‘An Intolerable Fraud’

Published: February 8, 2008
An envelope arrived in our office the other day. It had the bulky, tawdry look of junk mail: pink and lavender Easter eggs, a plastic address window and a photo of a young man in fatigue shorts using crutches to stand on his only leg. “Thousands of severely wounded troops are suffering,” it read. “Will you help them this Easter?”

It was a plea for money from the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, one of the worst private charities — but hardly the only — that have been shamefully milking easy cash from the suffering and heartache caused by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The coalition and its sister organization, Help Hospitalized Veterans, were among a dozen military-related charities given a grade of F in a study last December by the American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit watchdog group. These and other charities have collected hundreds of millions of dollars from kind-hearted Americans and squandered an unconscionable amount of it on overhead and expenses — 70 percent or 80 percent, or more. The usual administrative outlay for a reputable charity is about 30 percent. Money that donors surely assumed was going to ease the pain and speed the healing of injured soldiers went instead to junk-mail barrages, inflated executive salaries and other forms of corporate-style bloat.

The ServeNext Presidential Straw Poll is now ready for your vote! Designed celebrate the season of service, create some friendly competition between campaigns, and address the unprecedented critical food shortage faced by residents in need this winter, the contest will benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank and its local agencies across the state.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!

As a co-drafter of the Request By Voters letter to Congress ( wethepatriots.org ), I have been working with Nancy Tobi to find workable reform solutions that support citizen oversight of our elections and election integrity. Nancy has been an influential and leading national activist, who understands the importance of the partnership between citizens and election officials in creating meaningful election reform. Your contribution to this fundraising appeal will allow Ms. Tobi to meet with top state and local election officials from across the nation and promote our efforts in working with them to ensure election integrity for our nation. Ms. Tobi has a proven record of success in her home state of New Hampshire in drafting and getting passed positive election legislation. We need this now for the nation, and your contribution will help bring us closer to that goal. -Bev Harris, Black Box Voting

Thank you very much for purchasing tickets to the DFNH fundraising event with Arnie Arneson at the Barley House. You're helping to grow the grassroots in New Hampshire and take back our state.

Your transaction has been completed, and a receipt for your contribution has been emailed to you. You may log into your account at www.paypal.com to view details of this transaction.

You may pick up your tickets at the door on the evening of the event. If you have any questions or concerns, please email program@democracyfornewhampshire.com
Thanks again!

Elizabeth Sanders, Treasurer

The National Institute on Money in State Politics announced today a new effort to allow anyone with a computer and Web page or blog to add data from its comprehensive database of state-level campaign-contributions to their site. These simple programming building blocks, called Application Program Interfaces (APIs), can be found at www.followthemoney.org/services.

"In the political world, transparency is said to be the best disinfectant against unethical behavior and corruption," said Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics. "With the development of these new transparency tools, we hope to empower citizens with the best information possible with which to measure the actions of both candidates seeking public office and elected officials shaping public policy.

To date, the InstituteUs outreach efforts focused on making all its data available to the public for free at www.followthemoney.org. But Bender said that the new APIs and widgets enable people following state elections or specific issues to showcase the information that is most important to them on their own web site, and combine it with their own information. RThis means that if someone is blogging on health-care issues, for example, they'll be able to add an API that draws down updated contribution data to highlight the points they're making.

August 27, 2006, An important message from Bob Bruce:

This past weeks filing with the secretary of state shows that we are on Ray’s tail. I need your help to out raise him for the filing that is due on September 6th.

read about campaign expenditures on the NH Secretary of State's website

With your help so far, we have raised over $ 20,000 dollars. It’s time that we show him that we mean business, that we are tired of politics as usual and we want to send a neighbor; not a career politician to the executive council.

The financial support of average citizens, such as you, is of the utmost importance.

Even though you may not live in District 4, the Executive council makes decisions that directly affect you and your family.

more below the fold

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By Ry Amidon

Alexander Lee is running for Register of Probate in Merrimack County, where reputedly there has never been a Democrat elected to county-wide office. Few people pay attention to this office, but Lee hopes to change that. His opponent has run unopposed the last several elections. Now, the race is on despite Lee agreeing to a serious handicap.

Alexander Lee is only taking $5 contributions from individuals, because he hopes to call attention to public funding of elections...and he has a sense of humor about what he is doing. Using a gimmick similar to Howard Dean's "bat," Lee has an image of a rising loaf for what he calls his "Raising the Dough" campaign.

more below the fold
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Monday, June 19, 2006 - Bob Bruce for Executive Council - District 4 - Contact: Greg Vine - (603) 899-5477 - www.bobbruce.org

CANDIA – The only officially announced candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination will be joining Bob Bruce, candidate for Executive Councilor from District 4, at a campaign fundraiser in Manchester this Wednesday, June 21st.

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska is making a foray into the Granite State to build support for his own campaign, while lending support to New Hampshire Democratic candidates.

more below the fold
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Watch former U.S. senator and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards speak at the recent DFNH fundraiser in Portsmouth. Laurie McCray introduces Sen. Edwards. (Requires QuickTime Player.)

Broadband version    Dialup version

Democracy for New Hampshire Grassroots Community Reception With Special Guest Senator John Edwards

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 7-9pm

Featuring Live Music by the Jeannie Daniels Band

Many of you may have gotten this e-mail from Moveon, but in case you didn't,this morning Barack Obama sent out a request this morning to give money to Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia). Byrd will be running for re-election in 2006, and has been painted as a target by the GOP.

Although he's gone against the Progressive grain on some issues, Byrd has been a tireless advocate against the War in Iraq and the Republicans' attempts to ram judges through the Senate by destroying the process of filibustering.

However, Senator Byrd needs to act quickly, the FEC requires him to report his funds on March 31st, and the amount of money he reports will be viewed as a preliminary barometer of his chances of reelection.

Let's raise those chances. You can help out Senator Byrd by going to
https://www.moveonpac.org/give/byrd.html?id=5282-2972781-t7Upj..XTimeeS18mDlnvA.

As Chairman Dean has taught us, any amount will help, whether it be 100 dollars or 10 cents. However, when you do donate, please make sure Senator Byrd knows his donations are coming from Progressives online and add a penny to whatever you donate, just as in the Dean campaign.

I recently did something I've never done before: I sent a contribution
to the Democratic National Committee. I hope to convince you to do the
same.

Though I've contributed time and money to progressive political
candidates at every level, from Howard Dean's presidential campaign to
candidates for county office, I've never been comfortable sending
money directly to the DNC. For one thing, I didn't want to see my
money going to support candidates who don't represent the change this
country desperately needs. For another, I haven't trusted the DNC to
spend wisely, to invest in the kind of grassroots activism that must
be the Democratic Party's future, if it is to have a future. The DNC
never seemed to get it.

With the election of Gov. Dean as DNC chairman, much has changed.
Democratic muckamucks across the country are busy learning to say
"grassroots" with a straight face. Gov. Dean has promised to infuse money and talent into the party's operations in every state. He
clearly grasps the essential reforms the party must adopt if it is to
regain its relevance in our lifetime. These include nurturing the
grassroots in every state, taking advantage of 21st century technology
to organize and raise funds, and building a "farm team" of down-ballot
elected officials, some of whom will be the party's stars a generation
from now.

Read more...

Thanks to everyone who's been donating money to DFNH to honor the wedding of two of our members, Rachel Israel and Jim Giangrande. If you'd like to do the same, click on the Contribute button over there on the right, and write a note to Rachel and Jim in the Optional Note box on the PayPal form. We'll make sure they receive all of your notes.

Everyone at DFNH sends their best wishes to Rachel and Jim. Congratulations!