Another FEMA failure: passing the plate for Pat Robertson.The Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical (FEMA FEMA, n.pr See Federal Emergency Management Agency. ) was widely criticized for its slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. along the Gulf Coast. But FEMA's failures don't end there. In the wake of the hurricane, FEMA persisted in promoting a scandal-wracked charity associated with TV preacher Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22 1930)[1] is a televangelist from the United States.[2] He is the founder of numerous organizations and corporations, including the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), In doing so, the agency did a great disservice to the American people An American people may be:
Americans are naturally generous and want to help those in need. The pictures of the devastation wrought by Katrina were gut-wrenching. Americans opened their hearts and their checkbooks. Hundreds of millions of dollars flowed into relief agencies. Many newspapers reprinted a list of relief groups that FEMA produced. Robertson's Operation Blessing was placed second on the list, right after the Red Cross. Operation Blessing also got prominent play on FEMA's Web site. The average person, on reading this list, would assume that Operation Blessing must be a credible charity along the lines of the Red Cross and many of the others listed. That's far from the truth. In fact, Operation Blessing has a checkered past. In October of 1997, two Operation Blessing pilots asserted that its planes were used primarily to transport equipment for a Robertson-owned diamond-mining operation in Zaire (now the Republic of the Congo) called African Development Corporation. One pilot told the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot that of the 40 flights he undertook to Zaire, "only one or at most two" were humanitarian in nature. He said the rest were "mining-related." Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs An Office of Consumer Affairs most often refers to a government office dealing with matters of consumer protection. In different jurisdictions, it may be referred to as a department, an office, a ministry or a more local title. was ready to prosecute Robertson for making deceptive claims but the investigation was dropped by the office of then--Attorney General Mark Earley, a Robertson ally. Questions still remain about Operation Blessing. The group's 2003 financial records show that the charity donated $885,362 to Robertson's TV ministry, Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia. CBN was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson in 1961. . Why is Operation Blessing money being plowed back into CBN CBN - call-by-name ? The financial statement merely says the funds were used for "international humanitarian activity." Language that vague could mean almost anything. The money could have been used to spread Robertson's religious political vision all over the globe. Americans need to feel confident that the money they donate goes to help those displaced by the hurricane and doesn't end up lining the pocket of a greedy television evangelist. FEMA, through its misguided promotion of Operation Blessing, has dropped the ball once again. |
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