If you haven't done so already, please consider supporting any number of organizations such as:
Search Dog Foundation--they train dogs for Urban Search and Rescue Teams.
Feed the Children--they do exactly that and they are trucking in supplies with the help of corporate partners.
Red Cross--they are the biggest and are on the scene.
If you are part of a religious community, consider giving to an organization associated with it. I'm currently a member at a Presbyterian Church. Thus, I'll give some support to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Hugh Hewitt gives some good reasons why: Churches are always excellent conduits to the communities they serve, and can be trusted to be judicious yet generous with the aid they are provided. I will be recommending to my Presbyterian Church session that we offer to "adopt" a sister congregation like, say, The First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, and send aid via that church.
.............
Institution-to-institution relief will be the long term solution once the short term humanitarian crisis passes.
Check out what the Hands On Network is doing. They are partnering with the Red Cross in Montgomery and Baton Rouge.
I've been a supporter of their affiliates in the cities I've lived in: Greater DC Cares, Hands on Bay Area (formerly Hands on San Francisco) and LA Works.
Major League Baseball will be collecting money for relief in ballparks on September 7th and will match up to $1 million. LA Works will be helping at Dodger's Stadium to collect funds during games on September 5-7.
California League Minor League Baseball teams in the Southland are contributing as well: Lancaster Jethawks, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Lake Elsinore Storm and Inland Empire 66ers have been collecting for the Red Cross and have said they will match up to $10,000. I'm surprised to see that the High Desert Mavericks have no such indications on their web page. I hope that is just an oversight by their web master.
To find other agencies check Glenn Reynold's round-up of agencies over at Instapundit.
Also check Truth Laid Bear's list of charities.
LA Dining: Thai Original BBQ
My latest foodblogging is up over at LA.foodblogging.
Thai Original BBQ of Hollywood
5324 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
323-962-2004 (telephone)
323-962-8304 (fax)
They have grown beyond the original store. To see if there is one near you, check their locations page.
Delicious and affordable food!
Thai Original BBQ of Hollywood
5324 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
323-962-2004 (telephone)
323-962-8304 (fax)
They have grown beyond the original store. To see if there is one near you, check their locations page.
Delicious and affordable food!
Search Dog Foundation Trained Teams on the Scene
Check out this page to see the teams deployed in Urban Search and Rescue.
It takes about $10,000 to train a dog to serve in these vital teams.
Go here to donate.
UPDATE: Sherry has contributed to Red Cross and Search Dog Foundation.
UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge has posted in support of the Search Dog Foundation!
It takes about $10,000 to train a dog to serve in these vital teams.
Go here to donate.
UPDATE: Sherry has contributed to Red Cross and Search Dog Foundation.
UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge has posted in support of the Search Dog Foundation!
Devotional Thoughts: Parable of the sowers, seeds and soils
Matthew 13:1-23 is the parable of farmer sowing seeds and the soils.
If you aren't familiar with the story, you can look it up at an on-line Bible.
In brief, Jesus told a parable. A farmer scattered seeds and they land in various places: (1) footpath where birds eat it up, (2) shallow rocky soil where there is growth but no deep roots, (3) soil with thorns where the thorns eventually outgrow the plants and (4) fertile soil where there yields a good crop.
Jesus explained the seeds are the good news about the Kingdom of God. In three of the four soil types, there is a problem. The birds represent the evil one that steals away the seed before it has a chance to sprout. The rocky soil represents that problems of life that are stunt the growth. The thorny patch is where the cares of the world and lure of wealth strangles the life of the plant.
Disclaimer: I'm not a theologian, I am just your typical guy reading my Bible and trying to get some grasp of what it means.
We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is descriptive of life and how often the winner of the race is not the fastest but the more persistent. Implicit is that we should imitate the tortoise in some situations.
But we could ask "theological" questions to that kind of story like this: are we by nature one or the other? Is it fair of God to expect the hare to act against his nature and be more like the tortoise? Is the hare capable of being more like the tortoise? And what about the tortoise, does she have any moral obligation to help the hare be more like her?
We've gone from a simple descriptive story with a moral point and have come up with a slew of theological questions!
Likewise, looking at this story, I could engage in some theological speculation: if I don't respond well to the seeds from God it is because I'm rocky soil and it isn't my fault I'm rocky soil? Why is God throwing seeds into soil that is too shallow to support long-term growth of the plants? We can come up with a slew of theological questions!
These lead to one of the great knots in theology: what is the balance between God's sovereignty and humanity's free will?
You aren't going to be finding that answer here!
I think the most memorable teaching I've heard on this passage focused on the relationship of the disciples and Jesus. The disciples hear the parables and they scratch their heads and they ask Jesus in verse 10. Jesus responded to them from verse 11 onward.
So how about us today?
We got to be like the disciples in bringing our questions to Jesus.
Paraphrasing v. 12: To those open to Jesus, they will seek for more and more understanding will be given to them. But for those who aren't open to Jesus, what they little they have heard will soon be taken away either by forgetfulness or by force and they won't even know they are missing it.
If you aren't familiar with the story, you can look it up at an on-line Bible.
In brief, Jesus told a parable. A farmer scattered seeds and they land in various places: (1) footpath where birds eat it up, (2) shallow rocky soil where there is growth but no deep roots, (3) soil with thorns where the thorns eventually outgrow the plants and (4) fertile soil where there yields a good crop.
Jesus explained the seeds are the good news about the Kingdom of God. In three of the four soil types, there is a problem. The birds represent the evil one that steals away the seed before it has a chance to sprout. The rocky soil represents that problems of life that are stunt the growth. The thorny patch is where the cares of the world and lure of wealth strangles the life of the plant.
Disclaimer: I'm not a theologian, I am just your typical guy reading my Bible and trying to get some grasp of what it means.
We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is descriptive of life and how often the winner of the race is not the fastest but the more persistent. Implicit is that we should imitate the tortoise in some situations.
But we could ask "theological" questions to that kind of story like this: are we by nature one or the other? Is it fair of God to expect the hare to act against his nature and be more like the tortoise? Is the hare capable of being more like the tortoise? And what about the tortoise, does she have any moral obligation to help the hare be more like her?
We've gone from a simple descriptive story with a moral point and have come up with a slew of theological questions!
Likewise, looking at this story, I could engage in some theological speculation: if I don't respond well to the seeds from God it is because I'm rocky soil and it isn't my fault I'm rocky soil? Why is God throwing seeds into soil that is too shallow to support long-term growth of the plants? We can come up with a slew of theological questions!
These lead to one of the great knots in theology: what is the balance between God's sovereignty and humanity's free will?
You aren't going to be finding that answer here!
I think the most memorable teaching I've heard on this passage focused on the relationship of the disciples and Jesus. The disciples hear the parables and they scratch their heads and they ask Jesus in verse 10. Jesus responded to them from verse 11 onward.
So how about us today?
We got to be like the disciples in bringing our questions to Jesus.
Paraphrasing v. 12: To those open to Jesus, they will seek for more and more understanding will be given to them. But for those who aren't open to Jesus, what they little they have heard will soon be taken away either by forgetfulness or by force and they won't even know they are missing it.
Hurricane Relief Efforts
Support the trainers of Search Dogs!!
UPDATE: I've received an email from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. They shared some information about their organization and their role in the current rescue efforts. Summarizing:
As of August 31, 18 Urban Search and Rescue (USR) teams have been dispatched to the area. 26 of the dogs in these teams were trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (NDSDF). This will be the largest USR effort in the United States since 9/11.
These specially trained dogs are highly mobile in the rough terrain of a disaster site. They can quickly cover areas and using their keen sense of smell determine if anyone is still alive so they can be rescued.
NDSDR trains dogs and provides them at no cost to fire departments and other emergency service agencies.
To find out more about them and donate to their efforts, see their Website: www.SearchDogFoundation.org or call 1-888-4K9-HERO.
There are two charities I have donated to in response to the terrible events in the South.
Was listening to KFWB-980AM news and they had a feature story on a team of search dogs that will be sent to the area.
UPDATE: I missed part of the news story when it was aired. I've since heard various other news items pertaining to LA response to the hurricane. I think the full story is that one of the LA County Search and Rescue teams are being sent and that team includes search and rescue dogs. The team will be driving to the scene with equipment and supplies. The trip will take over 30 hours of driving. They didn't fly in because cargo flights are all tied up bringing in food and water and temporary shelters.
The group that trains dogs for these kinds of missions is the Search Dog Foundation. From their web page:
The mission of the Search Dog Foundation is to produce the most highly trained canine disaster search teams in the nation. The job of these teams is to find people buried alive in the wreckage of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.UPDATE: Scrapability (Michelle in the UK) is also profiling Search Dog Foundation.
UPDATE: Jenny of A Jester Unemployed has mentioned Search Dog Foundation in her Blog for Relief Day post.
On KRLA-870AM they are encouraging listeners to support, Feed the Children.
The blogosphere is rallying to get information out. Check out Glenn Reynold's round-up of agencies over at Instapundit. Also, check on Malkin's round-up of the ways bloggers can get involved in being an information source. She also mentions which big businesses are stepping up and which ones aren't.
Instapundit will coordinate a day of fundraising on the blogsphere. Here is his statement:
The plan for tomorrow's (Thursday September 1) flood-aid blogburst: I'd like each blogger participating to put up a post recommending a charity, or other action to help, and linking back to this post where I'll keep a comprehensive list of both bloggers and charities. Basically, a Carnival of Hurricane Relief. That way readers of any blog will have ready access to recommendations on all the blogs. If anyone has a better idea, let me know.Truth Laid Bear is also keeping a list of bloggers and the charities they are highlighting.
Displaced people and devestated places
CNN is reporting that the Astrodome in Houston is now closed because it is filled up with refugees from New Orleans.
At Volokh Conspiracy there is a post from a NO lawyer describing the total destruction of the legal offices and courts of the city. He describes the impact: And what happens when the evidence in their cases has been destroyed? Will the guilty be released upon the communities? Will the innocent not be able to prove their innocence?
One of the new tourist destinations in New Orleans was the opening of the National D-Day Museum. Right now the link is dead. Once can guess they kept the server in the museum and water and computers don't go together well.
As it is now, all I can tell you about that museum is what the Google search turns up:
The National D-Day Museum, New Orleans - America's National World ... Explores the lives of American men and women who took part in World War II through letters, recruitment posters, weapons, models, and film. www.ddaymuseum.org/
There is some debate on whether to rebuild New Orleans. Of course, the focus right now is really on rescue and recovery of the people. And at some point later, we will return to the question of what kind of NOLA will rise from this calamity.
At Volokh Conspiracy there is a post from a NO lawyer describing the total destruction of the legal offices and courts of the city. He describes the impact: And what happens when the evidence in their cases has been destroyed? Will the guilty be released upon the communities? Will the innocent not be able to prove their innocence?
One of the new tourist destinations in New Orleans was the opening of the National D-Day Museum. Right now the link is dead. Once can guess they kept the server in the museum and water and computers don't go together well.
As it is now, all I can tell you about that museum is what the Google search turns up:
The National D-Day Museum, New Orleans - America's National World ... Explores the lives of American men and women who took part in World War II through letters, recruitment posters, weapons, models, and film. www.ddaymuseum.org/
There is some debate on whether to rebuild New Orleans. Of course, the focus right now is really on rescue and recovery of the people. And at some point later, we will return to the question of what kind of NOLA will rise from this calamity.
US Coast Guard Rescue Line
State OES (Office of Emergency Services) has learned that trapped victims on the Gulf Coast are calling family, friends, loved-ones, or anyone they can get a call out to in California asking for someone to rescue them. These requests need to go immediately to the US Coast Guard's Rescue Line at 800-323-7233 and immediate assistance will be sent.
Please distribute this information as widely as possible.
Thank you.
Please distribute this information as widely as possible.
Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)