Please Stick With Local Charities
I cannot say that I am shocked.
We make sandwiches while the Red Cross makes excuses. You can read the whole story here.
Houston has volunteers lining up around the block. The Mayor (a Democrat) and the County Judge (a Republican, but a sane one) have done an excellent job and I don’t think that either one of them has slept in a week. The Red Cross? They have supply trucks in Dallas because they didn’t think the roads were going to flood.
If Jim Bob and his bass boat can get here with the entire Cajun Navy, what can’t the Red Cross get here?
Hell, we even shamed Joel Olsteen into opening his church.
Just one other thing:
I quit trusting the Red Cross when Elizabeth Dole was Director.
1Everyone please stay safe! There are still many dangers, and will be for awhile. And yes, donate to local charities, not the Red Cross. People who know what needs to be done, where, and just get it done. My dad refused to support them, too. He said he saw how they treated the troops and the Koreans during the war, and they didn’t deserve the support.
2holy smokes
“By Monday morning, more than 2,000 flood victims had taken refuge there, and the Red Cross was rationing food. No one between the ages of 10 and 75 who wasn’t sick or pregnant could get a meal.”
3In view of Duckie speaking out, he should be honored one more time in is Dress Pajamas!
4The Red Cross has blood drives, trains people in first aid, and helps after disasters. So it’s not as if they have only ONE job. They have about three jobs. Still….
5Have never given his bunch for much as lead nickel. Heard too much bad stuff from people who had actually taken their training courses and even served as volunteers. What about the Salvation Army? Are they involved in this at all?
6What about the friggin’ National Guard? What about local military resources? Are there no helicopters to bring in supplies? Where’s the coordination? Who the hell is in charge?!!
Republicans just can’t govern. Period.
7Here are some satellite photos of the Houston are before and during the floods:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=90873
My father said he didn’t trust the Red Cross after they visited a buddy of his in the hospital during the war (WWII) and asked if they could do anything for him. He asked if they could fix or replace the batteries in his radio. They took it away and brought it back in working condition… with a “Property of the Red Cross” plaque glued to the front.
And a friend said his father threw the Salvation Army out after they said that his contribution would be going toward their band, not the homeless. This was even longer ago, possibly during WWI.
8Susan, I’m OK with using socialism to pay for this as long as 1) the libertarians who opposed urban planning and zoning – so a lot of wetlands, lowlands and watersheds that could have absorbed a lot of this, instead got built on or paved over, and those who opposed urban planning should therefore get an appropriate share of the bill.
Along with 2) a lot of the conservatives, whose global warming denial for the last thirty years, made this flooding a lot worse than it would have otherwise have been.
Those conservatives and libertarians are all about personal responsibility, aren’t they? Well, maybe it’s time for them to cowboy up to some personal responsibility for what they have done.
9I gave to Red Cross for a long time after the April 10, 1979, tornado which destroyed the family home. My parents & youngest brother still lived there at the time. Red Cross was helpful. Stopped giving after the 9/11 response debacle.
10I’ve given to the mom & pop restaurant people that JJ suggested yesterday & I’ll give tomorrow at church to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to pay for at least one “cleaning aid kit.” Regular offerings during the year pay for UMCOR admin costs, so 100% of my check tomorrow will go to a cleaning kit or whatever else is needed in communities hit by Harvey.
My Mom would roll over in her grave if I gave to the Red Cross. They were on her “Dispicables List” after hearing from a soldier friend in WWII that they were SELLING (the donated) blood to wounded soldiers. Their periodic scandals with their bureaucrats taking money are just more of the same.
Direct to locals is the way to go.
11Scott, I agree with you.
12JAKvirginia: I can’t speak for any other area but mine. South of Beaumont. A few miles further south is Port Arthur. For a couple of days it sounded like a war zone with blackhawks running overhead pulling people off roofs and cars, with two staging areas within two miles of my house, so plenty of that type of air support. As far as rescue, they really do have their sh*t together. I haven’t however seen any Chinooks. But commercial trucks are starting to roll in (albeit kinda slowly). Stores have actually been doing well. Limited hours because of limited personnel. Repugnantcans will no doubt claim credit for everything positive while blaming democrats for anything that can be seen as lack of preparedness. Cause thats what douchebags do. But make no mistake, preparedness is massively better than previous storms because of dedicated career professionals.
13Scott Bidstrup: I’m with you on both points. I guess we’ve just gotta figure out to hold the douchebags responsible. Like winning elections.
14I’m old enuff to remember guys coming home from WW2 and bitching about the Red Cross. General Gunther was tasked (by Ike) to get it on track. I don’t know how that went. He knew how to organize something. Eliz Dole was a show horse a prima dona to boot. It was all about her.
15They need some of the military logistics guys to come in. They move personnel, equipment, food, fuel, tires etc.
Y’all, I am hanging my head in shame after endorsing the Red Cross in an earlier post. I honestly thought they had cleaned up their act, and they have been very helpful here after a spate of catastrophic house fires, with emergency hotel rooms and temporary housing. Maybe they are great in small cases, I dunno. I’m very sorry, I won’t do it again!
16I too gave to your mom and pop store as well as the humane society for rescuing animals. I most likely will do more, but that’s it for the moment.
17As an afterthought, do you know how the M & P food truck is doing on contributions?
18Aggieland Liz: Madame you have nothing to apologize for,. Period. Thank you for your generosity.
19I’m an old woman and remember that my father hated the Red Cross as during the war they had sold coffee to soldiers and sailors. My mom would slip me a bit of change so I wouldn’t be the only kid not donating.
I have known RC workers and they are wonderful so mixed review. I donated to RC and your local food truck. They are probably wondering how someone in Hawaii heard about them. Bless all of those who are helping.
20From Massachusetts, and far from your destruction, I gave to the food pantries of several cities, plus to the Episcopal Diocese Relief Fund for Harvey, as well as the Harvey Relief Fund for Catholic Charities. I may have been wrong, but I felt my small contributions would go further with smaller organizations on the ground. Correct me and send me somewhere else, if I’m wrong.
21My late Mom used to volunteer for Red Cross blood drives. Best venal puncture in NoVA. But that was 40 yrs ago and just one function. I don’t donate to them, too many negative things. Local folks know what’s best to do for their communities anyway.
22Seventy years ago, as a child I remember the feelings of my family was to donate to the Salvation Army, not the Red Cross, because donations to the Salvation Army went where the money was needed and Red Cross donations went to fund the bureaucracy.
23My father used to say we could donate blood to the Red Cross, but nothing else. His beef was over donuts, but IMO, it still makes sense. Give blood, not money.
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