Beers to the Chief

I don't really have much to say about this, I just wanted to share a little photo of our recovering-alcoholic-in-chief sneaking a little beer at the G8 summit. Yes, it was "near beer", but that still contains some alcohol, and, as they say at AA, "non-alcoholic beer is for non-alcoholics."

And don't reply that he has to have a drink to fit in with the other world leaders. That ain't it. Russian bad-ass Vlady-boy Putin doesn't drink at those things. And, um, shouldn't a "world leader" be able to stand up to a little peer pressure?

So, why should anybody care? Well, you probably shouldn't, and this is probably just a lame excuse for putting in a picture of W drinking. But, if you're an alcoholic looking for a role model, and looking for an example of living an alcohol-free lifestyle, your president is not the guy to look to.

Body Bags for Charity

In addition to this general/political blog, I also keep a nonprofit consulting blog (and a guitar playing/collecting blog), and sometimes I have to wonder which blog I'm going to post a certain item to. This is one of those items.

This is one to file under "nonprofit fundraising," but it's also going here, in the general interest blog, because it's just that odd.

The Los Angeles County Coroner (office of the infamous Thomas Naguchi and inspiration for the classic TV show, Quincy) was facing a fiscal crisis when the County didn't have enough money to fund the Youthful Drunk Driving Visitation Program (YDDVP) - A court ordered alternative sentencing program for youthful offenders, that takes participants through the Coroner facilities and exposes them to the realistic and traumatic consequences associated with their offense.

Their answer? A web site selling body bags, toe-tag key chains, "Undertaker" boxer shorts, and many other less-odd items, each featuring the County Coroner's seal or a chalked body outline design. They'll get a lot of publicity for the store, and - I believe - a lot of sales revenue as well.

I just wish some of the nonprofits I work with could be this creative, original, and off-the-wall with their fundraising efforts.

(Thanks to the Selfish Giving blog for the lead and link.)