We are up to $2,150 for hurricane relief, and the TTLB Board reads over 1.3 million dollars!

If you haven't contributed yet, jump on the bandwagon!

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This week's Cotillion Ball is being held in four ballrooms at the very top of the Hotel Blogosphere. Besides this room, where i am your humble M.C., we have RightGirl, Merri Musings and Stacy, each of whom have wonderful festivities planned for today. As you stroll around the dance floor, i'd like you to imagine listening to the music of some great musicians from the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Foremost is of course Sachmo, whose version of "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" is one of the great classics of all time.

Crystal Clear deserves congratulations for having landed a dream job in Hawaii, not an easy state to make a living in. And she'll be doing good work, too.

[A]fter a great deal of soul-searching it really seemed to me that the consistent pattern and passion in my life has always been children and likely always will be serving the underserved children and watching out for the kids many people consider "throw aways".

Darleen has a provocatively titled post, "Jesus Was Not A Socialist."

No where in [Jesus'] teachings does one find a call that GOVERNMENT must use its power to redistribute property from the earners to the needers. Indeed, Jesus preached about the difference between the Government and individuals.

. . .

Socialism is not about individuals giving of their own earned property. It's about self-selected people of power deciding to fulfill their own desires with someone else's property taken by force.

Morality assumes choice. Socialism is a matter of, at best, amorality, because it robs people of choice.

Dr. Sanity discusses a common phenomenon many of us observe when trying to understand the leftist mind at work. It's called "denial."

When belief in any idea become a matter of faith--and one's own identity is defined by that faith--then the psyche will do anything necessary to distort or deny any truth that contradicts that belief.

. . .

I fear that is the choice that those on the Left are making right now, although they like to imagine that those of us who are fighting against the new threats to human freedom and dignity are the ones suffering from delusion.

When all hell breaks loose, for some the niceties of self-disciplined social interaction disappear in a wash of mind-numbing fear and desperation. Others, realize that desperate times call for even more rigorous commitment to the principles of civilized behavior—that set of Values which makes a hellish situation infinitely more manageable.

Sadie: You believe that Joran Van der Sloot emailed you hours before he was arrested. What made these emails seem authentic?

Dan: Joran or someone close to him - why else would someone go to the trouble? I thought maybe him and his Father together Â… the emails were written with some awareness of the law, as well as forming public opinion. That isnÂ’t your average seventeen year old on his own.

RightGirl has a beautiful post about the friends we make on-line, and the limitations of those friendships.

[E]very once in a while, you come across a person who touches you. You make a friend, and the boundaries of real life vs. internet blur a little at the edges. . . . You get caught up in their dramas: their joys and sorrows. Sometimes you prefer them to those real friends, because you don't know them well enough to know their ugly habits. . . . But when these people that you have come to hold as real suffer something large and devastating, you feel that pain, too. But because they are only 'imaginary,' there often isn't anything you can do. You can pray. You can try to reach out. But miles and boundaries get in the way. Sometimes, you just have to let them drop.

For the last time: You have a participatory form of government. PARTICIPATE. Or:

"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, 'Who is destroying the world?' You are."

But then, the woman who wrote that was not a progressive, so we can ignore her.

Here's the largest, most profound problem recognized by all medical personnel yesterday: People needed to get prescriptions filled. Many are already in the system for state medicare or had private insurance - but didn't have 3 bucks for the co-pay. I see all of these corporations giving a million bucks in cash which is a good thing-but for at least one corporation out there I know of a great need that has not been met yet. But what we really, really needed was for a drug chain to step forward and volunteer to cover peoples co-pay for refugees. Can you imagine how many prescriptions could be filled with a one million dollar donation for co-pays?? Many, many of our problems would have been solved.

P.S. i almost forgot everyone's favorite Louisiana musician/mom-to-be!

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As a young Catholic School girl, i was taught that donations to charity should be made with humility. So, when i asked you all for help with the Blogathon for Hurricane Relief, i didn't put up a link to N.Z. Bear's Weblog Leader Board (which has tallied over $650,000 in contributions as of this writing.).

But, checking that leader board today, i was shocked to find that my name is on it, and that five of you have recorded your contributions with my blog as a reference! The total for annika's journal is $425!

It still amazes me that anyone even reads my bullshit, so i can't tell you how happy and grateful and proud i am, that in some small way this blog might be responsible for that kind of graciousness. Thank you so much! i think the Blogathon is clearly one of the true success stories to come out of this hurricane tragedy.

Let's keep it going!

Update: We're now up to $650!

Update 2: Wow, $1,150! You folks are incredible!

Remember that the crisis is not over. In fact, it's really just beginning. The population of a major city has picked up and scattered itself around the country. If you've ever lived on somebody's couch for an extended period, you know how unsettling that can be for all concerned. After a few weeks, these folks will really need the kind of help that charities like Catholic Relief can provide. So let's not forget about them, even if the media starts to lose interest.

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"Poor Mike Myers. Look at his face. He looks like he's gonna hurl."

i wish i'd thought of that. The subtly obscure movie reference is supposed to be my bailiwick.

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i'm reprinting the following request by Ken Wheaton in full. Please help if you can.

Understandably, sitting on the sidelines in New York and watching fellow Americans suffer is as frustrating as it is heart-breaking. Especially for those of us from Louisiana and living elsewhere, we want to do something more than just send money to the American Red Cross, with the vague sense of unease that it may get spent on a company car or a press release or a box of donuts at headquarters. And hopping in a rental car or on a plane is not only a direct violation of FEMA orders, but at this point, with gas as high as it is, it's prohibitively expensive, possibly dangerous and THAT money might be better spent on relief efforts.

So here's your chance to help one specific group of people. My friend Felicia, who you've read about in previous posts, is on a task force in St. Landry Parish, in Opelousas to be more precise. Opelousas, as many of you know, is my home town. There are currently a great deal of refugees who've ended up there--in the churches, in the shelters, in the Yambilee building, camping out in the parks--and they're going to need things.

For a closer look at what's going on in Opelousas and St. Landry Parish, check out The Opelousas Daily World.

So... Felicia is providing me and you with her home address. Care packages and checks specifically to help this group of people can be sent to her. Be sure to include a return address and your name.

St. Landry Katrina Relief
c/o Felicia Mouton
1022 Eddins Avenue
Opelousas, LA 70570

Things that are needed

Felicia says that while you can send clothes and food, those things are generally accounted for. Instead, she says, send

baby wipes, diapers, tampons, sanitary napkins, underwear, undershirts, Q-tips, cotton balls, dental floss, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoos, soaps, etc....basically, anything you and I would by at Walgreen's for personal upkeep. These things are rarely thought of. The best way to purchase this kind of stuff is to actually in travel size so that individual packets can be given to people, and they don't have to share.

Also, anything for children, such as toys that don't necessarily have to be shared or want to be stolen, art paper, colors, coloring books, reading books...easy stuff. AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES! DON'T FORGET SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

In general, don't send anything worth money because in these type of shelters (well, in any that I've had to stay in/work in) things will be taken.

If you do want to send money, make checks payable to "Hurricane Katrina, St. Landry Parish Fund." From here on out, any money put into my PayPal account will go to this relief effort.

I would ask that anyone and everyone who reads my blog, who links to my blog, who has a home on my sidebar either contribute or at least provide a link to this post. Please. I'm begging here. Thank you all very much.

. . . Have a great Labor Day.

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As you can see at the top of my sidebar, i have selected Catholic Charities for hurricane relief donation. Here's why i like them.

Louisiana is heavily Roman Catholic and i expect that many victims will rely on the Church for all sorts of help.

The Catholic Church is 2000 years old, it ain't going anywhere.

As i posted on Monday, Catholic Charities emphasizes long term recovery aid, and this disaster recovery will take a long time.

Catholic Charities is a separate entity from local archdioceses, and therefore there's no danger that my money might possibly be skimmed to pay for any scandal settlements. i would be uncomfortable donating through my own local parish's collection basket for that reason.

You don't have to donate to my chosen charity, but i'd encourage you not to wait if you haven't helped out yet. Pick a charity from N.Z. Bear's, Instapundit's, The Cotillion (Jody's), or The Bear Flag League's list and do what you can today.

Technorati tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina

Update: My Cotillion sister Sadie at Fistful of Fortnights is auctioning off two blog designs from Apothegm Designs, to benefit the American Red Cross or the Hurricane oriented charity of your choice.

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Just scooting around the blogosphere this morning i have seen quite a contrast in approaches to the Hurricane tragedy. One group of bloggers, a large one, led by Hugh Hewitt among others, is concentrating on helping those in need. Another group of bloggers is holding another less organized blogburst, which can only be described as a "Blame Bush" blogburst.

Why am i not surprised.

Could this map provide a clue as to why certain bloggers don't seem to care about the victims of Hurricane Katrina?

Like they say, adversity reveals character. If the blogosphere is any indication, i think we're seeing a distinct revelation of character in the response to this disaster, and lack thereof.

It's all about priorities. Some see people in need, and their first thought is to ask "Who can I blame?" Others see a tragedy and immediately ask "How can I help."

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The wonderful American Princess took it upon herself to do the whole Cotillion Ball this week. Having done one fourth of the hosting myself, i have to tip my hat to her, it is quite a task, and she did a great job. Go take a look at the best work from the members of the Cotillion here. And if i may highlight one selection, please don't miss Beth's retelling of her visit to Camp Reality in Crawford, Texas.

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Some of you have emailed me with rejected comments. i don't know why they're being rejected, but it's not my doing and i have no control over the filter. It may have something to do with the recent mu.nu server problem and hopefully it will only be temporary. Feel free to email me with your compliments or vitriol, in the meantime.

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Many thanks to Beth, Michelle and Basil for allowing the free trackbacks and links while Mu.nu was down.

Since the blog was unavailable for most of Tuesday, i will extend the Final Jeopardy deadline until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, Thursday night. Or until all players have submitted their responses. Right now, we're still waiting for Charlie, Skippy and Jasen.

For future reference, my old Blogspot blog will be my backup blog. You can find it at http://annikagyrl.blogspot.com/ or just google "blogspot annika."

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This Week's Cotillion Ball is hosted by the following ladies: Cassandra, who asks "what is it about boots?;" The American Princess, a hot chick with some hot cars; Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho, who spotlights America's fighting women, and the lovely Fausta, of Bad Hair Blog, who never has a bad hair day, blogwise. As always, i encourage you to read these best posts of the last week from the top women bloggers around.

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i took the California Handgun Safety Certificate written test last weekend and passed with flying colors. That means that the State of California has deemed me worthy to purchase a handgun within the next five years if i so choose.

The test is so easy even one of Victor's rats could pass it (assuming that Victor has taught them how to read, as i'm sure he has). But the State of California still got 25 bucks out of me for the privilege of taking the test.

Publicola fisked the test's review booklet and showed how, despite the simplicity of the questions, even an expert can have trouble. This sample question seems to have tripped him up:

Hmmm. They have a self test.

'Safety Rule Number Two is keep
the gun pointed:

A. To the north.
B. In the safest possible direction.
C. Up.
D. Down.'

Well being a Southerner I gotta go with A. . . . we never really trusted those damn yankees . . .

Publicola was also nice enough to answer two questions i posed to him:

if Cali does not have the worst gun laws in the country, who does? and on a related note . . . Are there any decently industrialized nations that recognize the rights of gun owners similar to or better than the US?

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i discovered an interesting niche blog this morning, Boomer Deathwatch. It's about that old Gen X - Boomer antipathy. i consider myself a Gen Xer, so i can relate to a lot of it. Here's an excerpt from the top post:

In the meantime, I worked minimum wage jobs and buffed up my political and social paranoia, built out of bits and pieces of leftover 60s radical rhetoric. Reagan was evil; Thatcher was a witch; the CIA pulled the strings; the Joint Chiefs of Staff and their counterparts at the Kremlin were glaring at each other over some future battlefield, wracked with nervous ticks and drenched with booze-soaked flopsweat, and one day they'd go too far and blow us all to kingdom come. There was no good or evil, or it was all evil, or we all had the potential for good. I don't know, it changed all the time, depending on what I was reading.

Then the 80s boom ended and the Wall fell and I finally got tired of being afraid and confused. More to the point, I got tired of letting fear and ignorance dictate how I saw the world, so I started reading books, some of which I didn't agree with at first. I stopped reading music magazines and started reading about economics, if only to find out just why all of the magazines I'd worked for as a freelance writer and photographer came and went in such regular cycles.

I was 'empowering myself'. Sure. Basically I was trying to peek my head up over the surging boomer crest ahead of me before the building echo wave behind me swept me down again. There had to be more to be seen or heard than the surging spectacle of sex, drugs and rock and roll that had been the backdrop for my whole life. If it looked like I'd never afford a house or a family, at least I wanted to know why I didn't die in a nuclear holocaust, or live in the Orwellian 'security state' of total surveillance and mind control that so many of my peers seemed to think was inevitable - indeed, already here, if you listened to many of them.

i remember when Time ran that cover story about Gen X back in the eighties and it wasn't too flattering. And this whole shit storm erupted about whether Gen Xers were slackers, and why the Boomers were so bitter about the next generation.

Then the conflict seemed to die down, sometime in the late nineties perhaps. Boomers started to realize with their mortality staring them in the face, that their entire life could not be the big self-indulgent youth movement they thought it would be. And that Gen-Xers weren't all lazy cynics, and they didn't necessarily want or need to follow in the Boomers' footsteps either.

By the way, i recently saw The Big Chill for the first time on DVD. i'd heard so much about that movie that i figured i was missing out for having never seen it. i was wrong. i didn't miss a darn thing.

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Two years ago last Monday, i joined the Alliance of Free Blogs by posting a rousing call to arms which i'm reprinting below. Just cuz i like it.

To set the stage for those of you who don't remember the Great Blog War, it was Frank J of IMAO who whipped up a tongue-in-cheek battle* between him and Glenn Reynolds over something. i don't remember exactly what. But Frank came up with the idea for the Alliance and Susie and Harvey took it from there. After much hemming and hawing, i joined up in the following spectacularly pompous way. more...

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This week's Cotillion Ball is a lot of fun. RightGirl celebrates Elvis Presley, A Mom And Her Blog stirs up a hurricane, Mary Katharine Ham, who's been all over the place lately, presents some Hollywood leading ladies, and Not A Desperate Housewife shares some beauty tips, not that she needs any herself.

And finally, don't forget to check out the Bonfire Of The Vanities. i'm in it this "weak."

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The Cotillion dance is being hosted this week by Baldilocks, Darleen's Place, Maxed Out Mama and Small Dead Animals. Always great stuff!

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i have been remiss in not alerting you to Scorebard's Jeopardy game with a baseball/poetry theme over at Humbug Journal. The game is ongoing right now, and while Scorebard was inspired by the game here, his clues are much harder. i haven't gotten one yet.

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This is my 1000th post as a Munuvian. Let's celebrate!

Don't forget to check out the Cotillion Ball, hosted this week by Sissy Willis, Portia Rediscovered, Ilyka Damen and KelliPundit.

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i think you all know who's side i'm taking in this controversy.

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Right Wing News had a poll of conservative bloggers to select the "Least Favorite People On The Right." the results were:

1 Tom Tancredo (4)
1 Ralph Reed (4)
1 Newt Gingrich (4)
1 Lincoln Chafee (4)
1 James Dobson (4)
1 George Pataki (4)
1 Arnold Schwarzenegger (4)
14) Tom DeLay (5)
14) Rush Limbaugh (5)
14) George Voinovich (5)
14) Chuck Hagel (5)
13) Andrew Sullivan (6)
11) Tucker Carlson (7)
11) Bob Novak (7)
9) Sean Hannity (
9) Rick Santorum (
Arlen Specter (10)
7) Jerry Falwell (15.5)
6) Bill O'Reilly (16)
5) Michael Savage (17)
4) Pat Robertson (19.5)
3) Ann Coulter (20)
2) John McCain (21)
1) Pat Buchanan (2

i don't understand why so many people voted for McCain, Specter, Hagel, Voinovich, Chafee and Andy Sullivan. i thought the question was to vote for your least favorite person on the right. i didn't vote for them because it never crossed my mind that they were conservatives. McCain has his moments, but the rest of those people are to the left of Hillary Clinton. The new Hillary, that is.

My submissions were these guys:

The aforementioned Michael Savage and Pat Buchanan.

Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson who've done more to empower the ACLU than anyone in America. i added Dr. Dobson, who is the new Jerry Fallwell. He bugs the crap out of me. i heard him talk about the fillibuster controversy, and he really shouldn't ever talk politics. His grasp of constitutional history is at about eight grade level. i was like, "thanks for the effort doc, but we'll take it from here."

Rick Santorum. Bigot. Stuck his foot in his mouth too many times, and he'll continue to do so. If he get's nominated, say hello to America's first woman president.

Tucker Carlson, milquetoast. He's mis-labeled as a conservative, but he's an empty shell; the Alan Colmes of the right. Like Pat Buchanan he's a media darling because he's anti-war. Otherwise, nobody'd ever let him near a tv studio because he's un-watchable. Un-watchable.

Bob Novak, never liked him. Yah, i know he's a legend, but his best days ended before i was born. And i'm saying this totally exclusive of the whole Plamegate involvement thing. He pretty much mails it in nowadays. Much like i do on this here blog.

My last choice was kind of mean, but what the hell: Paul Harvey. He's like that old crotchety grampa that you love to death, but somebody should really take the keys away; you know what i mean? Don't get me wrong, i'm glad Paul Harvey's out there because a lot of people get their politics solely from his little blurbs. But i started changing the channel when i hear him on the radio. Too many times i got pissed at myself for wasting three minutes of my precious radio listening time with that bs.

And now you know the rest of the story.










































Good day.

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