Why ChildFund Doesn’t Deserve Your Money

ChildFund’s commercials can almost be recited by rote: Alan Sader (or, conversely, Sally Struthers) toots around a third world hamlet, kneeling next to anemic skeleton-children, begging you to donate a few cents a day to sponsor these kids and save their lives. Melancholy piano music tinkles in the background while middle-class guilt is triggered nationwide.

These commercials are probably ChildFund at their most consistent, as otherwise ChildFund’s goals are murky and ill-defined. Beneath the surface, the charity is in a constant state of identity crisis, which has manifested itself in several ways.

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How Jersey Shore & Barack Obama Can End Racism

President Barack Obama is a liar.

The man entrusted with the ultimate privilege looked the nation in the eye and betrayed each and everyone one of us. In a White House Correspondents’ dinner speech this May, Obama quipped: “[The Jersey Shore-Up provision] reads, ‘The following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor tanning tax within this bill: Snooki, JWOWW, The Situation and House minority leader John Boehner.'”

But fast-forward to this July and the set of “The View”. The hard-hitting tribunal of Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck & Co. grilled the President on his pop-culture wisdom:

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Why The Media Shouldn’t Be Blamed For The Arizona Shooting

“Do you see that blue tree over there?” the future gunman asked his friend.

Last week it was the orange sky. Last house-party it was Jared disappearing upstairs to read a dictionary in an empty room. This isn’t normal, Zane Gutierrez thought. This isn’t sane.

Jared Lee Loughner is what happens if you think the movie Inception is real. He thought that this was all a dream. That his dream world was his true reality. The real question, then, was what bed would he really wake up in?

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Choose Another Charity Part 2: MADD

Every holiday season, people open their hearts and wallets for family, friends, and charities alike. Unfortunately, some large organizations who regularly solicit for money are often using funds for political motives or ‘overhead’ costs. In a series of posts, we’ll be investigating three popular charities that don’t deserve your charity.

It seems almost blasphemous to say there’s anything wrong with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Drunk driving is totally irresponsible and has caused many deaths and disfiguring injuries. At the same time, it’s hard to think of MADD and not imagine your own mother telling you to find a designated driver or take a taxi if you get too sauced. How could anyone fault MADD if its objectives are situated within a universal motherly concern?
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Why The Salvation Army Doesn’t Deserve Your Money

Every holiday season, people open their hearts and wallets for family, friends, and charities alike, including the Salvation Army. Unfortunately, some large organizations who regularly solicit for money are often using funds for political motives or ‘overhead’ costs. In a series of posts, we’ll be investigating three popular charities that don’t deserve your charity.

Everyone knows the Salvation Army. Whether it’s the secondhand goods at their thrift stores or their collection kettles outside department stores, the Salvation Army is ubiquitous to the holiday season.

However, the Salvation Army’s virulent opposition to gay rights both in public and through persistent legislative lobbying raises the question how donations intended for the needy are being spent. Many people forget that the Salvation Army is in fact an Evangelical church, and as such, it tends to have a hard-right social agenda.

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