(cp at Kos, MyDD, Demsjapan, My Left Wing, Booman, AAFD)

I didn't know anything about this organization till Chuck D talked about it on AirAmerica as a way to get resources directly to the people in the affected communities. I read through each orgs' info, and I could get a really clear picture of what each one is doing and why, and donate to those who are doing what I would do if I were there.

The Sparkplug Foundation Katrina Relief Fund focuses on community groups who are(quote)

Organizing at the grassroots level in New Orleans, Biloxi, Houston and other affected areas

Providing immediate disaster relief to poor people and people of color

Directed by, or accountable to, poor people and people of color

Fostering the democratic inclusion of poor people and people of color in the rebuilding process

more below.

Camp Casey Covington is there, too. Family farm funds. Shelter workers.

And the NOLA Community Oversight Committee who are trying to circumvent the inevitable attempt (after all, Halliburton got their NOLA contract on Sept. 1, yo) to take away the communities' ability to channel resources to help themselves. The forces against it are formidable, and we who care so much have a chance to stop the real looters, and help the people win.

From NOLA Community Oversight Committee:

"...The people of New Orleans will not go quietly into the night, scattering across this country to become homeless in countless other cities while federal relief funds are funneled into rebuilding casinos, hotels, chemical plants and the wealthy white districts of New Orleans like the French Quarter and the Garden District. We will not stand idly by while this disaster is used as an opportunity to replace our homes with newly built mansions and condos in a gentrified New Orleans.

...Here is what we are calling for:

• We are calling for all New Orleanians remaining in the city to be evacuated immediately.
  
  
• We are calling for information about where every evacuee was taken.
  
  
• We are calling for black and progressive leadership to come together to meet in Baton Rouge to initiate the formation of a Community Oversight Committee of evacuees from all the sites. This committee will demand to oversee FEMA, the Red Cross and other organizations collecting resources on behalf of our people.
  
  
• We are calling for volunteers to enter the shelters where our people are and to assist parents with housing, food, water, health care and access to aid.
  
  
• We are calling for teachers and educators to carve out some time to come to evacuation sites and teach our children.
  
  
• We are calling for city schools and universities near evacuation sites to open their doors for our children to go to school.
  
  
• We are calling for health care workers and mental health workers to come to evacuation sites to volunteer.
  
  
• We are calling for lawyers to investigate the wrongful death of those who died, to protect the land of the displaced, to investigate whether the levies broke due to natural and other related matters.
  
  
• We are calling for evacuees from our community to actively participate in the rebuilding of New Orleans.
  
  
• We are calling for the addresses of all the relevant list serves and press contacts to send our information.

We are in the process of setting up a central command post in Jackson, MS, where we will have phone lines, fax, email and a web page to centralize information. We will need volunteers to staff this office..."

If these efforts are successful, aided by all Americans of good will, and backed up by the excellent Senate Democrats Plan for Katrina Relief, can you imagine the truly great society we can work together to create?

okay, back to thinking out loud:

What I'm thinking is, if there are any Kossack volunteers who are on the ground in the affected areas, if you can get in touch with orgs like this, for example, and see what Kossacks can do, we can make an enormous positive difference in resources and awareness.

I remember, from the Dean campaign, white progressive folks feeling unsure and unclear about how best to reach out to people of color. Well, one way would be to live your life in such a way that you naturally have all kinds of people who are close to you, in the first place (so you don't have to make a special effort, which can sometimes get weird for all involved:-). But we live in a racist society, and the lack of natural cross-cultural relationships is one of the evil results, for many Americans. And, when we can't connect with each other as human beings and as Americans, the real terrorists win. You know what I'm talkin' about.

Here's a crisis where your help is needed, and where Americans helping Americans is going to be the way we overcome our lack of an actual functioning president. Until we take him and his down and rebuild the government.

Let's be about it.