Blog for Relief Day tomorrow

I've just signed up with The Truth Laid Bear- http://www.truthlaidbear.com/topicpage.php?topic=Katrina to blog tomorrow in the Blog For Relief Day.

I'm glad that you're here, now we have work to do.

I posted some of the things we can do over on my family blog here-

http://cantnotwrite.blogspot.com/2005/08/hurricane-relief.html


I'm blogging for Feed the Children (http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=usw_hurricane_katrina) 1-888-58CHILD

Consider what you would spend on one lunch, morning coffee, movie, six-pack, DVD, or other non-essential item. Then remember that the folks down in Louisiana and Mississippi not only lost all of their 'non-essential stuff', but most of them won't be buying any of them again anytime soon.

Like most of my friends, I don't have much money to spare. But I'm committed to sending SOMETHING to Feed the Children tonight. It will mean that when I go to the store tomorrow, I won't buy the 12-pack of Diet Coke I usually would, but I know the money the money will go to those who need it more than I.

Don't count on the big corporate entities to sweep in and pick up the banner for this fight. Amazon.com has already announced that it won't be helping out this time, setting up a place for donations like it did for the Tsunami.

Nope. This time it is really and truly up to us. As a group Americans dug down deep to help people on the other side of the planet, I am confident that we can come together over this and do the same.


Thanks for stopping by, and if you are interested in some other charities to donate to, I suggest checking the following link-http://instapundit.com/archives/025235.php


UDPATE- It looks like Yahoo is getting in on the act too! They now have link on their homepage for donations to the Red Cross and Network for Good. Thanks Yahoo!
HT- Instapundit

UPDATE II- Amazon FINALLY came through and changed their initial stand on donations! Thanks to everyone who called or emailed them! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/104-6887161-7431949

(this post is a reprint from my previous blog, comments from there, if there are any, are below the cut)

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Eyeglasses for New Orleans?

Paul at wizbang wrote:
Think of the simple things- Thousands of people lost their glasses. Somebody set up a website where they can coordinate donations of (known) prescription glasses from people who no longer need them. Get a freight company to donate the freight. I bet FedEx will give you an account number that will route all the glasses to some agency in New Orleans.

http://wizbangblog.com/archives/006933.php

So I looked up the information for the Lions Clubs and shot them off an email. They are the group that collects glasses for the poor at places like LensCrafters.

We'll have to see if I get a reply. Anyone have any other thoughts on this one?

UPDATE- Looked at LensCrafters site. Here's the info on their program with the Lions Clubs-

How you can help-
http://www.givethegiftofsight.org/youcanhelp/

If you NEED help-
http://www.givethegiftofsight.org/gosagency/

Basically, if you need new glasses because you can't afford to replace them because of the Hurricane, you should be able to go to one of their participating stores and get info. The participating stores is here- http://www.givethegiftofsight.org/

(this post is a reprint from my previous blog, comments from there, if there are any, are below the cut)

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How you can help

Here's a couple of different lists of places that are working on hurricane relief.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/

http://instapundit.com/archives/025235.php

Lowe's are matching in-store donations to the Red Cross- http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=home

You can donate to Feed the Children at 1-888-58CHILD. They are working with FEMA in the area.

Hugh Hewitt also suggests getting your church to sponsor a church in the area. He has a list of churches here-http://hughhewitt.com/archives/2005/08/28-week/index.php scroll down to "A Courtesan Cries for Help". Maybe some of my non-Christian friends can put together a list of their churches/groups to support? Let me know and I'll be glad to post them here!

I think that Hugh has a point when he says that churches are going to be doing the long term work in the area. Long after the Red Cross leaves, people will still be in need. The charitable arms of the various religious groups will be the ones that most will turn to.

I'm trying to find some other ways that people can help. Prayer is always good. Any other suggestions?

(this post is a reprint from my previous blog, comments from there, if there are any, are below the cut)


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Hurricane Katrina and Human Nature

Wow, it sure didn't take long for the looting to begin, did it?!

Hugh has this up today-

Hugh Hewitt

I must admit that broadcasting to the world that "The looting was taking place in full view of passing National Guard trucks and police cruisers" as I found in this article-http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050830/D8CAC7E80.html can't be helping the situation any.


I know some people are going to be saying "If only Bush hadn't pulled all those Guard troops to fight in his little war, there wouldn't BE all this looting", or something to that effect. The problem at the moment isn't so much that there aren't enough troops, but that the troops can't GET to many of the areas being looted! I saw that the Navy is bringing several ships into the Gulf with some amphibious ships to help in the search & rescue- http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=19798 That should help.

Now, like many others I've read in the last couple of days, I'm curious to see how the rest of the world will react to our tragedy. Will we see offers of help and money from our friends, allies, and other nations? Some how, I think that the US will get blamed for not spending enough money for relief efforts...again!

I'm going to be linking to the various relief efforts both here and at my family blog, http://cantnotwrite.blogspot.com, so stay tuned!

(this post is a reprint from my previous blog, comments from there are below the cut)


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More on SUVs

Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit.com has a BUNCH more on SUVs, and some thoughts I hadn't considered. Such as how federal regulations regarding seatbelts, carseats, and side airbags have contributed to the need for SUVs.

Instapundit

Folks tend to forget that it's not just soccer moms and big families that need SUVs. Anyone who vacations with their trailer needs either a truck or (as in the case of my folks) an SUV. Sure, they could have bought a truck, but for their one and only vehicle it's not nearly as practical as their Suburban. Especially with all the things they are involved in at church, their hobbies, and I can't imagine them trying to take Rex (their lovable Jack Russell/German short-haired pointer mix) anywhere in the cab of a truck!

(This is a reprint of a post from my old blog. Comments from that blog are below the cut)


COMMENTS
1)Oh, I get that. My mom's parents used to drive across the country in their van. They'd park it somewhere (a public campsite, I mean), and have everything they needed right there. I didn't realize that SUVs were needed for carseats and stuff--but I have done a lot of traveling in a station wagon.

Alicia

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Getting mad for all the wrong reasons...

A friend of my posted this link-

I Want My SUV
I love it when people accuse George Bush of things he hasn't even done yet.

"The New York Times reports today that the Bush administration is expected to abandon a proposal that would extend fuel efficiency standards to cover huge SUVs like the Hummer2 and Ford Excursion."

EXPECTED to abandon it? They are up in arms because he MIGHT do something? Come on. You can bet that if he does support this proposal they'll give him no credit for doing so. They'll find some way to turn it around and STILL make him the bad guy.

"The Bush administration's likely abandonment of better fuel standards is particularly frustrating because the majority of the American people are interested in purchasing more efficient vehicles. A poll conducted this spring found that two-thirds of Americans see buying a fuel-efficient car as a patriotic act. And that's not just lefty environmentalists. Three in five conservatives consider buying fuel-efficient vehicles to be patriotic, and 67 percent of NASCAR fans agree."

Great! Problem solved! If no one is BUYING the gas hogs, then the automobile manufacturers will stop making them. This is a market problem, and the market will take care of it. As long as people are willing to buy 7 miles-to-the-gallon vehicles, why SHOULDN'T they be allowed to do so?


"So once again, Bush is putting his ties to business and industry ahead of the public good—say, less pollution, lower gas prices and decreased dependency on oil. But at least the auto industry will be happy."


Can some one please explain to me how higher fuel efficiency equates to lower pollution? Or how a lower demand for gas (through greater fuel efficiency) would somehow LOWER the price of gasoline? Now, I'm all for a lower dependency on oil, especially foreign oil. But then we might actually have to start drilling in THIS country, and we know what some on the Left think of that option. We could certainly lower our need for heating oil, but to do that we'd have to build new nuclear plants.


Rather than getting angry at President Bush for something he hasn't even done yet, I'm more annoyed at those who block every attempt to get us off our dependency on foreign oil.

(this post is a reprint from my previous blog, comments from there are below the cut)

COMMENTS
1)This one ingrigued me! What do you mean by blocking attempts to get foreign oil?

Maybe you'd want to do a new post--I mean, with the gas prices and everything. I get worried when I see them keep on rising, and I hear about the conflicts in the Middle East and how oil keeps getting mentioned...but it does seem that the scientists are finding different ways to run vehicles. Electric vehicles, for one thing, or vegetable oil rather than petrol (right term?).

On the other hand, it's definitely a serious communication mistake to be upset for someone for something you think the person MIGHT do! I support our president too...he's not perfect, but you already know how cynicism can upset me. And one of the things about trying to predict other people is that you can't. You can make educated guesses, and sometimes you're even right, but that doesn't give you a good reason to criticize...

Alicia

2)This one ingrigued me! What do you mean by blocking attempts to get foreign oil?
What I said was that the same people who are criticizing the President for what he MIGHT do are the same ones who protest against us doing any of the things that would lessen our dependency on foreign oil.

Did you know that we haven't built any new oil refineries in this country in YEARS (I think it's actually decades, but I'm not certain on that)? That they have been trying to build one in Yuma AZ for the last 5+ years, and FINALLY have gotten past the major EPA hurdles? At this point they think they may have it up and running by 2015. At this point not only are we importing oil, but we are also importing about 10% of our gasoline!

All because we can't drill for oil in the US without somebody getting up in arms about it, and we can't build new refineries without YEARS of studies on the environmental impact. (Don't get me started on our nuclear facilities, that's a whole other rant!) That's an oversimplification, but you get the idea.

Other forms of fuel is great, and SHOULD continue to be explored. But in the mean time to force us to rely on more foreign oil is just crazy (in my opinion).

Whew, okay, end of rant! ;)

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Who I am

This is always the tough question. I wear so many hats!

I am a(in no particular order)~

Mother
Army Wife
Catholic Christian
Conservative Republican
Pro-life
Avid Gamer
Movie Junkie
Domestic Goddess-in-training
Crafty Woman
Voracious Reader
CTM (don't know what that is? Ask me!)
Theatre Fan
Music Lover
Customer Service Excellence Enthusiast

That'll do for a start. Just please don't try and pigeon-hole me into a stereotype based on some part of this list. For example, I am a Republican and support our effort in the War on Terror in Iraq, but I don't think EVERYTHING our President does is right. I'm pro-life, but I don't think a baby's life is MORE important than her mother's life. They are BOTH human lives with equal dignity. I try to be consistent in my views, but I'm still learning...every day.

I try to be respectful and tolerant, and expect the same of others. I believe in using the names for other (specifically groups of people) that they use for themselves. For example, I won't call Fundementalist Christians "fundies", and I won't call pro-choice advocates "pro-murder". This is important, because when you start name-calling, the other side stops listening.

Well, that's a start. Now, on to other things!

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Who I am

This is always the tough question. I wear so many hats!

I am a(in no particular order)~

Mother
Army Wife
Catholic Christian
Conservative Republican
Pro-life
Avid Gamer
Movie Junkie
Domestic Goddess-in-training
Crafty Woman
Voracious Reader
CTM (don't know what that is? Ask me!)
Theatre Fan
Music Lover
Customer Service Excellence Enthusiast

That'll do for a start. Just please don't try and pigeon-hole me into a stereotype based on some part of this list. For example, I am a Republican and support our effort in the War on Terror in Iraq, but I don't think EVERYTHING our President does is right. I'm pro-life, but I don't think a baby's life is MORE important than her mother's life. They are BOTH human lives with equal dignity. I try to be consistent in my views, but I'm still learning...every day.

I try to be respectful and tolerant, and expect the same of others. I believe in using the names for other (specifically groups of people) that they use for themselves. For example, I won't call Fundementalist Christians "fundies", and I won't call pro-choice advocates "pro-murder". This is important, because when you start name-calling, the other side stops listening.

Well, that's a start. Now, on to other things!
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