plump professor primitive bounces

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Oh my.

ProfessorPlum  (1000+ posts)      Tue Mar-04-08 09:37 AM
Original message
 
My phone call with a veterans charity

I got a call last night from a group claiming to be a veterans' charity. I don't have any idea what the political affiliation of the guy on the other end of the call is. But these kinds of calls always make me feel bad for three reasons:

1) my heart aches for veterans, especially those who are treated badly, left with holes in their psyches and under bridges, with no help and no hope. This country is going to hell if for no other reason than we treat people who serve us this way when we are "done" with them

2) there are a lot of these charities that call us, and I always get the feeling that they could be scamming us - how do I know where the money goes? They remind me of those fake police and firemen's charities you hear about in the news

3) I really feel like the needs of veterans HAS to be addressed at the federal level. Sure, I could give them some more money, and I'm sure people do, but that's really just a drop in the sea of need out there. My money puts band-aids on a geyser of blood, that is both caused and ignored by the big wigs in both parties who should do the right thing, represent this country and its people, and take care of veterans.

Anyway, I've given money to these kinds of charities before, but last night when the call came through I was hit with a wave of bad feelings. I took the phone out on the porch so as not to upset my family and started talking . . .

me: It's a tragedy that veterans are treated so poorly, but I think this has to be dealt with at a federal level. Individual donations are just not going to do what needs to be done. The Republicans and the corporations they serve need to start treating these folks like human beings and take care of them.

charity guy: Are you a veteran?

me: No, I'm not, but my father is and both of my grandfathers were. People need to start being treated better - the Congress and the corporations need to step up and do the right thing. We need to start putting people in power who won't treat everyone else like crap. That means kicking Republicans out of office and forcing Congress to start putting our taxes to good and humane use.

cg: We need to start getting new people elected, get new people in there.

me: You're damn right we do. People who can tell the corporations and the Republicans to stop just putting veterans in the meat grinder for their own profit and to stop treating people who have come back so poorly. It's got to be a federal effort, nothing else can make the real difference that we need.

cg: In 1945 people didn't want it to be a federal effort, they didn't want the government involved. (?)

me: (incredulously) In 1945 it was the GI BIll, which was a federal program, and people used it to put themselves through college - veterans did that in droves.

cg: It's not just the Republicans.

me: It's ALL of the Republicans and half of the Democrats. But veterans groups need to start stepping up and supporting the Democratic party - all of this nonsense about the military being pro-Republican when the GOP and the corporations are the ones starting wars for profit and leaving the veterans to rot, when there are actually people in the Democratic party who would treat veterans with the care and respect they deserve.

cg: all right (hangs up).

It was satisfying to get that off my chest. I couldn't believe he hung up, though. Anyway, this morning I feel a bit like a cheap bastard. Can anyone point me to a website that shows which veterans' charities actually get a good proportion of their donations to needy veterans or veterans shelters? I don't want to be scammed, and I don't want half of my money to go to "overhead".

Thanks in advance.

Only three primitives at this bonfire on Skins's island, saying nothing of substance.

[Carl]

me: It's a tragedy that veterans are treated so poorly, but I think this has to be dealt with at a federal level. Individual donations are just not going to do what needs to be done. The Republicans and the corporations they serve need to start treating these folks like human beings and take care of them.

I wonder what percentage of a federal tax dollar actually works its way to the beneficiary as opposed to the percentage of a dollar given to a private charity.

I am betting the private charity has much greater impact.