We went thru this same crap over how the Red Cross spends donated money just after 9-11. The Red Cross hasn't changed. Did anyone really expect it to?
This is why I would prefer for the Salvation Army to be in charge of notifications for the Military instead of the Red Cross.
If Danny Glover, Harry Belefonte, Barbara Streisand, Michael Moore and Hugo Chavez all lived in modest $80,000 houses and gave the rest of their money away to others I would then respect them.
I wouldn't agree with them but I would respect them.
Since they don't I call them ludicrous holier than thou hypocrites
Sorry, wrong thread!
Why didn't the celebrities VOLUNTEER their services?
No money ever to the Red Cross from us and...no movie star, personality or whatever else they like to call themselves would EVER be a deciding factor for us in anything we wanted to do. We make our own decisions and are not led by the nose by these so called celebrities.
The Red Cross is like United Way. Both organizations have tremendously high overhead costs, have had corrupt leadership in the past and spend a ton on self-promotion.
and here I was thinking they (the stars) were promoting the ARC out of the goodness of their hearts. Damn, another spell broken.
And how do the publicists get the celebrities to appear? Cash payments, or some other form of assorted expensive goodies....jewlery, first class tickets, private jet trips, etc.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105381,00.html
Lockyer, the California attorney general, in a Los Angeles Times interview published Tuesday called for laws that would regulate celebrity appearance fees and require disclosure of appearance payments.
Tonken's lawyer agreed with Lockyer to an extent.
"I think [Tonken] is emblematic or symbolic of a system of fund-raising, both charitable and political, that's broken," attorney Alan Rubin said. "I mean, there are things obviously going [on]. The fund-raising system is broken. The political fund-raising system is broken."
Sources said Tonken was cooperating with authorities.
Investigators could expose many well known celebrities with embarrassing revelations and the possibility some had broken laws.
Financial records obtained by the Times showed that some stars may have received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, watches, free trips and cash for appearances at charity events.
One promoter told Fox News that the stars' gifts came out of money that should have been going to charity.
Among those who allegedly benefited was "Friends" star David Schwimmer (search), who supposedly got two Rolex watches worth more than $26,000 for appearing at a cancer-charity event. His spokesman was reportedly not commenting.
Camryn Manheim (search) of television's "The Practice" reportedly was rewarded with a $24,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and an around-the-world trip for her brother for serving as mistress of ceremonies for another fund-raiser. A friend of Manheim's told the Los Angeles Times that the actress thought the sponsors were giving her gifts for her appearance.
Suzanne Somers (search) and her husband reportedly received a business-class trip to London worth $20,000 after appearing at a cancer benefit.
The documents also showed that comedian Bill Cosby (search) agreed to be honored by a charity earlier this year for a $75,000 fee plus $10,000 in expenses. The event never happened and he was not paid.
Cosby's lawyer told Fox News that the comedian always asks for an "appearance fee" before attending a charity event, and then returns the money to the charity. His lawyers refused to turn over the names of charities Cosby had refunded.
Singer and actress Cher (search) allegedly will only fly to some events on a private jet. Tonken reportedly agreed to foot her roughly $60,000 airplane fee and also allegedly sent her and a friend to Europe. Her lawyers had not commented on the allegation.
Rod Stewart's manager received from Tonken $70,000 in travel expenses, including an upgrade on a $30,000 cruise, after the manager threatened to pull Stewart from a benefit at the singer's estate, the papers indicated. Stewart's manager would not comment.
Prosecutors would not name any celebrities involved, but stated that the investigation was ongoing.
Somebody should start a charities that suck list...
For starters, I nominate the Red Cross and United Way.
I cringe at the thought, that from now on whenever there is a big disaster, you are going to see a show with rich celebrities, asking people with little money to donate.
It's one of the bad legacies from 9/11. And it continued with the Tsunami and Katrina. All chances for rich celebrities to say, "I care more than you do."
I hate them all.
Between the Red Cross and the United Way this sh*t never seems to end.
Between this Red Cross reminder and the "Catholic Charities" thread, EVERYBODY shouls use this tax season to review the politics of the "charities" they support.
We have a responsibility to know where our money is going and the work it is supporting!
SALVATION ARMY gets a donation today.