National Veterans Service Fund Rip-off - No Thanks

Today's mail brought a letter from the National Veterans Services Fund with the plaintive question, "Have you forgotten to say "thank you"?"

It also included a "thank you" card that would be sent to the veterans.

It went on from there to ask for a contribution to provide services to "our brave disabled military veterans." .

Now, I am as fervent a supporter of America's veterans as anyone. Heck, I am one. Not disabled. But I served and I did so voluntarily. No one respects their services and sacrifices for our freedom and safety than I do. I was ready to put a "gift" in the envelope with the thank you card and send it back to them.

Then I read the disclaimer. 80.91% of the funds go to fundraising costs. 15.52% goes to public education in conjunction with fundraising appeals. 1.32% goes to administration, leaving just 2.25% of funds collected for program services.

The members of this organization may think that a $10 contribution to them, with just $2.25 going to actually serve veterans is a way to say "Thank you".

I don't "thank" so.

If you get one of these mailings or one like it, please read the disclaimer and only give your money if you have nothing better to do with it.

There has to be a better way.

Reactivating

This blog has been inactive for several months, for many reasons that are not worth explaining. But the blogger is back now and ready to start commenting on things where a little wisdom goes a long way.

For example, what is it about Americans that we are so infatuated with celebrities and so enamored of their goings on? Do we really not have more important things to think and talk about than Britny's hair, Lindsey's DUI and Paris' vacuous look?

How about something about the attempts of Congress to restrict free speech two more times. Once with the unfairness doctrine and once with the removal of non-sue protection for citizens who see suspicious behavior?

Now wonder their approval rating is lower than that for lawyers. Oh, that's right. Most of them are lawyers. What a coincidence!

Comments are welcome.

The Polls Mislead

I have become a dedicated "opinion poll watcher". I check the web regularly for the latest poll results. Each day brings a new reason to see what the polls are reflecting.

It strikes me that the variation from poll to poll is, at best, confusing and, at worst, misleading. Is Kerry ahead by one point or two? Is Bush ahead by one point or two? On any given day both results are reflected. Yet, the polls consistently report that there is a margin of error, at 95% certainty, of 3 to 4 percentage points. Basically, with less than a four point spread, the polls are meaningless exercises in trying to make something out of nothing. Why don't the polls report that the results are dead-even when there is so little difference, insufficient difference to make a difference?

While on the subject of polls, I inherently distrust polls that do not expose their questionnaires, timing, weighting, and samples. I'm sorry. There is just too much opportunity for fudging and incompetence. So I guess we have to view the polls as a form of entertainment, with no more significance than a performance of "Last Comic Standing." I just hope no one is putting any stock in them.

By the way, what are "tracking polls" anyway? Do I understand that they are polls taken over several days with the accumulated results presented on the day after the most recent survey? How accurate is that any way, with important events interceding? I recall looking at one poll's results where there was almost a 180% swing in results from one day to the next. Yet the results were presented as an average of the two days. The mind boggles.

We yearn for November 4th, when polls will be returned to opinions about who the sexiest male star is. That is a level of importance that is appropriate.

In the beginning...

I only wanted to comment on another bloggers blog but somehow I got drawn into starting my own blog. Now I will have to think of something to say. Hmmm. It will be while.