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Chuck's Occasional Rants (now banned in 15 countries)

This is where I rant about my life, the way things are going, the state of the nation, or anything else that catches my attention. These entries reflect my opinion on a given subject. That opinion may be viewed as anything from informed to insane, but nonetheless it is mine. If you disagree with me, remember no one is forcing you to read this blog. As to the blog name, according to sources, the content of this blog most likely violates certain banned speech laws in 15 countries.

Name:
Location: Parts Unknown, Pennsylvania, United States

I am male, 41, heterosexual, caucasian, and still living (to the best of my knowledge). I won't mention my political views as I am sure that you will figure them out from the entires in this blog (unless you are a Tea Party member in which case you are probably too uneducated and downright stupid to figure it out.)

Monday, October 31, 2005

An Appeal...

Hello again loyal readers, I hope everyone is doing well.
The subject of today's post, "An Appeal..." is in reference to the American Red Cross and their current financial difficulties.
For those of you who don't know, the American Red Cross had to borrow $340 million to cover expenses related to their hurricane relief efforts. I am asking you, my readers, to contribute to the Red Cross if you haven't already done so. If you have already made a donation, thank you, and consider possibly giving again in a different form (i.e., if you already gave money, consider donating clothes or blood). While the Red Cross maintains a relationship with the federal government, it recieves no money from them. That is why public donation is so important.
In case you don't know, the Red Cross provides more than major disaster relief. While the major disasters garner the most public attention, the Red Cross (more quietly) provides aid to people who have experienced local tragedies such as the loss of a home to fire. The Red Cross also provides disaster preparedness training to individuals and groups (such as local fire companies/fire departments). They also provide support for members of the military and their families in the form of aid in times of family emergencies (i.e., if someone in the military experiences a death in the family while away on active duty the Red Cross can help to arrange an emergency leave and aid the serviceperson in getting back home) and they provide the (somewhat) famous "Red Cross packages" that prisoners of war receive while being held by the enemy (although these aren't the only ways that the Red Cross helps the military and their families). These are only a few of the services that the Red Cross provides to both local communities and to the nation at large.
If these services have some value to you or someone you know, or if you have benefitted in some way from the services of the Red Cross, then I urge you to support them in their hour of need. If you do wish to donate you can call the American Red Cross at 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or you can visit them at their website, http://www.redcross.org. And remember, while they may be in the hole $340 million, each dollar goes a long way toward getting them out of the red and back into the black. And if that isn't enough to motivate you, think about this...who would you rather have doing disaster relief, the Red Cross (who have proven they can do it) or government (who've only succeeded in falling flat on their collective faces, see FEMA's response in Louisiana, and Florida's inital response to Wilma)?!!?
As always, I am Chuck and this has been an appeal to the "better angels of our nature".

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