When conundrums save the world

As Kate (and other employees of the RAC) has already heard, I found $20 in the bathroom this morning, which sparked a philosophical quandry: Do I track down the unfortunate owner? Do I keep the money? Give the time of year, I was feeling particularly guilty about just pocketing the bill, but sending out an email to everyone on the floor (most of whom I have yet to -- and very likely never will -- meet) asking if they misplaced their money felt distincly embarassing and even less appealing than the guilt I would assuredly be carrying about. Then, Kate and Daphne to the rescue! Charity! That's the answer! So I added the $20 to the contributions I had been meaning to make for some months now, and just to make sure it actually happened, I used my down time at work to make the donations online. Now, women everywhere can rest a little easier because the mystery money is going to make them safer.

Clearly, I can't just leave it at that. I have to make a plug for my favorite foundations (and former coalition partners). So, here goes:

Planned Parenthood's Action Fund: responsible for nifty ads in the swing states that finally address how egregiously horrific a McCain/ Palin executive would be for the reproductive health of America. And we're not just talking about abortions (though they are, clearly, very important as a fundamental privacy right and health care option); we're talking about access to other reproductive health services like birth control, neo-natal care and comprehensive sex education. The Action Fund is also sponsoring a 1 million strong campaign and they're looking for volunteers to help them mobilize 1 million pro-choice voters. Very awesome stuff.

Jewish Women International: JWI is one of the most active anti-Violence Against Women (and primarily domestic violence) national organizations in the US. In addition to lobbying for better funding of a myriad of programs that provide services to survivors, help law enforcement combat violence and focus on eliminating violence in the first place, JWI helps to raise awareness about this all too often forgotten issue that affects far more people than you might think. Their Agents of Change campaign is aimed at getting voters to consider Violence Against Women issues when pulling the lever (or punching the chad) this November.



I encourage everyone to check out these fabulous organizations, and the many others that focus on the important issues behind the political idologies we espouse. These are the real things that affect real people (and as Biden said last night, John McCain ain't no maverick when it comes to the real stuff). Obama, on the other hand has a great plan.

Vote Obama/ Biden in '08!