Two good ideas, both brought to mind by the Sunday paper:

Tele-medicine

This is basically the idea of using high-resolution cameras and other remote sensory devices so that specialist doctors can see and treat patients at remote facilities. Besides allowing better treatment, AKA "not as many deaths," this idea can reduce costs. For example: unnecessary transfers were practically eliminated and medical errors were reduced by 75% using telemedicine, compared with similar cases where advice was given only over the telephone. Several states, including California and Maine, are implementing state-wide prgrams. Gee, using government initiatives to save costs and improve treatment! What a country! /sarcasm/

Fighting Terrorism With Schools

I've blogged before about the Central Asia Institute. This group, founded by mountain climber Greg Mortenson, works to build non-sectarian schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of the program's success stories is Aziza Hussain. A graduate of a rural school, she went back to her valley in 2000 as a midwife. Since her arrival, deaths of mothers from childbirth declined from twenty a year to zero.

This effort has received a lot of attention, including from the US military. Graduates of these schools are not signing up to be Taliban, and the communities in which the schools are based are not looking to attack America. Don't get me wrong - you can't win a war just by education, but making friends is cheaper than killing enemies.

I give to a number of charities. Several of the charities on my list, although worthy organizations, have an irritating mode of fund raising. Basically, they send me a letter at least every month. The letter is one of two types - Type 1, the "the boiler burst" or Type 2, the "here's a thank you for your past support."

The type 1 letter basically says some external crisis has occurred, and additional funds are needed immediately. Now, since the charities in question are religious (most but not all Catholic) I have to assume that they aren't lying about the emergency. I do, however, wonder if they are truly so cash-strapped as to have no reserves for such contingencies. Since the following month usually brings a letter with some gimcrack (a Type 2 letter), I suspect that the reserves are there, but they want to take advantage of the fund raising opportunity. Most of the Type 2 items are useless (wrapping paper) or unneeded (more address labels).

Having said that, there are two charities that I recommend, and both are very well-mannered, sending only occasional requests and no gimcracks.

The first charity is The Libri Foundation, a small charity based in Eugene, Oregon. Essentially a one-person show, this organization provides grants to rural libraries in the US to buy childrens' books. They are not just straight grants - the Libri Foundation provides 2 to 1 matches, up to $700. This ensures that the local population is involved in the work. They send only one solicitation a year, an annual report, although one can also give by buying stuff on their Amazon wish list. Highly recommended

The second charity is the Central Asia Institute. This organization, founded by a mountain climber named Greg Mortenson, builds schools for boys and girls in local communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They use local labor and material, and thus encourage local support and involvement. I've reviewed Greg's book, Three Cups of Tea, and think this is a worthy program. It's much cheaper for us to educate our potential enemies then to bomb them, and that's what the Central Asia Institute is trying to do. Highly recommended

For the second year in a row, I've given to the Dewey Donation System. It's a book drive for specific libraries ran by writer Pamela Ribon. The concept is simple - she picks a library, and donors go to the library's Amazon wish list and order items. Last year, the target was the Harrison County MS library system. Most of their libraries were blitzed by Katrina. The ones that didn't end up (literally) out to sea suffered significant water / wind damage.

This year she's got two targets. One is a literacy program in Jamaica, which is a cash-only thing (shipping costs are a killer) and the other is a Los-Angeles-based children's library. I encourage folks to surf on over and donate. Also, there are a couple of drawings for books (including a Scalzi novella) that are open only to those who give. Surf on over to Dewey Donation System to do your good deed for the day and get into some drawings for cool stuff!