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The Montgomery Advertiser took a look at how often people try to register vanity license plates for their cars that are too racy for the state to approve.

 

States keep files of correspondence when people protest being rejected for vanity plates. The back-and-forth appeals process makes for fun and interesting reading. Some time back, TheSmokingGun.com posted some of those often-hilarious appeals. 

 

What plates were people rejected from registering in your state? What is the most-requested vanity tag?

 

How much time -- and what techniques -- do state officials use to try to figure out the code that people are using to register a cryptic tag? In Alabama, state workers said they use a slang dictionary to help figure out the code.

Charities Feeling the "Katrina Effect" at Year's End

I spent the weekend in D'Iberville, Miss., working with a relief team, rebuilding some Katrina-damaged houses. There is still so much to do. Charities around the country are worried about the "Katrina Effect." Guidestar.org has some new survey information:

Nearly 80 percent of charitable organizations anticipate that the year's natural disasters will cause end-of-year contributions to remain at or decrease from 2004 levels, a new survey by GuideStar, the public charity that connects people with nonprofit information, reveals.

 

Representatives of more than 3,900 organizations participated in GuideStar's fourth annual nonprofit economic survey in October. Asked how they thought giving to disaster relief would affect contributions to their nonprofits for the rest of 2005:

 

• 41 percent said they believed contributions would stay about the same as last year,
• 38 percent reported that they expected contributions to drop,
• 4 percent anticipated an increase and
• 17 percent stated they didn't know.  

Nonprofits in the crime and legal category, which includes abuse prevention and legal assistance programs, were most likely to predict declining contributions. Food and agricultural organizations, such as food banks, were second-most likely to do so.

 

The survey shows that nonprofits held their own from January to September 2005, despite widespread giving to tsunami relief and Hurricane Katrina and Rita recovery. 

 

• Some 49 percent of participants reported that contributions to their organizations increased during the first nine months of 2005, compared to the same period in 2004.
• Another 26 percent said that contributions stayed about the same, 22 percent stated they had decreased, and 3 percent did not know. 

"Temporary" Flu Shot Problem Still a Problem

Remember that "temporary" flu-shot supply problem the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention spoke about a week ago? Findaflushot.com has a listing of suspended flu-shot clinics nationwide.

The Modesto Bee says doctors are angry about the shortage. In Minnesota, the Duluth News Tribune says some clinics have vaccines and some don't. Last week, some Ohio clinics got fresh supplies of the vaccine.

 

In Fort Wayne, Ind., the supplies are short. And just wait until we all spend time with our families from around the country this week and exchange germs from one coast to another -- then carry them home. That will speed the flu season right along.

 

Debit-Card Parking Meters

The other day I noticed that my local coin-operated car wash takes credit cards. Fast-food places take credit cards, too, and now, New York is launching parking meters that accept debit and credit cards.

Diabetes Problem Grows

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention say the number of Americans with diabetes just gets higher and higher in the United States. New reports say:

• Diabetes continues to be the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
   
• In 2005, 1.5 million people aged 20 years or older will be newly diagnosed with diabetes.
   
• Compared to non-Hispanic whites, diabetes continues to be more common (1.7 to 2.2 times more common) among American Indians and Alaska Natives, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanic/Latino Americans and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
   
• The risk of diabetes increases with age. About 21 percent of Americans aged 60 years or older have diabetes. This compares to approximately 2 percent for people 20 to 39 years old and about 10 percent for those aged 40 to 59 years.
   
• The United States spends approximately $132 billion each year on diabetes -- $92 billion in direct medical costs and another $40 billion each year in indirect costs because of missed work days or other losses in productivity.
  

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible.

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