What the hell are you doing in school? Do you have a diploma in pedagogy? No? Then you add to the wide-spread incompetence. Get out of the way. It’s great that school have less money – naybe they finally start doing what they are supposed to do – teaching with less waste of public money. No “social workers” or 5 “guidance councilors” per kid needed.

I don’t know, may be you know what you’re talking about when you talk about yourself- may be YOU were just lucky to receive an education and it’s YOURS life is full of undeserved priviledge. Mine is not. “Community” did nothing to me. All I have, I earn myself.
As those girls should.

You’re such a demagogue…no, not just a demagogue- a dangerous demagogue.
You should be doing community service while LOCKED UP.

And surprise, I’m employing people again. So there’s that.

Of course, we won’t talk about my volunteer work, as, being unpaid, it has no value.

I wonder who is the real parasite?

I know what i say about you, thoug – I already did.

Once again: you are the one that do nothing. Except camouflaging the fact you have no useful profession.

What a parasite.

What makes you think I don’t work? I built a business that supported 12 employees at good wages and benefits over many years. During that time, I managed to volunteer in the community. Now that I’ve sold the business and moved on to a personal enterprise, I’ve increased that volunteer work. Which I understand not everyone has the time or ability or luxury to do. But I DO expect people denigrating those efforts to offer some alternative. Either lead, follow or get out of the way.

But I’ll tell the wounded at the Veterans hospital where I volunteer that I can’t be there for them any more because the deep cuts of the Bush administration in Veterans programs don’t provide for any pay for me. God forbid those leeches should get any of my precious time for free.

Should I tell the kids at the school I volunteer in — the school that is laying off teachers because of drastic budget cuts — that I can’t possibly participate because I need to get paid? Why not, it’s the kids’ fault that they aren’t getting the education I was lucky to receive.

And those homeless girls. You are right, they need to pay for my old dresses. And I’ll stop right now with helping to organize that program. Because, damn it, they need to pay me for it.

I always liked Duke Ellington’s eulogy of Louis Armstrong: “He was born poor, he died rich and he never hurt anyone along the way.” I’d like to kick it up a notch and say that, along the way, I helped a few people.

What will your community say about you?

I give away material things I have no more use for- but I don’t pretend that I do it to become “a better person”, or to make someone “a princess for a day” – that’d be condescending and immoral. Anyone can fall on a bad times, or happen to be in a place he or she can not support themselves with a skill they know; the way to help these people will be to teach them the skill necessary for survival. But not for free. “Free is only a cheese in a mousetrap”. Shoud I add- a government cheese in an welfare trap?

I do much more than you, Lisa Paul, or your charges, to “make this world a better place”: I work . For money. [or “I do when there is work to do, because thanks to your incredibly stupid, economically speaking, liberal Administration, soon we all will be out of work, except government bureaucrats).
I produce real things. Something that benefit hundreds of thousands of people, at once. But I wouldn’t do it if I was not paid.

As one brilliant Russia-Jewish writer, whom oyu haven’t read, said: “Once ancient Phoenicians invented money, all other kinds of appreciation had been radically devalued”.

So Tatyana, again, what are YOU doing?

Ever wondered why California is in such deep doodoo, energy-wise?

But I do need to clarify that I don’t buy plastics of any sort, being well aware that recycling of plastics is a partial solution, if that. And my buying locally is for carbon footprint reasons and to support my community which is agricultural. (And for the selfish “greedy” reason that I find Sonoma-grown food fresher and better.)

Unfortunately many of the girls in the prom dress program will be mounting the tumbrel with me as many of them chose to volunteer back with the program after they’ve had their chance.

No, you didn’t bring up Ahmadinejad. I did. You’re not the center of the Earth, you know, and definitely not the center of this conversation. Not the only one entitled to bring any subject you deem relevant – just like you brought in my DARWINIAN world.

All your “getting off your butt” and using “recycled plastics” will not buy you one single indulgence, when the girls you so benevolently make a “Princess for a Day” will believe your hypocritical spiel about “equality”. Not one. You’ll be swinging, dear Lis, along with the most “eloquent” and “accomplished” ones. French revolution, does it say anything to you? Oh, right, it was AFTER Baroque; I expect too much of you.

Incidentally, do you know how much electrical energy is needed to recycle plastics and how much the resulting spray bottle cost, compared to one made of new materials? Do you know that every time you buy produce from local farm, that Chilean strawberry farmer suffers and his children dye from hunger? Are you of the belief that American farmers are more deserving of your money than Chilean ones? That’s downright RACIST!

The only obligation you have, dear Lis, according to your own half-baked primitive liberal theories -if you give yourself a minute to think them through- is to die. Sooner the better . To save poor seals, whales and Earth atmosphere. Less CO2 with your every exhale!

Again, dear Lis, have no right to ask me anything, less than that – to demand I do anything for anybody else, and yet less than that – act “on behalf of community”.

I think the subject of this post was a local charity that does a little bit of good to girls who are in dire circumstances through no fault of their own. As Jen, an earlier commenter, will attest, the children of the homeless didn’t get there by being lazy or “entitled” or even “not greedy enough”. It’s most often circumstances beyond their control. The girls helped by this particular program are still in school, which shows an effort toward self-betterment by themselves and their parents even in the face of some tough circumstances. True, I donate dresses to them that I “have no use for”, but I also give my time, which I have much use for.

I also don’t think I brought up world charity or aid programs (or Achmadinijad). In fact, I’m pretty adamant about making my charitable donations of time and money LOCALLY. Especially as a response to policies I don’t like. When I had issues with the last administration on the war, education and social services, instead of ranting my hate or sniping at the way Bush’s wife dresses, I volunteered in schools, with veterans groups and at various local charities that I thought were doing a good job in giving people a boost up. With the new administration, I’ve only added to those efforts.

It’s called community service or giving back. Something many of us do because we recognize that we are fortunate, had a bit of luck or got a helping hand from other people along the way. Just paying it forward.

Is it a lot? No, it’s a little. But if a lot of us each did a little in our own communities, I think things would be better all around. Is it selfish? Sure, there’s always self interest involved. I don’t want to be in a community where people are suffering needlessly, where children aren’t getting educated and where veterans are treated to budget cuts and bureaucracy when they return from a war zone.

The difference between us, dear Tat, is that I get off my butt and do something about it, in my own small way, instead of just exercising my jaw bone or cleaning out a closet so that homeless people can then buy those clothes. (At reduced prices, but not for free because that would just turn them into drug addicts and gang members. Especially the high school girls.)

For the record, I buy as little plastic as possible. I don’t have closets full of clothes. I buy 90% of my food from local family farms (or grow it) and drive a Prius. I still burn up more resources than the average impoverished Indian. But again, I continue to try to do my bit. I have no problem with ambition or the desire to get ahead. But having achieved a measure of comfort, I’m conscious that I have an obligation to help someone else along.

Again, I ask you, what are YOU doing to make your community better?

That is not to say that the question of where exactly Mr. Sahl went voluntarily is unworthy of discussion.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering whatever happened to Mort Sahl, he’s been lecturing at Claremont McKenna College, and occasionally getting lost.

You’re that Ugly American, Lisa Paul, the one your like-minded media screams about, day and night. But for totally different reasons that they usually site.
You’re ugly because of your hypocrisy, your naive 19th century ideals that are suited more to a teenager – ideals that come to conflioct with reality that you, in your cowardly passive-aggressive way, call Darwinian – your near-sighted ideals that you want to force other people to give up their money and fortune for. In your heart of hearts, however loudly you proclaim importance of your education and the “work” you do , deep down you know you don’t deserve a crumb of your daily bread – so you try to compensate this sinking feeling with giving away what you have no use for – and proudly bit your chest: I’m a charitable person! How Victorian of you. [and no, nothing resembling Baroque – they were too close-to earth, too honest to engage in this mental masturbation).

Apologies in advance for typos and bad English grammar.

As to Ahmadinejad – the connection was not between him and prom dresses – as it is, naturally, is more convenient for you to misinterpret. Again, if you’d paid attention, I was answering to YOUR COMMENT, directly preceding mine.

Problem you talk about is not mine. I see a systemic failure with your world outlook ,ms Paul: the problem of “world poverty”, or “inner city ghettos”, or any number of liberal strawmen (or strawPERSONS would be more PC?) is not people who don’t do charitable donations. It’s the people who rely of charity for their survival. I know I’m going to hit you unconcsious with my next statement, but it is true: GREED IS A GOOD THING. IT MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND.

Still waiting to hear how you, Tatyana, are making the world a better place. What better charities should we all be involved with? Which are you participating in? Not part of the solution? You might be part of the problem.

I just know from this charity, having been involved with it. And the joy and excitement of these girls is special. I also haven’t seen one girl suddenly slump down on the curb and demand Welfare or join a girl gang as a result of getting a prom dress. In fact, many of the girls react this way:

“This beautiful gown was from The Princess Project – and the best night of my life!! Thank you soooo very much, you guys are the best! I would like to volunteer now that I have graduated, if I can help at all!” – Kristen

People on both sides of the project learn it sometimes takes just a little kindness to start making a difference. No a prom dress doesn’t change the world, but it creates a nice memory for some kids who may have too few of them. If being involved is “tickling my hypocritical smug little soul”, well, guilty. Yup. I got as much out of it as the girls did. So call me selfish. But wouldn’t it be a better world if more people did such “selfish” things?