LA Times: "The Red Cross Money Pit" - The shocking, sorry TRUTH at last!!!

[Nothing Without Hope]

The American Red Cross has had its highly buffed reputation sullied by the disparity between its herculean efforts at fundraising after disasters such as the 9/11 attacks and the 1989 San Francisco Bay earthquake and the actual amount of aid it gave to victims of those disasters. In fact, that disparity - unknown to most trusting Americans - is scandalously huge and is long overdue for wide exposure at last.

Consider: fully SEVENTY PER CENT OF GIVING by Americans for Hurricane Katrina victims went to the American Red Cross. Celebrities, FEMA, the President, network TV, EVERYONE was pushing to give give give to the Red Cross as a way to help Katrina's victims. Yet very little of that money has actually reached the victims in any useful form. Indeed, the management of Red Cross operations in the Katrina areas has often been haphazard and counterproductive, to the point that the CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia ASKED THE RED CROSS TO LEAVE:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4824910
thread title: Diminishing returns: DeKalb County (GA) CEO asks the Red Cross to LEAVE

As the new LA Times article points out, the VOLUNTEERS AND WORKERS of the ARC are wonderful, caring people who work their hearts out to give aid and comfort to disaster victims. For example, see this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4856343
Thread title: I have returned from my 10 day stint with Red Cross. (1st Impressions)

But the upper-level MANAGEMENT of the ARC is very different. One could sum up the problem by describing them as "Bushed," meaning not only that they are heavily weighted with rich GOP hangers-on, but that they deal in vast amounts of money, accomplish far less than they claim, and mask their real intentions and operations in secrecy. Every time they've been investigated over the last 15 years, what started bubbling up were very dark and ugly secrets indeed. Yet the ARC has to be one of the fattest "sacred cows" on the planet - who has dared to criticize them?

Where do all those billions of dollars so generously given to the ARC REALLY go? How much more productively might they be spent in more direct aid that provides desperately needed services that NEITHER FEMA nor the ARC give? This is not just a question of scandal and corruption, but of life and death, for since the federal government has abandoned hurricane victims to fend for themselves, the 70% of American donations are most of what is left to take up the slack. Instead, most of that money goes to shadowy places other than where it is most needed and the taxpayers actually have to reimburse the Red Cross for much of what little it actually does for the victims.

The losers in all of this are the victims, who are abandoned by BOTH their government and the major charity trusted by Americans to help them.

This is an excellent article, one for which it was extremely difficult to pick just the four paragraphs allowed by DU copyright rules. I urge you to read the entire thing and pass the information along. A full exposure of the sorry reality of the American Red Cross is way, way overdue. Generous Americans should realize that their gifts are NOT reaching the victims. This story should be followed by investigations and further exposés and FUNDAMENTAL changes in the way Americans provide care and aid for disaster victims.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-redcross25sep25,0,5057936.story?track=tothtml
REBUILDING

The Red Cross money pit

By Richard M. Walden
Richard M. Walden is president and CEO of Operation USA, a 26-year-old international disaster relief agency based in Los Angeles. Website: www.opusa.org.

September 25, 2005

(snip)

This skewed giving to Red Cross would be justified if the organization had to pay the cost of the 300,000 people it has sheltered. But FEMA and the affected states are reimbursing the Red Cross under preexisting contracts for emergency shelter and other disaster services. The existence of these contracts is no secret to anyone but the American public. The Red Cross carefully says it functions only by the grace of the American people — but "people" includes government, national and local. What we've now come to expect from a major disaster is a Red Cross media blitz.

(snip)

The Red Cross brand is platinum. Its fundraising vastly outruns its programs because it does very little or nothing to rescue survivors, provide direct medical care or rebuild houses. After 9/11, the Red Cross collected more than $1 billion, a record in philanthropic fundraising after a disaster. But the Red Cross could do little more than trace missing people, help a handful of people in shelters and provide food to firefighters, police, paramedics and evacuation crews during that catastrophe.

(snip)

The Red Cross expects to raise more than $2 billion before Hurricane Katrina-related giving subsides. If it takes care of 300,000 people, that's $7,000 per victim. I doubt each victim under Red Cross care will see more than a doughnut, an interview with a social worker and a short-term voucher for a cheap motel, with a few miscellaneous items such as clothes and cooking pots thrown in.

The Red Cross' 3 million unpaid volunteers, 156,000 of whom it says are deployed in Hurricane Katrina, are salt-of-the-Earth Americans. But asking where all the privately collected money will go and how much Red Cross is billing FEMA and the affected states is a legitimate question — even if posed by the president of a small relief agency.

(snip)

I suggest that in the replies to this thread we include two kinds of posts as well as discussion:

• Additional articles and info about Red Cross financial scandals and failure to deliver expected aid to victims
  
• Suggestions of special DIRECT, LOCAL charities which truly DO give victims what they need.

(I've got a doozy for my contribution for category #2 - mobile medical units which come to areas that need medical care. They WORK magnificently and more are needed. I'll post on these MMUs tomorrow in the replies. They are the result of a collaborative project between singer/songwriter Paul Simon and a dean at the Columbia University Medical Center.)

[Nothing Without Hope]

1. Direct medical aid that comes to the victims: MOBILE MEDICAL UNITS (MMUs)

You may have heard about the Paul Simon (the singer/songwriter)/Dr. Ivan Redlener "Mobile Medical Units" that are working now in the hurricane-devastated region (starting in Biloxi) in "Operation Assist." Judging by past performance they and their personnel are a wonderfully effective way to getting medical care to the traumatized, sick people who need it most, yet can't drive to a medical center even it were fully functioning and they could afford it. At present there are only two MMUs; more are needed. (I heard that from a friend who saw a recent TV report on the effort.) The press release below says that the medical personnel are now drawn from Columbia, but that there is the potential to also draw them from other institutions. What a lovely way that would be for medically trained people to give of their gifts and their compassion, and what a learning and shaping experience for medical students.

To give an entry into this subject, here's a PRESS RELEASE about the Simon/Redlener "Operation Assist" from September 2, 2005. It's posted at the Columbia University Medical Center website:

http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/press_releases/Mailman.Katrina.html
CONTACT: Randee Sacks, 212-305-8044

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE CHILDREN’S HEALTH FUND LAUNCH

“OPERATION ASSIST”—MOBILE MEDICAL UNITS PROVIDING EMERGENCY SERVICES TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN THE AREAS HARDEST HIT BY HURRICANE KATRINA

MUSIC LEGEND PAUL SIMON AND DR. IRWIN REDLENER, CO-FOUNDERS OF THE CHILDREN’S HEALTH FUND, TO MEET MOBILE UNITS ON SITE WHEN THEY ARRIVE IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI

(New York) – September 2, 2005 – The Children’s Health Fund and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health announce the launch of Operation Assist, a unique collaboration to organize programs supporting health and public health needs during the current crisis. Operation Assist will provide direct health services to children and families in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina through custom-designed, fully equipped, state-of-the-art mobile medical units (MMUs) developed by The Children’s Health Fund.

Music legend Paul Simon and Irwin Redlener, MD, will go to Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday, September 5 to survey the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and to meet the Operation Assist MMUs as they arrive in Biloxi. Mr. Simon co-founded The Children’s Health Fund (CHF) – a children’s health and advocacy organization that has been providing comprehensive healthcare to medically underserved communities throughout the U.S. – with Dr. Irwin Redlener, associate dean at the Mailman School and director of its National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP).

Operation Assist will address the critical need for immediate medical services, as well as bring significant public health expertise into the field by providing needs assessment; prevention and management of infectious disease; data collection and analysis for long-term planning. Mental health professionals will also be included in teams, as available.

“NCDP and CHF believe that there will be a long-term need for medical support services, well beyond the acute needs related to the direct consequences of the hurricane,” stated Dr. Irwin Redlener. He added, “We are also certain that the rebuilding of the healthcare infrastructure will be a lengthy process, and mobile facilities in certain communities might be of extreme value in the short- and long-term.”

A similar program was organized following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the combined CHF / NCDP team has extensive relevant experience in disaster response, including 9/11 in NYC and international disasters.

Stated Paul Simon, “This is a heartbreaking, unbearable tragedy. I’m hoping that our efforts, along with the efforts of so many others, will make a difference for those who are suffering.”

Potential target communities for these programs include areas directly hit by Hurricane Katrina, as well as those immediately adjacent. In addition, large numbers of evacuees will need substantially increased health services capacity in the communities to which they are relocated, including States that were not affected directly by the storm. Operation Assist will have two MMUs available, with the first arriving in Biloxi on Monday, September 5.

Each MMU is approximately 35 feet long, is self-contained and includes 2-3 examination rooms, nurse’s station, waiting and registration areas and appropriate generators. All units are also equipped with computers for recording and tracking of medical and demographic information. They will also be equipped with satellite and standard communications equipment. The MMU can be deployed anywhere with accessible roadways.

MMUs will be staffed by physicians or other primary care providers, nurses, registrars and drivers. These personnel will be drawn from existing CHF national staff and, potentially, from other institutions as well.

How to help:
To contribute to Operation Assist, please go to www.childrenshealthfund.org.

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health is an academically-based, inter-disciplinary program focused on the nation’s capacity to prevent and respond to terrorism and major disasters. NCDP provides curriculum development in bioterrorism, training for public health professionals and other first responders, development of model programs, a wide-ranging research agenda and public policy analysis around issues germane to disaster preparedness. www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu

The only accredited school of public health in New York City, and among the first in the nation, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health provides instruction and research opportunities to more than 850 graduate students in pursuit of masters and doctoral degrees. Its students and nearly 250 multi-disciplinary faculty engage in research and service in the city, nation, and around the world, concentrating on biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health, and sociomedical sciences. www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu

The Children’s Health Fund, founded in 1987, is a not-for-profit organization committed to providing medical care to the nation’s most medically underserved population – homeless and disadvantaged children. To date, The Children’s Health Fund’s national network of 17 pediatric programs has treated more than 350,000 children. www.childrenshealthfund.org

###

This is a wonderful program - it WORKS. The doctor's office goes to the people who need it most. Right now there are only two MMUs, and more are urgently needed.

[merh]

2. Thanks for compiling this Hope.

:-( I've had a personal look at how this group works and am not impressed. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4856343&mesg_id=4859731

kick & nominated of course.


:hug: :loveya:

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. Merh!!! So good to see you posting! I think of you often and hope you

can feel all those reflected ripples. ((((((( our merh ))))))) :grouphug:

http://www.rit.edu.nyud.net:8090/~andpph/photofile-c/splash-water-waves-4565.JPG

Re the ARC, looks like they only learned the FIRST half of Churchill's famous insight:

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. --Churchill

[merh]

12. Thanks Hope. I can feel the love and I do like that image!

:hug: ((((((((((((((((Hope)))))))))))))))))))))))

:loveya:

[gulfcoastliberal]

24. Hi Merh, we went to Waveland last week

To see what remained of grandmas house. Unbelievable devastation. They bulldozed the roads to clear the debris; everything south of the RR tracks to the beach is gone. All the antebellum waterfront mansions gone. Her house was about 2 blocks in from the beach. No houses left on her street. We searched through 4 feet of rubble looking for anything recognizable. No furniture, nothing but splinters. We did find a couple of pieces of her priceless pre WWI de haviland china and one chipped crystal candlestick. I'm sure people probably took some stuff in the days afterwards. It was so hot and humid. The army or nat'l guard came by and gave us some water - didn't see any red cross people. The remains of her roof were 4 houses down. Absolutely nothing left of the house; just the driveway and some twisted posts where the carport was. I hope you fared better than the folks in Waveland.

[merh]

27. What you described as grandma's house is about what my

house is like. Slab and debris, the roof and some of the walls were actually blocking the street, they were bulldozed into my driveway. I can't find a piece of my furniture, I see pieces of wood and know that it came from a desk, but other than that, splinters and rubble.

I have been able to salvage a few pieces of my china - some odds and ends, but all that I had was gone by 8:30 that morning, a neighbor that stayed in his attic said he saw the roofs go before the tidal surge. My house just crumbled after that.

Folks just can't forget the MS Gulf Coast and parts of Alabama - New Orleans wasn't Katrina, it was part of the devastation, but not all. They will have an easier time restoring/rebuilding NOLA than we will the Gulf Coast. :cry:

[gulfcoastliberal]

43. Wow, I'm so sorry you lost everything too

I totally relate, my grandma is crushed by this; our family owned land in Waveland over 100 years. She didn't have a fancy house or anything, the brick houses got just as leveled as wthe wood framed houses. They said it took decades to recover from Camille. It will definitely take decades to recover from Katrina. It pisses me off how everyone is so obsessed with New Orleans when it's the MS coast that got hit the hardest and suffered the most damage. Are you going to rebuild? There's already talk in Waveland about whether they will allow people to rebuild close to the coast.

I went through Ivan last year and Pensacola is still in shambles in many places.

[merh]

45. It makes me angry too that NOLA is getting all the attention.

The ENTIRE Gulf Coast was wiped out - folks can't imagine the devastation. The engineer sent to look at my rubble by my insurance company was from New York and was there on 9/11. He said the World Trade Center was devastation, but in a very limited, contained area. He told me that what he has seen on the Coast, from border to border of the State puts the devastation of the World Trade Center to shame, it is everywhere, there were very few houses untouched by Katrina. On my street, all houses were gutted or leveled.

I want to rebuild, this is my home and I love the Coast. I will try to do what I can, one day at a time.

Please help me remind people of the devastation, don't let them forget us.

Thanks so much for your understanding. Give grandma a hug from a fellow Hurricane Katrina survivor. :hug:

:grouphug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. Oh trust me I can imagine it

as a disaster worker I can, I have seen it, when the Governmor said that a nuke went off, he was technically correct, that is the force released

it will take short term, 6 months for people to start getting this together, and it will take medium to long term anywhere from 10 to 30 years to recover depending on the area.

Hugs, we care...

[merh]

65. Thank you for your help and thank you for your concern.

:hug:

[merh]

29. Check out this article.

Folks just don't realize how devastated the ENTIRE Ms Gulf Coast really is. -- It is so hard to explain - so hard to describe.

http://www.valleybreeze.com/Free/309262283920832.php

[JNelson6563]

3. Amazing stuff

So very sad to see that even the RC has been "Bushed". I'll never forget after 9/11 how they raised so much money and then announced, oh we don't dispense cash.....maybe we'll build new blood labs (lots of profit in the blood business!).

Seems there is not one agency/dept that isn't totally screwed up and corrupt. Thanks for posting, bookmarked and nominated!

Julie

[Im with Rosey]

4. Thanks UL

It constantly amazes me how many good intentioned programs have been destroyed by the evil empire. What about Habitat for Humanity? I've been meaning to do some research...

[Fridays Child]

5. Makes me shudder to think of where ARC blood donations go.

Does upper management drink it?

Here's news of disaster relief from a local group which will be familiar to Cindy Sheehan's supporters who made it to Crawford:

http://arizona.indymedia.org/">Food Not Bombs

[Nothing Without Hope]

9. Yes, the BLOOD donations to the ARC are a HUGE SOURCE OF CASH:

From the article - and I was really surprised at this:

{The American Red Cross profits enormously when you} donate blood (which it resells to the tune of more than $1.5 billion annually, part of its $3 billion in income).

1.5 BILLION BUCKS of blood! That's a lot of corpuscles! And you could certainly call it

BLOOD MONEY!

[Fridays Child]

18. I don't know how I missed that. But, it's just sick and wrong.

I'd like to know who they sell it to and, if possible, donate blood directly to one or more of those organizations.

[northzax]

52. they sell it to hospitals and clinics

the link does not tell the whole story, actually (and, by the way, the Hospital sells it back to you for an even greater profit) Blood donation is very expensive. First is all the equipment to take it out of you, then the processing, transportation and processing of the blood. it costs about $50 to get each pint of blood from your arm to a hospital and about one in ten are unusable. os make it $55.

The whole system is a mess, blood is the only body part that is bought and sold, legally. read more...http://www.bloodbook.com/part-1.html

[Im with Rosey]

6. Sorry about the UL! NWH

I was also thinking about the post from UnderstandingLife!

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. I admire and support UnderstandingLife. I'm flattered by the mixup.

;)

[ClintonTyree]

7. That's why I waited until the State of Louisiana..........

started their own Hurricane donation site.

http://katrina.louisiana.gov/

I wasn't about to let any of my money get near Pat Robertson or the Red Cross. Neither is worthy of my trust and they're certainly not worthy of my money.

When this is all over I hope someone has the guts to examine the Red Cross's books to see how much of the $1,000,000,000 + actually reached the victims and how much went to "administrative" costs.

[merh]

11. Looks like those of us in MS are out of luck.

Barbour will never defy the boy king. And not taking from New Orleans' tragedy or the rest of Louisiana, but MS needs help badly, very badly. Imagine a bombed out Gulf Coast. Imagine more than 70% of the homes destroyed and 9 out of 10 damaged. Along the major thoroughfare that runs east and west along the Coast line, not one business is left, the tidal surge wiped us out. At some points the Bays and the Gulf met. The affected cities include, but are not limited to:

Diamondhead
Waveland
Pearlington
Bay St. Louis
Pass Christian
Delisle
Long Beach
Gulfport
Biloxi
D'Iberville
Ocean Springs
Moss Point
Gautier
Pascagoula

:cry: We need to find a way to help the MS Gulf Coast. Red Cross financial distribution centers are a joke, if you can find them, if they don't run out of vouchers or cash after you wait in line all day. The "1-800" number does work, it is always busy, you can't get through morning, noon or night.

[annabanana]

16. oh merh..

I'm so sorry for all the people being left out. Is there ANYONE down there doing it right?

[merh]

28. Red Cross volunteers try, but he lack of organization by the

folks in power make it hard on them. The church groups have been wonderful, they do much better than the Red Cross or FEMA.

It is scarey how unorganized the organized agencies really are.

[mcscajun]

30. Of all the unlikely places to find it...

I found this list on the Microsoft site:

http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/citizenship/giving/agencies.asp

Among the agencies is this office specifically dedicated to Mississippi relief efforts:

http://www.mississippirecovery.com/

[merh]

33. Thanks for the link - for those of us in need, it brings us back to

FEMA and Red Cross, which is very frustrating to say the least. I've had good luck with getting FEMA to inspect my property and give me a trailer, but the Red Cross financial assistance is a huge problem. No way to get through on the "1-800" number and no way to get to a financial distribution center before they run out. They change locals daily.

:argh:

[Window]

13. Thank you so very much for sharing this.

My daughter and I have debated the ARC and how much they really help. Thanks to you (and DU in general) I am better equipped to make my point.

An absolute "must read."

Peace

[applegrove]

14. Now why would people hoping for perpetual war want to diminish

the red cross?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Perhaps because the Red Cross is the one organization that has had a role in all conflict and at times reports on abuses?

You really have to wonder at the intentional diminishing of many government & non-government agencies.

Come on guys..this is not a fluke. CEOs are well aware about leadership. They fill organizations they want to take down with cronies and they idea sinks, or dies, or withers, or disgusts the public.

All part of teaching us to rely on "daddy corporation" instead of the government.

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. I do wonder about the differences between the INTERNATIONAL Red Cross

and the AMERICAN Red Cross. That's not something I've looked into.

The American Red Cross looks to have been thoroughly "Bushed," like so much of our government. No end of cushy vanity jobs for those rich incompetent GOP donors and Bush enablers.

Note that this undermines the principle of impartiality, which is vital to any organization claiming to give even-handed aid to all victims.

[applegrove]

23. They also give hands on aid to war criminals. They visit Saddam too.

Which is fine. Nobody should be tortured.

If the American Right wings manages to diminish the American Red Cross - don't you think they can then claim the International Red Cross is a foreign entity?

That worries me a great deal.

Seems the only institutions the Rove WH wants to deal with are institutions they have created themselves.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. For the US to prevent the ICRC from visiting POWS

we would have to pull out of the Geneva Accords which is one of their goals, but the ARC is not helping

That said, that is an INTERNATIONAL issue that would make this country a rogue state so fast it is not even funny.

Now repaet after me

American Rad Cross= National Society

International Red Cross = based in Geneva and is NOT controlled by the US

[applegrove]

74. I truly hope nothing more happens the the G convention.

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. Two different animals

A national Society (such as the ARC) operatates within the state, and operates within certain parameters set by the state. Theya re also there to help in time of disasters or civil war (and the ARC has forgotten much of its mission regarding independence, neutrality and all that happy horse)

The International Red Cross has lists of POWs during wartime, visits camps and runs aid into really bad areas of the world. Tehy also put the call when a disaster overwhelms a nation... oh and have very succesful rebuildign programs and feeding programs in developing countries... they also viist poltiical prisonmers these days, a new function.

That is why the ICRC has been all POed about Guantamo, a violation, and ahs leaked info, while the ARC has been all peachy quiet

And yes this is a very broad explanation of the differences, textbooks have been written on this

[nonconformist]

15. Thank you for this. I generally give to Red Cross

most recently, to the Katrina relief. I think my money would be better donated to another agency - perhaps Habitat for Humanity?

[mcscajun]

19. Yup...start at Habitat for Humanity

http://www.habitat.org/ (That's the US organization, there are others in the UK and Canada, as well as local groups.)

Then look for "Operation Home Delivery" -- this is specifically targeted to Hurricane Katrina Relief.

I'm with you...my next donations go to anywhere BUT the Red Cross.

[anitar1]

48. Yes, it would. The Red Cross has been this way for many

years. They are not there to really help folks. Just a small amount of donations go to victims. ARC spends a ton of money on advertising and evidently the general public buys it. But if one checks out the facts, you will see that they have a very poor record, dating back many , many years. This is nothing new. Most of their money goes to their top staff. All volunteers, who really do the actual work, pay their own expenses, thinking they are doing good deeds for a good organization. Not so.Terribly disappointing for those who believed that ARC was there to help them. So sad.They have a clause in their statement that says monies collected go to many disaster sites! Good way to slide out legally.

[Jackpine Radical]

68. Elizabeth Dole--

Now it comes clear why she was in charge. The whole operation is just another Republican scam outfit.

[chat_noir]

17. BLOOD ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Elizabeth Dole, Presidential politics, the Red Cross and the Christian Right

§ The Nation investigation found that shortly after her appointment to head the $1.7-billion-a-year charity, Mrs. Dole assembled a special team of longtime political advisers. Their job was to vet important Red Cross actions, both managerial and scientific, with a political sensitivity to what might help or hurt Bob Dole's presidential ambitions.

§ When her husband was scrambling for the backing of the Christian Coalition prior to the Republican primaries, Mrs. Dole ordered her allies to rewrite an AIDS prevention manual to cater to Christian right orthodoxies about homosexuality, premarital sex and condom use. Also shoring up Bob Dole's standing with the Christian right, Elizabeth Dole took to the hustings while in office at the Red Cross to give frequent speeches about her born-again Christian commitment.

§ Back at Red Cross headquarters in Washington, Mrs. Dole recommended at-large seats on the Red Cross's prestigious board of governors to Senator Dole's political contributors and longtime backers, including Inez Andreas, the wife of wealthy agribusiness executive and Dole superbooster Dwayne Andreas.

§ Mrs. Dole's special team interfered in day-to-day Red Cross decisions, frustrating the charity's professional staff and contributing to an exodus of many senior technicians, volunteers and other crucial personnel. Under this politicized leadership, the Red Cross's much-touted "transformation" program to assure a safer blood supply has fallen short of its goals and behind schedule.

§ The Red Cross has been in a running battle with the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency charged with overseeing it, over the charity's handling of the nation's blood supply. To force corrective action, the F.D.A. has imposed a legally binding consent decree setting a strict timetable for ending sloppy practices. On the stump, Bob Dole has vowed to fire F.D.A. Commissioner David Kessler--and has been joined by Mrs. Dole at campaign rallies that bashed the F.D.A. as too powerful and overreaching. Simultaneously, in Congress, Dole has sponsored and pushed Republican legislation to clip the agency's wings. One of the G.O.P. bills targets the F.D.A.'s ability to regulate the blood supply.

http://web.archive.org/web/19990429193814/http://www.thenation.com/issue/960701/0701HELL.shtml

[Nothing Without Hope]

39. Great link, chat_noir! So important to have these articles to clarify and

document. I've also cited you for this excellent link in my dKos posting of this story; they appreciated it too.

And a hearty welcome to DU! :hi:

[pecwae]

20. Thanks and not surprised in the least

about the shadowy side of the ARC. During severe flooding in the Appalachian in eastern KY it was rumored that the ARC required victims to pay for relief packages. Our small home packed in three other families so they wouldn't have to ask the ARC for anything since they didn't have any money to spare. Somehow we all made it through 3 weeks then helped each other with cleanup and rebuilding. As small as I was I can still remember the adults saying there was no one to rely upon except one another and that the ARC wasn't much use.

[jody]

21. How much money does Red Cross have in reserve and in what banks is

it deposited?

That's a windfall for some lucky banks.

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. I've posted a version of this story at Daily Kos- hope it gets some notice

here's the Kos version of this story:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/25/95628/8554

(BTW, what a pain the dKos format is when posting a diary entry!)

[G_j]

26. Oxfam, trustworthy and when it comes to the poor, they GET IT

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

When Hurricane Katrina mercilessly hit the Gulf Coast, a major challenge was getting poor people out of harm’s way – and giving them aid – as quickly as possible.


Now with Hurricane Rita bearing down on the Gulf Coast, communities damaged by Katrina could be victimized for the second time in less than a month. The challenge now – no less urgent – is giving them back their homes, their lives, their dignity.


But many of the hardest-hit families have been displaced, traumatized, and abandoned. The poorest communities are being left behind in the current relief and recovery process. Without intervention, people will fall deeper into poverty – or even worse.


Working with local organizations, Oxfam America is aiding the poor urban and rural communities who are most in need of clean water, food, medicine, and shelter, and strengthening their capacity to cope with future hurricanes and other emergencies.


Most importantly, Oxfam is working to ensure that local communities are empowered to help themselves. The recovery process is destined to fail if local people don’t have a real voice in the decision-making process.


In East Biloxi alone, 5,135 homes have been destroyed. As you read this, trailers are being shipped in for emergency shelter, but the local community has not been involved in decisions about where they will go. There is a serious risk that large populations could end up living in trailer parks with no schools, no services, and no transportation.


That can be prevented, but we must act NOW, before decisions are made that will affect these communities for years to come.

The proper recovery of hundreds of thousands of people from one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history lies in the hands of caring people like you. We can’t afford to wait any longer.

After you have made your donation, please invite your friends, family, and coworkers to join you in playing a critical role in our nation’s time of need.

Your support is enormously appreciated

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

31. I live in a suburb of NYC and I don't know if it made nationally but

after 9/11 and all the funds that the Red Cross was collecting was not going anywhere it should to the victims and victims families. Money was supposed to assist with bills to keep these people afloat and it just wasn't getting to them.

[northzax]

53. the Red Cross is a disaster relief agency

they don't transfor money to people to pay their bills. They provide emergency shelter, medical care and services, often under contract to local entities. additional donations help with those emergency services. If you want to donate money to help people pay bills, find another agency that does that sort of thing. Know who you're giving money to.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

70. I don't think many people realize that. I believe that when they hold

these big fundraisers that they are being held to help people rebuild their lives, and yes you're right. Know who you're giving your money to.

[nadinbrzezinski]

78. I know exactly what the Red Cross is

and it is NOT doing its job in this disaster. They have handled this as if this was a short term matter, when this is a medium to long term matter requiring tents and camps for internally displaced people to use the very technical term. The ARC seems to still be working on the very short term shelter model, which in this case is not adequate.

I used to do this...

Moreover, in the function of their duties they COULD and SHOULD have gone to the Convention center, yes it is dangerous, yes somebody might get hurt or gee darn it killed... when you put the uniform, at least when I did, I never knew if I was coming home from my shift, yes it can and is that dangerous, especially during war or disasters.

[FlaGranny]

32. It is cause for concern.

Red Cross Shelters - donated by the community.
Red Cross Supplies - donated by the community.
Red Cross Manpower - supplied by volunteers.

It would be interesting to see a complete accounting for where all the money goes. What gets paid for and who gets paid?

Our clubhouse is a Red Cross designated hurricane shelter. We pay for it ourselves and it is unmanned by Red Cross, but has to follow Red Cross "rules." I'm certain there are many of others just like it. Most shelters are in schools and community centers. Red Cross supplies cots and food and water for some of these shelters and volunteers to work them.

[earth mom]

34. Thanks for posting this.

I'm absolutely disgusted by this report, but not surprised.

There were many of us who posted against donating to the Red Cross after Katrina hit. I'd heard stories about them years ago and also stories about 9/11 and knew they were the last place I'd give a penny too. Also, * was pushing for donations to them which REALLY set off alarm bells!

As someone posted upthread, Habitat for Humanity is a great organization to donate to and they've hooked up with Oprah's Angel Network which has a great campaign going to get houses built and furnished for Katrina victims.

We all KNOW Oprah doesn't need or want any of that money and she WILL make sure it goes to the right people!

:applause:

Check it out here: http://www2.oprah.com/uyl/katrina/homes/homes_main.jhtml

[IndyOp]

35. Help people help themselves with PHRF & ACORN!

These community-based organizations will be going toe-to-toe with government and Red Cross to do their best to make sure that the money from government and Red Cross goes to the people who need it. Support these groups to make sure that Red Cross money goes to local groups that WILL help the people:

ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

The Peoples Hurricane Fund - Community Labor United


The Where to Donate: Grassroots/Low-income/People of Color-Led Hurricane Katrina Relief page includes links to many local groups - so you can give to them directly:

Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Common Ground
Rebuild Green
Southern Empowerment Project
(S.O.S.) Saving Our Selves
Moore Community House/Mississippi Low Income Childcare Coalition
Food not Bombs
21st Century Youth Leadership Movement (21C)
Community Labor United (CLU)
Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights
LATINA MAMI
The Justice Center, New Orleans Not-For-Profit, Indigent Defenders
National Youth Advocacy Coaition/ Center for Lesbian Rights
Operation USA
Camp Casey
Louisiana Domestic Violence Victim's Hurricane Relief Fund
Pastors for Peace
The People's Hurricane Fund & Community Oversight Committee
Millions More Movement
Louisiana Welfare Rights Organization

[IndyOp]

36. OUR MISSION:

So HOW do we make THIS happen?? The OpEd says --

The organization also ran into trouble after the 1989 San Francisco Bay Area earthquake when it was revealed that it planned to spend only a fraction of the millions of dollars it had collected in the area damaged by the earthquake. When the Bay Area's mayors found out, they insisted that these funds be spent on housing, homeless shelters and health clinics. The Red Cross had to waive, for one time only, its long-standing policy against funding non-Red Cross groups.

I donated $500 to the Red Cross immediately after the hurricane - that is a big amount for me. I am angry to hear that FEMA is reimbursing the Red Cross for what they are doing. Instead of sitting about feeling angry I would rather DO something -- how/who do we get moving on this?

MoveOn? Calls to AirAmerica? Oprah? Roseanne Barr?

Let's GO!

[chat_noir]

37. Citing Problems, Georgia County Asks Red Cross to Leave an Aid Center

Citing Problems, Georgia County Asks Red Cross to Leave an Aid Center for Evacuees

A county official in Georgia this week asked the Red Cross to leave a relief center for hurricane evacuees in suburban Atlanta, saying the organization's operations were chaotic and antiquated.

The official, Vernon Jones, chief executive of DeKalb County, said that the Red Cross's tedious paper application process had resulted in long lines and that the group had made false promises of financial payments. Its failure to establish a process for distributing money disrupted other services provided at the relief center and forced the county to use its own resources to restore order, Mr. Jones said.

"It got so crazy that last Thursday, a riot nearly broke out because they had told people they would have checks for them and the checks weren't there," Mr. Jones said in a telephone interview.

The county rented barriers to help maintain orderly lines, dispatched police officers and provided food and water to the crowds waiting for financial assistance, he said.

"They were issuing debit cards knowing that they wouldn't work just to get people out of line," Mr. Jones said.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/national/nationalspecial/24cross.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1127652138-QlzGrhfh4rIjgilw2OPpuw


Bugmenot log-in:
member id - 20050106
password - goaway52

[chat_noir]

38. Citing Problems, Georgia County Asks Red Cross to Leave an Aid Center

Citing Problems, Georgia County Asks Red Cross to Leave an Aid Center for Evacuees

A county official in Georgia this week asked the Red Cross to leave a relief center for hurricane evacuees in suburban Atlanta, saying the organization's operations were chaotic and antiquated.

The official, Vernon Jones, chief executive of DeKalb County, said that the Red Cross's tedious paper application process had resulted in long lines and that the group had made false promises of financial payments. Its failure to establish a process for distributing money disrupted other services provided at the relief center and forced the county to use its own resources to restore order, Mr. Jones said.

"It got so crazy that last Thursday, a riot nearly broke out because they had told people they would have checks for them and the checks weren't there," Mr. Jones said in a telephone interview.

The county rented barriers to help maintain orderly lines, dispatched police officers and provided food and water to the crowds waiting for financial assistance, he said.

"They were issuing debit cards knowing that they wouldn't work just to get people out of line," Mr. Jones said.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/national/nationalspecial/24cross.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1127652138-QlzGrhfh4rIjgilw2OPpuw


Bugmenot log-in:
member id - 20050106
password - goaway52

[Neshanic]

40. Google "Red Cross San Diego Wildfire" and be amazed....

at the gall of this organization, and how the higher-ups think that they are beyond reproach. Disgusting.

"The chapter had collected some $400,000 in donations after a 2001 wildfire near the Viejas Indian Reservation but doled out barely $7,000 to victims. Officials from the National Red Cross later kicked out most of the San Diego board and administration."

[RepublicanElephant]

41. is it a good idea...

to do the same thing that's done when a tragedy occurs in one family?

that is, set-up a special account at a bank, where donations can be made directly to an account created for the local governments/first responders?

before the disaster strikes, each county in the impending disaster area could set-up one of these accounts with a major bank ahead of time. then after the disaster strikes, newscasters would tell donors which banks and accounts to send funds. local officials could then use the funds (thru a debit card) to immediately order and truck-in the supplies and help they need without waiting for some huge inefficient bureaucracy to get around to mobilizing help.

[mom cat]

42. That is the last dime from me! Here is a list of community baseg groups i

came across.I cannot vouch for all of then, but I know of a few. Use your disgression, but check it out:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4508159#4827335
Donations are more likely to go to those who need it most: poor people.

[Nothing Without Hope]

44. kick n/t

[UTUSN]

46. Red Cross Has Been Burned Since WW II and I

My Grandmother said it was burned back when. No wonder Mrs Bobbula DOLE was associated with it.

[AmyDeLune]

54. WWII-- My Dad had a few choice words about ARC

He remembered bitterly soldiers having to pay ARC for coffee and donuts among other things. Rather put him off supporting them.

[burrowowl]

59. My Grandpa was a Doughtboy in WWI

He had nothing good to say about the ARC. He did get a doughnut but it was stale and no coffee,

[milkyway]

47. The Red Cross has always given me the creeps. They have a 1984 feel to

them, a huge monolithic beuracracy through which the masses are encouraged to feel good about themselves by writing a check to the Red Cross.

When you give them money, you are not providing a charitable donation to someone that needs it; you are simply purchasing for yourself the feeling that you are a good, caring person. The Red Cross knows this. It's the product they sell.

[Zomby Woof]

49. Fuck the Red Cross

We have a longstanding family grudge with them... going back to when my Dad was in the Navy and how they botched handling the news of a major family death... my Dad was unable to make it home for the funeral thanks to their bungling and cheapness. He may have gotten a donut, that is all they are good for.

Also, a former colleague of mine, a freeper, went to work for them as a regional director. It's the biggest "charitable" cash cow going.

[catzies]

50. HOLD ON A SECOND!!! Didn't anybody notice who wrote it?

"Richard M. Walden, Richard M. Walden is president and CEO of Operation USA, a 26-year-old international disaster relief agency based in Los Angeles. Website: www.opusa.org."

Hello?!

It wasn't an INVESTIGATIVE piece. It was in Editorials/Op Ed! :rofl:

[Nikki Stone 1]

55. Yes, we did notice who wrote it. A competitor.

It is my friend's experience in Lacombe that has convinced me that, competitor or not, the guy is onto something.

[KittyWampus]

56. which is sort of sad, the investigative journalists won't touch this.

[Nikki Stone 1]

51. This article is right on target, according to my friend in Lacombe.

The local Red Cross volunteers were amazing, wonderful people. The local Red Cross (not the national people) were around delivering hot meals tonight. My friend cannot say enough about the local Red Cross.

Of course, she still hasn't heard from the national office, even though she filled out forms with them 2 weeks ago.

I am never donating to the National Red Cross again.

[LittleClarkie]

57. Appears to be hit and miss. Our evacuee center here is good

it appears. The evacuees are set up in our State Fair dorm rooms, they have Red Cross credit type cards to get what they need, they come and go as they please, etc.

And I remember someone here posting that they were doing more than FEMA to make sure she and others had hot meals and such. They were a big help to her.

Not perfect, but perhaps one of the only games in town. But eaten up by bureaucracy like everything else seems to be.

[NMMNG]

58. I will never donate to the Red Cross again

I'll find a more suitable charity instead.

[Bill Bored]

61. Here are some numbers:

<http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/14/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=14&passYear=2004&passListType=Misc&uniqueId=CH0013&datatype=Misc>

Looks like they spend (or waste?) a lot of money on fund raising. But in the case of Katrina, I'd think a lot of that cost nothing because everyone was saying to give to them.

The salary of the head honcho is a bit on the high side too.

[ladylibertee]

62. Frustrating

[Nothing Without Hope]

66. We need to put together a documented, hard-hitting post on how

areas other than New Orleans are being ignored by FEMA, the ARC, and the public. Merh put together some names upthread - we need stories and links to make something that can be posted everywhere.

Then we need to post it everywhere and media-blast it and send it everywhere we can. Thousands upon thousands of people devastated by the hurricane have simply been abandoned and it's going under the radar. The American public either isn't aware of them in the first place or else they think that by this time FEMA and ARC have taken care of them.

Wrong.

Looks like it's up to US, the internet Progressive community, to give these people a voice.

[Nothing Without Hope]

67. Read about the sorry story of the ARC and the San Diego wildfire:

This is one of the responses from my post on this story at dKos. That posted story is here:

and here is the response about the wildfire. Really sounds sort of like part of a pattern by now. Raising money is the corporate goal - sometimes it seems, the only one:

several years ago

there was a big wild fire in the San Diego, CA area. Some, unknown how many, houses were lost to the flames. Of course, the local Red Cross sent out their usual SOS for funds to help the fire victims. The RC even ran newspaper ads showing a distraught woman gazing at the ruins of her house..the implication being the RC had helped her out during the emergency. She had never gotten a dime (or I believe, any contact) from the RC - but with the collected monies from the ad and adjacent campaigns they (RC) purchased a $300,000. TELEPHONE system for their San Diego hdqtrs. Woman checked with local newspaper, they ran expose. Don't remember all the details, was, as I said, several years ago. But people were pissed when it was exposed. Really honest group, the RC, and, yes, my dad, WW2 Vet, says the stories of being charged for donuts were true, on Guadal Canal, no less.

[Nothing Without Hope]

72. oops - left out the dKos link. Here it is:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/25/95628/8554
(This is to the story-only version; there are also over 230 comments, but they won't come up unless you ask for them.)

[bleedingheart]

69. This upsets me...cuz deep down what I wanted to do was find a family

who had been affected and volunteer to help pay for stuff like linens, towels, sheets and other items that people lost so that when they finally got settled in they wouldn't be going into debt to get the items some of us take for granted.

However I gave to the Red Cross thinking..."how the hell will I find a family to help?"

Now I am still interested in interfacing with a family that I could help once they got settled into either their new location or when the return to their home....

[Nothing Without Hope]

73. Yes, I too would like to do more direct interfacing. There are a number

of people at DU who are hosting families or know someone who does. I'd like o see an effort to match up needs with DU people who could mail things - clothing, toys, books, household things. At least for a child, getting a box that is for THEM from someone who cares about THEM could make a difference.

[dogday]

71. My Ex-Father-In-Law told me over 20 years ago

that the Red Cross was a rip-off. He learned that during WWII. I always took everything he said with a spoon of sugar. He was always saying crap. But I have since heard from several men in service and in the Viet Nam war as well that Red Cross is a rip-off.

[Nothing Without Hope]

75. It will be interesting to see the response to this editorial on the ARC

When I posted it at dKos, it got far more responses than I expected, most of them from people who knew something themselves that backed up the idea that the ARC is mostly about profits and doesn't do a good job with victims, the spotty exception being some local chapters. Those can still be screwed up by pressure from the national management.

Surely the Red Cross will respond, but really, the only ACCEPTABLE response would be to allow an examination of the real accounts and organization, something I think they have good reason to hide.

The organization has been thoroughly Bushed, even before GW himself strutted onto the scene, and even at its best it is NOT designed as a long-term disaster relief handler. It's intolerable the way the President, the media, and everyone else relentlessly pushed donations to the ARC, since even if they did a good job it would only be a brief one, and the people in the hard-hit zones need much more help for a longer time. Madness.

But then, Bush doesn't give the slightest damn how many people suffer and die from his policies. He sleeps well every night, even when he's not officially on vacation.

[nadinbrzezinski]

77. the only acceptable response is the volunteers drive

management out and do a full review, with the help of the ICRC ((nternational Red Cross Committee) it has happened in other countries, but I doubt the volunteers here have what it takes..

[Nothing Without Hope]

76. This heartbreaking, infuriating eye-witness account from St Bernard Parish

shows graphically just how little the American Red Cross OR FEMA are actually doing for people - and this parish, which is about 30 mi east of New Orleans, got its primary hitfrom Katrina WEEKS ago.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4907140
Thread title: A message from an Aid Worker in St. Bernard Parish, LA

These people need the basics, and not only do they not have them, they are turned down by big donors because the donors say they "already gave" to the ARC!!!

This is the curse of the American Red Cross - they vacuumed up 70% of the American donations for Hurricane Katrina, but they have NOT come through. Even if they had, they have never been geared for anything but short-term response, NOT what these people need.

By grabbing those donations, they have blocked donations to OTHER charities & causes which WOULD have helped the people if they had been given the resources.

And the good-hearted American people don't have a clue that their generosity has been wasted and that people are still in the direst need for basic necessities.

[Nothing Without Hope]

79. It's so tragic that the generous American people don't realize that they

aren't helping the people in the hurricane areas nearly as much with donations to the ARC as they would with other causes. Since thanks to the relentless fundraising and collusion with the politicians and media, fully 70% of Katrina donations went to the ARC -- and for what? That means that money did NOT go to causes that would have done much more good with it.

This is shameful and it has added to the misery of the people who need help by effectively BLOCKING 70% of the donations from Aermicans who want to help but do not realize what the ARC really is.

[Nothing Without Hope]

80. kick n/t