Sunday, May 20, 2007

Katrina Aid . . . Lost


News Flash! IDOLEYES, my book with Mandisa, is out! And I'm going to send a free copy to the person who posts comment number ____--the number of photographs on the interior of the book. :-)

You remember the rules? You may post as many times as you wish as long as you don't post two times in a row. When you get to the magic number (or as soon as possible thereafter), I'll jump in and announce the winner.

Now, onto the daily topic . . .

Okay, this bothers me. Maybe it's because I was a Girl Scout who learned to be thrifty, or maybe I'm just frugal. But I really dislike two things that go against my nature: 1) ineffeciency and 2) waste.

And last week I read a newspaper article about massive proportions of both.

Did you know that many nations gave aid to the United States after Hurricane Katrina? And that most of that aid went unused, unnoticed, and (apparently) unappreciated?

According to a Washington Post story by John Solomon and Spencer Hsu, Allies offered $854 million in cash and oil that was to be sold for cash. So only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million of oil. Some offers were redirected to groups like the Red Cross, but the rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how much can be spent. Italy sent shipments of medicine, gauze, and other medical supplies that spoiled in the elements and had to be destroyed. Greece offered to send two cruise ships that could be used as free hotels or hospitals, but the deal was rescinded after it became clear the ship would not arrive before Oct. 10. Instead the U.S. paid $249 million to use Carnival Cruise Line vessels.

Maybe we should put the Girl Scouts in charge of disaster recovery.

~~Angie

50 comments:

Dana said...

Hmmm...what are the odds there is only 1 interior picture?? Not likely...

I did hear something about the Katrina aid recently but didn't know all the facts. I don't get it. And why aren't we going nuts over this? It makes me too mad for words......

Kay Day said...

When I was in Haiti I learned that it is a waste to send any aid there because it goes to complete waste. Storehouses full of rotting food, etc.
I would have thought we were more efficient than a satanistic third world country.

Brittanie said...

Hi Angie I live in areas close to areas that were destroyed by Katrina. I did not know about all that aid. It is hard to imagine with all the devastation aid that went unused. I can believe it. :) Brittanie

Anonymous said...

Good morning. Are you home yet? Did God do great things in and through you all this week?

Anonymous said...

Interesting that Florida always seems to get done whatever it takes to clean up after horrible and horrendous storms and losses. Take a look at the state governments before looking at the federal government's part in all the recovery efforts.

eva said...

I dislike inefficiency as well. It just goes to show that without Christ things look very ugly

Jeni

Suzanne said...

Time for me to post a post and see if I am at the right post to win a book

Kay Day said...

We want to hear about what we missed at CCWC.

Kay Day said...

Do you get the same royalty per book, regardless of what it sells for?
I bought about 5 books for the price of one yesterday and wondered if the authors are getting shorted.

Suzanne said...

It's me, posting again. Just waiting for people to get in between my posts so I can get more in!

Anonymous said...

Okay, having just starting reading your books (the keeper of the ring series), I'm posting to try and get another! Shame on me, that is for sure.

But more shameful? That kind of waste. That's really horrible! I wonder if we have actually learned any significant lessons from it all.

Suzanne said...

la-de-da-de-da
just posting again

Anonymous said...

as a resident of the beautiful mississippi gulf coast, one does have to wonder...

Dana said...

Okay, I'm going to try to win this book too now. :)

Angela said...

Keep commenting! The number isn't quite high enough yet!

I'm sharing a story from the CWCC later this week. It's cute.

And Kay, since you asked--no, authors don't get the same royalty no matter what the sales price. We earn next-to-nothing on steeply discounted books. We earn nothing at all on used books. It's all done on a percentage basis--a percentage of the price the bookstore pays to the bookstore.

But I don't lose sleep over such things because I figure that discounted books may bring new readers who wouldn't ordinarily pay full price for an author they've never read. And besides, God is sovereign. I let Him worry about things like that. :-)

Angie

Dana said...

Okay, back to commenting. :)

Deborah said...

yay i love these kinds of book giveaways :)

Dana said...

Me too! Wonder what the magic number is... If nothing else posting these comments helps someone win! :)

Deborah said...

i like bios with pictures, it helps to picture the subject's life better

Dana said...

Oh yeah. Definitely. I remember reading a biography of Lucille Ball when I was a kid and I loved looking at the pictures throughout the time I read the book. I love bios.

Deborah said...

well unless we've already guessed it, it looks like they'll be a lot of pictures in this one. i feel like i'm stating the obvious :)

Dana said...

That is a lot of pictures isn't it! I'm excited to read this book one way or another. :)

Deborah said...

lol dana your comments are always exactly 2 min after mine

Dana said...

That's funny that you even noticed that! LOL! So, here's the question. Did Angela already know the number of pictures or did she count them for this contest...

Suzanne said...

I'm home from Sunday night church and ready to play again!

Deborah said...

i had just gotten home from my sister's graduation at UVA. john grisham was the keynote speaker. it was fun.

Dana said...

Oh wow. That would be interesting!

Christy Lockstein said...

I'm looking forward to reading this book! Mandisa is one of those few contestants who I would actually purchase their album. She was amazing!

Suzanne said...

Yes, Mandisa was a great contestant!

Dana said...

This will probably be my last post tonight. It's time for me and my hubby to debrief our day, pray, and read the Bible together. A great way to end a day. :) G'night.

Suzanne said...

Time for me to sit here and eat the fried rice I made for dinner.

Dana said...

Well, I can play a couple more minutes while my hubby finishes what he's doing... :)

Suzanne said...

I just hate the "word verification" thing that I have to do each time I leave a comment. So annoying....

Dana said...

LOL. Keeps spam away I believe. Man - lots of pictures in this book!

Suzanne said...

I believe that we've probably already passed the number of pictures....we just need Angie to come in here and give us the prize! LOL

Dana said...

Yeah. Maybe. But I'm not going to chance it. :)

Suzanne said...

so we're just going to post, post, post

Dana said...

Yep. Until we know for sure who won. :)

Suzanne said...

*I hope it's me*
tee hee hee

Dana said...

You've worked hard all day for it. You deserve it. But I hope it's me. ;)

Suzanne said...

Look how sweet you are! Thinking of others! LOL

Dana said...

Thinking of others. Yes. :) But only to a point... tee hee hee...

Well, if someone's already won and Angie's asleep we could be doing this all night... :)

Or not.

Suzanne said...

You are so right.

How late do you think we can stay up?

Angela said...

Whoa! I went to clean up the house and y'all passed the number! It was 30. So let me count up and I'll be right back!

Angie

Dana said...

Can or want to? :)

I won't be around much longer at all. In fact, this may be it for me. If we need to keep going I hope someone chats with you so you can continue. Good luck winning the book!! This may be it for me tonight... You're probably right anyway - the number has probably already been reached...

Suzanne said...

(Calls out to Dana)

Wait...don't leave...she's coming right back!

Man, I was having fun getting to know her....

Dana said...

Ha ha - I was having fun getting to know you too. :) My husband and I are missionaries so we have a website. www.jonathananddana.com My blog is www.jonathananddana.com/dana if you want to follow us a bit. We're leaving for Tanzania July 27th. :) Leave a comment on my blog or email me using the contact form on our website. :)

Angela said...

Okay! I counted three times (there was one commenter twice in a row, so I counted that as one), and our winner is:

Suzanne with her fried rice comment!

So Suzanne, if you'll send me your address via my "contact" page, I'll get your book in the mail tomorrow! Enjoy!

Angie

Dana said...

YAY Suzanne! Congratulations!! :)

I'm really, really, really off to bed this time......

Suzanne said...

yay! That may be the BEST fried rice I've ever made! Thank you so much!

Rest well Dana...I emailed you through your website!