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Don't feel bad. I was suckered in as well. I went around to stores and got donations of food, drinks and dry goods and bought a fortunes worth myself and drove it all over to the Astrodome. I couldn't believe the generosity of Houstonians. Then the nightmare stories began.

The worst one I know about is of a fellow teacher friend of my nieces (in Conroe). Her name is Jill and she and her hubby opened up their four bedroom home to a down and out family of seven from N.O.!

After a few days of living there and treating their guests like royalty, Jill and her hubby waked up to go to work Monday morning to find both of their cars gone along with many other valuables such as silverware, etc.!!!

The worst part came when they reported the theft to the police and found out that because these people were living with them, they couldn't pursue this as a crime!!!

I know there were many good hard working people who lost everything and I'm still very sorry for them, but life goes on. Their losses aren't any different from those who've lost everything in fires, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and OTHER hurricanes. One would think Katrina was the only hurricane that matters! I'm just sick to death of everyone continuing to dwell on Katrina and its 'victims' when one could make a good argument that many of the people giving aide have been victims too.

I have a very basic rule when it comes to doing acts of charity. There are only three cases in which I would even think of doing such a thing:

1. If I find myself in a situation -- in person -- where charity or some kind of assistance is required (e.g., helping a stranded motorist in a rural area).

2. If a friend or family member is in need.

3. If I receive a solicitation for a charitable effort and I personally know someone who is involved in the work and can vouch for its validity and effectiveness.

One thing I will never do under any circumstances is contribute money or do an act of charity in the aftermath of a disaster that only affects me on a personal level through media reports. There's no way in hell I'm writing a check to the Red Cross just because some @sshole like Geraldo Rivera is on television telling me about a "crisis" in New Orleans -- or just because some @sshole like Bill Clinton is out there raising money for "relief efforts" in some Third World sh!t-hole.

That may sound harsh, but it saves a lot of unnecessary aggravation and ensures that charity ends up being exactly what it is supposed to be.