Dem
50
GOP
50
There is a pretty clear theme running through the two "freude" items this week. In response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, donations have been rolling in from across the country. That includes, of course, generous donations from many celebrities. And we bet that you could guess, without much prompting, which two celebrities have made the biggest donations. We're not going to make this a pop quiz, though; we're just going to tell you. It's Taylor Swift, who gave $5 million, and Dolly Parton, who gave $2 million (half from her own money, and half from her charitable foundations).
Neither woman has direct ties to the affected states. Both are Southern, however, or nominally so, with Parton having been born in Tennessee, while Swift spent some of her formative years there. Beyond that, they are both clearly very fundamentally decent people. Last Friday, we wrote that a pretty good litmus test for right/wrong is "Would Jimmy Carter approve?" In response, reader J.H. in Portland, OR, wrote in: "Another test I use is, 'What would Dolly do?'" We think that's a pretty good one; perhaps we should also add "What would Taylor think?"
Needless to say, at a time when some prominent folks are interested primarily in using the hurricanes to score a few cheap political points, it's heartening to see other prominent folks stepping up to try to help their fellow man and woman. Others include Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Metallica, and Morgan Wallen. There will also be a benefit concert later this month featuring Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, Luke Combs, James Taylor, Eric Church and Billy Strings. And note that these donations are publicly known because the recipients shared the news, not the donors. Kudos to all of them for their good works.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)