Avoiding Scams while Helping the Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Natural disasters tend to bring out the best in most people, but the worst in others. For the past few days, most of us have marveled at the tireless efforts of the rescue workers (many are unpaid volunteers) in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's destruction and flooding in South Texas. We couldn't be prouder of our fellow Texans. We are also deeply appreciative of those from other states sacrificing their time and efforts for their fellow Americans.

Unfortunately, disasters also attract predators who typically exploit others for their own gain. No, I'm not talking about the "mainstream" media. Actually, many reporters did a pretty good job in their coverage, although the usual outlets (CNN, MSNBC etc) attempted to add their typical political spin, however unbelievable they may sound to any thinking person. I'm speaking instead of the charity scam artists, who take advantage of the generous charitable nature of people in order to bilk donors of monetary aid that is intended for the victims. It has been estimated that almost $2 billion dollars went to bogus charities after Hurricane Katrina.

The Federal Trade Commission offers the following common sense advice when dealing with Charities:

• Donate only to charities that you know and trust, and have a proven track record of dealing with disasters. Beware of those who use a very similar names to a well-known reputable charity.
• Check out the charity with the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar.
• Avoid those who ask for donations in cash, ask you to wire money, or offer to send a courier or overnight delivery service to collect the donation immediately.
• Specify the exact disaster that you would like your donation to go toward. Many charities, the Red Cross in particular, sometimes stockpiles donations during a disaster, then moves a portion to the general fund that goes to pay for expenses such huge salaries, fund raising, advertising etc.
• When texting to donate, confirm the number with the source before you donate. The charge will show up on your mobile phone bill, but donations are not immediate.

You can find many more tips at Before Giving to a Charity.

What about the Red Cross?

The Red Cross began as a Christian organization, but sadly has devolved primarily into a very profitable "non-profit" secular agency in order to work more closely with governmental agencies and large corporations that typically will not donate through the much more efficient Christian charitable agencies. I remember a few years ago when a Red Cross office worker was threatened with termination if she didn't remove an ornament from her desk that contained a bible verse.

After Katrina, a deputy marshal was asked to leave a Red Cross shelter because he was praying with stranded refugees. In addition, an Albany, Louisiana church shelter took in a family who stated that they were kicked out a Red Cross shelter because they were reading from their family bible. The Christian shelter workers thought that there must have been a misunderstanding, until three other families later arrived after being booted for the same reason. No one had complained about the prayers or bible readings, but Red Cross representatives defended the decisions with the usual statement that their shelters take in families from diverse backgrounds, and didn't want to offend anyone (except for the Christians that were kicked out to fend for themselves in the extreme weather conditions).

The Red Cross also has a history of mismanagement. After a year long congressional investigation into Red Cross activities following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a congressional committee headed by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley released a report in June of 2016 showing that, of the $500 million in donations for earthquake relief, almost $125 million was spent on internal expenses. Many questions from investigators went unanswered, and the Red Cross was unable or unwilling to explain where the money went.

In addition, the Red Cross typically sends a much smaller percentage of received donations to the victims than various Christian charities such as Samaritan's Purse, The Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, or multiple other fine organizations.

This is not to say that the Red Cross does not provide good humanitarian aid, and we certainly would not group them with the scammers or frauds. We are troubled by the anti-Christian bias coming from their top management, but we also personally know of many dedicated Christians who are working very long hours with them at the regional and local levels. We choose to donate through various Christian charities because a larger portion of our donations generally go to the victims, but urge our readers to follow their own conscience regarding these matters.

Finally, we'd like to say "Thanks Again" for all those who are helping in so many ways. We also ask for your continued prayers for both the spiritual and physical needs of the victims and the dedicated workers.

Update: Shortly after posting this, we received info from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that many homeowners and renters are getting robocalls stating that their flood premiums are past due and that, in order to have coverage for Hurricane Harvey, the consumers are being told they must submit a payment immediately through various means. DO NOT do this. Contact your insurance agent instead. If you suspect fraud, you can also call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at 1-866-720-5721.

Troopathon 2011

We are pleased to announce that the 8-hour 2011 Troopathon event is scheduled for June 23. This cutting edge live webcast event will bring together talk radio hosts, film and television stars, musical guests, military families, pro-troop groups and many more. Last year’s participants included Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin (see Ms Palin’s May 2 tribute to the troops at Colorado Christian Universary), US Navy SEAL Ben Smith, John Bolton, Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Sean Hannity, Tom Osborne, Kelsey Grammer, Rush Limbaugh, and many more. This year’s lineup will be announced soon.

The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving overseas (last year’s Troopathon raised almost $700,000). Each package includes a personalized message and consists of items that our troops have requested such as sun-screen, Gatorade, deodorant, coffee, snacks and much more. These are basic items that most of us take for granted, but are a real treat that makes a soldier's life a little easier while they are far from home.

We are honored to have participated in the associated blogger competition each year since its inception in 2009. In this friendly contest, military supporting bloggers battle it out to see who can raise the most sponsorships for care packages that will go to our brave troops putting their lives on the line fighting Al Qaeda, the Taliban and others in order to insure the freedoms that we enjoy. This year, we’re on “Team 6” (as in SEAL team SIX).

If you choose to donate, we request that you click on the banner above to purchase your care package. We receive no commission, and all purchases are tax-deductable. Thank you very much for your support. God Bless our Military.

Baby Bottles for Life 2011

Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday, held each year on a Sunday near the anniversary of the 1973 Roe vs Wade court case which legalized the killing of unborn babies in our country. Many churches are participating in the Baby Bottles for Life program, in which families may take home a baby bottle for three weeks and fill with change, currency and/or checks. The bottles can then be returned to a designated collection area to support the ministry of Real Options for Women.

Real Options helps expectant mothers make informed decisions about abortion or continuing their pregnancy. Unlike the so-called “pro-choice” organizations, which really offer only one choice (to kill the baby), this ministry offers real choices. All consultations and other pregnancy related services are offered in confidence and to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. Because of this, they need our financial support.

As families participate in this program, it not only helps Real Options provide these needed services, but can teach your children the importance of missions. Above all, it will help protect the most innocent among us... those that don't have a choice. If your church is not involved with this program this year, you can still participate by visiting the Baby Bottles for Life website. Thank you and God Bless.

Troopathon 2010

We’re once again proud to participate in this year's Move America Forward Troopathon, an annual online fund raiser for our troops serving overseas. These brave men and women are putting their lives on the line daily to preserve our freedoms, in spite of the lack of support from many politicians in Washington. Many people may not realize that our troops are basically supplied with only a gun and a uniform (even certain parts of the uniform must be purchased). Anything else must come from the home folks. Liberal politicians can spend billions on bailouts for banks, GM and others, or to provide sweet deals for the union bosses, but won't cover the basics for our troops. We even had to send money to buy our son’s body armor before he left. He is current serving with his marine unit in the vicinity of Kandahar in Afghanistan.

This year’s Troopathon will be held on June 1 from 4pm to midnight eastern time. In it’s first two years, the event has raised over $2 Million and sent over 168 tons of care packages to Iraq and Afghanistan, all to support our troops. Most of the liberal (so-called) mainstream media outlets are ignoring the event, however Fox News has run several features. Sponsors and participants include Melanie Morgan (President of Move America Forward), Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Mark Levin, John Bolton, former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and many others.

Please click on the banner for more information or to make a donation. Here’s a preview:

You can help make the daily routine of our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq a little more bearable and thank them for their services all at the same time.

We've heard from countless members of the Armed Forces serving in the Middle East about items that the military does not provide, are hard to come by and they really appreciate getting. That's why Move America Forward has responded and compiled care packages that contain these goods as a way of saying "thank you" for their sacrifices and courage. Care packages are packed full of gourmet coffee, Oreo cookies, Jelly Belly jelly beans, high-quality beef jerky, trial mix, Gatorade, deodorant, Chap Stick, sun block, CDs and much more.

Most importantly, each care package will include a personal message written by you where you can express your gratitude to our military.

All care package donations are tax deductible and start at $24.99. If this is too much for one person, please consider taking up a collection from your co-workers, friends, neighbors, church group etc for this worthy cause. Thank you very much for your support and praying daily for our brave troops.

Spills and Floods

Whoa, has it been this long since I last posted? I’ve been working on a modern version of the Didache along with notes, commentary, and Scripture references, which was a very rewarding endeavor. Turning to our blog, I have some new posts about ready to load, but let's begin by catching up on a few events.

The one event to monopolize most of the media attention over the past couple of weeks has been the BP oil spill in the gulf. After vilifying President Bush for his perceived slow response to Katrina, the lamestream media yawned when Mr Obama took his time responding to the oil spill. The Dems finally swung into action, emailing supporters to "stand with President Obama to hold BP accountable", and oh yeah, while you’re at it, please send money. This could get interesting, since it was revealed the next day that Mr Obama is the biggest recipient of BP cash. Many dems have returned contributions to BP, but so far, Mr Obama has chosen to keep the money.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration finally sent a representative to view the flood situation in Tennessee. I kept waiting for Nancy Pelosi to demand that Mr Obama rush the money “that we owe these people” as she did to President Bush during the New Orleans flood. I was shocked that Ms Pelosi used the words “that we owe them” instead of “that we should send as a charitable act” or similar. I wasn’t shocked by her “owe me” mentality, only that she chose to use the words in publicly. According to Ms Pelosi, if certain people experience misfortune, the government "owes" them taxpayer money. It certainly wasn’t a surprise when most of the media spiked the comment to protect Ms Pelosi. Perhaps Mr Obama wasn’t as concerned about the Tennessee victims, since they were regular middle class working folks who cling to their guns and religion during times of crisis, rather than looking to the god of government for a bailout.

Let's continue to pray and help our friends in the Tennessee and neighboring states. As a Texan, I'll always be grateful for the brave volunteers who fought and died alongside our ancestors at the Alamo.

Tax Day 2010 Thoughts

I just finished paying my taxes on time, so I guess that disqualifies me for the next opening in Mr Obama’s administration. I resisted the impulse to enter “two million” under the number of dependents, a very conservative estimate of the number of people receiving entitlements from working people’s tax dollars. This is not a knock on all who are receiving government aid. I realize there are many who would rather be working than caught up in the administration’s "De-industrialization of America" plan.

Speaking of the Obama administration, the Bidens just released their tax return, showing that they gave 1.44% ($4820) out of their $333,000 income to charity last year. By comparison, independent reports place the average family's donations at 3.1%, and according to IRS statistics, those making over $200,000 give an average of $20,500 to charity.

Actually, 2009 was a big increase in the Vice-President’s charitable giving. The previous year, he gave only 0.69% ($1885 out of $269,256), but even this was above his track record. After Mr Obama picked him as a running mate, Mr Biden eventually released his tax returns from the previous decade (1998 – 2007). During this period, the Bidens gave only $120 - $995 per year on incomes ranging from $210,432 - $321,379, which amounts to 0.06% - 0.31% of their income (in 1999, he gave a whopping $120 on an income of almost $211,000). So, on a total income of about $2.5 million, the Bidens contributed less than $3700 to charity. In contrast, Sarah Palin gave more in 2006 alone (on about half the income) than Joe Biden gave in a decade. In case anyone is wondering, John McCain gave an average of about 28% of his income to charity in 2006-7.

The reason I mention Mr Biden’s charitable giving (or lack of) is due to a couple of statements he made in the fall of 2008 in an attempt to justify the raising of taxes on the rest of us. Many of us remember Mr Biden’s claim that those who are not willing to pay higher taxes were being unpatriotic. Later that day, instead of backing off his idiotic statement, he claimed paying higher taxes was not only a patriot duty, but a religious one as well. He told a labor union group, “Catholic social doctrine as I was taught it is, you take care of people who need the help the most.” (I find it interesting that he's made no mention of what Catholic social doctrine says about murdering unborn babies, but that’s another story.) I heartily agree that we all have a moral obligation to do what we can to help those who can’t help themselves, but this should be the voluntary role of the Church and individuals, not the government. In the end, Mr Biden appears to support charitable giving, as long as he can pick the pockets of others to do so.

Turning to another tax subject, it was also reported in the past few days that about 47% of US households pay no taxes. At the same, a recent poll reports that about 47% of the respondents approve of the job that the Obama administration is doing. Naah… must be just a coincidence…right?

I’d also like to plug an article over on Big Government, collecting a Top Ten List of Anti-tax Quotations . Finally, I’d like to add one that a hero of mine, the late great Adrian Rogers, offered in 1984 from his message “God’s Way to Health, Wealth and Wisdom”.

“Friend, you cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. And what one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government can’t give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody. And when half of the people get the idea they don’t have to work because the other half’s going to take care of them, and when the other half get the idea it does no good to work because somebody’s going to get what I work for. That, dear friend, is about the end of any nation.”

Ride to Cure Diabetes 2010

My friend and co-worker Greg alerted us of this Juvenile Diabetes event coming up this weekend. Most of us have friends or family members that have suffered from this disease. One of my brothers has battled it for decades. Here’s an opportunity for us to make a difference in many lives.

Greg writes:

Mia and I have been given the opportunity to ride in the 3rd Annual 12 Hour Cycle for a Cure, which is a fund raiser to help find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.

Juvenile (or Type 1) diabetes affects nearly three million Americans. It usually strikes in childhood adolescence, or young adulthood, and lasts a lifetime. We have known people that have diabetes including a few in our family. And we had the privilege of knowing a lady in our Montgomery Office who suffered from and eventually lost her life to the disease. If you have never known someone with diabetes or have never known much about the disease, then you would be amazed of the impact on the lives of those that face it daily.

What is Juvenile Diabetes?

There are two major forms of the disease - type I and type II. Type I is called juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes and occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certain cells (beta cells) in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. The beta cells normally produce a hormone, insulin, which helps the body move glucose contained in food into the cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. When the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin is produced and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body.

JDRF Mission

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is an organization founded on and driven by a single goal: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. In 1970, a small group of parents made a promise to their children --to find a cure for diabetes and its complication. Today that passionate activism continues to drive the organization as it works diligently towards a cure. JDRF is structured on a business world model that efficiently and effectively directs resources to research aimed at finding a cure as soon as possible. JDRF annually receives top ranking from independent sources that rate charitable giving.

Contributions can also be made at the national Ride to Cure Diabetes website. Thank you and God Bless.

Buckets of Hope for Haiti

Most of us have heard the unsurprising reports that much of the donations for Haiti relief is not reaching those inhabitants in need. It is widely known that the Haitian government is one of the most corrupt in the world, which has caused recent donations to decrease. Many of us however, rightly want to provide valuable needed aid to these suffering people. I have a co-worker whose parents and other relatives still live on the island. Thankfully, they were uninjured, but suffered great losses along with the others. Fortunately, there are many good Christian charities which have been working diligently to get crucial supplies to those most in need.

Dr Kim Hall at Hunter's Glen Baptist Church in Plano alerted us to the North American Mission Board's Bucket's of Hope ministry to Haiti, in partnership with the Texas Baptist Men. Kim emails that "we have made contact with Texas Baptist Men and have been assured that they have a good system of distribution which guarantees delivery of donated items." For those in the North Dallas / Collin County area, HGBC is providing a collection point for the buckets or other donations though March 7. See the church website for more information.

Other Christian agencies collecting for Haiti include the International Mission Board and Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse. Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy from Coral Ridge Ministries in Ft Lauderdale also emailed recommending Convoy of Hope. Although there are many other good charity agencies, these are a few that we've personally worked with, or that come highly recommended from trusted sources. It was reported that over 4000 bogus charities were estimated to be operating during the Katrina effort, so for those using less familiar charities, Charity Navigator is a charity watchdog group that complies and evaluates information on thousands of agencies.

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. As bad as the physical suffering has been, their spiritual needs are most important. Thank you for your generosity and God Bless.

Modern Parable of the Good Samaritan

In Luke 10:25-37, we find the well known parable of the Good Samaritan. To set the context, a Jewish religious leader, in an attempt to test or trick Jesus, asked Him the question, "What must I do to get to Heaven and have eternal life?" Jesus responded with questions of His own, "What do you think? What is written in the Law?" The man responded by quoting Deut 6:5, and Lev 19:18, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus affirmed the answer to be correct, saying "Do this and you will live". (Note that Jesus' statement is not a declaration of salvation by works. The man responded as one under the law, so Jesus merely quoted the promise of the law. To be acquitted under the law, every regulation must be followed perfectly in action, thought and motivation, which is impossible for humans. The man should have acknowledged his guilt to obtain salvation by grace instead of attempting to justify himself). The man then followed up with the question "Who is my neighbor?" which Jesus answered by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In the parable, a man (probably Jewish) is robbed and badly beaten while walking down the road. A priest and later, a Levite (the tribe that assisted the priestly work) noticed the man but crossed over the road and passed by on the other side. Finally, a Samaritan came by, bandaged the man’s wounds, took him to a nearby inn for care, and made provisions for paying any medical expenses. Jesus concludes with the question "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was beaten and robbed?" The Jewish leader replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus then told him to "Go and do likewise".

Parables, one of Jesus’ favorite methods of teaching, are brief fictional stories which illustrate a moral or ethical truth. One of the primary characteristics of a parable is that it utilized characters, objects, cultural situations, and experiences which were very familiar to the listening audience of that era. With that in mind, we thought it might be interesting to update the Parable of the Good Samaritan in a familiar modern day setting. We’ll arbitrarily select Dallas as the location, and a crowd of Southern Baptists as the audience, since they are both close to home.

Read the entire Good Samaritan Parable as told to a group of Southern Baptists along with additional commentary.

Support Lt Col Jeffrey Chessani

Meet Lt Col Jeffrey Chessani of the US Marine Corps. Lt Chessani was the senior officer facing bogus charges for the so-called “Hagitha Massacre” on November 19, 2005. Most of us have heard about the event thanks to the 24/7 coverage by the drive-by media. In fact, more air time was given to this in the first five days than to the many medals of honor given to various brave servicemen over a five year period. Lt Chessani and the troops were originally praised for their bravery by their superiors until an error-filled report by Time magazine, followed by anti-war liberal Congressman John Murtha’s public accusations of the Marines being “cold-blooded murderers” and their officers “covering up” the facts. Mr Murtha still refuses to reveal the source of his allegations. Very little was mentioned in the media of the hot-bed of activities going on that day, or the fact that the terrorists were using civilians as human shields. Michelle Malkin has more info on the circumstances and the investigation at 'Cut and Run' Murtha goes off half-cocked.

Craig Smith also has more about Murtha's involvement at Muttering Murtha.

As we now know, the massacre never happened and all our brave troops who put their lives on the line were cleared. After the media blitz of the charges, there was mostly silence on the acquittals. Then, on March 17, 2009, a three-judge panel upheld the dismissal of the trumped up charges, but the liberal bureaucrats refuse to give up. If only they would show this much resolve when dealing with terrorists. Now they are attempting to charge Lt Chessani, who has honorably served his country for over 20 years, with not filing the proper paperwork. He now faces a BOI (Military Board of Inquiry), in which the government’s burden of proof is very low.

As I write this, Mr Obama has just announced that he has cleared the release of another 75 terrorists from Guantanamo, yet they refuse to give Lt Chessani the same consideration. It appears that plotting or actually taking part in the killing of Americans is acceptable, however, our soldiers defending themselves is not.

Lt Chessani is represented by the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

UPDATE (July 2010) Lt Chessani forced to retire: A Sad Day for America and the Marine Corps.

Colonel Howard in Afghanistan

We just received an urgent email from our friends at Move America Forward. They were alerting us to a letter from the frontlines of battle in Afghanistan written by Colonel Mike Howard who is asking for our immediate help. The letter was forwarded from For The Troops, an organization based in Simi Valley, California who contacted MAF when they heard about the Troopathon.

Colonel Howard is responsible for some 4,500 troops in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry which is stationed in some of the most dangerous provinces of southern Afghanistan. The 4th BCT-25th ID is made up of six regiments nicknamed "The Spartan 6" and the brigade's motto is "Sparta Lives!" They are operating in several provinces in southeastern Afghanistan, right on the chaotic border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban are strongest. Col Howard has asked for help in providing his troops with care packages and much needed encouragement.

We've just posted his urgent letter at Colonel Howard in Afghanistan. Please Read. Thank you.

Care Packages for our Troops

I’m a little late with this follow-up to the Troop-a-thon on June 25, organized by our friends at Move America Forward, but we’re pleased to announce that almost $700,000 was raised for our troops, including over $55,000 by several teams of bloggers, with whom we were proud to participate. We’d like to issue a special “Thank You” to all those who donated. At the time of this writing, the 8 hour Troop-a-thon broadcast, which took place at the Ronald Reagon Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, is available at the Troop-a-thon website.

Thanks again for supporting our troops.

Honor Their Service - Troopathon 2009

In our country, we've come to the point where we call evil good and good evil (Is 5:20). While many far left groups such as Code Pink, the ACLU and our current administration and their Department of Homeland Security are busy protecting the "rights" of Muslim terrorists, they often vilify our troops who are attempting to protect us from the real extremists.

Fortunately, we have many good organizations within our country who are working hard in support of our troops. On of the most active is Move America Forward, who on June 25th, will be holding their 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” with the theme “Honor their Service.” This cutting edge live webcast event will bring together talk radio hosts, megastars of film and television, musical guests, journalists, military and Gold-star families, pro-troop groups and many more. The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

We are encouraging our readers to sponsor care packages (donations are tax deductible) for the troops and each one includes a personalized message and items that our troops have requested that make their life a little easier while they are far from home, such as sun-screen, Gatorade, deodorant, coffee, cookies and much more. Please click on the "Honor Their Service" banner above for more information.