Un-Reserved

The Dutch have gone over the cliff with infanticide, and we already see a U.S. “ethicist” reveal himself for the court soothsayer that he and many of his peers are. The death cultists pitch their creed in terms of “honest debate” and “transparency” — it’s happening any way, so let’s get it out in the open. It is all about precedent and medical “experts” arguing this is scientific, so above questioning by the hoi poloi and outmoded religionists. Calls to mind: Barbarism with a Human Face, That Hideous Strength, and Whatever Happened to the Human Race?

I emailed Target, indicating I wasn’t happy and wasn’t buying their thin story. Then I went to the Tiger Woods Foundation and alerted Mr. Woods to Target using his face and name as cover on their policy excuse page. I told him I appreciated his concern and charity towards the less advantaged, while alerting him that Target has a very different attitude towards the poorest among us. I finished up with a message on St. Jude’s site as follows:

I am disappointed in your association with Target, since their association with you is approximate in time to their throwing out the Salvation Army. It is disgraceful and self-serving of Target to replace the largest and most effective charity serving the poorest amongst us with a glamorous celebrity-endorsed charity. Target is big enough to host both the Salvation Army and you. I give over $100 per month in charity but you are off my list so long as you are associated with a badly behaving corporate partner.

I urge you to persuade Target to reverse its policy, bringing the red kettles back immediately. The Salvation Army is in the news giving the homeless shelter from the freezing weather — and your partner Target is in the news and on the blogs daily for freezing out the Salvation Army.

Hugh Hewitt asked what modern novel people have re-read. I occasionally rescan junk-food — military sci-fi and mystery series. And I don’t know how many times I’ve reread Inklings novels — most recently Out of the Silent Planet. The one novel I reread last year in Iraq, last read in the 1970s, was The Ugly American. Haven’t read it? Do so. Soon. A fictionalized critique of the State Department blundering in Southeast Asia before the Vietnam War. I read it in the context of the beginning of our current global struggle and found it freshly relevant.

Salvation Army severely needs donations to support needy:
Volunteers still needed to ring bells

This morning, local radio reports that the Salvation Army’s “Operation Deep Freeze” has begun — the temperature in Tucson dropped below freezing and the Salvation Army opened its emergency warming capacity to get the least, the last and the lost out of the deadly cold. No thanks to Target Corporation giving the poorest among us a cold shoulder.

Hugh Hewitt offered this link as one spot report of the ill effects of Salvation Army. I note the the Target homepage pushes one favored charity — St. Judes — while burying the corporate line, about throwing the Salvation Army out, on an interior page (which, judging by the slow connection, is getting a lot of traffic). Irony: look at the Target homepage and note that the menu item above “St. Jude Thanks + Giving” is “Give Warmth” — a pitch for women’s jackets. Right up there with “let them eat cake.” I’ll take their suggestion and give warmth while taking my business to more compassionate merchants.

Target Corporation has a long-standing “no solicitation” policy at all of our stores. Like many nationwide retailers, Target Corporation implemented this policy in order to be consistent with all the groups that request access to our stores and to provide our guests with a comfortable, distraction-free shopping environment.

In fact, Target blames the victim — claiming that it is the Salvation Army’s fault for not coming back to Target with an alternative arrangement that jumps through the corporate hoops. If Target really did not want to just freeze out the Salvation Army, Target would have expended the effort and come up with an alternative that made up for the lost budget and public exposure.

What is to be Done?

I note that Target uses Tiger Woods‘ image on the very page that rationalizes freezing out the Salvation Army. I doubt he has had much feedback on being used as cover for shafting the poor.

We can contribute money, supplies, and time. The Clovis article points out that their local Salvation Army is significantly short volunteer bellringers.

I’ll shop where my values are respected, where I won’t feel like an unwelcome or awkward guest.

CNN News

Saddam Hussein’s regime made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting the U.N. oil-for-food program - more than double previous estimates, according to congressional investigators.

Senator Norm Coleman is leading the charge to get the truth out about the Oil For Food the Real Coalition of the Bribed scandal before Volcker and the MSM can slow-walk it down the memory hole. And the senior Democrat was minimizing and excusing the scandal.