Some really bad charities

widows-mite-roman-coins_900pxThe Tampa Bay Times, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and CNN worked together to find the country’s 50 Worst Charities.

You’ll notice that the worst offenders often include the words “children,” “cancer,” or “police” in their titles. Among other things, the study found:

- The 50 worst charities in America devote less than 4% of donations raised to direct cash aid. Some charities gave even less. Over a decade, one diabetes charity raised nearly $14 million and gave about $10,000 to patients. Six spent no cash at all on their cause.

– Even as they plead for financial support, operators at many of the 50 worst charities have lied to donors about where their money goes, taken multiple salaries, secretly paid themselves consulting fees or arranged fund-raising contracts with friends. One cancer charity paid a company owned by the president’s son nearly $18 million over eight years to solicit funds. A medical charity paid its biggest research grant to its president’s own for-profit company.

You can read more here. And if you’re looking to see if a charity of  your choice is effective, Charity Navigator is a really good resource.

A postcard from the decade of nightmares that was the 1970s

This unaired Gerald Ford campaign commercial from 1976 should serve as an antidote to any lingering Seventies nostalgia out there. It’s just sort of pro forma until about the 2:40 mark, when it gets completely berserk.

(h/t to Mike for the link)

Hacker in Steubenville case may face more jail time than Steubenville rapists.

imagesA 26-year old Kentucky hacktivist may be facing more jail time than was meted out by the courts of the two convicted Steubenville rapists. From Truthdig:

[Deric] Lostutter helped expose the cover-up of the infamous Steubenville rape incident, in which a 16-year-old was sexually assaulted by two star high school football players in the small Ohio town. For that, he deserves to be thanked. Instead, the government wants to send him to prison for 10 years—roughly five times longer than the sentences handed down to the two teens convicted of raping the girl.

As Truthdig says, evidently rape is now a lesser crime than computer hacking.

Here’s more, from Mother Jones, which broke the story.

And here, with the contrarian view, is Slate:

It does in fact seem likely that the government is building a case against Lostutter. It’s not clear at all, though, that Lostutter—who hasn’t yet been indicted and hasn’t yet been charged with a crime—will ever actually face 10 years in prison. In the search warrant for the raid on Lostutter’s house, the feds were given permission to seize, among other things, “All records relating to violations of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C) (Computer Crime).” That’s the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA, which has recently been applied against high-profile defendants like Aaron Swartz, Matthew Keys, and Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer. The CFAA is a controversial and outdated computer crime statute that enables prosecutors to threaten defendants with long prison sentences, in hopes that those defendants will choose to accept a plea bargain.

 

The world must stand together

In Pres. Obama’s own words…

To learn more, go here.

Welcome to CT, Gov. Perry. And merry Christmas.

This is what Texas Gov. Rick Perry is pitching on his anticipated visit to New York and Connecticut.

Wonder if Gov. Perry will mention his “Merry Christmas Bill” while he’s here. The Texas Republican, as Politico says, just signed a bill that makes wishing someone Merry Christmas even more legal than it has been.

And thanks, DickG., for the link.

Eat it, haters.

is a fabulous reaction to

A happy ending for Joe the Barber

JoetheBarberJoe the Barber — whose real name is Anthony Cymerys — has been cutting the hair of people who are homeless in Hartford for a quarter century. He charges nothing. The men (and the occasional women) stand in line in historic Bushnell Park, Joe sets up a chair, attaches clippers to a car battery he carries around, fishes into a huge gym bag for combs, razors, and the like, and then he cuts everything from fades to mullets.

You can’t imagine the difference he makes for these people. Or maybe you can.

It may seem like a small thing, but the people who are homeless love Joe. He helps them feel more human. If you met Joe, you could only describe him as this twinkly-eyed man who is lit from within. Because of Joe, I know of at least one man who is off the streets. I’m sure there are more. That’s the big deal about people like Joe: They create portals through which people who are homeless can possibly pass through to stable housing. His importance cannot be overstated.

As Joe cuts hair, a community group hands out food nearby. Then, last night…well, let’s let an eyewitness tell you what happened, via an email she sent to me:

Last night as we were setting up in the park, two people from the Health Department and two police officers, plus one other man (not sure what his role was) told us we could not distribute food or give haircuts. They asked questions about where the food came from, what Joe’s cleaning procedures were, and gave us paperwork saying that we needed permits in order to continue. They also strongly suggested that we find another place to set up operation.  In reviewing the paperwork today, it does not really seem relevant to what we are doing. It is for a vendor’s permit, and would be for only 1-5 days. We are not selling anything, and are there for an hour each week.

Joe’s story appears frequently in national media. It comes and goes. Not that loing ago, he got a commendation from Mayor Pedro Segarra for his work with the homeless population. No one mentioned permits or procedures then.Why now?

And what happened to the dozens of hungry people last night who had to leave the park without the food they were expecting?

Fortunately, the mayor looked into it, and Joe’s going to be allowed to continue. Nice job, Mayor Segarra.

What’s in a name? Oh, right: racism

Members of Congress, including Republicans and Democrats, have sent a letter to Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins football team, asking if perhaps it’s time to change the racist name of his franchise. People in our nation’s capital agree on few things as they agree on their football team, and so this is not likely to go anywhere, but Roger Goodell, the puff pastry fungus in charge of the NFL, is sensitive enough to bad press that he took the surprising step of responding to the members of Congress in a letter of his own.

The racist name, Goodell said, is “a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect,” rather than a shameful reminder of the dehumanizing rhetoric that abetted the genocide of native peoples in North America.

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What does ‘home’ mean to you?

I made this video, “What is Home?” It debuted here. I hope you like it.

The month of the gun

ddphg30Heidi Yewman — author, gun policy activist, Brady Campaign board member — is carrying around a gun for a month. Here’s how it’s going so far.

So at last night’s Reaching Home Dinner…

photo…it looked like a big crowd at Partnership for Strong Communities‘ annual bash to recognize people who’ve made a difference in supportive housing in Connecticut.

I emceed, so I had a unique perspective on the proceedings. As soon as I can load the video I made for the night, I will share it here, but more importantly, the night was five awards to service providers and clients who’ve made a difference.

All the speeches were inspiring. The tribute to Carol Walter was — as always — tough to listen to, but beautiful. Housing advocates who’ve spent decades working in the fields talked about the need to finish this, fer cryin’ out loud. Two men who’d battled back from lives I hope you only have nightmares about talked about what supportive housing has meant to them (everything).

But then there was this one.

Dave Martineau has been working with people who are homeless forever. Last night, he received the Rev. Richard Schuster Supportive Housing Advocacy Award, named after a beloved advocate whom Dave knew and loved.

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Update the Equal Pay Act

gender-earnings-gap-2012Pres. John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and it needs an update. That would be the Paycheck Fairness Act, which has been introduced and rejected twice by Congress.

The Equal Pay Act was legendary in its breadth, but:

The statute currently only provides for up to three years of back pay and double that amount if the plaintiff can prove a willful violation – hardly a deterrent to employers. In fact, given the persistent nature of the wage gap, these deterrents are weak indeed. Without the ability to seek the compensatory and punitive damages added to the Equal Pay Act via this legislation, an employer may continue to treat its labor violations as merely a cost of doing business.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would:

  • Close a loophole in affirmative defenses for employers.
  • Fix the “establishment” requirement.
  • Prohibit employer retaliation.
  • Improve equal pay remedies.
  • Increase training, research and education.
  • Establish salary negotiation skills-training.
  • Improve collection of pay information.

You can send a note here. And thanks, Cynical, for the link.

Can we please not chew Robert Griffin III up and spit him out?

tebow316robert-griffin-iiiThis says the former Baylor University stand-out, current Washington Redskins quarterback (and professing Christian) (and Heisman winner) may go the way of the former New York Jets, current New England Patriots’ quarterback (and professing Christian) (and Heisman winner) Tim Tebow.

If you’ll remember, much has been made of Tebow’s Christian faith, his frequent public prayers, and his virginity. Can we just let Griffin play ball? Please?

Home: Sometimes, all we have to do is ask

DanTeresa Younger, the executive director of the state’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, told me that recently, and it’s true.

About two months ago, I had an idea to do a video for Partnership for Strong Communities‘ annual Reaching Home Dinner fundraiser, which is tonight. The Partnership, where I work, is dedicated to ending homelessness, creating affordable housing, and building vibrant communities. How to illustrate what Partnership does without getting all wonky?

I am all about simple messages, so I bought a little white board and figured I’d ask people “What does ‘home’ mean to you?” They’re write their answer, I’d snap a photo and then string the pictures together for a video.

I wanted a good cross-section of Connecticut residents, and I thought it would be cool to include Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, though I factored in that he might have other things on his plate besides posing for a goofy photo.

But this is the Housing Governor. He talks about things like affordable housing as if he means it. He’s dedicated a substantial amount of money in the budget to fixing our broken housing systems. I made contact and hoped for the best. Sometimes, as Teresa says, you just need to ask.

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Pope Francis vs. the world!

Call him Pope Brain Kleenex, because he keeps BLOWING YOUR MIND.

Call him Pope Brain Kleenex, because he keeps BLOWING YOUR MIND.

Last week, in an impromptu chat with a delegation from Latin America, Pope Francis once again displayed his now-familiar habit of blowing everyone’s mind by saying things you never expected the pope to say. First reported in a Latin American publication sympathetic to liberation theology and first translated into English by the well-sourced traditionalists at Rorate Caeli, most of the attention so far seems to be on his offhand remark about the existence of a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican.

But as Rocco Palmo points out, that amounts to a throwaway phrase in a lengthy chat that has a lot more for Vatican watchers to digest.

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Who’s hungry in your county?

imagesFeeding America has a Map the Meal Gap interactive map, right here.

(Connecticut has slightly below the national average of food insecurity — the official name for “hunger” — and our average meals are 25 cents higher than the national average. How about your neighborhood?)

And thanks, DickG., for the link.