The Wrath of Nature

The tsunami/earthquake thing in southeast Asia has me pretty horrified. Watching the death toll creep up from a sad 20,000 to a "holy crap!" 150,000 all week long has given me a new appreciation for my coddled, well-fed, inland, American life.

We should all stop complaining about our malfunctioning cell phones (you heard me, customers I spent all day talking to,) and our crappy McJobs (uh, that's me too I guess,) and donate some of that cash we were just going to spend on more crap.

Red Cross has set up a special fund specifically for the tsunami victims.

Or, you can go Red Crescent if you are so inclined.

The United Way has created the South Asia Response fund to deal with the disaster.

UNICEF is taking donations for South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts.

The Prime Minister of India has set up a relief fund and is accepting donations.

Moveon.org is demanding America's 'leadership' offer more help.

Oxfam America is taking donations for an Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Fund.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has already set up shop, and is taking donations.

Habitat for Humanity has lots of homes to rebuild.

Amazon.com has set up a way to donate using 1-click ordering.

The Karuna Trust, some Buddhist monk type people, are helping out.

As are the American Jewish World Service.

Islamic Relief is doing their whole 'One-of-the-Five-Pillars' thing.

Both Google and CNN.com have put together respectable charity lists to choose from.

Want to volunteer? Check out Tsunamihelpoffered.blogspot.com.

And if you can't do anything to help any of the above charities, I'm sure there's a prefectly good homeless shelter or soup kitchen in your hometown in dire need of cash or volunters. Hell, there's probably some poor people in your neighborhood who could use a hand.

So go help them!

Since I'm a person who still is in denial about New Mexico turning into a red state, I can't help but sticking in this thought: If people like Bill O'Rielly or all those Chirstian Coalition whiners spent as much time emulating the 'philosopher Jesus' (which sounds like a cool band name...Philosopher Jesus)as they did complaining that gay Jewish filmmakers are staining the souls of America's children, then all the victims of this disaster would be living in mansions and driving Cadillacs.

But seriously, go help!