One thing that hasn’t been mentioned about the whole Trump skipping the debate nonsense, which has basically dominated our news cycle for the last 48 hours because it is so much easier to pay someone a few bucks to sit and wank on tv than it is to actually go out and report things, is the choice of which veterans charity Trump is using in his little dick measuring contest with Roger Ailes- the Wounded Warrior project.
When we last talked about these shitbirds, this is what they were up to:
The founder of a small Pennsylvania charity helping wounded warriors in that state says the group has spent more than $72,000 defending a lawsuit from the Wounded Warrior Project over their similar logos.
“We’re out of pocket a lot of money and I am sure they are out of pocket a lot of money,” said Paul Spurgin, the director of Keystone Wounded Warriors and a Marine who served two combat tours in Vietnam.
As you can see, they both are black and white and have soldiers assisting other soldiers. The reason this is such a priority for the Wounded Warriors Project is because, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, they aren’t a charity, they’re an elaborate grift. And when you are a grift, you gotta protect that brand.
Today, the NY Times released a scathing and very illuminating piece of investigative journalism on this scam:
In 2014, after 10 years of rapid growth, the Wounded Warrior Project flew its roughly 500 employees to Colorado Springs for an “all hands” meeting at the five-star Broadmoor hotel.
They were celebrating their biggest year yet: $225 million raised and a work force that had nearly doubled. On the opening night, before three days of strategy sessions and team-building field trips, the staff gathered in the hotel courtyard. Suddenly, a spotlight focused on a 10-story bell tower where the chief executive, Steven Nardizzi, stepped off the edge and rappelled toward the cheering crowd.
That evening is emblematic of the polished and well-financed image cultivated by the Wounded Warrior Project, the country’s largest and fastest-growing veterans charity.
Since its inception in 2003 as a basement operation handing out backpacks to wounded veterans, the charity has evolved into a fund-raising giant, taking in more than $372 million in 2015 — largely through small donations from people over 65.
***The Wounded Warrior Project cuts a different profile. Under Mr. Nardizzi’s direction, it has modeled itself on for-profit corporations, with a focus on data, scalable products, quarterly numbers and branding.
In an interview at the organization’s four-story headquarters in a palm-lined office park in Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Nardizzi, 45, said spending on fund-raising and other expenses not directly related to veterans programs has enabled the Wounded Warrior Project to grow faster and serve more people. It estimates that 80,000 veterans have used its services.
“I look at companies like Starbucks — that’s the model,” Mr. Nardizzi said. “You’re looking at companies that are getting it right, treating their employees right, delivering great services and great products, then are growing the brand to support all of that.”
Read the whole thing, and here is another piece for good measure:
But granted anonymity, the vet gave voice to what is at the very least a perception problem for the WWP: “They’re more worried about putting their label on everything than getting down to brass tacks. It’s really frustrating.”
The same veteran spoke of waking up in the hospital after an IED hit his supply truck—WWP, he said, had given him only trivial merchandise: a backpack, a shaving kit and socks.
“Everything they do is a dog-and-pony show, and I haven’t talked to one of my fellow veterans that were injured… actually getting any help from the Wounded Warrior Project. I’m not just talking about financial assistance; I’m talking about help, period,” he said.
Some gripe in interviews with the Beast about how the charity has become more of a self-perpetuating fundraising machine than a service organization. WWP certainly is successful at fundraising: It had revenues of more than $300 million, according to its most recent audited report, up from approximately $200 million the year before.
“In the beginning, with Wounded Warrior, it started as a small organization and evolved into a beast,” said Sam, an active-duty Army soldier who works with Special Forces. It’s “become so large and such a massive money-maker,” he says, that he worries the organization cares about nothing more than raising money and “keeping up an appearance” for the public with superficial displays like wounded warrior parking spots at the Walmart.
Fortunately, the word is out, and vets are savvy to it, and hopefully more of the public will become aware. Here is my former CEO, who is basically my political photo negative and vice versa. Politically, we agree on nothing other than that we both think the only reason John Brennan still has a job is he has naked pictures of everyone in Washington:
They are SHIT. One of THE biggest wasters of donations. Their CEO (Nardizzi) is a horse’s ass who pulls down over 300k/yr in salary. Two other execs are in the six figure range as well. They just built a lavish new HQs and actually PAY those celebrities for the commercials. WWP spends less than 10% of the funds they raise on vets themselves…
Friends don’t let friends and family donate to the Wounded Warrior Project.
TaMara (BHF)
Because of the discussions here, I eliminated them, along with any cancer charity, from my list of donations. I now support local groups I know are actually helping people and animals.
These guys need to go down and not get another cent. But of course these investigations are just another liberal conspiracy meant to harm our Veterans. So nothing will happen, except FOX will be outraged at the attack.
Benw
Trump’s an enormous nozzle of douche.
geg6
CBS has also done some great work on this, with two long segments of their evening newscast devoted to an investigation. I’ve long been giving this bunch the side eye.
Pogonip
Thank you, Cole. I did not know the WWP was a scam.
Is Thurston still barking?
chopper
these guys need to merge with the Komen foundation. now that would be a grifting machine.
Adam L Silverman
It’s not just the grift or appearance of it with Wounded Warrior. It’s the fact that they shouldn’t exist. All of the care that veterans need is supposed to be paid for by the tax payers through our taxes. This is one of the reasons that we are supposed to have taxes (also schools, roads and other infrastructure, social insurance, etc). But since we’ve decided that we won’t actually have taxes because we shouldn’t actually have revenue because we shouldn’t have public goods because we don’t believe in providing for the general welfare (which was a Confederate constitutional concept that purposefully left providing for the general welfare out of the Confederare constitution) we don’t have the money to do what we’re morally and contractually obligated to do: actually take care of veterans that assistance. That something like wounded warrior even needs to exists just shows how debased we are as a society and how diseased our body politic is.
Howard Beale IV
Figures-Trump knows a good grift when he sees one, and I’m sure he’ll manage to snatch that money back somehow.
a different chris
“…brought to you by Wounded Warrior Project.”
“Why do you keep saying that??”
“Cause they pay me every time I do! You’re so smart, how come you don’t know that?!”
hueyplong
Did John Cole watch the West Virginia coal mining wars doc last night? I loved it (bias disclosure: I was born in Bluefield)
Felonius Monk
Sounds like WWP is just a branch of the Republican party.
MattF
Reminds me of the United Way scandals several years ago. The CEO pay scale is the giveaway for me– if you are a ‘charity’ with a CEO who feels embarrassed by his (or her) low pay, then you aren’t a charity.
Origuy
My friend Erik just posted this on Facebook:
This election is between those who think Hillary Clinton is Cersei Lannister and those who think she’s Daenerys Targarian. We can all agree on one thing, though: Ted Cruz’s Joffrey.
schrodinger's cat
@Origuy: How many folks get HBO? All that went completely over my head.
MattF
@Origuy: Speaking of the Cruzer, here’s Charles Pierce at a Cruz ‘rally’ in Iowa.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
This is why, if I feel a sudden urge to Support Our Troops, I donate to Fisher House. They’re dedicated to supporting the families of wounded or seriously ill vets, which is not a government responsibility. They’re similar to what the Ronald McDonald Houses do for the families of sick children who need treatment at out of town hospitals.
Bitter Scribe
I don’t think execs who head charities should take vows of poverty, but they should keep a sense of proportion. I used to give to Feeding America, but I switched to a local food pantry after finding out that FA pays its chief exec $400K+ per year.
TaMara (BHF)
@geg6: Unfortunately they have also done two terrible segments, one on the PPH video indictments – where they ran video of the undercover videos of animal abuse as b-roll while they discussed it and said these indictments were going to be the undoing of these types of investigations.
And the second where they interviewed Clive Bundy and let him spout on how funny-named guy had his hands up and was on the ground when he was shot (which he then mimed). This was after the eyewitness videos were out and they offered no counter to Clive’s narrative.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: it’s the only one I ever recommend
RSA
@Adam L Silverman:
Amen to that. What kind of moral country expects to support veterans based on charity?
That said, the WWP CEO’s salary isn’t out of line for large charities (PDF) where the median is around $250K.
oklahomo
@Origuy: Does that make Trump Craster?
schrodinger's cat
Meanwhile in India, Modi sarkar (gubmint) is branding everyone who doesn’t agree with them, anti-national. It is as if all these rightwingers have the same playbook.
low-tech cyclist
Reminds me of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which sued anyone else raising funds to fight cancer using the phrase ‘for the cure’. Coulda been Alfred E. Neuman for the Cure, and they’d have sued for trademark infringement or whatever the hell it is. Their ‘brand’ was more important than the alleged cause.
Just like with these guys, apparently.
On edit: looks like chopper was faster than I was.
Brachiator
@Howard Beale IV:
To the contrary. It appears that Trump, and a lot of other people, may have been fooled here, if this organization is as dodgy as it appears to be.
JustRuss
@Origuy: And Trump is Walder Frey.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
There have been rumblings about WWP being dodgy for at least 5 years now, if not longer.
Miesekatze
@geg6: Yep. I don’t have much use for the newtork evening news, but CBS did a good job on this one.
trollhattan
@Origuy:
Heh, Cruz is Joffrey, but dreams of becoming Theon.
Pogonip
@Adam L Silverman: Hear! Hear!
Who do TPTB think is going to fight to defend a society like this?
Adam L Silverman
@schrodinger’s cat: they do. The little known dirty secret of political advisors and strategists, or their protégés, in the US is that when they’re not working on campaigns here, or employed in administrations or legislative offices regardless of the level of government, they do the same work in a number of other countries. It is especially prevalent on the conservative side given the grift nature of that sub culture: “always be selling”. It’s why the campaigns in a number of countries, especially the conservative campaigns, all look alike and use very similar methods and political messaging and language.
Belafon
My CERT group sets up a station for the Wounded Warrior project when they do their walk in November through my town. I don’t participate, and I’m not sure how to tell the group about this information. I’m currently the one liberal in the group, and they know it.
Adam L Silverman
@low-tech cyclist: read Ehrenreich’s book Brightsided If you want a really good run down on that grift, as well as the happiness field of psychology. The latter is run by the same psychologist from UPenn who is grifting both the Army and NFL with his bogus tbi and ptsd treatments. The Army considers the Soldiers he’s treating as patients. He, based on he publications, considers them research subjects. This is a huge professional and ethical conflict of interest.
MaryRC
Because god forbid that donations for wounded warriors should go to another charity for wounded warriors, who might actually spend the money on help for wounded warriors.
Aleta
Of the groups that train dogs to assist veterans, any recommendations?
gvg
Did anyone see this TPM analysis of Trump and what he is doing to the Republicans?
If it is right, Hillary would need some smart ass comebacks to Trump. He has been making allusions to Hillary and Bill’s infidelities where she is to blame for not satisfying her husband and to me that merits some replies like “you are a sexist pig with multiple infidelities yourself so take a flying leap off a cliff jerk” If she says it to his face it comes off differently than just a measured campaign response that he can brush off.
When I heard he was saying that I was so steamed and I think most women would be too.
Peale
@schrodinger’s cat: I thought the whole point of that movement was to reject the national and reassert the tribal.
Adam L Silverman
@Pogonip: the same people that always do: the idealists who believe in what they’re doing; the true believers, and those without any other options.
SarahT
@Adam L Silverman:
@John Cole:
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on Team Rubicon ? Know their mission isn’t at all comparable to that of Fisher House or the (purported) mission of WW, but I saw them do great work here in NYC during the aftermath of Sandy and I’ve been interested in finding out more. They’re not on Charity Navigator, which makes me a bit skeptical – do you know if they’re on the up-and-up financially ? Thanks much.
schrodinger's cat
@Adam L Silverman: I doubt that Sanghis needs lessons from GOPers on being nasty and vile scum. They have been at it since their inception in the 1920s.
The only difference is that until the complete disaster of Congress under Rajiv Gandhi and the inability of other leftist parties to come up with a credible alternative to the Congress gave BJP (the political wing of the RSS) the opening it needed. They need to be sent back to the political fringes where they belonged pre 1990s.
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: let me ask around and see what I come up with. If I find something decent, I’ll put it up as a post.
Timurid
@schrodinger’s cat:
Dominionist dickheads are still Dominionist dickheads, no matter what God or Gods they use to justify their dickishness…
schrodinger's cat
@Peale: They want redefine nationalist == one who follows their stupid brain dead agenda.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodinger’s cat: I’m sure that’s the case and I have no idea who is working where, though I do know that the US campaign consulting and advising crowd does also work in Israel, Britain, and Canada. If expect Australia too.
Origuy
@schrodinger’s cat: Apparently several here. I’m most of the way through the first book and have only seen the first two episodes on DVD. I get HBO but never have time to watch it there.
I thought of Trump as Walder Frey, too; I don’t think I’ve encountered Caster yet. Someone suggested that Bernie is Tyrion. Kind of unfair, I think his supporters see him as Jon Snow.
Peale
@MaryRC: On the other hand, the Keystone Wounded Warriors might be the fake one. In that situation wouldn’t it be prudent to sue? Just because there’s a lawsuit over branding doesn’t mean that the plaintiff is the baddy.
Timurid
But yeah, the Sangh Parivar is cancer, and their rise to power in India is the really scary world news story that nobody is talking about…
Mike in NC
Back around 2004-2006, while still a drilling reservist, I began getting mail from various groups similar to WWP, asking for money “to provide {fill in the blank} for the troops”. Here I thought the job of the DOD was to make sure the troops had what they needed to do their jobs. So I did a little digging and discovered that some of the people running these organizations had ties to senior members in the Bush administration, including Dubya and Cheney. So yeah, many con artists are out there.
catclub
@RSA:
The real killer for me in not the CEO salary, it is the: only 10% of their budget actually goes to doing their stated job – helping Veterans.
If the CEO is paid $1M/yr and brings in $10M (that would not be brought in otherwise) then he is worth it.
(I am not saying that actually happens – but if it did.)
I also agree with the posts saying that WWP should not even exist since we, as a nation, should be paying for their care. I particularly hate the large corporations that brag about their charitable good works but then avoid all possible taxes. WWP is just giving them a good alibi.
raven
Ever meet a jar head that didn’t serve a combat tour?
catclub
gvg@34
I think that something Hillary can say is (in a debate): “We know much of Donald’s history with younger women. Who is more likely to have an affair with an intern in the White House? Me Or Him?”
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
I barely knew that the organization even existed until I started watching broadcast tv and commercials for the organization while at home recovering from an illness. I probably heard references to the group, but didn’t pay much attention to it.
I had never heard of a news story about irregularities in the organization until this week. I don’t think, for example, that I saw discussions of the group being possibly poorly run here on Balloon Juice, for example.
So you could be absolutely correct that there have been rumblings about WW for 5 years, but those rumblings still might not mean anything to most people until very recently.
Timurid
@raven:
To very loosely quote AC/DC:
“They’ve got the bluest balls of them all…”
schrodinger's cat
@Timurid: I talk about it on my blog and here. I don’t have a huge platform but I do what I can. I have watched their rise with growing alarm. I have been following news about India and Indian politics much more closely than I did before, since Mr. Modi ascension to head of the government.
India’s tremendous diversity is what works against the Hindutva agenda. Every state is like a nation in itself culturally speaking. Even among Hindus, the language, the cultural mores, how different festivals are celebrated etc. etc, are very different.
raven
@Timurid: Yep, no Marines in the rear, no commo, no engineers, no supply, nothing but point.
Original Lee
@Adam L Silverman: I think Doonesbury covered that.
sigaba
Komen Foundation, redux
Schlemazel
@Origuy:
And Trump is Hodor
Schlemazel
@raven:
I was living in Fla after Desert Storm. Orlando decided to have a ” welcome home” parade for Viet nam vets. Watching the news reports I would guess 80% of participants were wearing green barets. I knew then how we lost that fight! There couldn’t have been enough supply sargents to keep that many sf properly equipped.
Schlemazel
@Brachiator:
Colbert was (is?) a big supporter. He always gave money collected from his gag projects to wwp
oklahomo
@Schlemazel: JEB! is HODOR!
Keith P
Raise your hand if you’ve seen a $100k motorcycle or hotrod build on TV for the WWP.
+1 here. (or, to be accurate, I will raise my hand about a dozen times).
schrodinger's cat
@Keith P: I once chanced what seemed like a paid infomercial for WWP it was a couple of years ago.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes. And the same dynamic is seen in public school funding. Really, we need “Booster clubs” not just for new team uniforms or something, but so that kids can have BOOKS and SUPPLIES in the classroom? Isn’t that supposed to be an integral part of what my tax dollars are funding?
Adam L Silverman
@schrodinger’s cat: OT: saw you’re comment about a loon update. That’s all I am to you people isn’t it? The loon update guy…//
More seriously: I’m babysitting me Mom who had a routine procedure this AM. I was up at Zero Dark Hundred, they were behind at the hospital, and we’re still not home. Everything went fine, just a lot of hurry up and wait. So provided I’m coherent tonight it’ll be tonight. I make no guarantees on spelling or syntax in my current condition – I’m so zapped I’m not even going to the gym today.
I am tracking that the FBI has announced they have plenty of good video showing Finicum trying to run the blockade, then maneuvering in foot towards law enforcement while reaching towards where his gun was holstered.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: yes it is, but remember the same people that don’t believe in providing for the general welfare don’t believe in public education or publicly funded higher education. Honestly I’m not sure the really believe in the US. They believe in the name and then a fantasy paradise of no rules, laws, institutions, or structures. I often refer to this fictional place as Somalia.
(No offense intended to the Somalis themselves, but it’s a failed state and society right now)
RSA
@catclub:
Oh, definitely. The “largely through small donations from people over 65” is a red flag, too, that they’re preying on people who are more easily persuaded or even duped.
schrodinger's cat
@Adam L Silverman: No you are also the bouncer kitteh, who dealt with the axe guy! Plus the baking guy.
boatboy_srq
@Adam L Silverman: In some cases it’s worse even than that. I know someone who worked (as a contractor) on that “choice” thingy the Rethugs siphoned money out of the VA budget to fund. He spent weeks helping vets look for a non-VA medical resource they could use – only to tell something like 99 out of every 100 callers that a VA facility was close enough to where they were that they wouldn’t qualify for non-VA assistance, and needed to go to that VA facility for their treatment. Millions wasted on a program designed to do nothing but take money from the VA to help ensure that the agency didn’t function as it should.
sm*t cl*de
@Adam L Silverman:
That is all very well, but Obama is responsible for Track Palin’s drunken violence, because he doesn’t respect veterans enough (i.e. he is not doing enough to create more).
boatboy_srq
@sigaba: Sickening, no? Genuine need, trampled by Reichwing grifters, who then insist that Gummint assistance for the unfortunate isn’t necessary or appropriate because Private Philanthropy™ will attend to every ill.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Best wishes to your mom. Even routine procedures can be daunting, and I’m glad she had you there to keep her company and run interference when necessary. You’re a good son.
boatboy_srq
@schrodinger’s cat: Not entirely complementary to bouncers but the best I could do. Plus it’s catchy.
EriktheRed
@Origuy:
Seems to me the Donald is also Joffrey.
kc
Where does the “They are SHIT” quote come from?
ETA (They ARE shit; just was looking for a link)
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman:
I actually had to shut down my Libertarian BFF the other day when he was on his usual “oppressive stupid government regulations” tear because I was just that sick of it: “yeah, yeah, government regulations suck. Can you name me some place where you think they would suck LESS than the good ol’ USA?” And he actually blurted out “Somalia!” At which point I cracked up, because I figured he was just trolling me. “Dude, even *pirates* aren’t getting by in Somalia any more!”
That would be in real Somalia, of course, not Fantasy Somalia, which apparently *is* Libertarian Cloud-Cuckoo-Land…
EriktheRed
@EriktheRed: OK, should have read through and given this more thought. tRump could either be Craster or Walder Frey, but if I had to choose one,it would be Walder.
Leto
@Adam L Silverman: Back around 2009, any time someone brought up Libertarians in any BJ thread, or comments, the autoresponse was, “They can always move to Somalia! The land of milk and honey, no regulations, no jackboot government shoving [insert X] down our throats!” Always with the shoving of things down their throats…
sam
There’s certainly an argument to be made (and it has been made by folks like Billy Shore, who founded/runs Share our Strength/No Kid Hungry) that non-profits should be run a bit more like corporations, including hiring actual professionals (at professional rates) to run the organization – too many non-profits are run by people who believe passionately about the cause but know nothing about either running an organization or managing people.
But the purpose of his thesis is that the charity can provide more benefit and do more good if it’s actually run efficiently. Not for it to become a grift unto itself. There’s no planet on which a charity’s employees should be taking first class flights and staying in $500 hotel rooms, because shit like that doesn’t even happen (exept for the executive suite, perhaps) at for-profit corporations – heck, my corporate travel system won’t even let me search for first/business class tickets – we have strict guidelines about what we can spend on things like that (they’re dynamic, so if you’re, say, staying in NYC at the height of tourist season, there is of course flexibility), but even for-profits are constantly looking for ways to reduce corporate overhead!
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Thanks for the kind thoughts. She’s home and snoozing off the versed. I’ve now eaten something, as my last meal was at 6 this morning, and am running on the fumes of coffee and a pure heart and upright spirit. Alas, my normal strength of ten others is beginning to fail and if I don’t lie down I’m sleeping on the floor where I fall…
More seriously: it is amazing the changes in this stuff over the past 18 years.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: I have a jpg that basically sums up that if you don’t like taxes, laws, and government you should move to Somalia. The last person that tried the conversation you had with your BFF on me got the following response: “I will happily play your plane ticket to Somalia and front you the money for whatever semi-automatic rifle and 5,000 rounds of ammunition in the appropriate caliber if you promise to take this go pro with you and stream your daily experience online for all to see just how scared you are every single minute and how living in a place with no structure or rules or society isn’t a dream come true, its a nightmare”. That person shut up.
Adam L Silverman
@Leto: Please see my response here: @Adam L Silverman: