The severe weather (tornadoes) that hit areas of the south did considerable damage to Union University in Jackson, TN, where Steve "tvgameshows.net" Beverly teaches. Fortunately, nobody was killed, but there were many injuries. Steve posted an update on his website .

For all our grumbling about the Prof, the situation down there is pretty bad - dorms bashed in, etc. I have another friend who works at the newspaper down there, and he is very relieved to have survived. I wish them all well.

Seconded. They're out of commission schoolwise until at least late Feb. Prayers for them all in their time of need.

Thirded. Perf receives lots of flack around here, but I couldn't imagine what he and the others in Jackson are experiencing. My best wishes to them during this time.

Same here. Best wishes to them.

I can't imagine if something like that happened here on the other side of the state. My thoughts are with him and everyone else affected by the storm system.

Greg

You can say what you want about his journalistic qualities, but at the end of the day, he's still a person. And I wouldn't wish that horror on anybody. Thoughts to him.

I tried to look online to see if there's anyplace we can donate to help out the poor folks in that area. If anyone knows of anyplace please post it. I'm guessing the Red Cross probably has offices in the area, that might be one idea. I just feel like I want to help, it's so tragic.

There are many nasty things I would never wish on anyone, and this is one of them. Glad to hear that the Perfessor is doing well.

I believe there was a mention on the Today Show that Red Cross is accepting money donations. That might just be the way to go.

Those folks are going to need a lot of help, and our thoughts are with them. It's miraculous that there were only injuries at Union. The pictures coming out of that scene are just unreal.

Wow...I guess I should be glad we only got a foot of snow out of this.

Update from Steve's website Full info there, I am posting the snail mail address here. Checks only, no Paypal setup.

UNION UNIVERSITY DISASTER RELIEF FUND
1050 UNION UNIVERSITY DRIVE
JACKSON, TN. 38305
Checks should be made to Union University Disaster Relief Fund.

I'd rather send the money directly. The Red Cross has had some issues lately, including a huge fine regarding the collection and storage of blood.

At the risk of sounding cold ...

1) The university is fully insured for its property losses.

2) Any money you send to Union University, will directly benefit the Southern Baptist Church and everything it stands for. Your mileage may vary on whether or not that's a good thing.

IMHO, the Red Cross is a much better organization to trust your money to. Through them, you can actually earmark your funds, directly to all of the tornado victims who need it. If some of the Union U students or faculty members need it, they have as much right to it as anyone.

I'm by no means a fan of the Southern Baptist Church, but if you give to the Red Cross, you're giving to a group that's acquiesced to antisemitism.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

True, but there is a value to getting the information out there (as you and Geno have both done) so that people can make up their own mind.

Oh, I completely agree. For what it's worth, I almost wrote "there's no charity that doesn't have some unpleasantness attached" but I'd like to think I haven't become that cynical.

I don't even think *I'M* that cynical. There's gotta be ONE. :)

I know we're veering totally OT here, but fill me in on the Red Cross' anti-Semitism. Because that would be a very important consideration for me.

In a nutshell: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has a long history of antisemitism, and when Bernadine Healy became president of the American Red Cross (ARC), she decided to raise the issue and try to put a stop to it. The ICRC didn't like it — among other things, equating the Star of David to a swastika — and pressured the ARC to get rid of Healy, which they did. For more see here, here and here, among others.

This is why, when Katrina hit, I donated to a smaller charity rather than the ARC.

Even if the school does have insurance have you ever known an insurance policy to cover ALL the damage?

Plus there will be needs that the people will have, how to feed the staff/students for instance, that no insurance policy will cover. I have almost ZERO in common with the beliefs of the Church where the money is going but they're getting a check from me. I'm not going to NOT help someone because I don't agree with them completely.

Wait, wait... so this fight is ostensibly because the Muslims get a symbol that's not a cross, but Israel doesn't?

This whole thing is full of stupidity. Plenty to go around for everyone.

note to Zinkin: I didn't read the article as comparing the Star of David to a swastika. I did read that the International Red Cross didn't want to be in the position of letting every country have its own symbol -- especially since the swastika didn't historically have the negative connotation it garnered during the 20th century, and since it still doesn't in much of Asia. Now you can argue that they let that horse out of the barn already with the crescent, but still it seems like people are reaching here.

Um, no. It's also about how, among other things, the ICRC criticizes Israel for restricting the travel of Red Crescent ambulances even though it's been documented that they've been used to bring bombs and suicide bombers into Israel.

EDIT: Years later, the ICRC finally did let Israel in -- but only after Israel's Mogen David Adom changed its symbol from the Star of David to a red diamond called the "Red Crystal." Israel has to put a small star inside the crystal, while the red crescent and red cross are allowed to stand alone. So it was never about "another symbol," it was about one specific symbol that they didn't want.


Few things enrage me more than moral equivalence when it comes to clear, unmitigated antisemitism.

And since we've gone far enough off topic as it is, I think it's time to end the thread.