Yes, you CAN do something

Sitting on my comfy couch this afternoon, watching "Being Bobby Brown," (no, I will not link to it here...it's crap), I became so disgusted with myself I decided to look for something CONSTRUCTIVE to do. You know, something that might actually create some VALUE in this world. So to avoid, in the words of Elvis Costello, keeping my finger "on important issues with crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues," I came up with a few ideas.

I started with Judith Miller. Talk about bad timing for her to go to jail. She barely made page one when some Goddamn terrorists took over the front page again. I know they are poor and marginalized and angry at the West, but have they never heard of Mohandes Ghandi? He was able to mobilize a few folks to kick the frigging Brits out of India! What good is a cause if everyone hates you once you've made your point?

See? I'm doing it, too. Bumping Judy. Well, she's still in the can and it turns out we can't send her CARE packages (see previous blog entry, Smart Women Makin' News), but she can accept unlimited amounts of mail (postcards, letters, notes, cards). Her editor sent out her address to the NY Times staff and I found it on Gawker.

Attn: Judith Miller
Inmate Number 45570083
Alexandria Detention Center
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Drop her a note and thank her for standing up for the constitution. Someone has to! She might have to be there until October (that's when the Grand Jury has to be dismissed).

Then, I went to the website for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk and made a donation to a friend. I know 4 people who are walking this year and I've donated to most of them. You don't need to know anyone, just go to the website and give to the walk in your area. 60 miles in 3 days to help find a cure for Breast Cancer? In frigging July and August? That's a lot of band-aids and water bottles. Definitely worth donating to.


In London, they are collecting for the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund.The best thing we could do to stop this shit is to find Osama Bin Laden. Oh! I forgot! Our President says he knows exactly where Bin Laden is...so he must have a really good reason not to nail him in order to discourage these goons! Right? Until he pulls Osama's head out of a hat, let's support the Brits.

And closer to home, the American Red Cross is accepting donations for tsunami relief, preparations for Hurricane Dennis (scheduled to hit the Gulf Coast this weekend), and aid for military personnel and their families.

One last idea. Write a thank you note to someone who saved your ass recently or who took care of your grandmother or who is just a really good friend (no matter how belated). No big fancy deal. Just tell them how you feel or what you are thinking. Total cost: 37 cents. You'll feel good and you'll never know how much it will mean to them. And that's the whole point.

So, get out your checkbook, a note card, the phone, a stamp, SOMETHING! And then you can go back to watching "Being Bobby Brown" without feeling quite so worthless.