If Idol Can Give, So Can Bloggers

I don't know if American Idol is something a lot of Newshoggers readers watch or not. However, tonight they had their "Idol Gives Back" charity show. My wife and I watched, and donated. Some of the footage of poverty was heartbreaking, especially the stuff from Africa.

And as it finished, my wife said "I wish we could do more"...and I thought maybe I could.

Look, I know a fair number of other bloggers read Newshoggers. Post something. Tell your readers it's a worthwhile cause. Pass it around. By the end of the show they had raised over $30 million, but every little bit more is a little step closer to what Bono describes as the determination to be the last generation that sees such crushing poverty. We may not make it - many are sceptical - but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the attempt.

Here. the Idol donate page. Or call 1-877-IDOL-AID. Don't be surprised if both are overloaded by demand, but keep trying anayway.

The push is backed by One.Org and their campaign to "Make Poverty History".

Half the money raised stays in the US to help fight poverty here. As Gov. Ted Kulongoski of Oregon is finding, there's plenty of it to go around. He's accepted a challenge to live for a week on the amount of money for food that the average Oregon food stamps recipient has - $21 per week for groceries.

Kulongoski is taking the weeklong challenge to raise awareness about the difficulty of feeding a family on a food stamp budget.

Accompanied by reporters and food stamp recipient Christina Sigman-Davenport, Kulongoski headed straight for a display of organic bananas, only to have Sigman-Davenport steer him toward the cheaper non-organic variety.

The governor pined wistfully for canned Progresso soups, but at $1.53 apiece, they would have blown the budget. He settled instead for three packages of Cup O'Noodles for 33 cents apiece.

...At the check-out counter, Kulongoski's purchases totaled $21.97, forcing him to give back one of the Cup O'Noodles and two bananas, for a final cost of $20.97 for 19 items.

After the hourlong shopping trip, Kulongoski said he was mindful that his week on food stamps will be finite and that thousands of others aren't so lucky.

"I don't care what they call it, if this is what it takes to get the word out," Kulongoski said, in response to questions about whether the food stamp challenge was no more than a publicity stunt. "This is an issue every citizen in this state should be aware of."

Go on, make a difference to someone's life.