There seems to be a strong impression among the Left that the Red Cross is not worthy of our support, or that it is doing nothing, or that it is just as
clueless as FEMA. I don't know exactly why people think this, but perhaps some of it springs from the fact that the Red Cross has been turned away
from the disaster zone by FEMA and the National Guard. Or perhaps because local people have been quoted saying that FEMA and the Red Cross were
nowhere around.

If you know of any other reasons for bad-mouthing the Red Cross and withdrawing our support, please enlighten everybody. I hope they are specific,
knowledgeable reasons and not just anti-establishment feeling. However, the above reasons are not enough. The problem of being turned away by FEMA
is the same problem of everybody who is trying to help, and neither the Red Cross nor any progressive community-based organization can be everywhere
at once.

And just this morning, I heard somebody on KPFK actually saying, "Please don't donate to the Red Cross." What the f???! In times like this, when
everybody needs to help, it is just callous and cynical to tell people NOT to help the people who are helping. I have not even heard a whisper of a rumor
about any scandal or incompetence with the Red Cross' Katrina relief effort. If what I have read is correct, just yesterday (Sept. 15) the Red Cross
sheltered 50, 000 people and served 300,000 meals. That is NOT "doing nothing." To tell people NOT to support that effort, is the ultimate in political
hair-splitting, or perhaps it's just jealousy. I'm sure the people sleeping in those shelters and eating those meals don't give a fig about how progressive the
Red Cross is.

Last pay cycle, I donated to both the Red Cross and Operation USA (favored by KPFK). This pay cycle, I'm dispersing my contributions among smaller
in-kind direct-aid groups, like Pastors For Peace, Food Not Bombs and the Dream Center, which is housing 300 people in the heart of Silver Lake. Next
pay cycle, I may go back to the Red Cross and Op USA again. My point is that both large and small relief groups need our help, whether they're
progressive or not.

No one can ever be 100% sure that their aid dollars won't be ripped off. If the Red Cross can waste or steal your donations, then so could the local
anarchist foodbank. It's always a crapshoot, and the only way to be sure SOMETHING gets through, is to donate to a wide variety of groups. Since I
have not heard recently about any Red Cross officials resigning in disgrace or going to jail or enacting any discriminatory or homophobic policies, I guess
I might as well include the Red Cross in my generosity. So, unless you have a reason, please lay off the Red Cross for now.

For some statistics on the relief effort:
http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/hurricanes/katrina_facts.html

Red Cross:
1-800-HELP-NOW
1-800-257-7575 (Spanish)
http://www.redcross.org/

Operation USA
(323) 658-8876
http://operationusa.org/

ACORN:
http://tinyurl.com/chmat

Pastors For Peace:
Lucia Bruno at 347-423-4330
www.pastorsforpeace.org

Dream Center
2301Bellevue Ave. LA 90026
Volunteer hours 9-7 daily (except Sunday)
Volunteer check-in at 9, 11, 1, and 3
(213) 273-7100
http://www.dreamcenter.org

Food Not Bombs
1-800-884-1136
The Houston Kitchen can be called at 713-802-9642
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/katrina.html

MoveOn.Org
http://www.hurricanehousing.org/

The Moutre Family (seen on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, providing shelter to over 50 people)
The Bearrington's School
1250 Texas Parkway
Suite F
Stafford, TX 77477
(281) 499-7975
(281) 431-8999
e-mail Bearrington123@aol.com

Veterans For Peace Chapter 116
28500 Sherwood Rd
Willits CA 95490
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/hurricane_relief.htm

Compare the list of donors with the PDF list of Red Cross leadership. (see attached). They are giving money to themselves! Giving to the Red Cross is giving to the government (Bush and the people who caused it) and the corporations (who are planning to profit from it). There is no way to know where your Red Cross donation will end up. (Iraq maybe)

Progressives know all this and are donating directly to local non-profit groups.


List of corporate donors to Red Cross

3M Co
7-Eleven Inc.
Abbott Laboratories Fund
ACE INA Foundation
ADA Foundation
ADC Foundation
Adobe Systems Inc
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Albert & Katherine E. Merck Charitable Fund
Albert Trostel & Sons Company
Albert W. Cherne Foundation
Albertsons Employees Federal Credit Union
AMD Matching Gift Program
America Chung Nam, Inc
American Express Employee Giving Campaign
American Express Foundation
American Psychological Association
American Standard Companies Inc
Amgen Foundation
Amphenol Corporation
Andreas Foundation
Anheuser-Busch Co Inc
Ann Taylor Inc
AOL Online Inc
AOL Time Warner
Apple Computer
Applera
Applied Materials
Aramark Charitable Fund
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Ascent Media
Ask Jeeves Inc
AT&T Foundation
Avaya Inc
Avocent Corp
B.R. Guest Inc
Bacardi USA Inc
BAE Systems
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico
Bank of America
Bank of America Foundation
Bank of New York Company, Inc
Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC
Battelle Memorial Institute
Baxter International Employees
BearingPoint
BearingPoint Charitable Employee Giving Campaign
BearingPoint Charitable Foundation
Bechtel Corporation
Bechtel Foundation
Becton Dickinson & Co
BellSouth Corporation
Bemel & Ross
Best Buy Childrens Foundation
Best Buy Purchasing LLC
Big Y Foods Charitable Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
BJs Wholesale Club, Inc.
Blockbuster Entertainment Corp
Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Florida
Boeing Co
Bonnie Allchin
Bose Foundation Inc
Boston Financial Data Services
Boston Scientific Corporation
Boye Foundation, Inc
BP Foundation Inc
Bridgestone-Firestone Trust Fund
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
Brother International Corp
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co
Brown Family Foundation
Buick Open Charitable Fund
Butler Manufacturing Company
Calyon Financial PTE Ltd
Canon USA Inc
Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation
Capital One Services Inc
Cardinal Health Inc
Caremark RX Inc
Cargill Inc
Carnival Corporation
Carroll Petrie
Case Foundation
castle Trust
Caterpillar Foundation
CDW Corporation
Celebrities for Charity Foundation
Cendant Charitable Foundation
Chad Hallock
Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
Cheryl & Lowell Jacobsen Family Fund
ChevronTexaco Corp
Chris Kenber
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
CIGNA Foundation
Cingular Wireless LLC
Cirque du Soleil Inc.
Cisco Foundation
Cisco System Inc Employees
Cisco Systems Inc
CITA The Wireless Foundation
Citgo Petroleum Corp
Citigroup Inc
Citrix Systems Inc
Clarence Grimes Charitable Remainder Unitrust
Clarke American
Clear Channel Entertainment
Clear Channel Worldwide
CN
Coca-Cola Company
Coinstar Inc
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Columbia House Company
Comerica, Inc.
Community Foundation Of Middle Tennessee
Community Of Christ
CompuCredit Corporation
Computer Associates International Inc
ConAgra Foods
ConEdison
Cooley Godward Llp
Cost Plus, Inc
Costco Wholesale
Credit Suisse First Boston LLC
CVS, Inc
D. W. McMillan Foundation
Dade Behring, Inc.
Dads Denim Inc Citizens Of Humanity
Dairy Relief Inc
Dana Corporation
Dana Corporation Foundation
Danaher Corporation
David Barger
David G. Neeleman
David R. Welland
Delhaize America, Inc.
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Delphi Foundation Inc
Department Of the Army Chaplain Fund
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Diane Fagen
Diebold Inc
Dominos Pizza
Donald G. Fisher Fund
Dover Corporation
Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Dow Corning Foundation
Dresser-Rand Company
Duncan D. Ebersol
E. D. S. Workplace Campaign
Ebay
Eddie Bauer Inc
Edith Pattison Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
EDS
Edward Jones Company
Edward W. & Lee Hill Snowdon Administrative Fund
Eisai, Inc.
El Adobe Corporation
Elbert E. Clark
Electronic Arts Inc
Eli Lilly & Co Foundation
Ellen K. Estate of Roberts
EMC Mortgage Corporation
EMCOR Group Inc
Emerson Electric Company
Emmeline Ling
Employees Community Fund Of Boeing Puget Sound
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Entrust Partners, LLC
Equity Residential
Ernst & Young Foundation
Express Scripts Inc
ExxonMobil Corp
ExxonMobil Foundation
F&M Bank Iowa
F. M. Kirby Foundation Inc
Federated Insurance
Fidelity Charitable Fund
First Data Western Union Foundation
Fluor Foundation
FM Global Foundation
Foley & Lardner LLP
Food Lion, LLC
Ford Foundation
Foster Poultry Farms LLC
FPL Group Foundation Inc
Frances Alexander Foundation
Frank Florik Charitable Trust
Frank M Ewing Foundation Inc
Fred Maytag Family Foundation
Fulbright & Jaworski Foundation
Fulcrum Global Partners Llc
G S. Doctor
G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation
Gallatin Steel Company
Gannett Fleming
Gap Foundation
Gary Bloom
GE Foundation
General Mills Foundation
General Motors Corporation
Genworth Financial Inc
George F. Mueden
George Hoag Family Foundation
Giant Eagle Inc
Gladys & Roland Harriman Foundation
Gloria Estefan Foundation
GMAC Financial Services
GMAC RFC
Golden State Foods
Goldman Sachs & Co
Good Samaritan Inc
Grainger Inc
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation
Gregor S. Bailair
Gregory W. Baird
Guggenheim Capital LLC
H.R.C. Foundation, Inc
Halliburton Co
Hannaford Bros Co
Hard Rock Cafe International
Harland
Harman Management Corp
HCA Inc
Helen T. Madeira
Hewlett-Packard Co
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Holiday Retirement Corp
Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation Inc
Hollywood Media Corp
Home Depot Inc
Hospira_inc.
Household International Inc
HSBC
Hsbc - North America
HSC Foundation
IAC Foundation Inc
Idt Integrated Device Technology Inc
IMS Health
Infineon Technologies Foundation
Ingersoll-Rand Charitable Foundation
Intel Foundation
International Paper
Intuit Foundation
Irwin Home Equity
Islamic Foundation Of Greater St Louis
J M Family Enterprises, Inc
J. M. Huber Corporation
Jack & Adele Mason Family Foundation, Inc.
Jack in the Box Foundation
Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust
Jacobs Engineering Foundation
James Burrows
James D. Sinegal
JCPenney Company Inc
JCPenney Purchasing Corporation
Jeff Nathanson
Jessie Ball Dupont Fund
Jewish Communal Fund
Joan H. McBride
Jo-Ann Stores, Inc
John Deere Foundation
John F. Welch Jr Foundation
John S & Amy S Weinberg Foundation
John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
John T. Chambers
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
Jon S. Corzine Foundation
Jones Lang LaSalle Charities
Joseph & Victor Saturno Foundation
Joseph A. DiMenna
Joseph Lizzio
JP Morgan Chase
JP Morgan Chase Foundation
Jp Morgan Private Bank
JPMorgan Chase and Co
Juniper Networks Foundation Fund
JustGive
Kantar Group
Kash N Karry Food Stores
Kerzner International Resorts, Inc
Key Foundation
Keyspan
Kidde
Kmart Corp
Knapp Swezy Foundation
Kohl s Corporation
Kresge Foundation
Kroger Co
Kroger Co Foundation
Kubota Tractor Corp
L L Bean
Laur D. Wheaton
Lehman Brothers Foundation
Leon W. Harman
Lilly Endowment Inc
Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Inc
Lincy Foundation
Little Caesers Enterprises Inc
Lori L. Huang
Lowes Companies Inc
LP Touring
LPL Financial Services
Lucasfilm Ltd
Lucent Technologies Foundation
Luitpold Pharmaceuticals Inc
M & T Bank
M. R. Erdman
Mac Valves Foundation
Macromedia
MAG Instrument Inc
Magnus Charitable Trust
Make Yourself Foundation
Maria Torok Foundation, Inc
Marriott International Inc
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc
Martha E. Horowitz
Maurice P. Newton
Maxxis International USA
MBNA
MBNA Foundation
McDermott Will & Emery Charitable Foundation
McDonald's
McGraw-Hill Companies
McGregor Fund
MCI - Employee Contributions
MCI, Inc
McKesson Foundation
MeadWestvaco Foundation
Medieval Times Foundation
Mendel Rosenblum
Mercer Human Resources Consulting
Merck & Co Inc
Merck Partnership For Giving
Merrill Lynch & Co Foundation Inc
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
Merrill Lynch Employees Tsunami Disaster Relief Program
MetLife Foundation
Miami Overseas Chinese Association
Michael Foods Inc.
Michael J. Good
Michael P. Krasny
Microsoft Giving Campaign
Mission Fish
Mitsui & Co USA Inc
Mizuho Corporate Bank LTD
MoneyGram International
Monsanto Company
Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morgan Stanley
MTV Networks
My Points.Com Inc
Nalco Foundation
Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.
National Semiconductor
Ned S. Alexander
Nestle Waters North America Inc.
Network for Good
Network Of Asian-American Organizations
New Egg.COm
New England Biolabs, Inc
New York Power Authority
New York Times Co Foundation
News Corporation Foundation
Nextel Communications Inc
Nissan North America Inc
NOL Beyond Boundaries Trust Fund
Nortel
Northern Trust
Northern Trust Bank
Northern Trust Cmopany
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northwestern Mutual Foundation
Novartis US Foundation
Nuveen Investments
Oaktree Capital Management LLC
Oc Tanner
Office Depot Inc
Old Republic International Corporation
Oldcastle Materials, Inc.
Olga Schernekau
Oneida Indian Nation
Oracle Corporation
OSI Group LLC
Oxford Industries
PACCAR Inc
Pacific Gas and Electric Co
Pathmark Stores Inc
Paul L. Newman
Paymentech Merchant Services Inc
Peets Coffee & Tea
Pepsico Foundation
Peter Kraus
Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program
Pfizer Inc
Philip A. Rhodes
Plastipak
Pokemon USA Inc
Pokerstars.com and Its Players
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc
PPG Industries Inc
Presidio
Price Waterhouse Coopers Llp
Princess Cruises / Cunard Line
Princess Tours
Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc.
Procter & Gamble Co Inc
ProLogis Foundation
Provident Financial Management
Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Pulte Home Inc
Putnum Investments Inc
PWH Coopers Charitable Foundation
QLogic Corporation
Quad Graphics Inc
Qualcomm Inc
Quest Diagnostics
QVC Inc
R & P Partnership
Raytheon Company
RBC Capital Markets
Reliant Energy Inc
Reliv International, Inc.
Research Foundation for Health & Environmental Effects
Richard V. Spencer
Risk Management Solutions
Rite Aid Corp
Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Rockwell Automation
Roger Penske
Ronnie G. Ben-Zur
Ross Stores Inc
Russell J. Fuller
S A. Johnson
Safeway Foundation
Sales Force.Com / Foundation
Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Samuel I Newhouse Foundation Inc
Sandra Bullock
SBC Foundation
SBC Foundation Matching Gifts Program
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc
Sealed Air Corporation
Sean Penn
Selby Foundation
Self-Realization Fellowship
Sempra Energy
Shaws Supermarkets, Inc.
SHeDAISY Inc
Shell Oil Company Foundation
Shop-Rite Disaster Relief Fund
Si Bank & Trust Foundation
Siemens Caring Hands Fndn
Siemens Corporation
Siesta Valley Ranch
Sing Tao Newspapers New York LTD
Sixty Four Foundation
Sonnenschein
Sony Corporation of America
Southwest Airlines
Spencer Savings Bank
Sprint Corp
Sprint United Management Company
St Jude Medical Foundation
St Paul Travelers Foundation Community Action Awards
State Farm Insurance Company
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co
State Street
State Street Corp
State Street Foundation
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Steelcase Foundation
Stemmons Foundation
Stop & Shop Family Foundation
Stuart Frankel And Company Inc
SuperValu Foundation
Sybase Inc
Sycamore Networks Charitable Trust
Symbol Technologies Inc
SYSCO Corp
Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc
Target Corporation
Taylor Family Foundation
Tekelec
Tellabs
Teradyne Inc
The Oxford Club
The Peierls Foundation Inc
The Pentair Foundation
The Pepsi Bottling Group Foundation
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The PMI Foundation
The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation
The Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation
The Resnick Family Foundation
The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving
The Security National Bank Of Sioux City
The Starr Foundation
The Sun-Sentinel McCormickTribune Foundation
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Toro Company Employees
The Vanguard Group Foundation
The VF Foundation
The Vranos Family Foundation
The Walter Foundation
The Wireless Foundation
Thompson Family Fund
Tiffany & Co
Tiger Woods Foundation Inc
Time Warner Foundation
Tomkins Corporation Foundation
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc
Toyota Motor North America Inc
Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc
Toyota Tsusho America Inc
Treadwells
Tribune Company
Tudor Investment Corporation
Tuthill Corporation
Tyson
UBS Investment Bank
Unilever United States Foundation Inc
Union Oil Company of California
United States Steel Corportation
United States Trust Company of New York
United Stationers Inc
United Technologies Corp
Unocal Foundation Workplace Giving Program
URS Corporation
Us Bancorp Foundation
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc
Verizon Foundation
Vernon H. Wright
Viacom Inc
Vinik
Virginia Fulton Charitable Gift Fund Of The Fidelity
Vivendi Universal Music Group
W L Gore & Associates Inc
W.R. Grace Foundation, Inc.
Wachovia Corp
Wachovia Foundation
Wacoal America Inc
Wal-Mart Stores Inc
Walt Disney Co
Washington Mutual Bank
Waters Corporation
Wayne Wilde Family Fund
Weight Watchers International, Inc.
WellChoice
Wellington Management Company LLP
Wells Fargo Bank
Wells Fargo Foundation
Western Gas Resources, Inc
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation
White & Case Llp
Whole Foods Market
Wilbur-Ellis
Wild Oats Markets, Inc
Wiliam Schreyer
William B Dietrich Foundation
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale And Dorr LLP
Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati
WorldReach, Inc
Wyeth Consumer Healthcare
Yahoo
Yahoo Employee Giving Program
Yahoo Inc
Yum Brands Foundation Inc
Zimmer

First of all, a correction: KPFK didn't say "Don't donate to the Red Cross." One host did. KPFK's hosts have a remarkable degree of free speech in their broadcasts, and because of that and habituation to corporate-dictated lines of most other media, comments by a show host are often, but wrongly, attributed to the station.

I would be surprised if many in any political sector are blaming the delays in entering NO on anyone but FEMA (although I suspect some of us would have been pleased if the Red Cross had pushed through the lines). But there is cause for caution when the Bush administration touts a few handpicked charities and the Red Cross tops the list.

But even if you're not so cautious, the last figure I heard was that 82% of private relief money is going to the Red Cross. I wholeheartedly agree that, if you're in a position to do so and your concerns about the disaster on the Gulf Coast are broadbased, donating to multiple causes is the way to go.

But be aware that the Red Cross's efforts are limited. The Red Cross provides immediate relief: cots, food, water, first aid, critical medical attention and medicine. They aren't set up for long-term aid. They don't assist with rescue. They aren't in the business of rebuilding. In natural disasters, they have a track record in emergencies that require short-term assistance and timely return to pre-disaster conditions. That's not the Gulf Coast.

The Red Cross is notoriously top-heavy with administrative costs. According to Bill Bischoff in Smartmoney, "In its fiscal year ending on June 30, 2002, the American National Red Cross spent $1.16 billion on employee salaries. Spending on actual disaster relief assistance for individuals was only $608 million. Of that, $479 million was for Sept. 11 assistance. . . . During the preceding fiscal year (the one ending on June 30, 2001), the Red Cross spent $1.04 billion on employee salaries and only $149 million on actual assistance for individuals." (http://www.smartmoney.com/tax/advice/index.cfm?story=charity1111)

Finally, the Red Cross is a top-down organization. It's relief efforts are coordinated through its office in Washington, DC. You've provided a useful list of more grassroots-based organizations, which, in my observation, have a better sense of what's needed than a far-flung international corporation, nonprofit though it be. I'd like to suggest that you and others who are reading this check out the May First list for grassroots/low-income/people of color-led
Hurricane Katrina relief and its list of where to donate to organizations that are:
* Organizing at the grassroots level in New Orleans, Biloxi, Houston and other affected areas
* Providing immediate disaster relief to poor people and people of color
* Directed by, or accountable to, poor people and people of color
* Fostering the democratic inclusion of poor people and people of color in the rebuilding process.

They are at http://katrina.mayfirst.org/ . They have a link to a webpage on reasons to give to local groups instead of just to the Red Cross. I haven't looked at it, but it might have more answers to your concern.

The problem is that people give to the RC expecting the money to be used for the victims, but, there's no guarantee of that. It could go to administration.

The other issue is a larger political one, where the government is trying to outsource everything to corporations and NGOs. The Red Cross could start a trend of externalizing disaster costs. The net effect could be a reduction in disaster preparedness, where people "self-tax" during disasters, but no long-term rebuilding effort is undertaken. People *feel* good, but, things don't get done.

"Hey, I gave to the Red Cross. I don't wanna pay more taxes," could become the mantra of the selfish, if it already isn't.