Compassionate Conservatism

A paraplegic man wearing a soiled hospital gown and a broken colostomy bag was found crawling in a gutter in skid row in Los Angeles on Thursday after allegedly being dumped in the street by a Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center van, police said.

The incident, witnessed by more than two dozen people, was described by police as a particularly outrageous case of "homeless dumping" that has plagued the downtown area.

"I can't think of anything colder than that," said LAPD Det. Russ Long, who called the case the most egregious of its kind that he has seen in his career. "There was no mission around, no services. It's the worst area of skid row."

Los Angeles Police Department detectives said they connected the van to Hollywood Presbyterian after witnesses wrote down a phone number on the van and took down its license-plate number.

They are questioning officials from the hospital, which the LAPD had accused in an earlier dumping case that is now under investigation.

Witnesses shouted at the female driver of the van, "Where's his wheelchair, where's his walker?"

Gary Lett, an employee at Gladys Park, near where the incident occurred, said the woman driving the van didn't reply, but proceeded to apply makeup and perfume before driving off.

"She didn't make any attempt to help him," Lett said. "He was in bad shape. He was incoherent."


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dumping9feb09,0,7452706.story?track=mostviewed-homepage

You mean the *hospital* did that to him??????

Why?????????????????????????????????????????????????

Probably a person (homeless?)with no insurance, but that's just an assumption on my part. It happens more often than we read about.

1) Driver of the van.
2) Person determined to give the order.
3) Hospital administrator.
4) Hospital Board.

All of them should be fired!

"But I wish you would all shut up about this so I could concentrate on my golf."

- Commander AWOL

...and as an ex Presbyterian I am sad because some mainline churches are more progressive than that, although I will say they are not so much into the social justice stuff except in an impersonal way at arm's length often. Set up a hospital, give scholarships to those darling little Indonesian kids to come over here and go to school, help those little Mexican children ~ in Mexico certainly not under their noses next door where they might get their hands dirty. As for the homeless, lets just send them that old jar of mint jelly I have had on my shelf for years, even though I can afford steak every night ..." Then,brushing their hands together they can say, "There! I have done my Christian duty for another month` Now where is the golf bag?" I had to leave the church for this very reason and much of what just wrote I saw ~ by the minister who told me once that he would not personally help desperate people who came to to him, "because it would only enable them ..."

So lets just pick up that man in the van, make him wait while I apply my lipstick and perfume, because I SO holy for picking this "poor man" up (as she says aside: he was probably drunk and asking for it). Like alcoholics and drug addicts do not deserve humane treatment ~ after all the reason why I do little or nothing and let them starve and crawl in the gutter is because "hey I would not want to enable them, now would I?"

I am not wanting to just pick on Presbyterians (tho Reagan was one who created the "Welfare Queen" myth that is now devastating millions of American families and later said real softly he had lied), I am also calling out wingnut churches, the Jerry Falwells, the Patrick Buchanans, the Christian Broadcasting, who take 90 of their donations for themselves. Though it is a little better, even World Concern spends around 70% of their budget on themselves, the other 30% actually getting to the people who need it. All of whom look down their noses with fake concern after leaving their cushy offices all decked out in big desks and comfortable expensive chairs (World Concern's offices are decorated such, so I hear, Falwell, Buchnanan and others so-called "Christian leaders" fly private jets, work in cushy offices, and live in mansions). They can then feel real good as they drive off in their shiny new SUVs with the flags flapping off the safely rolled up and tinted windows, that have those those yellow ribbon magnets on their bumpers saying "Support the Troups!" as if they really do or they would be in Iraq right this minute. None of them seem to understand that "success" to Jesus is a"loving your NEIGHBOR" not flaunting to starving desperate people how much you have. What does that tell you?.

Cat In Seattle <---who became a UCC member over 35 years ago where most of members are actually out there DOING stuff not just throwing money at it. They at least are not afraid to directly help someone without making them get down on their knees to Jeeeezus as payment for getting desperately needed assistance.