I’ve sent donations to Heifer and Grameen today. I’ve actually heard about Heifer vaguely and the people who told me about it never knew the name of. I’m glad to have found it.

I’m also thinking of making a navy bean soup. I know there are a lot of cooks here: Should I put tomatoes in it? How about smoked bacon instead of ham?

Wow! When these threads first started, folks would contribute all day. Oh well, Jim, you can put just about anything you like in bean soup. Tomatoes, other veggies, any meat, sausage, etc.

What I would recommend however is a handful of cornmeal to aid digestion and minimize the “backtalk” normally generated by beans. I would also include a bunch of dark green like parsley, pigweed, spinach (anything rich in chlorophyl), etc. That way if there is some “backtalk” it won’t smell. ;)

Good luck.

I’m also thinking of making a navy bean soup. I know there are a lot of cooks here: Should I put tomatoes in it? How about smoked bacon instead of ham?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 17

Peterr at 10 — I love the Heifer folks. LOVE them. RevDeb came up with a great idea that I think I’ll get started a little this morning and then move forward: putting together a list of great organizations or companies whose products either put some profits toward some very worthy cause or whose products are made by folks who could really use a hand up — as a sort of virtual holiday shopping compendium for everyone. I know I’d appreciate some more options, and I think RevDeb is correct that others might appreciate that as well.

So, if you have a favorite like this, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll put together some sort of list (with links, if I can find them) and we’ll use it for a future Pull Up A Chair. :)

If we’re making our lists…I’d like to add:

http://www.RanchoFeliz.com

I saw little kids sleeping on the sidewalks of Juarez in the late 60s. I’m so glad to know about this charity.

OK, here’s a test for FDLers.

It took me 5 minutes; my wife got it in 3.

Listen for subtle audio hints for help.

http://www.rumdesign.com/wrong/

pardon me?

It took me 5 minutes; my wife got it in 3.

Listen for subtle audio hints for help.

http://www.rumdesign.com/wrong/

Solutions to many of these problems exist, if there is sufficient money and political willpower.

I encourage people to support Doctors of the World/Medecins sans Frontieres. They go into the hellholes of the world and treat the desperately sick, without regard to governments or politics. They are fearless.

Normal middle-class American communities generally hide a surprising amount of poverty. Ask a local minister. The elderly, the newly divorced, people with sudden medical costs. Not everyone has family to help when there’s trouble.

I hope we will elect a lot of people who will view reducing poverty as a goal instead of CREATING poverty for millions of people, which we are currently responsible for.

Local, national, international: plenty of work to be done. I grew up thinking Matthew 25 was a to-do list: feed the hungry, heal the sick, help the least of these…

Let’s get going!

And I recommend that people check out Partners in Health, with all respect to MSF/DWB, egregious, PIH leaves something on the ground when it (the outsiders) departs. (I have been a supporter of MSF/DWB for years, and will continue to be, but PIH is more realistic for the long run.) And aside from that, the rest of your comment resonates deeply.

Would you like an extinguisher for your pants sir?

Pssst- it’s a political scam!

I heard James Baker on NPR yesterday saying
he couldn’t talk about their Iraq Plan until
after the elections. Then Olberman discussed
it’s leak from the NY Post… Whatttsup?

Worse than Watergate
Worse than Viet Nam…
Impeach him…

Jack

The whole purpose of the Baker mission is to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, just like he did in 2000 in Florida. I am sure Baker has orders from Poppy to keep Junior on a leash, and the Decider can’t be happy about that.

Look for a strategy of declaring victory and then pulling out. First, the mission was WMD, then it became democracy, now they will be happy to stabilize Baghdad. So far all three missions have failed.

The louder they rail against cut-and-run the more likely it is that they will do just that, and then blame Clinton for everything from bin Laden to Foley.