Gotta love Dolly Parton. She's on Larry King:

"Does being called a dumb blonde offend you?"

"No, because I know I'm not dumb and I know I'm not blonde."

Lor', chile. I never lost anything in Monroe, LA, that I couldn't do without.

In fact, since I-49 was finished, I don't even have to drive past the place.

Monroe News-Star: 30% in Monroe shelters have criminal histories

Choice quotes:

[...] The background checks were conducted because of Sheriff Richard Fewell's concerns about the safety of evacuees living at the shelter and Red Cross volunteers working there.[...]

[...] "We've run approximately 900 of the names we were provided by the Red Cross and of that 900, approximately 30 percent have some sort of criminal history," said Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Deputy Bobby Baker. "We had a feeling that was what we were dealing with. We also found people this morning that's not on the list."[...]

[...] The background checks, based on information from the National Crime Information Center database, found evacuees who had been charged with various offenses from drunk and disorderly to first-degree murder, Baker said. But in most cases, NCIC doesn't tell local law enforcement officials whether those people in the database have been convicted of a crime.[...]

From an article by Lynn Peterson, June 2001:

[...] If the subject has a common name many records will be found for that name that have nothing to do with the subject. Therefore, all case files found on the index with the same name must be examined for a match to date of birth, and sometimes Social Security number or driver's license number. It will also be necessary to examine the case files to determine the charges and the dispositions. The large online public records vendors provide online access to county criminal court records in some jurisdictions in California, Arizona and Texas. However, in many locations the only information available is name of defendant, case number, and date. Penal code violations may or may not be listed, and disposition is rarely included.[...]

I think that is this Lynn Peterson. And this one.

This is solid evidence of the old North-South Louisiana split.

It's evident in the black community in Monroe, too: Monroe Free Press.

UPDATE: Here is the Red Cross entry form to enter their database.

As far as applying for benefits or shelter, there seems only a requirement to prove that individuals and families lived in a disaster area. Identification numbers are the Red Cross' own.

You're welcome to correct me.

People vs. FEMA. Ex-NBA star takes his company to Pascagoula to clear ground for stricken residents and runs into red tape.

Come to think of it, it was illegal to serve food from my kitchen to the evacuees at the church. My kitchen is not officially sanctioned. I haven't heard that anyone got sick.

UPDATE: Lyman tells me I wasn't illegal, because I wasn't under the auspices of the government.

On the other hand, I will tell the Southern Baptist church that I will never become a member. First, I will never give over my will to a man, and second, I have a homosexual brother whom I will never renounce or diminish.

Pariah, Pariah,
And they called the wind Pariah ...

(Thank you, Mr. Balko.)

Speaking of help, Daniel Morris has posted some suggestions about how people can help one another more directly in emergency situations, and would like some feedback.

Leave comments at his post.

Mostly Cajun lost his home and pets to fire after Rita passed.

According to him, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux might be the butts of lots of jokes, but they're the boys you want at your right hand in times of trouble.

Scroll down for his story.

Best to you and your neighbors, sir.

Let us know how we can help.

(Thanks to Indigo Insights and Nate McCord.)

UPDATE: Mostly Cajun also remembers jokes.

Working on a washing machine Rit Dye project today. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: That worked well.

I had bought table covers for the two cheap stands we use as end tables in our bedroom. I ordered them online, and was pleased as punch with the design but not the color. Other offered colors were less appealing. So I fixed it.

I have some confidence now. If this color isn't satisfactory, I'll do it again.

I do not tend to beat my breast when I perceive something that others don't.

But, watching CNN covering their ass this evening, I would like to point out this post and comments from August 31, when I told you what would happen with this coverage.

Maybe my journalism degree ain't totally worthless, after all.

UPDATE: Personally, I believe that a great many journalists are both stupid and racist. I prefer to be stupid and racist on my own time.

This Nola in Exile story speaks to me.

When we returned from our trip to Colorado, the first place we went was to a Piccadilly Cafeteria in New Orleans. Before we left, I ran to the bathroom, leaving my eyeglasses on the table. When we returned to the table, the glasses were gone. The girl who had cleared the table walked up and said, "Here they are, Sugarfoot. I thought you had left."

Sugarfoot. I hadn't heard that in years.

Don't get me wrong. Coloradans are friendly people, just not the same.

For every little boy who has lived where it snows, this is for you.

(Thank you, Agitator.)

More tornado damage from Sunday morning's weather.

I just drove the six blocks to pick up some chili my mother-in-law made today.

When I returned to the car with the pot, I said, "Let's open this side door. I have rubber mats back here."

There was no rubber mat. (The kids have been using my car.) There was a jewel case for "Booty Hits" instead.

UPDATE: By gosh, if these boys weren't grown, I'd teach 'em a thing or two about booty hits.

So the nigras didn't devolve into savages, after all?

Must be a cover-up sommeres.

Sorry, silly ...

(I put up this link because it links to Rick Stuart's comments, and buy that man a beer.)


UPDATE: You'll note in the comments to Mr. Stuart's post that someone brings up this story.

I certainly don't deny that New Orleans had a dreadful murder rate. But I don't see any numbers in this story. Are we talking 10 gunshot victims? 30? 100?

Not a great many months ago I read a story on nola.com about a mentally retarded, black, teenaged boy being chased and gunned down in his neighborhood for fun, it appears.

A woman was abducted, raped, and if I remember correctly, murdered in an alley on Christmas day one year.

There were and are bad actors down there. How many?

UPDATE II: Juliette Ochieng has a different take.

The events of the past few weeks have created a fundamental change in me.

This morning, considering options for a rare breakfast, I discovered that nothing would do but grits with butter, salt and pepper.

Kris Alexander's blog has some first-hand reporting of managing evacuation to Austin, Texas, and return.

(Thank you, Scott Chaffin. And Mr. Alexander, especially.)

Lyman's weather station has many nifty qualities. One thing its software does is adds up rainfall amounts. We received 4.16" since Friday night, bringing our total for the month to 4.40".

It also provided a chart of wind velocities. We had gusts up to 20 mph before we woke yesterday.

The sun is shining today.

And that seems to be about it. Good riddance.

But I do believe I'll stay awake to see Rita off. She should only be another hour or two. Malicious slut.

UPDATE: One last ugly cell just passed south and east of us. Be careful over there.

Off to bed now.

Here comes another ugly red spot.

It's raining at the rate of 5.88" per hour.

This storm is going to destroy my marriage.

Lyman woke me from a dead sleep to tell me that the tornado siren sounded. But he didn't say that.

He whimpered some mealy-mouthed crap about how he needed help with the birds, because the storm was bad.

Good Lord, boy. You're worse than my father was at waking me up. Mother was matter-of-fact.

By the way, the tornado didn't hit us, but it's a nasty-looking piece on radar.

Our cable TV has been out for hours.

"Where's the emergency radio station?"

"I dunno."

::GLARE::

The fellow at the fire department told us it was sighted south of Ferriday.

UPDATE: It didn't miss everybody.

The big boys have Miller Time and birds have millet time. 8:30. Routine, routine, routine.