I am sure the Bush ready response team will be all over this.

In case he is busy i will repost his post rom below:

26 Monkeyfister Says: OT, But Very Serious–

Whilst we’re waiting forGeorge’s Promised Prayers to roll in, down here in the Tornado-Stricken Mid-South, I might recommend some DIRECT HUMAN INTERACTION.

This Is My Best First Start To Help My Region.

As Scout Prime is to NOLA, I am to the Mid-South area (I LIVE here, and was Live-Blogging these horrible storms all night), and have started to get the help-ball rolling down here. Some of you know where I work. I started a Food Drive there today for the Mid-South United Way Food Bank.

As the area affected is so broad and detached, and everyone in the Country was distracted by politics last night, as yet, there is no central assistance hub set-up. So, at the link, above, you’ll find the two agencies with the broadest radius to help the area right now. Both take DIRECT donations.

A small-blog swarm on that (or this) post would be greatly appreciated by more people than just me. I can’t describe how wide-spread the damage is down here. It’s enormous. The Media, per usual, is only just now waking up to the situation, after their Super-Duper-Let’s-All-Wet-Our-Pants-Together- Tuesday Political Hangover. Like NOLA, these are REALLY poor folks down here, and have nothing, and nowhere to go.

A short post about this at YOUR Blog, linking either to my post, above, or directly to the two Orgs mentioned in the post above, would sure be a big help, and would be greatly appreciated by many people who are relying on help. They are all that we have right now.

I just donated a deer’s worth of ground venison, along with the 100 pounds of rice and quart-sized ziplock bags that they said that they needed at the United Way Mid-South Food Bank, when I phoned them this morning. Their pantry is BARE, and I’ll be loading them up with all the potatoes, rice, veggies, bags, and other staples that I can fit in my truck tomorrow.

This is serious Red State country, and a flood of help from the DFH Left would REALLY make a big difference in a number of good ways.

I thank you all in advance.

Click Here for more about what’s going on down here. It’s all that I am writing about right now. Help is needed.

Your humble peer,

Monkeyfister

Here are his links:

Monkeyfister

This Is My Best First Start To Help My Region.

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

sure thing kathy..........both of them were busted for corruption.what was it 90 cents of every dollar went into someones pocket......and the someones weren't the ones who really needed it.

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

break it down for me kathy...show me YOUR Math....lol....you out of your neck of the woods aren't you?

mudshark @ 7:

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

sure thing kathy..........both of them were busted for corruption.what was it 90 cents of every dollar went into someones pocket......and the someones weren't the ones who really needed it.

My mother learned about the Red Cross in the 1930's. Her hometown was flooded when the levies were overwhelmed. The Salvation Army gave out food, the Red Cross sold coffee and donuts to the National Guard.

xoites defends Constitution @ 11:

mudshark @ 7:

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

sure thing kathy..........both of them were busted for corruption.what was it 90 cents of every dollar went into someones pocket......and the someones weren't the ones who really needed it.

My mother learned about the Red Cross in the 1930's. Her hometown was flooded when the levies were overwhelmed. The Salvation Army gave out food, the Red Cross sold coffee and donuts to the National Guard.

I've heard that same canard about the RC in many different settings (all the way into the 80's and 90's I've heard of the RC doing this)

I think its an oft repeated tale.

mudshark @ 15:

odanny @ 14:

xoites defends Constitution @ 11:

mudshark @ 7:

My mother learned about the Red Cross in the 1930's. Her hometown was flooded when the levies were overwhelmed. The Salvation Army gave out food, the Red Cross sold coffee and donuts to the National Guard.

I've heard that same canard about the RC in many different settings (all the way into the 80's and 90's I've heard of the RC doing this)

I think its an oft repeated tale.

they both were skimming money after 9/11 and Katrina.

And I heard Bill O'Reilly got famous for outing them. Kind of a bittersweet victory, don'tcha think?

odanny @ 15:

mudshark @ 15:

odanny @ 14:

xoites defends Constitution @ 11:

I've heard that same canard about the RC in many different settings (all the way into the 80's and 90's I've heard of the RC doing this)

I think its an oft repeated tale.

they both were skimming money after 9/11 and Katrina.

And I heard Bill O'Reilly got famous for outing them. Kind of a bittersweet victory, don'tcha think?

Billo claims alot of BS........but this one....I heard it on the Librul media.....on more than one station.......the reason I went after kathy...is because I "think" shes from the darkside...she left me a nice little note on Poli Pundit.......I can't be sure....I'll just have too keep my eye on her for now....funny how she just disappeared

Samwoman @ 18:

Funny, I don't hear Pat Robertson proclaiming this tragedy as God's wrath against the southern states for their bigotry, intolerance and greed.

maybe it's because they're closeted gays?......you know...being republican and all......they can't come out.

peaceful easy feeling @ 20:

mudshark @ 7:

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

sure thing kathy..........both of them were busted for corruption.what was it 90 cents of every dollar went into someones pocket......and the someones weren't the ones who really needed it.

Salvation Army was not busted for financial fraud. You must be confusing it with the United Way.

you could be right.....but i don't think so.But thanks for reminding me about the UW.There all in it too make money first,then help people second.And the money they take in sure as hell doesn't go to the needy......ok maybe a little....but not enough of it.No...they're crooks.

I'm still trying to find out if a very dear friend of mine in Lawrenceburg, TN is ok. I've tried calling a couple of times, but only get her voicemail and she hasn't yet returned my call. I'm hoping it's just a lot of congestion or down cell towers.

Does anyone know someplace I can go to find a list of the affected cities? I've been at work all day and before I left, I wasn't able to find one.

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

yes the salvation army does do better , i tried after hurricane katrina to warn people how the red cross syphons off thier contributions and dont deliver on help , but many paid no attention and were sorry later they just fed the kitty for fat cats like ol lady dole!!!!!!!!

xoites defends Constitution @ 11:

mudshark @ 7:

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

sure thing kathy..........both of them were busted for corruption.what was it 90 cents of every dollar went into someones pocket......and the someones weren't the ones who really needed it.

My mother learned about the Red Cross in the 1930's. Her hometown was flooded when the levies were overwhelmed. The Salvation Army gave out food, the Red Cross sold coffee and donuts to the National Guard.

dureing the korean war when our troops came off the line the red cross waggon was thier to greet them with thier coffey and doughnuts , sure gi heres a cup of joe and a doughnut thatll be two bits thanks a heap for getting your ass in the dirt for uncle sugar, hell i could of got that for ten cents in the us of a!

Actually, while all the American channels were busy reporting the election news, I think it was BBC which first broke news about the tornadoes. So much for election fever. And today they are focusing on only the torandoes and the aftermath. Isn't that called sensationalism?

Let's look at the silver lining, people.
Here in Memphis a tornado took out a mall...at least partially.
That's what I call progressive!

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

The Slave Nation Army are proselytizers who force religion on people. "No god = no food" is their unwritten motto and agenda.

The Red Cross doesn't set conditions on who gets help nor do they demand a prayer to get it. Ethical people will send money through the RC.

Bush has made God hate USA, lol.

Samwoman @ 18:

Funny, I don't hear Pat Robertson proclaiming this tragedy as God's wrath against the southern states for their bigotry, intolerance and greed.

beat me to it

Tyler Durden @ 30:

tyree @ 27:

xoites defends Constitution @ 11:

mudshark @ 7:

My mother learned about the Red Cross in the 1930's. Her hometown was flooded when the levies were overwhelmed. The Salvation Army gave out food, the Red Cross sold coffee and donuts to the National Guard.

dureing the korean war when our troops came off the line the red cross waggon was thier to greet them with thier coffey and doughnuts , sure gi heres a cup of joe and a doughnut thatll be two bits thanks a heap for getting your ass in the dirt for uncle sugar, hell i could of got that for ten cents in the us of a!

A lot of the red cross personnel have risked their lives to provide medical support in the front lines, and plenty of POWs would have been SOL hadn't been for the red cross. And in many refugee camps the red cross and/or the red half moon are the only organizations willing to provide personnel to help.

But by all means, let's do what some Americans do best... let's belittle from the safety of our keyboards an organization that had to endure the reign of an asshole like Mrs. Dole who needed a resume item for her senatorial campaign.

just to show how bullshit this statement is , the red cross does not endanger its workers, in korea they were so far behind the lines they never heard a shot fired in anger, and most red cross volinteers are not paid anything , all except for the elite hiarchy work for nothing, but the hiarchy gets paid extreemly well, as far as giveing red cross packages for pows they never make sure the pows captors deliver thoes packages to thier destinations, give the red cross a pint of blood and you can be sure they will make a big profit off it, and they seldom pass any of that profit on to the less fortunate , and if nothing else convinces you of thier ineptude just check on the wasted contributions given them for katrina!!!!!!!!!

Chopvac @ 33:

Kathy @ 2:

Salvation Army does much much much better good with your money than the awful Red Cross.

The Slave Nation Army are proselytizers who force religion on people. "No god = no food" is their unwritten motto and agenda.

The Red Cross doesn't set conditions on who gets help nor do they demand a prayer to get it. Ethical people will send money through the RC.

No the red cross just distributes infected blood and then demands that no one have to take responsibility for killing people with their tainted transfusions.

There's no such thing as a 'charitable' foundation. If there's money involved then someone is getting paid and that's what it's really about. The salvation army is a profitable business that poses as a charity. The red cross has no credibility and I wouldn't trust them to hand me a clean bandaid.
You deal with what you got when you're in a disaster but if I have a choice I won't be dealing with any of those groups.

No need to worry anymore ... Bush is on his way to help (do his standard photo op). He'll do for the area & residents what he did for New Orleans. On another note, I wonder if blackwater has their contracts yet?

"Coffee and Doughnuts - The Red Cross story of coffee and doughnuts story has become quite legendary over the years due in large part to a letter (and directive) issued by the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson on March 28, 1942. While most veterans are appreciative of all that the Red Cross did—including the Doughnut Dollies, Doughnut Dugouts, Canteens and Clubs—some remember the policy, instituted in 1942, which required soldiers to pay for coffee and doughnuts.
At the time as today, the Red Cross offered its services to the troops free of charge. Unfortunately in the tight economic times of the war, some Allied nations could not be so generous with their own troops—they simply did not have the financial means and so they had to charge their own soldiers for goods and services. Fearful of morale problems among troops, the leaders of these Allied troops took their concerns to the U.S. leaders. Since the Red Cross was a federally chartered organization (while not receiving government subsidies) the Red Cross still had to comply with government requests in order to retain access and continue helping the soldiers.
As required by the March 28th letter, the Red Cross began charging for the coffee and donuts they provided in their base canteens. While the organization may have been required to charged for coffee and doughnuts, the Red Cross never made a dime off any monies collected from soldiers as they were sold at below cost.
Stimson's Letter—a government directive—and the legacy it created has haunted the Red Cross…even now some 60 years later.
At the request of the Army, the Red Cross also charged for food, lodging, barber and valet services in stationary installations (clubs and canteens), but they did not charge at mobile facilities (clubmobiles, etc.)."

OK. That takes care of the whole charging for donuts and coffee shtick. The rest of the carping is uninformed bull as well.

I have mixed feelings about the Salvation Army. On the one hand they are decidedly not neutral on the matter of religion-where the Red Cross is (at least in policy) On the other hand, they kept my little 200 person shelter in Louisiana fed when the local power structure decided they wanted to be paid more for relief food. I have no great fondness for many of the policies of the Baptists, either. But when it hits the fan, those folks operate kitchens for the Red Cross-who delivers the food where it is needed, whether in shelters or quite literally door-to-door.

I encourage anyone who reads the various boneheaded postings above to check out all of the relief organizations named, and find out what is behind these often erroneous statements. No organization is perfect. The longer they've been around, the more cock-ups they'll have been involved in. The question you have to ask-have they fixed 'em, and what are they doing today? A second thing you might do is find out what their mission is, and whether or not the criticisms come from a failure to recognize what each one does.

Full disclosure-I am a Red Cross volunteer and an instructor with the Emergency Services (Disaster Services) side of the house.

Dale Austin @ 45:

"Coffee and Doughnuts - The Red Cross story of coffee and doughnuts story has become quite legendary over the years due in large part to a letter (and directive) issued by the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson on March 28, 1942. While most veterans are appreciative of all that the Red Cross did—including the Doughnut Dollies, Doughnut Dugouts, Canteens and Clubs—some remember the policy, instituted in 1942, which required soldiers to pay for coffee and doughnuts.
At the time as today, the Red Cross offered its services to the troops free of charge. Unfortunately in the tight economic times of the war, some Allied nations could not be so generous with their own troops—they simply did not have the financial means and so they had to charge their own soldiers for goods and services. Fearful of morale problems among troops, the leaders of these Allied troops took their concerns to the U.S. leaders. Since the Red Cross was a federally chartered organization (while not receiving government subsidies) the Red Cross still had to comply with government requests in order to retain access and continue helping the soldiers.
As required by the March 28th letter, the Red Cross began charging for the coffee and donuts they provided in their base canteens. While the organization may have been required to charged for coffee and doughnuts, the Red Cross never made a dime off any monies collected from soldiers as they were sold at below cost.
Stimson's Letter—a government directive—and the legacy it created has haunted the Red Cross…even now some 60 years later.
At the request of the Army, the Red Cross also charged for food, lodging, barber and valet services in stationary installations (clubs and canteens), but they did not charge at mobile facilities (clubmobiles, etc.)."

OK. That takes care of the whole charging for donuts and coffee shtick. The rest of the carping is uninformed bull as well.

I have mixed feelings about the Salvation Army. On the one hand they are decidedly not neutral on the matter of religion-where the Red Cross is (at least in policy) On the other hand, they kept my little 200 person shelter in Louisiana fed when the local power structure decided they wanted to be paid more for relief food. I have no great fondness for many of the policies of the Baptists, either. But when it hits the fan, those folks operate kitchens for the Red Cross-who delivers the food where it is needed, whether in shelters or quite literally door-to-door.

I encourage anyone who reads the various boneheaded postings above to check out all of the relief organizations named, and find out what is behind these often erroneous statements. No organization is perfect. The longer they've been around, the more cock-ups they'll have been involved in. The question you have to ask-have they fixed 'em, and what are they doing today? A second thing you might do is find out what their mission is, and whether or not the criticisms come from a failure to recognize what each one does.

Full disclosure-I am a Red Cross volunteer and an instructor with the Emergency Services (Disaster Services) side of the house.

so was a lot of shills for the red cross but what i said still stands the red cross is a for profit orginization , all youll do donateing to them is by the ceo of the red cross a new cadilac !

Dale Austin @ 48:

So, tyree, what did the Red Cross do to you? When and where? What disaster? Do you have relatives in the military overseas that you have ever had to get an emergency message to? I'm curious as to where your hatred comes from. And your unique spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

dont flatter your self thinking just because ive seen the red cross in action first hand that i hate them !im just on to them, as far as first hand knowelge of thier actions ive seen it in korea dureing the war and thru shipmates on my ship who had to take emergency leave and had to borrow money from the red cross and were made to pay thier generousty back with interest, two of my first cousins who were fighting in the 7th infantry dureing the pull back from north korea after the chinese entered the war told me among other gis about being charged 25 cents for a cup of coffey and a doughnut, now if it wasnt for profit why were they at least only charged ten cents for the same items? thats what it cost in the usa at the time! hate the red cross crap i dont even think about them !

Dozens of tornadoes in the middle of the winter? How odd!

Don't anybody say "global warming!" Ignore the elephant in the room!

tyree;

The Red Cross loaned $70,000,000 during WWII. These loans were for emergency transportation home. The Red Cross does not charge interest on loans. It is possible that your shipmates were dealing with one of the military aid societies through the Red Cross-who aften acts as a clearinghouse of other resources. If their policy was to charge interest, the Red Cross was not involved.

The policy of charging for coffee and donuts ended in 1946. I don't think it was ever re-instituted. Even if it had been, you don't maybe think that costs might have been higher in a war zone at the other side of the world? So what a donut cost "back home" would be irrelevant in any case.

If you don't want your spelling pointed out, don't call folks "shill." It's a rude term.

seven

Dale Austin @ 56:

tyree;

You mistake salary for employees for "profit." CEOs get huge checks everywhere. Compare this figure to that for a corporation of the same size. It would be grand if the entire operation were unpaid. Here's a little factoid for you: 97% of the Red Cross workforce is unpaid volunteers. That nice person sticking the needle in you to get the pint-probably a paid employee. Is the fact that he/she is paid also make it a for-profit enterprise? How about the near-minimum wage janitor? Does their salary make it a for-profit as well? Are CEO salaries an issue? Maybe they are. But their existence does not have anything to do with their non-profit status.

Now, about the charging for donuts. Would you address the isssue please, since you brought it up? Were you charged, during the Korean War, for a donut and coffee by the Red Cross? If yes, when and where, specifically-facility name, vessel name if applicable, and how you knew it was a Red Cross charge. Was the policy of charging during WWII created by the military command of the European Theater of Operations over the objections of the Red Cross? Yes or no please.

buddy id take my cousins word for what they experienced over any red cross shills, and im not sure you really even know anything about your red cross because they did charge the combat troops in korea twentyfive cents for a doughnut and a cup of coffey just like they did in ww2, and when a charity non profit ceo can be paid such a huge amount its obseen ! im surprised some one who supposedly works for NOTHING isnt a little steamed that someone who has office workers do all the dirty work gets paid like they were running a factory, i have no idea why the militaty in korea were charged for coffey and doughnuts , since most of the money that they cost were payed for with funds from the citizens of the usa as donations , you can cackle on and on and the charges stay the same , what about the red cross going on tv begging for blood donations nation wide for the victims of 911? when it was well known thier were no victims alive that needed blood ? and what did they do with the profits from all that blood? you want answers you just dont want to give any that make sence!!!!!

tyree;

Yes, the salaries of the enlisted have been and continue to be shameful. Officers, eh, not so bad but still not great. My brother-in-law just retired (at 42 the rat!) and is now double-dipping as a contractor.

My last question, though, was actually about the origin of the policy. Specifically, were you aware that it was created by the military over the objections of the Red Cross?

Blood Services is not my side of the house. I remember the appeals for blood being made while it was still a "rescue" operation. I also remember when they said "stop" because they couldn't process the stuff fast enough. There was still concern about injuries to the fire/police/iron workers on site afterwards. Profit on blood? I don't think so. The donation itself-the blood-is not charged for. There is a lot of other stuff-shipping and handling if you like-that is passed on. Those little bags-not cheap as I understand it. There is a huge fleet of vehicles-and refrigeration. All of them have to be bought, maintained, fueled, and insured. The nice lady with the sharp needle-probably a paid nurse. Then there is rent, utilities and on and on and on. You should be getting the picture by now. As I said-not my side of the house, but I've just left a message asking the blood folks if they even take monetary donations for their operations-and if they do, what % of the budget will it cover? Now, I can tell you that a lot of hospitals charge a fee on top of the costs we pass on. Basically that is the cost of the storage and delivery. (hey, that doc or nurse isn't a volunteer you know!)

As far as salary disparities at the CEO level-are you steamed that your boss makes more than you and has people to do their supposed "dirty work"?