Quote(s) of the Week

[I've been away with limited Internet access for two weeks, but now I'm trying to get back on track with my "blog schedule."]

"Over the years, slowly but surely, we have painted ourselves into a corner on a whole range of issues, where we can no longer say or do what makes the most sense to us, but only what is considered to be politically correct."
-Thomas Sowell

"Our founders understood that the ability to express our differences publicly was democracy’s substitute for violence."
-DeMint & Woodward in 'Why We Whisper'

"We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless."
Sen. J. William Fulbright

What do you think? Comments welcomed.

11+ Charities Collecting Donations for Haiti

FROM THE DESIRING GOD BLOG:

11 Charities Collecting Donations for Haiti
January 13, 2010 | By: Abraham Piper | Category: Recommendations

If you're looking for an organization to channel your money through for Haiti—and you probably should be—here are some options.

1. Compassion International
2. Feed My Starving Children
3. Food for the Hungry
4. World Vision
5. World Relief
6. Samaritan's Purse
7. Love a Child
8. Northwest Haiti Christian Mission
9. Compassion Weavers
10. Mennonite Central Committee
11. Water Missions International

To these I would add: Crossworld, an evangelical mission agency working in Haiti for over 50 years.

Wednesday without Words

Through the Eyes of a Newbie

In the interest of sharing some insights about Malian culture, I want to defer to our friend, Annie Pettit, who spent the holidays with us. Annie teaches high school math at Dakar Academy and is a very good friend of Danielle. We always enjoy "seeing" Mali through the eyes of someone who has never been here before, so I am going to give you the link to her blog for today's Malian Life & Culture entry:

http://anniepettit.blogspot.com

Her three most recent entries are about her visit here.

Quote of the Week

Hey, I'm on a roll, lol! Even tho I just posted my "rebooting" message, it's Monday, so I'll share this cutie which my Facebook friend, Shirley O'Neill, posted today (btw, Shirley & I were close friends in HS, lost track of each other for decades, and have reconnected thanks to FB. Say what you want about wasting time on these social networking sites, but they can be a real blessing!!!):

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
- P. J. O'Rourke

Rebooting the Blog...

It's embarrassing to look at my blog and see how long it's been since I've posted anything. A few weeks ago I changed the name -- it was at first called "My Non-Political Blog" b/c so many of the blogs I've seen are political, but really that name was supposed to be a "place holder" until I thot of something more original or catchy. Finally, I changed it to the old phrase which we first heard from Ken Durst, Here Today... Gone to Mali.

My biggest problem, I suppose, has been writer's block -- a whole year's worth, from the look of things! Then I saw a format which my colleague/Facebook friend, Mali-Anta, follows:
* Sunday – Quotes for the week
* Monday / Tuesday – Life Model topics
* Wednesday without words – Malian photos
* Thursday / Friday – Anthropology and culture topics
* Saturday – Book reviews

I like the idea of some kind of structure; it saves me from having to agonize over what to write. So here is what I will try:
*Sunday/Monday: Quote of the Week (I collect quotes all the time, this will give me something to do with them for once!)
*Monday/Tuesday: Malian Life & Culture
*Wednesday without Words (WWW): Pictures
*Thursday/Friday: Book Reviews
*Friday/Saturday: Current Event Commentary or Personal Journaling

I may not post on every topic every week, and as you can see, I don't want to commit to an exact day for each post (only WWW wouldn't work on another day!). I will probably also post our monthly prayer letters as they are published, b/c they too give a glimpse of our lives.

And all this is assuming anyone even reads this!