I knew as soon as you got New Orleans cats together you were going to have the spirit and sound of the city. We could address all the emotions of the moment.

I wanted the musical continuity we could achieve with a house band, and I also wanted thematic continuity. I didn't want songs about flooding; I didn't want songs about rain. I wanted to celebrate the musicality and the spirituality of the old neighborhood because I didn't know if there would even be an old neighborhood to return to. So I wanted the spirit of the neighborhood bar.

I was sitting in my new home in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, horrified like everyone else. I knew which neighborhoods were being hardest hit because I've spent over 25 years going down there, first as a reporter covering Jazz Fest for Billboard and then developing friendships there. As those waters rose, a lot of people knew I had close relationships in New Orleans and started e-mailing me about what was happening there. I couldn't believe it.

Creative ideas flourish best in a shop which preserves some spirit of fun. Nobody is in business for fun, but that does not mean there cannot be fun in business.

We will win this battle because we are fighting for our lives and the lives of our Clanmates. Our enemies are already dead. They fight only out of hate and that will be their weakness.

The market economy is deeply congruent with the values set out in the Hebrew Bible. Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the spirit as well as the body, and its alleviation is a sacred task. Work is a noble calling.