Distilled posts on Katrina.

First of all, you can donate money to the Red Cross here via a relief effort attempting to raise a million dollars for the Red Cross. There are offers of shelter on MetaFilter's MetaTalk. A few churches and orginzations both helping with relief efforts and accepting volunteers are here.

Relief may finally be on the way here, and New Orleans' mayor vents his frustration. Via Atrios, rtdn & hooper_x , black people are looting food and supplies, while white people are just finding them . An email attributed to a NOLA rescue worker isn't surprised in the disparity. Is there anarchy, or are people just half-mad with fear and desparation? Haven't we seen a different attitude towards looting across the ocean?

Sadly, many people, including our Secretary of Homeland Security, seem to realize that yes, there are some people that were too poor to leave, so let's just blame the poor people. Steve Gilliard weighs in, while August points out that there are very concrete reasons as to why the federal response was so disastrous and that pointing out what decisions the administration has made that has lead to so much suffering isn't partisanship, it's just the truth. John Scalzi also points out the appalling attitude of other officals, saying in part that "...when I hear that both Dennis Hastert and Donald Rumsfeld have expressed doubts about the utility of rebuilding New Orleans, you have to wonder if being Republican in today's world means intentionally signing up for brain damage. Seems that port down there isn't just used by the folks in New Orleans. It could be that not having it around might cause trouble."

Meanwhile, Jonah Goldberg is just an asshole.

Who can we count on? Levee breaches were anticpated way before Katrina hit, even as far back as 2001. Even the Army Corps of Engineers says that important money from SELA was diverted to the budget for the war in Iraq. Michael Brown didn't even know about the Convention center refugees not having food and water until yesterday, it seems that DHS has failed.

So what can we do? Donate, or offer shelter, for starters. Even the FCC is trying to coordinate tech aid for the Katrina disister, with step-by-step instructions.

Michelle and I are doing what we can-- clothing to help a realtive of hers fleeing Katrina, donations to the Red Cross, and offering our house. Everyone reading should try and do the same. Keep those in need in your thaoughts, hearts, and if you have faith in a higher power, prayers.