Any of you AOL users...

[misanthrope]

...turn on your AOL web radio. The programmers have started a new channel entitled "New Orleans Sounds" under the "soundtracks & themes" category. I've been listening to Dixie Cups, Dr. John, the Marsalis clan, the Meters, various Nevilles, Rockin' Doopsie, Zachary Richard, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Balfa Toujours, Nicholas Payton, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, etc. for days.

But more than just as enjoyment, this is a great reminder of how integral New Orleans is to our national identity and why we should be focused on bringing this city back as quickly and fully as possible.

New Orleans was the first great American cosmopolis. Let's hope it's not a symbol for the course of our nation at large. We need to do what we can to make it a symbol of how the PEOPLE of the United States, not the politicians, are what can make us great.

[hlthe2b]

1. Ohh, thank YOU! I've been wanting to relive the music of NOLA

but my collection is small and I didn't feel I could expand it sufficiently given my current budget. I look forward to tuning in.