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A Salute to the Men and Women of the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has mobilized workers, served meals and provided shelter to thousands since Hurricane Sandy.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the American Red Cross headquarters for the Maryland/Delaware Region for a tour and to thank the many volunteers.

It was a real honor to meet with many of the 200 disaster assistance workers—many of whom have traveled here from other parts of our nation—to help those in our region whose lives have been uprooted by Hurricane Sandy.

Since Hurricane Sandy, the American Red Cross of the Chesapeake Region has mobilized more than 2,300 disaster workers who have served more than 100,800 meals and snacks. On Tuesday night, more than 9,000 people spent the night in 171 Red Cross shelters, including 400 who spent the night in Maryland shelters. Many of these Marylanders would’ve had nowhere to go without the help of the Red Cross.   

Our region and our nation owe so much to the American Red Cross because they provide often critical assistance to Americans in times of real catastrophe or crises. When disaster strikes, the American Red Cross is there to provide essential needs like emergency shelter, food, clothing and counseling.   

Red Cross volunteers embody what is best of America. They make us very proud, and I want to thank each and every one of them for all they have done for our state and our nation.

Tim November 13, 2012 at 06:33 pm
Hey, look, I agree with Joe again. Wow.
Some other things that should be noted: 1) Both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army get 'A' ratings by Charitywatch.com's latest assessments. 2) Per Forbes.com --> http://www.forbes.com/top-charities/list/ The Red Cross has an efficiency rate of 87%, The Salvation Army has an efficiency rate of 88% However, the Red Cross has a Charitable commitment rate of 92%, whereas the Salvation Army's is a bit lower - 82%. What this means is, despite Amy's concerns/disgust about the well paid CEO at RC, a considerably higher % of that 13 cents per dollar went directly into expenses then with the Salvation Army. Both organizations are well run, and I donate to both ( a bit more to Red Cross, as in each case I tend to donate mostly to disaster relief situations - seems like there's something almost every year.
Corbin Dallas Multipass November 13, 2012 at 06:48 pm
"Not giving them money is the exact same as them not giving help to people they choose not to."
No it isn't. Salvation Army is a massive institution that can survive some donors defecting funds, and if Calique gives money to another institution that does the same things without Salvation Army's discrimination then there's really no difference. An individual on the street not getting a meal from Salvation Army because they are Muslim/Gay/whatever because of some perceived moral slight to the Christian Religion is going to feel actual pain, unless another more charitable institution steps in (and thanks to Calique that might be the case). Discrimination isn't in and of itself evil, and to assert that is silly.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 07:11 pm
Calique, I am with you on this one. You have the moral high ground. I choose not to donate to the KKK, I am glad I discriminate.
Karl Schuub November 13, 2012 at 07:22 pm
They do not support gay marriage - it's a religious organization so that shouldn't surprise you. Not being in support of gay marriage hardly means they ask hungry people in line if they're gay and if the answer is yes, then yank food out of their hands. That's nonsense.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 07:37 pm
Discrimination is discrimination. All are free to practice it and all do daily.
What is silly is your red herring of "Discrimination isn't in and of itself evil, and to assert that is silly." why the need to make up something? No where did I make the claim of your red herring. THAT is just a silly made up claim.
Corbin Dallas Multipass November 13, 2012 at 07:43 pm
Karl, there are anecdotes of similar stories, see the NYT article below. Additionally, they have advocated for policy that would grant them the right:
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/us/beliefs-salvation-army-hears-dissent-over-gay-views.html?_r=0 "In 2001, The Washington Post obtained a Salvation Army document that said the administration of President George W. Bush had promised to honor a Salvation Army request: that religious charities receiving federal money be exempt from local gay antidiscrimination laws. The day the request became public, the Bush administration said it was being denied." I imagine that how Salvation Army behaves in different parts of the country is going to be different and not at all standardized, but in the above example that was a national exemption.
Karl Schuub November 13, 2012 at 07:55 pm
Anti-discrimination laws means nothing less than support for gay marriage. Again, they might not support gay marriage as an institution, a religious institution but that hardly equates to snatching food from the mouths of homeless gay men. They also expect a prayer before meals in their food kitchens - that's they're right; they believe in salvation through prayer and service. It's almost the only organization that feeds people on a large scale in inner cities across the nation and for well over a century - I hardly think that makes them evil.
Corbin Dallas Multipass November 13, 2012 at 08:02 pm
Simply saying discrimination is discrimination and all are free to practice it isn't acknowledging the morality of the acts. You said to Calique "You are no different than what you say they are." She claimed they were acting immorally (a.k.a. evil). Surprise, if you say there's no difference between two things, you're saying they are the same.
And actually, there are anti discrimination laws when it comes to some federal dollars so it isn't at all accurate. A private institution receiving federal funds has to abide by federal laws, individual private donors are under no such obligation.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 08:03 pm
It is a false equivalency and weak argument to suggest both are the same. An organization that discriminates on the basis of race or sex is not the same as the person who will not support such an organization because of such discrimination. The term discrimination frequently has an adjective in front of it.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 08:11 pm
The school of red herrings has arrived.
"An organization that discriminates on the basis of race or sex is not the same as the person who will not support such an organization because of such discrimination. " It is exactly the same. Each has a choice and each has made their own choice. Everyone of us discriminates in various ways every day. "She claimed they were acting immorally (a.k.a. evil)" That is her discrimination. To not give to a gorup because of the groups beliefs. Definition of DISCRIMINATION 1 a : the act of discriminating b : the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently 2: the quality or power of finely distinguishing 3 a : the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b : prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment <racial discrimination> — dis·crim·i·na·tion·al adjective
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 08:17 pm
From Wikipedia:
False equivalence is a logical fallacy which describes a situation where there is a logical and apparent equivalence, but when in fact there is none.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 08:22 pm
Definition of OPINION
1A : a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 08:25 pm
We disagree, I'll let others judge your opinion.
Tim November 13, 2012 at 08:26 pm
If this isn't a classic example of the internets, I don't know what is :)
Karl Schuub November 13, 2012 at 08:27 pm
Not to mention they provide food, services for the elderly, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, direct services to homeless families, inner city youth camps, heck they even provide a service where they act as intermediaries when families become separated such as in cases where kids run away...and they do all that and more for far less costs than nearly all other organizations and I'm not sure how you can conjure that to be anything other than a good thing.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 08:28 pm
I love you also Tim.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 08:34 pm
Easy, imagine an organization that almost all it does is provide healthcare services for women, but because a very small portion of what it does is provide abortion services Republicans wish to cut off all funding. Where do you stand on Planned Parenthhod?
Steve November 13, 2012 at 08:38 pm
If you look into the backgrounds of a lot of charitable organizations you can see ugly things. Look at the American Legion. They have a Xenophobic stance on immigration even to the point of producing anti immigrant studies.
http://waronracism.blogspot.com/2008/07/american-legion-immigration-report.html
Karl Schuub November 13, 2012 at 08:47 pm
It's hard to make that comparison...one organization sucks fetuses out of women's bodies and the other feeds the hungry...just not sure; it's so close.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 08:47 pm
"Republicans wish to cut off all funding"
No they don't, just the funding from the taxpayers. PP will survive just as Sesame Street would without the taxpayer subsidies.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 08:51 pm
"even to the point of producing anti immigrant studies."
Why lie to make your racist point Steve? the study was about ILLEGAL immigration not legal immigration. Why is it so hard for you to distinguish between LEGAL and ILLEGAL immigration? I will answer, because if you did distinguish between the two your racist self could no longer use the club you JUST used on a great organization full of those who suffered and fought for our country so you could be free to be the rabid racist you are. From your link to that racist bigoted site. "The legion’s 34-page booklet, A Strategy to Address Illegal Immigration in the United States, asserts that “poverty, political instability, disease and war” are “on our back doorstep” because of porous borders and the failure of the government to stringently enforce immigration laws. But in making its case, the legion repeatedly cites dubious sources, ignores well-known facts and makes baseless claims — such as the false assertion that the undocumented infected more than 7,000 people in America with leprosy during a recent three-year period." ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION not legal.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 09:05 pm
Interesting perspective Karl. When one agrees with the organization's purpose versus doesn't agree with the purpose. Maybe a hypocritical point of view?
Karl Schuub November 13, 2012 at 09:10 pm
You appear to be the one who sees a moral equivalency between aborting fetuses and feeding the hungry. Those with an ability to decipher scales of good and evil understand that we make choices, moral choices between one activity or another or vice versa, avoiding one activity or another based upon moral scoring. I don't score sucking fetuses from women's bodies and feeding the hungry as being equivalent.
Joe November 13, 2012 at 09:21 pm
To many Karl, aborting a fetus means absolutely nothing to them. Nothing at all.
FIFA November 13, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Karl, you are clearly anti-abortion, not being a woman I have no idea what a woman contemplates when choosing to abort a fetus. Nor do I wish to interfere. In the case of the Salvation Army, they choose to not support a portion of the poor, but feed many many more hungry. In the case of Planned Parenthood, they prevent many many more pregnancies than they abort, let alone catch many diseases at a treatable stage. Your moral outrage is a woman's right to choose. But relitigating abortion will get us nowhere. It was approved in Maryland by a large majority of voters. Nothing has changed there.
Karl Schuub November 14, 2012 at 01:18 pm
And FIFA - that rant has zip, zero to do with anything in this thread or anything I said. Never said I was against abortion; only that I don't see feeding the poor and aborting fetuses as being equal in terms doing the right thing. If I had ten bucks left in the world and confronted with a starving teen vs. a pregnant teen I'd decide to give the funds to the kid that needs food. You clearly would be torn...and that says something very odd about you.
FIFA November 14, 2012 at 01:28 pm
Karl, perhaps you believe in being a wordsmith. Karl said, "I don't score sucking fetuses from women's bodies and feeding the hungry as being equivalent." IMO it is reasonable to believe you are anti-abortion. Your protestations are noted and ignored.
Gee Karl, I never said "You clearly would be torn...and that says something very odd about you." Those are your words, not mine.
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