A couple of weeks ago it was Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2011/05/raging-southeastern-waters/
Now it is Joplin, Missouri.
While I do not believe in the End of Days prophecies, these tornadoes are frightening. Texas and Oklahoma are being hit as well, and one person died from a twister in Minnesota.
Yet Joplin, Missouri has seen unfathomable carnage. 116 people are dead and over 1,000 are injured. This is much less than Japan, but this is not a competition. Human suffering is human suffering.
I have held off on commenting on Missouri because I simply do not have enough valuable information. Let’s be honest. I do not have anything.
In Alabama I had various sources on the ground. My only contact in Missouri lives in St. Louis, which is clear across the other side of the state. Joplin is one hour North of Arkansas.
So rather than export platitudes, I am pleading with anybody in Missouri near enough to Joplin to allow me to import information.
This blog will be updated as new information comes in.
We all know what happened. What we don’t know is how best we can help.
With regards to charities, I trust Chabad and B’Nai Brith. I am sure my Jewish bias shines through, but I know these charities and see that they help people of all faiths. They get the job done.
The Red Cross also is solid.
I have traveled all over this country, but have not done a single event in Missouri. So I just do not have the contacts available to be of use.
So to my readership, please fill in the blanks for me.
For those who comment on here, great. For those who do so on my Facebook page, fine. Send me info by carrier pigeon if need be. Just send it.
Sports teams usually are helpful in times like this because they have capital. The Rams and Chiefs must be doing something.
Senator Kit Bond is a Republican and Senator Claire McCaskill is a Democrat. They are polar opposites politically, but I can guarantee they are working together on this one.
On Friday, May 27th, at 7pm PST I will be hosting the Rick Amato radio show on KCBQ 1170AM. The program also streams over the internet. Some of the program will be partisan politics, but disaster relief will absolutely be discussed.
Some time before June 1st, I will be blasting out a mass email to the world. If you are able to provide information on how people can help, please do so.
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas are all under siege. Chickasha, Oklahoma is getting belted.
Joplin, Missouri is a ghost town.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama is still picking up the pieces.
The physical devastation is nightmarish, and the psychological scars will last for a long time.
This is not foreign or domestic policy, where politicians can solve things.
These are acts of nature, and they are very violent.
As for now, my reaction is to pray to the God I believe in. That is what I know.
The next step is to go through my list of every single human being I know around this country and try to get information. Dallas, Texas is at risk, and I do know people in Dallas. I am supposed to be there next month.
What I don’t know…I plead with all of you to fill in the blanks.
eric
Oh man – I watched the live coverage in Oklahoma yesterday. It was nightmarish, like something out of a disaster movie. Wow.
JMJ