Mattress Mack Comes Through in Houston

[TrueTomHarley]

The story of the day – perhaps the story of many days if they can resist taking shots at Trump, is the furniture store owner who made his two stores shelters for displaced Houstonians. “Mattress Mack” McIngvale (don’t you love the guy already?), ever philanthropic, says the city has helped him through tough times and now he will give back.

The generous deed put “poor” Joel Osteen in a bad light, for he was roundly condemned the day before for not opening his mega-church to the homeless - it seats 17,000. One fellow on Twitter declared the score: Publicity Capitalism 1, Prosperity Gospel 0.

This is unfair. Why credit publicity capitalism? That is merely the tool employed. Mattress Mack credits his Catholic faith. “I was raised as a Catholic. I continued my Catholic faith throughout my life, trying to do the right thing,” he says.
A good deed is a good deed. Credit it instantly and unbegrudgingly. It doesn’t mean I’m going Catholic on anyone. It doesn’t mean I think the overall picture favors them. But a good deed is a good deed.

And before slamming Joel too much, one must ask what do Jehovah’s Witnesses do with their meeting places. I’m not worried here. Assembly Halls are invariably put to good use as distribution hubs for relief work, which starts almost immediately – its regular use is suspended for a time. Kingdom Halls are also put to good use, though regular use there is not suspended. Or is it? I don’t really know, having never been in that scenario, but I don’t think so. Witness families, however, are known for taking each other into their homes in a heartbeat.

As for Joel – look, I don’t care for the guy – does he ever wipe that smile off his face? - but neither do I want to take cheap shots. He did eventually come around. Was he shamed into it? Or would he have gotten around to it eventually, once access to his own building was made smoothe. You can’t depend on the media to relay things accurately – they are anti-religious. 

Nonetheless, Mattress Mack is the hero of the day. It’s not as though he had two cavernous buildings wide open. He must have had to have move his mattresses somewhere. Go there and buy one – take it off his hands. Or actually no. He would have just flopped his mattresses down and let people sleep on them. 

[The Librarian]

I noticed this story too....

 

[Shiwiii]

Very nice post TTH.

It really is sad when this becomes a media plug and headline story either for or against someone instead of an encouragement for people to act this way everyday.  I'm sure Mattress Mack would be happy with a simple thank you instead of a parade in his honor. We should all encourage each other to act accordingly, as decent human beings, do what is right and not what is easy. 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

September 1, 2017

I am pleased to relate that the Jehovah's Witness Governing Body has decided to open all Kingdom Halls and Convention and Assembly Halls from Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana  and surrounding states to all  Hurricane refugees ... and those built with commercial grade kitchens (from former years when cooked meals were available at Assemblies ...) will be operated around the clock by Brothers and Sisters to provide hot meals not only for displaced JWs (4,100 from Houston, alone...) but for any person displaced by this natural catastrophe.

By liquidating just 3% of the Society's stock investments, they will be able to care for all those men, women, and children who hunger and thirst..the sick and injured, and the weary who have no place to even dry off, or lay their head.

On a related note:

(CNN)The megachurch led by Joel Osteen is receiving people who need shelter and also helping evacuees with supplies such as baby food, formula and other shelter needs, the church announced via Twitter Tuesday morning.

Lakewood Church was under fire after apparently not opening up the church to flood victims. The church disputed online criticism, stating "we are prepared to shelter people once the cities and county shelters reach capacity."

"Victoria and I care deeply about our fellow Houstonians. Lakewood's doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter," Osteen tweeted Tuesday, referencing his wife who is also Lakewood's co-pastor.

On Monday, a few hundred people arrived to the church in buses, Donald Iloff, church spokesman, told CNN's Erin Burnett.

Lakewood Church, which was founded by Osteen's father in the 1950s, had posted on social media Monday that the venue was "inaccessible due to severe flooding" following Hurricane Harvey, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Photos provided by the church showed standing water in hallways and the parking lot. The church already had a flood wall in place following a previous storm. The church occupies the former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets.

 

As always, you have to decide what is FAKE NEWS ... and what is NOT.

.

 

 

[TheWorldNewsOrg]

There was no better way to end the @CBSEveningNews than with the story of “Mattress Mack”; it was a gift, for me, to highlight his humanity http://pic.twitter.com/iYOwLiS6N9

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 31, 2017

via TheWorldNewsOrg

World News

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Hurricane Irma is expected to hit land with an a wind speed of 180 mph ... to put that in perspective .... a Skydiver,  "standing up" in free fall, any experienced skydiver can LEARN to reach speeds of over 160-180MPH.

Speeds of over 200MPH require significant practice to achieve. The record free fall speed, done without any special equipment, is 321MPH. ( All within less than five miles of the Earth's surface.).

Obviously, it is desirable to slow back down to 110MPH before parachute opening.. 

The winds will be high enough to lift up debris, AND children up in the air and take them away without letting them down until the wind speed drops, and flatten almost ANYTHING.

Have a nice day!

 

[TrueTomHarley]

If only it blew hot air. Many here could go down there and fill up.