Friday, February 12, 2010

Thought for the day

Just in time for Valentine's Day, courtesy of Paige.

Sometimes the one you think is your
knight in shining armour turns out to
be a retard in tin foil.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Divide and Conquor??

It seems like every second non-profit radio commercial touting fundraising is for cancer research. Cancers above the waist. Cancers below the waist. Women's cancers. Men's cancers. Breast cancer, lung cancer, tropic of cancer.. oh, wait, not that last one.

I am completely in favour of finding a cure for cancer. (Actually, I half believe one already exists, but drug companies are making FAR too much money peddling other drugs, why release one that they could be pressured into providing at reasonable cost?)

Anyway, completely in favour of curing cancer. The sooner the better.

But... I have to ask. Are we putting our eggs into too many baskets? There's a foundation for nearly every type of cancer, and one for virtually every province, country, state or region. Each doing their level best to raise money to continue to find a cure. (And don't get me started on the fundraising conspiracy theory, that's a topic for another blog entry.)

Wouldn't it be better to have the money less spread out? Less requirement for administrative costs. Less building upkeep. Less lab upkeep. Are some (or even most) of these organizations duplicating each other's research? How much money is being wasted simply by the sheer number of organizations trolling for donations in the first place?

In the past year, I've given to breast cancer, cancer cancer and prostate cancer fundraisers. I've supported the Terry Fox Run fundraising drive. My question is, are all these organizations doing everything they can to get the most bang out of our bucks?