This piece prompted a guest appearance on The O'Reilly Factor

The Habitat for Humanity, an organization affiliated with former president Jimmy Carter that affords and promotes low-cost housing, has decided that it would be a great idea to construct a theme park at their world headquarters in Americus, Georgia. The proposed theme park would have its visitors travel through a depiction of the world’s worst slums from Asia and Africa to Central America and the United States. Then it will deliver the visitor to such attractions as the "brick laying exhibit” and the "nail pounding display.” This is a concept that I am sure will leave the Disney Corporation shaking in their boots.

The theme park would afford its visitors a first hand look at a second hand rendition of slums that exist around the world ala the Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. Each of the areas of the park would be dedicated to a different part of the world where poverty exists for whatever reason. Although the idea of educating the public on the urgency of helping those who are in need of housing in any form is a compassionate idea, the concept of devoting a "theme” park to issue while spotlighting the good that Habitat for Humanity does is poorly thought out at best.

I can see it now. As you walk down Main Street in ‘Slumland’ there will be vendors selling "mystery meat” and rice from the Road Kill Café that was cooked over the engines of disabled cars and 55-gallon drums full of discarded scrap wood. Balloons made of discarded trash bags will be filled with methane for the children that visit. And at 5pm a parade of bag ladies and ranting lunatics will proceed down Main Street dispensing baubles attained over the years on their way to the soup kitchen where everyone is invited for a wonderful protein enriched beef flavored stew.

But seriously, and poverty and homelessness is quite the serious issue, when one puts this idea into motion the absurdity of the whole thing starts to take shape. How many families are going to be elated to spend their hard-earned vacation money to visit Slumland? Although Millard Fuller, the founder of the non-profit organization believes that as many as 70,000 people will visit in the first year of operation, I can assure you that the number who will visit will be considerably less. I find it very hard to believe that the spouse who suggests a family vacation to ‘Slumland’ is going to survive the day without getting a frying pan to the head from the other spouse for making the kids cry.

In a time when funding is tight for charitable and non-profit organizations, wouldn’t it be a better idea to take the money earmarked for this concept and apply it to the mission at hand: helping those in need? The Habitat for Humanity has made a difference in so many people’s lives one has to wonder why they would move on from a successful formula. By creating a conceptualized theme park of slums around the world is to add staff, overhead, insurance coverage for those who work there, utility bills, liability insurance coverage for visitors, etc. The list can go on and on and each item to the list costs money, money that could be spent on housing for those who need it, which is the organizations mission.

Who ever the boob is that came up with the ‘Slumland’ concept should step down immediately and simply fade away. This boob is exactly what is wrong with a lot of charity organizations today. Of course, I have to doubt this is a Jimmy Carter idea. Even he wouldn’t make such a poor fiscal decision. Perhaps they made the grave error of have hiring Jim Baker to tend to their "flock.” The tears should be coming at any minute.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.