reports pinned blame for the various wildfires on teenage arsonists, a distressed hunter and even an errant test-range bomb at Camp Pendleton. But these netizens have come up with the real culprits:

Ask Grey out Davis why he didnt allow the planes to take off and drop the chemicals needed to help. He says that they are US military planes and has no authority over them—lie. They belong to California and he can deploy them if he wanted to. Another reason why the good people of Cal. ousted their Gov. (Joe) . . . End your socialist ways, quit supporting the damn illegals California and use that money to create a permanent system to fight this every year. Purchase a squadron of outdated C-130's and choppers from the military so they can carry the water/chemicals needed. Marginalize the eco-kooks and clear out the underbrush and do yourselves a favor. There is no reason for this. oh yeah, nice pictures. (Guest) . . . Definitely this is the fault of the Sierra Club, everyone knows how much they like to start fires. Why, if it weren't for them, all that flammable plant material could have been replaced with polluting factories and paved over with asphalt. The solution to wildfires is definitely to outlaw trees. (neocon homotard) . . . More proof that current sierra club-supported environmental policies are a disaster. (Dave) . . . Let the SOB Burn. (Richard Nixon) . . . Isn't California one of the states in the U.S. district where the judges ruled that being “one nation under God” is unconstitutional? Notice how quickly the same people who are dead-set on sandblasting any references to God off of every public building and national monument resort to prayer as soon as disaster strikes. Sorry to say it, but if the eco-whackos won't let loggers thin out forests and clear out the underbrush, then this is what you get. Fires are as natural as old-growth forests and the spotted owl. Why are we trying to even put them out? That's more unnatural than letting loggers into the forests. People have never tried to put out forest fires until the last century, but people have been logging trees for centuries. Let California burn, I say. It's the natural thing to do! (Pete) . . . I'd pray to God for the good people of California, but apparently God is not allowed there. (David) . . . Let it burn liberal scumbags. (HoHa) . . . Hollywood, San Francisco and Marin County: THOSE are the places with the liberal whack-jobs. San Diego is normal as the rest of the country. Central California is where the tree huggers are. Here is just surfers and illegal aliens. (Jim)

THE GOODBYE GIRL, ONLY HE'S A GUY Gaddi Vasquez, whom the Orange County Register has called “a rising star in the GOP” since All in the Familywas in original production, announces he's stepping down as head of the Peace Corpson Nov. 11. Just before a grand jury declared Vasquez incompetent for his role in the county of Orange's 1995 bankruptcy, he resigned as chairman of the county Board of Supervisors “to spend more time with my family.” He then joined Southern California Edison, but when the deregulation shit hit the fan there, he left “to spend more time with my family.” After pumping $100,000 in unspent supervisor campaign cash into the GOP in 2000, he was appointed by Dubya (over the howls of Peace Corps veterans) to head the agency. With an extensive series by the Dayton Daily News of Ohio now revealing that it's life-threatening to join the Peace Corps at a time when the Prez is demanding we send more volunteers into the world's hot spots, Gaddi's flown the coop again “to spend more time with my family.” Pundits expect Vasquez next extra-short stint to be in Sacramento with the Schwarzenegger administration.