I regularly write about the raw deal that the US veterans are getting from their country……they are like tools…..once they wear out they are discarded and replaced……
They deserve better than what they are getting….they were asked…they gave and now we let them suffer in silence….why?
I hate it that our vets have to beg for donations to help make them right again……this country needs to step up and do the right thing…..
I have given props where props are due…..and one that I like for their work with American wounded vets is the Wounded Warrior Project……that is until recently…..
Too many charities spend money like drunken sailors….they piss money away on all sorts of unnecessary expenditures….like bonuses…..marketing schemes, etc……now appears that WWP is NO different than all the others……
I read this piece……
Donated to the Wounded Warrior Project? You might’ve helped fund lavish parties for employees rather than veterans in need. A two-part CBS News investigation, based on interviews with more than 40 former employees, finds millions in Wounded Warrior donations have been wasted. “Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn’t see is how they spend their money,” says Erick Millette, a former employee who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq. He accuses the organization of “using our injuries, our darkest days, our hardships, to make money,” which is then spent on catered employee parties, fancy restaurants, and so-called team-building retreats at beachside hotels, where bar tabs can reach $2,500. The cost of the charity’s four-day annual meeting at a five-star Colorado hotel in 2014: $3 million.
Employees describe CEO Steven Nardizzi arriving to events on a horse or Segway. One time, they say, he rappelled down the side of a building. A former staffer believes the charity wants “to show warriors a good time,” but there’s no follow up, per CBS. “It just makes me sick,” adds Millette. He says Wounded Warriors waits for veterans to call, rather than reaching out to them, though the charity denies that claim. A rep also describes the spending as “the best use of donor dollars to ensure we are providing programs and services to our warriors and families at the highest quality.” Tax forms note spending on conferences and meetings spiked from $1.7 million in 2010 to $26 million in 2014, the same amount spent on combat stress recovery that year. Public records also show the charity spends 60% of its budget on vets, compared to up to 96% for other veterans’ charities.
I will be checking on this story for confirmation….I do hope that there is a logical explanation for this article……
Please tell me that isn’t so!
On another note…….Veterans charities are a hot topic in this election cycle….and that is another bitch I have……veterans are only thought about when it serves some political purpose…….
It is sickening when these brave people become political props……the only concern is how much cash can they help supply the candidate…..a pathetic situation on both counts……
Have you an opinion?
I know what you mean. It sounds as if greed as reared his big, ugly head in yet another part of our lives!!
Yes…..I was admiring these people for their work….but yet again it is about the cash not the cause….chuq
You know – no matter WHAT the question – the answer is ALWAYS money and/or power.
SAD that vets have to pay the price for their greed and power….I have NO use for anyone that uses vets for their own gain……chuq
So true!!
I most certainly have a comment!
On American media, on websites it is about respecting their veterans and all that!
Flag waving and all pomp and gloria!
However fact is that many Americans just have getting used to just lipservice.
It is sad that you send people to fight in a war when they come back they are ignored as much as possible. No money spent to deal with the problems physical an/or psychological. It is so hypocritical.
I also don’t understand that Americans call Memorial Day-Happy Memorial Day!
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/question-why-is-the-word-happy-used-in-commemorating-us-when-nothing-happy-is-commemorated/question-2282229/?page=1#comments
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlCECQlL86E&w=420&h=315%5D
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwlYFCRQl_c&w=560&h=315%5D
Like I wrote…they are ignored until they can serve a purpose….either political or economic……Americans are all patriotic until it comes to demanding that veterans get the care they need…then they worry about the costs…….I find their lack of concern very pathetic….chuq
A small apology is in order from me to you! Retreading my answer I let my frustration about Americans giving their views on how unthankfull we are about the American effort in WW2, even posing it as an American effort only the better of me.
On the subject you are writing about. Researching a bit I found out that the Netherlands also has an organisation called ‘Wounded Warriors’.
They have the ANBI approval. This is a guarantee that the organisation has to meet certain standards and has to prove they are upholding them. I place a link to the Dutch Treasury Department. They have also in English a list of what an ANBI has to do to keep their seal of approval.
http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontenten/belastingdienst/business/other_subjects/public_benefit_organisations/conditions_pbos/which_conditions_must_be_met_by_pbo
We had also organisations that where abusing the kindness of people to use the money for their own gain.
Your trust is than violated.
The people you say to represent are betrayed.
The betrayel by politicians doing the same, abusing them for their own gain.
Betrayal someones trust is just
No need to apologize at all……we need something along those lines….but I do not trust bureaucrats at all…..I read that the Netherlands will expand their support for the War on Terror…..that sounds like they will join the US in their endless conflicts…am I mistaken? chuq
Found the article…finally…LOL
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-01-29/dutch-to-join-us-led-airstrikes-against-is-in-syria
When some organization gets very large and gets a lot of money and power behind it these kinds of things are always waiting in the shadows to happen at one point of time or the other. I remember when something I used to contribute to called “United Way” got caught in some kind of money-related noise and media excitement — a few years ago — I have never trusted big organized charities since that time.
Nice to see you again, John…..I agree with you my experience was some of the wildlife groups……when I learned that 60% of the donations went for “operating” expenses I knew then that they we useless and we only in it for the cash….thanx for stopping by….hope to see you often….chuq
I will be sneaking around, Chuq and I hope to see you over here too… which I already have … and which I appreciate more than you will ever know ….
It is my pleasure and I will try to get by your site as often as I can…..we old farts have to stick together….LOL
Pathetic is the right word for how this country has treated vets since the class of 69 came home from Vietnam…. I believe the current name used by the troops who have served is “Uncle Sugar”, cuz that’s all you get….
gigoid
Yep…the Class of 47 forgot what it was like when they returned….and still cannot remember as a nation….chuq
Not too many of that class left; it’s the class of 50 that laid down, and a lot of the rest of those who didn’t fight never got educated… There are a lot of reasons for how things are now, but, mostly, it’s due to the simple fact that Americans refuse to be Americans. They are, instead, ignorant and cowardly, living only for expedience and comfort, with no sense of personal responsibility, and no real understanding of their own government.
Hmph.
gigoid, the dubious
I agree that they have NO sense of nation….only their pathetic little lives have meaning to them….chuq