I arrived back in Los Angeles last night from Burning Man where I spent the week in utter ignorance of the true scale of Hurricane Katrina. Only today have I started to grasp the immense scale of the destruction.

Normally, I am a very dispassionate reader of the news, but maybe having been in a place that practices radical inclusion and community, I feel a deeper connection to my fellow humans. As I read the paper today, choked up with emotion a few times. The photos and accounts were gut wrenching. At the same time, I also grew deeply angry, as many others have.

It boggles the mind why it must take such a devastating catastrophe before action is taken. My gut reaction is to pillory the administration, but I’ll leave that to the pundits. Actions speak louder than rants and do a much better job of making one feel better.

Recently, we’ve been trying to sell our HDTV on CraigsList. My wife had the great idea to donate the proceeds to the Red Cross after being moved by news accounts of what was going on in New Orleans. She mentioned such and the TV was snapped up immediately by a woman who used to live in the Big Easy.

Now I am looking around wondering if there is more junk around here we can sell and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity

If you feel you don’t have money you can afford to donate, consider selling that piece of junk laying around in your closet gathering dust. You don’t need it anyways and a little bit of cash is helpful.

If you are looking for other ways to help, check out the Katrina relief homepage on Craigs List.