Welcome to Tuesday, August 17th, friends...

President Biden told the nation he stands "squarely behind" the decision to exit Afghanistan.

Biden said of his withdrawal: “We planned for every contingency,” but “[t]he truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated.”

The president admitted the withdrawal has been “far from perfect” but defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying “I stand squarely behind my decision” because “there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”

The president said in his remarks Monday that the rapid advance of the Taliban was because the “Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.” (Over 50,000 Afghan military personnel have been killed by the Taliban, mostly since 2015, while the U.S. has had 2,448 killed since 2001.)

Biden touted the evacuation of the 2,000 Afghans approved for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) but did not address how many of the 18,000 primary SIV applicants or the more than 53,000 family members can or will be evacuated to spare them from facing reprisals and execution by the Taliban.

How do you feel about Biden’s remarks?

Scenes out of Kabul are horrific to witness: thousands rushing to board flights out of the country, some clinging to planes and falling to their deaths.

Here, we provide a list of organizations that are working to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and Aghan-led activist groups, including:

• Women for Women International are collecting donations to help Afghan women stay safe. 
• Afghanaid provides hygiene kits, food, and other emergency services to Afghan families. 

Read the full list here.

All the Memes Fit to Post

And, In The End...

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Today we recognize the efforts and change that nonprofits bring to their communities. The best way to celebrate is by donating to a nonprofit of your choice. 

—Josh Herman

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