How to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey

It's being reported that Hurricane Harvey will go down as the costliest such storm in this country's history at approximately $160 billion. Millions have already been raised, blood has been drawn, thousands upon thousands of people are attempting to do all they can to help the recovery-and-rebuilding process in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. While, as sad as it is to say, we should all be on the lookout for scams, here is a list of reputable and trusted organizations to which you can donate your time and money to this cause. No matter if you live in the area and want to volunteer some of your time, you have some old clothes you'd be willing to part ways with, or you are able to donate even just $1, every little bit helps.

American Red Cross ($10 donation minimum): https://go.crowdrise.com/donate/project/arc-hurricane-harvey-relief/americanredcross?scode=RSG00000E017&utm_campaign=Harvey&gclid=Cj0KCQjw557NBRC9ARIsAHJvVVOuUs039DGadUBwjCNB_2ctt8cPVadXQdGJS-b8YQJlbh5lDxoorTkaAtSGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CMy326nkgdYCFc8UgQodfgIFTg

Texting: You can also donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting HARVEY to 90999 (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/hurricane_harvey_how_to_help_h.html)

Locals: If you live in Texas, here's a list of places at which you can drop off donations - http://www.houstonemergency.org/donations-drop-off/

Houston Food Bank: http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/

Food Bank of Corpus Christi: http://www.foodbankcc.com/

The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center: https://southtexasblood.org/harvey

Carter BloodCare: http://www.carterbloodcare.org/ (you can also donate by texting DONATE4LIFE to 444-999)

The Houston Humane Society: http://www.houstonhumane.org/

The San Antonio Humane Society: https://sahumane.org/

The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: http://www.houstonspca.org/

Texas Diaper Bank: http://www.texasdiaperbank.org/

The United Way of Greater Houston: https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/flood

The LGBTQ Disaster Relief Fund: https://my.reason2race.com/DNicol/HurricaneHarveyLGBTQDisasterReliefFund2017

AmeriCares: https://secure.americares.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app250b?df_id=22191&mfc_pref=T&22191.donation=form1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8NHi1df61QIVHLbACh2VIgrUEAAYAiAAEgIK2fD_BwE&NONCE_TOKEN=D667E9715D23E1240570F3A751C2AC23

Catholic Charities: https://catholiccharities.org/donate-now-and-help-our-neighbors-recover-from-disaster/

Direct Relief: https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/hurricane-harvey-response/

Matthew 25: Ministries: http://m25m.org/disaster/harvey17/

Salvation Army: https://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/ (you can also text STORM to 51555)

Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9534789/k.9D36/Hurricane_Harvey.htm

AABB (for blood donations): http://www.aabb.org/press/Pages/pr170827.aspx

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun

The difference between "looking" and "checking out"

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i

The verdict is in. To no one's surprise, Jonathan Hoenig has been found guilty of being an idiot.

Just recently, when discussing the Michael Brown shooting and whether or not race had anything to do with it, Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig said, "You know who talks about race? Racists." One moment while I provide Mr. Hoenig with the well deserved slow-clap. :: slow-claps for two seconds :: So, that was quite the line by Mr. Hoenig, wasn't it? "You know who talks about race? Racists." Well, wasn't he just talking about race? So, by his own words, I guess that makes him a racist. Also, if he wants to be consistent, does this mean that people whom talk about gender are sexists and people whom talk about sexual orientation are homophobes? With that line of thinking, Hoenig would engage in the following back-and-forths: Hoenig: "So, who are you voting for?" A woman: "The Democratic candidate, because he's been adamant about his support for equal rights for women." Hoenig: "You sexist feminist nazi!"

The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

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