#7 -- Thursday Thirteen Favorite Charities

THE GAL HERSELF loves these do-gooders! And each meets the standards set by the Better Business Bureau at www.give.org. They're listed alphabetically, not by my preference. Whatever tugs at your heartstrings, you should find someone here you can feel good about helping. 1) ASPCA. American Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 424 East 92nd Street, New York, NY 10128, www.aspca.org 2) America's Second Harvest. Their purpose: "to create a hunger-free America." 35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601, www.secondharvest.org 3) American Diabetes Association. 1701 North Beauregard Street Alexandria, VA 22311, www.diabetes.org 4) American Humane Association. Their purpose: "to prevent cruelty, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children and animals …" 63 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, CO 80112, www.americanhumane.org 5) Covenant House. Their purpose: "to serve suffering children of the street …" 346 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011, www.covenanthouse.org 6) Goodwill Industries. 15810 Indianola Drive, Rockville, MD 20855 www.goodwill.org In addition to their retail locations, Goodwill supports their programs through donations. 7) Girls Inc. Their purpose: "To inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold." 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 www.girlsinc.org 8) Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. 715 Broadway Street, Suite 300, MCA Annex, Quantico, VA 22134, www.toysfortots.org 9) Muscular Dystrophy Association. 3300 East Sunrise Drive, Tucson, AZ 85718-3208 www.mdausa.org 10) Planned Parenthood Federation. 434 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001, www.plannedparenthood.org 11) St. Jude's Children's Hospital. 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, www.stjude.org 12) World Wildlife Fund. Their purpose: "to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems." 1250 24th Street, NW Washington, DC 20037-1132, www.worldwildlife.org 13) USO. Their purpose: "to enhance the quality of life of the personnel within U.S. Armed Forces military communities and to create a partnership between U.S. Military and civilian communities worldwide" 2111 Wilson Blvd, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA 22201 www.uso.org Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Christine -- a big fan of the American Diabetes Assoc. -- has a Thursday 13 devoted to her favorite mags. http://arewethereyetmom.com 2. Armywife is a fan of the USO and recommends we check out www.volunteermatch.org. Check out her Thursday 13 at http://everythingshouldbefun.blogspot.com 3) Check out Raggedy's highly caffeinated TT at http://its-a-raggedy-life.blogspot.com 4) JennyMcB supports the SPCA and the American Cancer Society. Check out her Thursday 13 list of important conveniences she can't live without at http://jennymcb.blogspot.com 5) Nancy has adopted from, and sent money to, the ASPCA (SPCA in Canada). Her Thursday Thirteen of things "cluttering" her desk (I can relate!) is at nancybond.blogspot.com 6) Robyn says that she and her husband support Covenant House and even though she's in Canada, she's heard about the scandal at Walter Reed Army Hospital. (For more on that, see my 3/3 post.) Check out her literate, funny and fascinating Thursday 13 at www.robynsppp.blogspot.com 7) Caylynn is Canadian and naturally supports causes closer to home, like the Canadian Cancer Society and organizations that support military personnel. Check out Caylynn's Contemplations at http://caylynn.blogspot.com 8) Jenn I Am works for, and contributes to, the United Way. Her cinematic Thursday Thirteen is at http://jenniam.com/?p=622 (leave your link and your own favorite charity in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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I'm still against the death penalty. Even now.

That convicted sex offender has been found guilty in the murder of Jessica Lunsford. I use her name and her photo here, because she is the one this should be about. He doesn't deserve a name.

I would call him an animal, except that wouldn't be fair to animals because they do not kill with the depravity that he did.

He kidnapped 9 year old Jessica from her room, raped her, and buried her alive to cover his crime. She asked if she could bring her stuffed dolphin (a gift from her daddy) with her to her death. Look at that face. She experienced terror and suffering for no better reason than that this man doesn't respect life. I hate him.

Because the crime took place in Florida, it's possible and even likely he will get the death penalty. As a citizen and as a Christian, I believe that's wrong.

Still.

But at times like this, it would be very easy to forget my responsibilities as a citizen and a Christian and give into the temptation to demand Jessica's killer be destroyed.

Didn't think I'd react this way

When the Scooter Libby verdict came in, my friend Andy shot me an email with a very simple subject line: "Happy?"

Well, no, I'm not. I kinda feel sorry for Libby. And this kinda surprises me. So I've been giving it thought.

First of all, the poor SOB fell on his sword to protect his boss. That was obvious and very sad. A man that I am willing to assume is at heart patriotic and decent is now a convicted felon. I watched a C-Span interview with one of the jurors (yes, I am that geeky) and he feels the same way. I'm not saying he didn't commit perjury -- and clearly the jury believes he did, too. But the reason for the perjury was painfully obvious and it's hard to watch someone twist in the wind like that.

While I may be partisan, I do want the Bush Administration to do well and do right. They are running my country. If they succeed, we all succeed. So finding out how incredibly vindictive and petty they were regarding Wilson and Plame is disappointing. Seeing them held accountable for this is comforting, but not an occasion for rejoicing.

Lastly, it was Scooter Libby, not Karl Rove. I hate that pig-faced hate monger. Watching him go down -- that would be an occasion for rejoicing. (You didn't think I could actually stay on the high road, did you?)