There are a great variety of issues I’d like to blog about today, from the George Zimmerman indictment to Hilary Rosen’s apparent, to borrow language used by the administration and their allies in the legacy media, War on Stay-at-Home Moms (perhaps of particular interest to our readers given that she’s a lesbian, attached to to the former head of HRC), but, am quite busy right now (to be explained in my next post).

I’m actually writing this post from the Sharing Shelf in Port Chester, New York, a charity my sister founded.  For our conservative readers, you should donate because she’s my sister and they do good work.  And for our liberal readers, you should donate because my sister doesn’t share my politics and they do good work.  Click here to support a group which recycles “gently used children’s clothing” and distributes them “directly to those in need”.  (When you donate, please specify that it’s for the Sharing Shelf.)

Now, to the subject of this post.  As I reported earlier today, the president is bound and determined to run against Mitt Romney as if he were the “reincarnation of Barry Goldwater, an extremist extraordinaire both on the economy and foreign policy.”

There are three major problems with this approach, each of which merits a more in-depth exploration–and perhaps that will come out in the comments:

1. the public mood has changed in the past fifty years, with the American public more skeptical of the power of the government to do good.
2. government has grown by leaps and bounds since 1964, particularly as a result of that election and Americans don’t want it to grow any bigger; if anything they want to see it scaled back.
3. Barry Goldwater did a better job of criticizing why government was too big than in offering a positive vision of a world with smaller government.  This time around, it’s the incumbent Democrat, not the out-of-power Republican, who is waging the more negative campaign. (more…)

Most criticism of the Koch Brothers comes from hyperventilating leftists or hyperpartisan Democrats.  Now, we hear some from principled libertarians, concerned that they want to change the focus of one of the nation’s premiere think tanks:

Now, billionaires Charles and David Koch, who are among the institute’s four equal shareholders, are trying to gain full control and remove [Cato President Ed] Crane, for reasons they have not spelled out publicly.

Crane says their goal is to turn it into “yet another political arm of their vast empire.” If so, they will be turning gold into straw. Cato’s value is precisely that it’s not a political entity but an idea factory, where the goal is sound research and intelligent advocacy on important issues. It’s hard for me to imagine that getting rid of Crane, who has steadfastly upheld its mission, will be for the good.

Emphasis added.  Cato is a first-rate idea factory, an institution which owes its strength in large part to its independence from the political “wars” of the nation’s capital.  Its experts offer sound and principled analysis of public policy, showing how statist solutions tend not to solve social and economic problems, but exaggerate them.

There are a number of free-market advocacy organizations out there, a good number which have grown with the emergence of the Tea Party.  Let Cato be Cato.  And let other organizations to do the advocacy work that this successful think tank shuns.

More here.

The Cato Institute’s David Boaz caught something interesting on CNN:

President Obama and other policymakers have expressed concern about the high U.S. corporate tax rate, but this CNN chart shows that our rate isn’t too out of line with other countries. Indeed, CNN host Soledad O’Brien said to guest Jack Welch, “But when I look at the corporate tax rates around the world, we have a little graphic of this, I’ll throw it up. We see United States is at 35%, France is at 34%, Belgium at 33%, Spain at 30%, Japan at 30%, Mexico at 30%. It sounds like we’re kind of competitive, right?”

“America,” observed Boaz’s colleague Chris Edwards, the Institute’s Director of Tax Policy Studies

. . . is not “kind of competitive” on corporate taxes. Of the 34 high-income OECD countries, your graphics experts compared us with the 5 other countries that have the highest rates. (more…)

Two years ago at this time, I identified three of the charities I support every year and do so again at the end of this post.  In that post and this, I lamented how I am inundated with solicitations from various worthy organizations, often receiving ten solicitations a day in my “snail mail,” many from organizations to which I have never donated, some advocating for causes about which I’d never heard.

Today, as I began the process of making my end of the year contributions, I started sorting through the solicitations I had saved in a pile behind my desk.  What struck me was how certain groups sent out numerous missives (some nearly identical) over a very short period of time.  Many offered free gifts, others defined every letter as “urgent,” a handful told me to renew my annual membership to organizations I had never joined.

Some offered free gifts.  Now, I understand that in this world, a group often needs a gimmick to call attention to itself.  And groups that are excessively aggressive in their fundraising do do good work with the funds they receive.  Once again, I wish to highlight three of the groups I support largely because they, unlike so many organizations aren’t that aggressive.

Each does good work in its own way, so, as your finances allow, please join me in supporting these organizations:

1. “The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund provides immediate financial support for injured and critically ill members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. We direct urgently needed resources to post 9-11 Marines and Sailors, as well as members of the Army, Air Force or Coast Guard who serve in support of Marine forces. .”  Click here to donate.
2. The Lamp Community helps “people living with severe mental illness move from streets to homes. Lamp offers immediate access to affordable, safe and permanent housing without requiring sobriety or participation in treatment.”  Click here to donate.
3. “The mission of the Cato Institute is to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and peace.”  They’ve done yeoman’s work on healthcare reform, promoting free market alternatives and challenging what was once the conventional wisdom on global warming.  Click here to donate.

Two years ago, I wrote, “strive to be generous throughout the year. Even if you don’t support these groups, please find a worthy cause to support. Or a lonely friend to visit. It’s not just through our donations that we can show our generosity.” I repeat that plea today.

Please join me to hear our reader Leah talk about Operation Gratitude, a non-profit which sends “care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation” to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines “deployed in harm’s way,” at next week’s meeting of the Westside Republicans, Wednesday, May 11th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm at Jerry’s Deli in Westwood Village, 10925 Weyburn Avenue, Westwood Village 90024. Methinks that if we get a good enough crowd of GayPatriot readers, Leah might want to share a bite of dessert with us after her talk.

Rob Tisinai, One of our regular readers and frequent critics, will be riding in the San Francisco to LA AIDS ride to raise money to fight this dreadful disease.  Please join me in donating to sponsor his ride.

It is a worthy cause and something about which readers on both sides of the political divide can agree!

After going through my budget, I’ve found that I can donate a little more than I had first thought to help Japanese relief efforts and have made a contribution for relief through the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

In response to my blog post, a number of our readers have recommended organizations also working to help Japanese people displaced by this disaster.

A reader and a friend, a formerly left-leaning lesbian (formerly left-leaning, still lesbian) suggests Operation USA, a group backed by the silver-tongued Julie Andrews.

SoCalRobert suggests giving to the American Red Cross via Amazon.

Jennifer tells us Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian organization backed by Franklin Graham.

ThatGayConservative recommends Shelter Box.

David in N.O. recommends Doctors Without Borders.

“Urgent” reads the print on one envelope I received recently.  ”Personal and confidential,” said another.  ”Surprise, Mr. Blatt,” I read, on an large manila envelope, “Here’s something you can really use and enjoy for years to come.”

Was the first an appeal for funds to relieve victims of a recent disaster?  Was the second an important letter from a friend, detailing some trying circumstances in his life that he wanted to share with me, but not trust to e-mail, fearing someone could hack into his account?  Was the third a gift from a good friend or family member who wanted to give me something to better remember him.

The answer is “No” to all three questions.  ”Urgent” was written on an envelope from a charity who regularly sends out appeals to me.  It seems every other missive I receive bears that word suggesting imminent action is necessary to prevent disaster.  Annoyed with the amount of correspondence I receive from that organization, I have long since stopped giving to that organization.  And the appeals keep coming.

The envelope marked “personal” contained a form letter seeking donations for a political campaign in a different state.  The large manila envelope was from another charity which has sent me enough mail and little “gifts” to cover the cost of the $25 I once sent them.   Just today, I received three small writing pads (of various sizes and designs) from three non-profits and a large fancy envelope with about 15 pages of paper from a group I have never supported.  (This was not the first such such mailing I have received from this outfit.)

I receive all this at a time when I’m trying to find a relief organization which devotes the overwhelming amount of its resources to helping the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  And I’ve pretty much eliminated all those groups which sends me regular mail.  Such costly fundraising solicitations surely take a greater bite out of their budget, siphoning money away from the people truly in need and those we should help.

So, please, help me out here.  What organizations do you feel are doing a good job of directing their resources to those truly in need.  Once I get your feedback, I’ll prepare another post, asking our readers to support these groups.  Thanks!

The American Jewish World Service is holding Fundraiser for Haiti, Thursday, January 28, 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. at Coco De Ville, 755 N. La Cienega, West Hollywood, CA  Click this link for more information and to RSVP.

Members of AJWS’s staff will be on hand at the event to give up-to-date information on relief efforts and how you can help. The charge for admission is $20, all of which will go to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.  And five percent of the bar’s proceeds between 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. will be donated to this cause.

There will be appetizers early in the evening and DJs will be spinning all night.

Glenn alerts us to the efforts of some milbloggers for an entirely privately funded effort to get medical supplies into Haiti.  Now they’re trying to get a medical team into the nation’s beleaguered capital:

We are seeking more private funding to pay for the plane tickets of a doctor and his 5 assts (3 nurses, one Army reserve combat medic, and a medical asst.) We need to get them to the airport at Port au Prince, where we will pick them up, and bring them to the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) mission.  They have a well for fresh water and food provisions, though our teams are carrying in their own.

The total cost for flying in the first med team is about $11,000.  The follow-on team is being led by Dr Maurecio Consalter from Masonic Hospital. Dr Consalter has kindly secured thousands of dollars in medical supplies/medicine from his friends in the industry. All he needs are plane tickets for his crew right now.

I just made a modest contribution and encourage you to do the same.   Click on Donate.

Today, we witnessed Barack Obama at his finest, showing what is best about this great country.

As you may know by now, he enlisted his two immediate predecessors, the more recent regularly maligned by the incumbent’s fellow partisans, to spearhead a relief fund for Haiti:

And I’m pleased that President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton have agreed to lead a major fundraising effort for relief:  the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.  On behalf of the American people, I want to thank both of you for returning to service and leading this urgent mission.

This is a model that works.  After the terrible tsunami in Asia, President Bush turned to President Clinton and the first President Bush to lead a similar fund.  That effort raised substantial resources for the victims of that disaster — money that helped save lives, deliver aid, and rebuild communities.  And that’s exactly what the people of Haiti desperately need right now. . . .

Interesting the conservative nature of this liberal president’s policy:  basing it on a model that works.  And the president is thinking long term as well:

But what these gentlemen are going to be able to do is when the news media starts seeing its attention drift to other things but there’s still enormous needs on the ground, these two gentlemen of extraordinary stature I think are going to be able to help ensure that these efforts are sustained.

By enlisting both men, one a Democrat, the other a Republican in relief efforts, President Obama is showing that Americans stand united in helping the victims of this earthquake.  Please join them in giving what you can to help a people in dire circumstances as a result of a disaster beyond their control.  In this post, I offered a list of some groups which are providing relief.

I have since learned that one of my favorite charities, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is also raising money for Hait.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere, I encourage you to support efforts which provide relief to the victims of this disaster.

Michelle links a variety of ways to help:

State Department resources and charities.

Relief efforts list via The Anchoress.

Fund-raising efforts via Chuck Simmins.

In past crises, I’ve supported Jewish World Service, so will make my contribution via their Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. I encourage y’all to support at least one relief organization. Any contribution, no matter how small, helps at a time like this.

Every year at this time, I, like countless other Americans, review my finances and figure out how much to give to the various charitable causes I support.  As per my previous post, I am often annoyed that some groups which do good work show little respect for their contributors (and potential contributors) by regularly sending appeals for donations, sending unsolicited gifts and asking for more money in letters confirming a contribution.

In this post, I’d like to single out three groups which send out only a handful of solicitations each year (in the case of one group, no more than two) and whose thank-you notes are just that, thank- you notes and not appeals for contribution.  They do good work by respectively, helping injured service members across the country, providing housing for the mentally ill homeless in Los Angeles and promoting free market ideas in our nation’s capital.

I encourage you to support these organizations:

1. “The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund provides financial assistance and quality of life solutions for Marines, Sailors and other military personnel assigned to Marine Forces, injured in post 9-11 combat, training, or with life threatening illnesses, and their families.”  Click here to donate.
2. The Lamp Community helps “people living with severe mental illness move from streets to homes. Lamp offers immediate access to affordable, safe and permanent housing without requiring sobriety or participation in treatment.”  Click here to donate.
3. “The mission of the Cato Institute is to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and peace.”  They’re doing yeoman’s work on healthcare reform, promoting free market alternatives and challenging what was once the conventional wisdom on global warming.  Click here to donate.

Of course, there are many groups out there which do good work.  In my experience, these groups combine the good work they do for those in need of medical care, housing or an education in freedom while respecting those who want to help them meet those needs.

If your finances allow, be generous at this time of year, indeed, strive to be generous throughout the year.  Even if you don’t support these groups, please find a worthy cause to support.  Or a lonely friend to visit.  It’s not just through our donations that we can show our generosity.

Today, I received a letter confirming a contribution I made to a charity I have long supported.  Attached to this letter of gratitude was a solicitation for an additional contribution.  Other charities send me regular snail mail, often in thick envelopes, marked with reminders to the Postal Service to handle the package with care as “free gifts are enclosed.”

Fancy writing on other packages indicates “Your FREE 2009 Wrapping Paper & Gift Tags Are Enclosed.”  Others are marked “Urgent” while I received two solicitations from the same charity on one day.  In many cases, I receive regular solicitations, often in thick envelopes from organizations I have never supported.  One particular think tank in our nation’s capital regularly sends me 8 1/2″ by 11″ envelopes asking for my money.  Some send me “gifts” they want to send back to them so they can send them along to soldiers or schoolchildren.  It might save some expense if they didn’t first send such things to me.

I wonder how many trees were cut down for the regular 8 1/2″ by 11″ mailings I receive from the National Resources Defense Council (a group I never supported).  Oddly enough, organizations I have never joined send me reminders to renew my membership while my apartment is cluttered with gift cards I never ordered, books I have yet to read, CDs I have yet to open and DVDs I have yet to watch, all sent to me, free of charge by groups about which I know little.

In one case, I received regular mailings from an organization I was convinced was a fly-by-night operation, using the stories of children with facial deformities in the third world to enrich scam artists on the East Coast.  I later learned that group does very good work; they just have a very bad group of fundraisers.  Indeed, I’m sure that many of these groups do very good work; it’s just that those in their Development Office (or those to whom they farm out fundraising) don’t have much respect for their potential donors. (more…)

On Tuesday, when I was identified Children’s Hospital/Los Angeles as one my charitable donations to my tax guy, he, recalling my past returns, commented that I always support that international leader in pediatrics.  I always support them, I replied, because of the institution’s sterling reputation.

He then related how when his nephew was suffering from a complicated respiratory problem, he was airlifted there and received extraordinary care.  He’s doing fine today.  It made me feel good to hear an example of the good work that one of “my” charities does.

Because I would be getting back a little more from the feds than I had anticipated, when I returned home to find a solicitation from the hospital in my pile of mail to be sorted, I instantly cut them a check.  I’m sure I’m not alone.  I’m sure countless other Americans, when getting money back, are equally generous.  If not more so.

Unless of course they’re the Vice President of the United States.  On Tuesday, I gave more to Children’s Hospital than the total amount Joe Biden gave to charitable organizations in 1998 or 1999 on an adjusted gross income considerably less than his (via Volokh via Glenn).

You’d think somebody so generous with other people’s money would be more generous with his own.

While Biden has given more in recent year than he has in years past, he gave less than $2,000 last year on an income greater than $250,000.  According to the New York Times, “the White House said the Bidens have made additional donations to charity not listed on the returns.“  And the White House hosted a Fiscal Responsibility Summit only days after the president signed a near-trillion dollar “stimulus,” further boosting the deficit he derided on the campaign trail.

There are many causes worthy of our support, particularly in these tough times.  I hope you’ll join me in supporting Children’s Hospital/Los Angeles.  And when you do so, maybe write the Vice President and ask him to support this great facility as well, without dipping into our tax dollars to do so.

ADDENDUM:  This is not the first time I blogged on this.  The last time I did so, several of our readers commented that they too gave more in charity than does the Vice President.

One of the reasons Michael Barone has long been one of my favorite columnists is his long study of American history and deep understanding of our political and social traditions.  In his blog post, Obama’s Threat to Charities and Universities: His Budget and Taxes, he quotes Tocqueville to show how far back goes the American tradition of voluntarism.

Barone fears that by reducing the value of the charitable deduction, Obama’s budget threatens volunary associations:

This is an attempt to channel money away from voluntary associations and direct it to the state. Some of that money, in turn, would be directed to public employee unions, and much if not most of that would be directed to the Democratic Party. It would be interesting to know what White House counselor and former President of Harvard University Lawrence Summers thinks of this.

It seems the president wants to centralize power in Washington and siphon some of the fruits of that control to various interest groups which support the Democratic Party. This is part and parcel of the liberal (in the current understanding of the term) vision of government as the solution to all too many of our problems.

That vision, however, is at odds with the American tradition. As Barone so wisely note, “One of the strengths of American society is that we do not rely solely on the government to address social problems.”

If it’s by Barone, it goes without saying: read the whole thing.

When two readers, within fifteen minutes, alert you to the same post, I always make sure to check it out.  And they were right.  This one is worthy of a link.

Michelle Malkin received a letter from a reader in Paducah, Kentucky who wrote to tell her just how bad things were in the Bluegrass State, “The situation is much more depressing for those who live in the rural area of our region as utility poles were snapped in half by the weight of the ice all over far Western Kentucky.”  According to the Paducah Sun:

The word from utility workers with direct Katrina experience is that ice storm devastation to western Kentucky’s power grid is worse than that inflicted by the infamous Gulf Coast hurricane.

“We’ve got linemen here from southern Mississippi who were there when Katrina hit, who worked the area after the hurricane,” said Kevin Inglish, a spokesman for West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.”

What stands out Michelle’s correspondent is that “no news anchors from any of the Big 3 or any cable news channel including Fox News” have flown in to cover the devastation as they ran to cover Katrina.

The president has yet to visit the region.

If you want to help out, FEMA lists volunteer agencies providing relief efforts.

Michelle details some of the relief efforts here.

Related:  Storm Hits Kentucky, FEMA Absent, Media Silent

UPDATE from Bruce (GayPatriot):   President Obama Reads Children’s Book While Poor White Folks in Kentucky Ignored After Natural Disaster.

Hey, this scene looks familiar…. My Pet Goat, Obama Style!  (h/t - Grande Conservative Blogress Diva Nominee, Ann Althouse)

Who would have thought that President Obama would make President Jimmy Carter look competent and in-touch?

Only a few days left. The 400,000th care package will go out this weekend. An excellent group of volunteers dedicated to helping our troops. This is especially important at this time of year with Christmas only 16 days away. If you can spare a few dollars, please give generously!

h/t – Ace of Spades for reminding me

– John (Average Gay Joe)

We are pleased an honored at GayPatriot to be a small part of a large event today — a groundbreaking live, internet telethon that directly benefits US military members and their families.  “From The Frontlines” begins broadcasting right here at 4PM Eastern time.  

Live Video streamed by Ustream

This special broadcast will be co-hosted by radio personality and Move America Forward Chairman Melanie Morgan and blogger-extraordinaire Michelle Malkin and will feature national radio powerhouses Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura Schlessigner, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, NBC’s “America’s Favorite Mom” Patti Patton-Bader, reports from our military men and women on the frontlines of Iraq & Afghanistan, music, stars of stage and screen, and many MANY other special guests.

The historic telethon is being organized by Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization. Move America Forward has shipped over 40 TONS of care packages to our troops filled with food for their enjoyment, other necessities and message of appreciation and encouragement from home. Now we’re doing one better by sending over the largest shipment of care packages to our troops in American history.

These care packages will be sponsored by pledges made by viewers during the “From the Frontlines” telethon, and shipped by Move America Forward just in time for the 4th of July holiday. Our troops will receive these special 4th of July care packages, crammed with all kinds of items for their personal care and comfort, just as Americans stateside are celebrating the freedoms and liberties made possible thanks to the service and sacrifice of our noble service men and women.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Here are the Amazon Wish lists for the men and women recovering at the Brooke Army Medical Center and Walter Reed Medical Center. Please take a moment and pick something out for those who’ve sacrificed so much for our country!

h/t – Ace of Spades

– John (Average Gay Joe)