Pitchfork is reporting that Big Star frontman Alex Chilton is missing and may be among the casualties of the hurricane.

I've donated $20 to the relief effort through the AFL-CIO's Union Community Fund. I have mixed feelings about this because I have mixed feelings about the AFL-CIO at the moment and also because the money to help the refugees and to rebuild should be coming from the estate tax Bill Frist wants to repeal. It should be coming from the oil companies who are now charging as much as six bucks a gallon for gas in some places. It should be coming out of the defense budget which should have been used to fix the levee system in 2001 in the first place. So I'll donate in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity, but I frankly find the emphasis on Reaganite voluntarism voiced by many Federal officials and politicians incredibly offensive.

EDIT: $20 is not a lot of money, and I would have donated more, but I just paid rent, don't get paid for two weeks, my checking account is rapidly dwindling, and there are things i am going to need to spend money on before the "stipend" checks come in, like food, metrocards, and bills. So i may donate more once i'm a little more stable.