Category: Support the troops

I really don’t know what to think of this story. We know a lot of people who work for Move America Forward and we’ve had dealings with them over the past 5 or 6 years. But this is why I try to politely turn down your solicitations here. You just never know. According to ProPublica in Stars & Stripes the organization has misused the funds that they raised to support the troops. Actually, I don’t recognize any of the names in the article, which makes e feel a little better about our dealing with MAF.

An examination of its fundraising appeals, tax records and other documents shows that Move America Forward has repeatedly misled donors and inflated its charitable accomplishments, while funneling millions of dollars in revenue to the men behind the group and their political consulting firms.

In several instances, the charity has taken images and stories from other groups and from veterans themselves without permission to use in fundraising appeals.

Last year, Move America Forward even solicited funds by claiming a partnership with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the largest hospital for wounded servicemembers in the country. No such partnership existed, Defense Department officials say.

[…]

The driving force behind Move America Forward is Sal Russo, 67, the longtime political consultant who is listed on the 10-year-old charity’s tax returns as chief strategist.

Russo is better known for helping to form the Our Country Deserves Better PAC, also known as the Tea Party Express, one of the largest Tea Party groups in the country. Consultants from his Sacramento-based firm, Russo, Marsh and Associates, also set up two other PACs, the Move America Forward Freedom PAC and the Conservative Campaign Committee, to aid conservative causes and candidates.

[…]

Russo didn’t respond to questions from ProPublica. Danny Gonzalez, a spokesman for Move America Forward, did not answer questions either, instead providing a four-paragraph defense of the charity. “We are proud of the fact that we always appropriate our donor’s (sic) funds ethically and in the spirit of our mission to support the troops,” he said, adding that Move America Forward was currently preparing 2,000 boxes of care packages for shipping.

The article admits that MAF does indeed send packages to the troops.

But an examination of Move America Forward’s tax returns shows that it is deeply intertwined with Russo’s political enterprises and businesses, paying millions of dollars to him and his consulting firm.

According to its five most recent tax returns, Move America Forward paid out more than $2.3 million to Russo or Russo, Marsh and Associates for services including “program management and advertising.” That’s about 30 percent of the charity’s overall expenditures over that time.

They also complain that MAF has hijacked photos for their website from other charities and stock photos. MAF has always been pro-troop. They partnered a lot with Gathering of Eagles and you can find me at their rallies if you search hard enough on the blog. I remember that Jon Soltz didn’t like them very much when Melanie Morgan was running things. I know I used to have links to Melanie Morgan and to Move America Forward, but for some reason I don’t anymore so maybe I sensed something a long time ago that I’ve forgotten. *shrug*

So I don’t what to think about the whole thing.

The Army Times reports that the organization Journey through Hallowed Ground Partnership will be planting 620,000 trees between Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Charlotte Virginia to commemorate the lives lost during the Civil War, 150 years ago.

The project will showcase four types of trees, all in the red family, the color symbolizing courage and bravery: red bud, red oak, red maple and red cedar. The trees will be geotagged, and visitors can access information about each soldier represented, when available, including photos, diaries and records from the 1860s.

According to the National Park Service, half of the Civil War’s fallen soldiers remain unknown, but even those without records will have a tree dedicated in their honor, Butcher says.

[…]

“It’s so present because of all the American men and women who were killed in the recent battles. I try to imagine what it’d be like if 150 years from now nobody ever paid any respect to them. The time separation … between today and the Civil War should be irrelevant.”

The Journey through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Project says that each tree will cost them about $100 – quite a daunting project.

Michael Sulsona, a veteran who lost his legs in Vietnam tells the story in SILive about what happened when his wheelchair broke while shopping in Lowes;

On the evening of July 7, my wheelchair fell apart again, while shopping at Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor.

Three employees, David, Marcus and Souleyman jumped to my assistance immediately. They placed me in another chair while they went to work.

They took the wheelchair apart and replaced the broken parts and told me, “We’re going to make this chair like new.”

I left 45 minutes after closing hours in my wheelchair that was like new.

When he tried to thank them, their response was that it had been their honor to help him. I’ve always found Lowe’s employees to be some of the best and helpful young Americans around. This story just reinforces my perception.

Thanks to Bob & Sgt K for the link.

Mary sends us the sad news that the working show truck dedicated to Gold Star mothers and POWs which is owned by Steve Davenport, a legendary member of Rolling Thunder has been stolen in Texas;

Davenport, a Lewisville resident and seasoned Rolling Thunder campaigner, says he parked his black 2003 Peterbilt 379 and Reinke step-deck trailer loaded with roofing materials for the night in a gated lot in his hometown. He says 35 to 40 construction and gravel trucks use the lot.

“I’m just shocked,” Davenport said.

“I loaded down in Ennis, south of Dallas. The load was going to Tulsa. I decided to take my break at home in Lewisville. … I went down to get on the road this morning and the whole thing was gone.”

Here’s a picture in case you happen to see it on your own travels;

This weekend, the folks at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will read the names of every American service member who has given their lives to the public memory since September 11th, 2001;

For the first time on the National Mall, we will read the names of each and every American service member who has made the ultimate sacrifice since the attacks on September 11, 2001. Americans from across the nation will join together to read the names of these heroes in the order they were taken from us.

So they wanted us to tell you about the live webcast on Facebook and at their website.

So, the Stolen Valor issue makes it to the popular culture with the introduction of SoldierHard’s “Stolen Valor”. According to his website, SoldierHard (Jeff Barillaro) enlisted at 19 and deployed to Iraq. His music might not be your music, but at least he’s reaching a different demographic than the folks with whom we normally discuss the issue.

Thanks to our friend at Guardian of Valor for letting us know about the video. Here’s an interview with Barillaro.

The folks at HooplaHa wanted you to see this video of wounded warriors learning to walk again. I’ve been privileged to meet some of these fine folks during my trips to Walter Reed, and I wish you could. They don’t complain about their injuries, they only see the future before them and accept the challenges they’ve been given. I’m proud to call them my brothers and sisters.