Helping With Recession during the Christmas Season

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Dec. 22 2008 10:29 AM EST

The holiday season is in full swing and along with the joy often times comes unwanted stress, especially this year with the economic recession.

A ministry working to support needy children and families around the world offers five pieces of advice to Americans on alternatives to gift giving when money is tighter than ever.

For shoppers looking for easy, affordable and meaningful ways to give gifts to friends and families this year, World Vision suggests that the best way to do so is to select a charitable organization that one would like to support and make a donation online.

Donating to charities in the names of friends and family is meaningful and also avoids the chaos at malls around Christmas season.

The second best way to give affordable, meaningful gifts is to consider a do-it-yourself gift that you can make with your children.

Other ways to cope with the holiday recession include helping a neighbor shut-in by snow by shoveling their sidewalk or delivering hot chocolate to neighbors; giving the gift of time to volunteer as a family at a local charity; and buying gift certificates for friends to do family-friendly activities like going to the movies or ice-skating.

“The holiday season can be a stressful time of year,” says World Vision’s Devin Hermanson, in a statement. “There are gifts to purchase and wrap, cookies to bake, and family to visit but as the economy struggles, let’s remember our friends and neighbors in need.”

According to a recent World Vision gift-giving survey, four out of five U.S. adults prefer to receive a meaningful gift this holiday season. More than seven out of ten Americans plan to spend less on gifts but almost half of those surveyed say that given the current economic climate, they’re now more likely to give a “charitable gift,” something that helps other people instead of a traditional gift like clothing or home electronics.

World Vision has a Gift Catalog where givers can purchase in the name of a friend, family member, or business associate. The catalog includes a goat or cow for a needy family in Africa, and contributing to building a well in Africa, among other charitable gifts. World Vision sends special cards to those individuals, describing the gifts and their impact.

Last year, the ministry’s Gift Catalog raised $21 million and provided assistance to more than 500,000 people worldwide.

The Gift Catalog launched in 1996 and the goat ($75) has been the ministry’s number one seller, although there are many affordable items for less than $35.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Homeschool Student Needs Help

Pat Powers at the South Dakota War College contacted me a little while ago, asking for some help for a 5th grade homeschool student in the Brookings, South Dakota area.

From his email:

In the Brookings area there is a family who home schools their 5th grade boy. This student has a hearing disability which he has used hearing aids to compensate for. Unfortunately, his hearing aids are not working anymore.

Insurance doesn't cover payment for replacing the existing devices. The school district will pay for some diagnostic testing - regardless of him being homeschooled or not - but they do not pay for the assistive devices themselves, since they're a 24-hour a day item. And the family needs help covering the cost this Christmas season.

It will cost roughly $4000 for a new set of hearing aids. In the spirit of Christmas giving, I'm looking for people willing to step up to the plate and help - even if it's just a little.

If anyone knows of a group or program that might be able to help this student, please let me know via the Dakota Voice Contact Us link, or contact Pat at the War College directly. My wife Konnie is also putting this out on the WRCH list, so you may also see it there if you're a member.

Or you may give a donation via the War College "Make A Donation." Pat is an honorable guy and will ensure your donation gets to this family.

Lack of Gratitude for Forced-Charity

There was an interesting letter on the Letters to the Editor page of the Rapid City Journal today.

It regards the proper use of taxpayer-funded charity, and it contains enlightening information about one of the many reasons why government-mandated, taxpayer-funded charity is inadvisable (if you're discerning enough to catch it).

Food stamp usage recipients’ business, not everyone elses

Monday, Dec. 1, in regards to the Two Cents section, somebody wrote in regarding the food stamp program. The last part state “…however we also need to put more control on the food stamp program, I don’t think the program was set up to buy candy, soda and similar products.

I’ve read similar letters and if I can be honest, they make me very angry.

I’m a disabled old lady that is raising my grandchildren. I love them very much and when they cry and beg for a candy bar or a can of pop every now and then I’m going to let them have it. They deserve a treat just like any other child. Most of these mothers you are griping about are treating their children. Of course, we have to sacrifice something, but that’s out business, not yours.

Don’t you have enough to do than to be picking on poor people?

You sound too much like Marie Antoinette who allegedly said, “Let them eat cake.” Well we are trying to do just that. If you’d leave us alone.

Stick your big nose into something that really needs sniffing.

IRENE CLIFFORD
Rapid City

I have just one question for Ms. Clifford with regard to whose business it is if food stamp money is being spent wastefully.

Who's paying the bill: her or the taxpayers?

Constant Conservative Catches Missed Truths on Charity

Another great piece at the Constant Conservative today. The Constant Conservative actually mirrors some of the thoughts I had when I read this pro-socialist article at the Rapid City Journal yesterday.

Don't get me wrong. I am an enthusiastic supporter of private charity. I have a number of friends who work at charities (both as staff and volunteers) and I donate to charity on a regular basis myself. I think that people and private companies donating money and goods to help those in need is a wonderful thing--it's exactly how American is supposed to work.

What I DO oppose is socialism, the government-enforced version of charity which takes wealth from one person without their consent and gives it to another who may or may not need it (after filtering it through the sticky hands of an army of bureaucrats along the way).

What the Constant Conservative points out here that I appreciate so much is that many people not on the take from the government (and their fellow citizens) already live on or around the amount mentioned in the article. Living modestly is not such an alien and impossible thing as it is made out to be.

Another truth that I appreciate the Constant Conservative for pointing out is that food stamps (the socialist program being promoted by this article) are not intended to be a way of life. They are not intended to be a permanent or even long-term solution, but a temporary aid while people get back on their own feet.

In fact, no charity--whether private or government-enforced--should become a way of life. Many of us hit a rough patch and need a hand...temporarily.

What we don't need is an opiate that robs us of human dignity and the will to meet our personal responsibilities.

Many people with severe disabilities manage to take care of themselves, and I have personally known a number of them over my lifetime. These include people with disabilities such as Down syndrome, various forms of mental impairment, blindness, paraplegics and even quadriplegics. I've had extensive work done on my vehicle by a mechanic with only one hand; one arm ends somewhere around his elbow.

Most people, if they have the desire and motivation, are capable of meeting their own needs. For the few who are not, one of the duties of family is meeting the needs of fellow family members who are incapable.

Government charity is counter to the way America is supposed to work, and counter to Biblical charity.

The founders said of government charity:

- A wise and frugal government...shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. – Thomas Jefferson

- Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated. - Thomas Jefferson

- With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators. – James Madison

- I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents. – James Madison

- Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government. – James Madison

- We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. — Congressman Davy Crockett

The Bible says of charity:

- If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold. (Leviticus 25:25)

- Do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit (Exodus 23:3)

- Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15)

- If a man will not work, he shall not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

- These should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family (1 Timothy 5:4)

- As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list…they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house (1 Timothy 5:13)

- If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. (1 Timothy 5:16)

Government should not be usurping or substituting for family responsibility. Nor should it be excusing personal responsibility.

Thanks, Constant Conservative, for pointing out these important truths that the "objective" media somehow missed.

Parker: Does Cathy define America?

BY STAR PARKER
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION

I retrieve and open a large envelope from today's pile of mail.

Inside is a press release announcing "Chik-fil-A Founder to Receive 2008 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership."

I discover that Chik-fil-A founder is 87-year-old Atlanta businessman S. Truett Cathy. Reading about Cathy, amidst today's headlines, I am wondering if his story is what America is about, or was about.

Cathy built, and today is owner/operator, of the privately held Chik-fil-A fast food chain, with more than 1400 locations and sales of over $2.6 billion dollars. He's from humble roots in rural Georgia and opened the first Chik-fil-A store in Atlanta in 1967.

In contrast to stereotypes equating business, particularly big business, to greed, Cathy's life and work has been defined by service and Christian charity. The corporate mission statement of Chik-fil-A is "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chik-fil-A."

Chil-fil-A stores are closed on Sunday to allow employees to devote the day to faith and family.

Cathy established a scholarship fund in 1973 for Chik-fil-A employees and to date around 23,000 have received more than $24 million in scholarship funds. In 1984 he established the WinShape Foundation which last year alone spent $18 million supporting a network of foster homes, camps, scholarships, and marriage counseling programs.

The Simon Prize, which Cathy has just received, is awarded by the William E. Simon Foundation, established by Simon, who was the 63rd Treasury Secretary of the United States.

Like Cathy, Simon believed in America, in freedom and free enterprise, and was a man of faith. The giving themes of his foundation, as noted on the foundation's website, are in the areas of "education, faith, and family."

Unlike Cathy, Simon built his wealth in the area which is now quintessentially associated with greed -- finance. Before becoming Treasury Secretary in 1974, he was a Wall Street bond trader at Salomon Brothers. After, he set up firms dealing in mergers and acquisitions, financial services, and banking.

As Wall Street executives are dragged to hearings, to be mocked, blamed, and threatened by Democratic Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, it's worth quoting Simon, who passed away in 2000, as his creed appears on his foundation's website:

"The free enterprise system has blessed the United States of America with the greatest prosperity, the highest standards of living, and, most important, the greatest individual freedom known to man. If we can preserve this system, and our freedom, we can look forward to turning over to our children, and our children's children, an America that is more productive, prosperous, and stronger economically, financially, morally, and spiritually, than the one we inherited."

How, from this, did we become a nation of blame, bailouts, and entitlement?

Wal-Mart has just released its quarterly report showing sales and earnings up 7.5 percent and 9.8 percent respectively. Wal-Mart, founded and built by one of America's great entrepreneurs, has been under endless attack from the political left. Now, in tough times, Americans are happy to have a source of low priced, high quality merchandise.

Average nationwide retail gasoline prices this week are $1.95 less a gallon compared to July -- a drop of almost 50 percent. In a Gallup poll done last year, most Americans attributed high gasoline prices to oil company greed. Are they going down now because oil companies are becoming generous?

No doubt, these are hard times.

Here's my prediction. The more Americans believe that our future depends on politicians, political fixes, and bailouts, the bleaker our future will be.

If we see America as a country defined by men like S. Truett Cathy, Bill Simon, and Sam Walton, we'll re-establish firm footing on American principles and re-build our country, our prosperity, and our leadership.

Star Parker is president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.

Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith and market-based alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.

The Uninsured and Government Health Care Scam

This is an enlightening video about some of the people who "can't" afford health insurance.

This is also an important lesson in why socialism is not only the lamest idea ever to strike humanity, it's bad for everyone it touches: bad for the drive and dignity it enables to be slackers, and bad for the people from whom it robs productivity to give to the slackers.

Better to go back to the private system of charity we had in this country until about 50 years ago. Private individuals and charities are in a much better position to discern genuine need, help those in genuine need to get out of need, and encourage those without genuine needs to take care of themselves.

Don't let Obama and his Merry Band of Liberals fool you; run as far as you can from "government solutions" to pretty much anything.

Biden and Obama: Charity Cheapskates

The myth of liberal "compassion" has been roundly and soundly debunked in the past couple of years.

Conservatives routinely give more--far more--to charity than the liberals who spout "compassion, compassion" like rabid parrots.

Liberals are big on giving to others....when it involves someone elses money. Liberals are big on sending the government to take your money and give it to someone else (whether they deserve it or not), whether you want to or not. But when it comes to giving of their own...well, that's a different story.

Even the Most Beneficent One Lord Barack Obama, the #1 most liberal senator, was revealed a few months ago to be a charity cheapskate when it comes to giving.

According to the ABC News blog,

The Obamas' donations to all recipients totaled $2,350 in 2000, $1,470 in 2001, $1,050 in 2002, $3,400 in 2003, and $2,500 in 2004. They also paid federal taxes totaling $311,044 during the same period on their $1.2 million of income.

I made significantly less than $1.2 million in that same time frame, yet I gave more than the Obamas every single year in that period.

But at least Obama and Biden seem to be a good match for one another.

The Hill reports that last year the Palin's gave almost more than Obama's running mate Joe Biden did in the last 10 years. And in 2006, they did give more than Biden did in the last 10 years.

In 2006, the Palins paid $11,944 in taxes on $127,869 in income. In 2007, they paid $24,738 on $166,080.

But in 2006, they donated $4,880 to charity, and in 2007, they donated $3,325.

By contrast, Biden (D-Del.), Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's running mate, has donated a total of $3,690 since 1998 despite his higher Senate salary, according to an analysis posted by National Review.

Hmmm. At the risk of patting myself on the back too much and minimizing my "reward in Heaven," it looks like on my paltry income my family gave more to charity last year than Biden did in the last 10 years.

If liberals really believed in charity and compassion so much, why don't they abandon socialism and do it the Biblical way--where private individuals and groups help people in need?

If liberals really want to build up our country and help those less fortunate, why don't they embrace the wisdom of the Founders and return to private charity?

After all, James Madison said

I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.

And as Congressman Davy Crockett reminded us

We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money.

The wisdom of the Bible and the Founders--along with the behavior of Biden himself--ultimately proves that his foolish contention that paying more taxes (so it can be redistributed to government bureaucrats paychecks and "others in need") is "patriotic" is simply this: wrapping up socialism in the flag in an attempt to justify government policy that is profoundly un-American.

The Origin of Modern Charity and Compassion

This radio series by Probe Ministries on charity and compassion is a great education on the history of charity, and the origins of our modern sensibilities about charity and compassion.

Hint: it doesn't come from Karl Marx or any of his disciples.

Secularists who enjoy the fruits of American culture while working to remove Christian influence from that culture are oblivious to the fact that their actions are essentially an attempt to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Click here to listen on your mp3 player.

Memo to Obama: Neighbors Don't Rob One Another

Barack Obama makes an interesting statement in his interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilley that aired Monday night.

From CNS News:

“If I am sitting pretty, and you’ve got a waitress who is making minimum wage plus tips, and I can afford it and she can’t -- what’s the big deal for me to say, ‘I’m going to pay a little bit more.’ That is neighborliness,” Obama said.

You know, that's a great analogy...except that isn't what Obama's advocating.

Obama advocates having some government thugs come over to your house and demand you fork over some cash for your neighbor, or they'll rough you up and just take it anyway.

That's what happens when you have government dispense charity.

Under the system of charity America used to have--the private system--people essentially do as Obama described in his analogy.

People see their neighbors in need, and they bring them some groceries. People see a neighbor in need, they come over and help with tasks around the house. People see a neighbor in need, they share some clothes or cash. That's the American way. That's the Christian way.

Obama's way is the Marxist socialist way.

The socialist way provides no choice in whether to help or not; if you have no choice, is there any moral benefit or blessing to the giver? Of course not.

The socialist way also doesn't build community or relationships between people. You can't have a friendship with a government check, or build community with the welfare office.

It also does a poor job of accountability, as our welfare state showed before the welfare reform of the mid 1990s--and still does to some extent. Handouts without accountability bred generational dependency. It refuses to look at root causes of need. It refuses to make moral judgments about need. It fails to teach and require those in need to move beyond receiving a fish to fishing for themselves.

No, Barack Obama's solution is for neighbors to rob one another, and use government thugs to do the dirty work.

That's not love, that's not charity, and that's not neighborliness.

Are You a Maker or a Taker?

Republicans are the "party of the rich" and conservatives are just mean-spirited selfish people who don't want to help anybody, right?

If you think so, you've bought the stereotype without the facts.

The National Center for Policy Analysis highlights Peter Schweizer's new book "Makers and Takers."

Schweizer dug through surveys, private records, scholarly reports and tax data to compile his findings.

* Seventy-one percent of conservatives say you have an obligation to care for a seriously injured spouse or parent versus less than half (46 percent) of liberals.

* Conservatives have a better work ethic and are much less likely to call in sick than their liberal counterparts.

* Liberals are 2½ times more likely to be resentful of others’ success and 50 percent more likely to be jealous of other people’s good luck.

* Liberals are 2 times more likely to say it is okay to cheat the government out of welfare money you don’t deserve.

* Conservatives are more likely than liberals to hug their children and “significantly more likely” to display positive nurturing emotions.

* Liberals are less trusting of family members and much less likely to stay in touch with their parents.

* Do you get satisfaction from putting someone else’s happiness ahead of your own? Fifty-five percent of conservatives said yes versus only 20 percent of liberals.

* Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Bill O’Reilly and Dick Cheney have given large sums of money to people in need, while Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Michael Moore, and Al Gore have not.

* Those who are “very liberal” are 3 times more likely than conservatives to throw things when they get angry.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. But this makes for a very, very interesting trend since it is almost universally the Left that castigates the Right as being mean-spirited, selfish, and contemptuous of others in need.

But as we've seen numerous times in recent years, the average liberal should have been looking in the mirror when he condemned someone for being self-centered.

These findings really shouldn't come as a surprise to the student of political philosophy and worldview. While no philosophical disciple adheres perfectly, what you believe is generally going to guide your behavior.

Liberalism is based on secularism (which ignores or holds contempt for the spiritual, thus diminishing a sense of divine accountability), a materialism/naturalism/evolutionist philosophy (which again denies eternal accountability, transcendent moral values, and human dignity in favor of a mindset which places the self at the center of the universe), and faith in the power of government (which tends to absolve the individual of a sense of responsibility to help others, in favor of petitioning impersonal government entities to solve problems and meet needs).

Conservatism, on the other hand, is based on a Judeo-Christian worldview which (a) recognizes we are accountable to our Maker and his edicts, (b) we face eternal reward or punishment based on our behavior, (c) we face here-and-now consequences of our actions,(d) recognizes the human dignity of people as being created in the image of God, (e) acknowledges the divine command to love our neighbor as ourselves, (f) the obligation to help comes from family first, not government, (g) that some people will pretend to be needy and pervert charity, (h) to provide favoritism or benefit where it is not warranted undermines justice, (i) that the success of others is something to rejoice in, not be envious of.

When we take an honest look, the fruits of both philosophies are obvious. How much better it is to remember our eternal accountability, hold one another accountable to those objective standards, work hard, help one another where needed, and be glad of another's honest success.

It makes for a much happier life and a more wholesome society for us all.

Turning Back the Culture of Irresponsibility and Entitlement

American society was once made up of people who took the time to teach children and the younger generation about values, morality and responsibility. When that younger generation disregarded morality and responsibility, the older generation exercised the "tough love" necessary for the younger generation to see the consequences of bad decisions--and learn from them.

Sadly, we lost our way about 50 years ago. We stopped passing on the traditional values that built the greatest nation on earth. We stopped allowing the upcoming generation to deal with and learn from its failures. We started rescuing those who chose immorality and irresponsibility; we rescued them from consequence, and in doing so we ushered in the welfare state, a sense of entitlement, and profound irresponsibility.

How did we fail, and how do we get out of this irresponsible "culture of entitlement?"

The Black Hills Pioneer published a good opinion piece today by Evelyn Leite, as an excerpt from her book “Mending Family Relationships.”

It's advice that applies just as well to society in general as it does to personal relationships--after all, our society is made up of millions of personal relationships.

Self-esteem, boundary setting, detachment and tough love go hand in hand. You cannot have either of the latter three without the first one.

If you have self-esteem, detachment and tough love come fairly easy. You can learn to set boundaries and make decisions that will be good for all. If your self-esteem is shaky you can build it up by learning the skills of boundary setting and tough love.

I wonder if this lack of confidence and self esteem doesn't have a lot to do with why so many people these days are afraid to exercise tough love, afraid to say "No," afraid to confront bad behavior?

We've entered an age of moral relativism where common wisdom claims there is no absolute truth, no transcendent moral values. If this is true (which it isn't, but many people believe it is), then such an environment lends itself to a great degree of uncertainty about what really is right or wrong...and not only for other people, but for you yourself! Such a lack of confidence has to undermine the right kind of self esteem, which in turn renders people unwilling or incapable of standing against immorality or irresponsibility.

How do we turn it around?

Allowing those you love to hurt and hurt desperately while still being available to them emotionally is often the best way to show your love for them even though it may go against everything you believe. Hard as it may be it means drawing a line for yourself that you will not step over and doing it because it is the best thing for the other person. Parents who fight their children’s battles for them, make excuses for negative behavior, or try to buy their love are not doing their children any favors.

Notice that the father of the "prodigal son" in the Bible didn't run after his wayward son, rescuing him from the consequences of his bad decisions and moral failures. He waited until the son had come to his senses, was repentant and ready to change. Once the son reached this point, his father welcomed him back with open arms.

Our Heavenly Father is like that, too. He welcomes us with open arms when we admit we were wrong and turn from our destructive ways. Before that, he exercises that "tough love," allowing us to exercise our free will...and deal with the consequences of our bad choices.

Parents must do their best to teach their children right from wrong, and teach their children about consequences. If the children choose wrong, parents must let them deal with those consequences.

Society must do the same--not just with children, but with adults also who have never learned these lessons. We must promote moral choices and personal responsibility, and make it clear what the consequences of violations will be. And if someone chooses the dark path, we must let them experience the consequences so they can learn from it and hopefully join society as a productive, self-sustaining member.

As long as we shrink from this duty, we'll continue to breed irresponsible brats and a drag on society.

Conflict, Natural Disaster Creating Food Disaster in Africa

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Jul. 23 2008 09:48 AM EDT

A humanitarian disaster affecting 15 million people in the Horn of Africa is imminent unless funds are provided for supplies, an aid agency alerted Tuesday.

The World Food Program said $403 million is urgently needed to feed the hungry people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda until the end of the year, according to Agence France-Presse.

People living in this region are suffering from a combination of prolonged drought, rising food cost, conflict and piracy.

"If we do not get this assistance urgently, there will be disaster in this region," WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon said.

"What is worrying is the drought and rising food prices. It means that many people are going to be sent into destitution," he said, adding that the number will explode if the September-October rain fails.

Of particular concern are Somalia and Ethiopia, where the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the humanitarian situation had reached “emergency levels.”

In conflict-ravaged Somalia, at least 2.6 million people are facing acute shortages. And aid agencies are not only worrying about meeting the food demands, but also how to deliver it to Somalis.

Ships delivering supplies have been looted by pirates, while aid workers have been killed and abducted inside the country that has been wracked with lawlessness for 17 years.

Meanwhile in Ethiopia, some 4.6 million people need emergency food support, up from 2.2 million from the period between January and March 2008. Another 5.7 million drought-infected Ethiopians need extended support, such as food and cash.

"If we do not get 28 million dollars to help feed and treat children in Ethiopia, they will die," warned Per Engebak, the UNICEF chief for eastern and southern Africa.

Tearfund and Catholic Relief Services are some of the Christian agencies that have witnessed the effects of poor rains in the Horn of Africa. U.K-based Tearfund has donated funds to a local Ethiopian Church that is running a food-for-work program.

Meanwhile in Kenya, the aid agency is working with Christian Community Services of Mount Kenya East to help with drought recovery and drought preparedness work.

Catholic Relief Service is also working in Ethiopia to distribute food donated by the U.S. government as well as its own private purchased food to help Ethiopians survive the extended drought. It is also working with local diocesan partners to feed malnourished children.

Other countries in desperate need of food include Kenya, which is still recovering from post-election violence and has 1.2 million people in need of urgent supplies. The rural region of Karamoja in Uganda has 707,000 people in need of food, and 80,000 are experiencing acute food crisis in Djibouti, aid agencies reported.

“Please pray that the rains due now will be sufficient for a good harvest,” Tearfund urged. “Pray that those most in need will receive all the help they require, and pray that agencies will find a way to distribute food in Somalia, despite the conflict."

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Christian Relief Agencies Support India Flood Victims

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By John Malhotra
Christian Today Reporter
Thu, Jul. 17 2008 03:40 PM EDT

Floods in northeastern India have damaged over 50,000 homes and at least 350 people been reported dead. Church agencies and Christian NGO's have meanwhile mobilized for the initiation of the gathering and distribution of relief supplies to the victims.

The worst hit states were northern Uttar Pradesh, where 61 people died since Friday. Ten deaths were reported from eastern West Bengal and one from Orissa. Most of the deaths were caused by incidents of house collapse and flooding.

In Assam, Catholic Relief Services and other Christian organizations flung into action, providing emergency relief to over 16,000 families, with the help of government agencies.

“Reaching families who have been cut off by washed out roads is critical,” notes Father Celestine, Assistant Country Representative for CRS India. “In some instances, families have lost their immediate food supplies in addition to their homes and livelihoods.”

CRS has urged the government to deliver food, household items, and hygiene supplies to the victims of the flood, after it has caused serious health issues to the people.

Father Celestine adds, “In preparation for the floods, CRS and Caritas have purchased 5,000 kits with water treatment tablets, buckets, soap and other items, and have trained community groups in how to use the water treatment tablets. CRS is using small boats to reach families who do not have access to safe water with these life-saving supplies.”

The seasonal rains in 2007 were the most shocking and devastating in recent history, after more than 3,200 people were killed.

The Indian Meteorological Department predicted more heavy rain in eastern, northern and parts of central India over the next two weeks.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Compassionate Liberals Oppose Hospital That Serves Poor

Liberals are the most open and generous people you'll ever find...when it's someone else they expect to do the giving.

The evidence has been out there for a couple of years now, and it's pretty overwhelming, that while liberals talk a good "compassion" game, it's conservatives who do most of the giving. We've seen it around the country and here in South Dakota: liberals talk, conservatives do.

Ultra-libs Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins continue to illustrate this symbolism over substance with their opposition to St. Vincent's Hospital's plan to revamp and build a better hospital three blocks from their home.

The hospital provides $40 million in medical care to the poor each year, so one might think St. Vincent's would be especially beloved by these liberals. Well, as long as they don't ruin the neighborhood and expose their privileged eyes to all these icky little people.

The New York Post has coverage, as does the New York Times.

From the Times:

Ms. Sarandon said at the microphone that she went to the hospital only “as a last resort,” adding, “I would not want to bring my children there.” Ms. Sarandon and Mr. Robbins, who are partners, have two teenage sons.

She says there are long lines and "dirty" facilities at St. Vincent's. How sad. How terrible to experience this frightening brush with reality and the "little people."

Mr. Robbins, Sarandon's shackup partner, is also repulsed by the common folk:

“I live a block from this hospital, and unless it was a life-and-death situation, I wouldn’t go there.” He said that the proposed hospital tower was “an architectural abomination.”

Liberals are always generous...with your money. Liberals are always for services to the poor and indigent...as long as it's in your neighborhood. Liberals are aways caring and compassionate...as long as they can keep icky reality at arm's length.

Their hypocrisy even extends to the energy debate. Liberals are always pushing windmills and such over drilling for more oil...unless those icky windmills show up in their neighborhood.

Remember a couple of years ago when Senator Ted Kennedy came out against the Cape Wind Project? They wanted to erect 130 windmills in Nantucket Sound for a project that could supply 3/4 of the power for Cape Cod the surrounding area--an area currently served by coal-fired power plants.

Why would liberal environment-loving Ted Kennedy oppose such a clean project? It would ruin the Kennedy's sailing and yachting. Ick!

Maybe liberals aren't as compassionate and altruistic as they'd have us believe. Maybe a lot of that has just been pretense to guilt us into backing their pet projects.

It isn't a perfect illustration, but I'm reminded of the parable of the two sons from Matthew 21:

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

To paraphrase for this situation, doing something means a whole lot more than carping about it.

$102 Billion Given to Religious Organizations in 2007

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Elena Garcia
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jul. 04 2008 09:56 AM EDT

Giving to religious organizations and congregations hit a record of $100 billion in 2007, according to a recent report by Giving USA Foundation.

The report estimated that religious groups took home $102.3 billion, the greatest share of charitable giving in 2007 among the nine types of charities mentioned in the study. Religious congregations received one-third of the $306.4 billion that went toward U.S. charities.

Half of individual giving, which accounts for the bulk of charitable giving, went to religious groups.

Compared to 2006 data, giving to religious groups increased an estimated 4.7 percent or 1.8 percent adjusted for inflation.

This is also the first year giving to U.S. charities topped $300 billion – a 1 percent increase on an inflation-adjusted basis over the $294.91 billion given in 2006.

The increase in 2007 can be owed to stock market performance in the first half of the year, overall growth in the economy measured by gross domestic product, and increases in corporate and personal income as reported at the end of the year, according to the report.

“Giving USA 2008 shows that a strong start to the economy in 2007 helped lift giving despite worries at year’s end from gasoline prices or the housing and mortgage crises,” said George C. Ruotolo Jr., chair of the Giving Institute.

Researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the report examined charities related to Arts/Culture/Humanities, Education, Environment/Animals, Health, Human Services, Public-Society Benefit; International Affairs, Religion and Foundations.

Every subsector saw giving rise except for private foundations, which experienced a 11.9 percent decline in giving when adjusted for inflation.

Charity directors, however, are concerned over whether the such gains would be enough in the coming year.

Janet Valente Pape, executive director of Catholic Charities of Wichita in Kansas, told The Wichita Eagle that while the organization had a 10 percent increase in giving last year, it had more than a 30 percent increase in people seeking food assistance.

"I think the issue is going to continue to be [that] it's not anywhere keeping pace with the demand that we're all experiencing," she said.


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