Change I Can Believe In – Department of Homeland Security Calls Me!
by: Craig Wiesner on January 16th, 2010 | 4 Comments »
I don’t use my cell phone very much. Whenever I visit my father, though, and he is in a pretty good mental space, I love to grab it and call someone back east to whom he hasn’t spoken for a while so that they can chat. Despite Dad’s progressive dementia, he pulls it together for those calls and truly lights up when he hears the voices of people he loves so much. This afternoon, as the phone vibrated to life, I noticed that I had a voicemail….. strange……. when I listened, and heard that it was from the Department of Homeland Security, I realized this was change I could really believe in. For the last few years, in addition to being our emergency phone and one we use for business, we also used our cell phone number as the main phone number for an organization / web site we’ve been working on named MicahsCall.org, based on the prophet Micah’s call to “Do Justice, Love Kindness and Walk Humbly with God.” You can check out the web site at www.micahscall.org
The Department of Homeland Security, apparently recognizing the role that faith-based organizations can and do have in the face of catastrophes like what has happened in Haiti, decided to dial up all the organizations it could to let us know what how we could work together to help get aid to those who so desperately need it right now.
Wow! The White House and Federal agencies, looking to organizations like ours, to be partners in peacemaking…… that’s really change I can believe in.
Back when Katrina hit New Orleans, and desperate families started appearing in the Bay Area, I watched President Bush speak about how the Federal Government was ready to partner with faith communities (Armies of Compassion) to help the victims recover. The next morning, I called the White House and asked to speak to someone in the Office of Faith Based Initiatives. A few moments later, a woman came on the line and asked how she could help me. I told her that I was involved with a faith-based organization that was ready to help take care of about 75 people from New Orleans who needed food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. “Thank you sir, that’s wonderful.” she said. Yes, sure. But…. I responded “Where do we apply for Federal money to help these people.”
“What do you mean sir?”
“Well, the President said that ‘armies of compassion’ like ours were best equipped to help people in emergencies like this and that the government would get money to organizations like ours so that we could do the work that needed to be done. I’m sure you have to apply for funds, and you know, get vetted and stuff…. how do we get started?”
“I don’t understand what you’re asking sir.”
“Well, isn’t the Office of Faith Based Initiatives in charge of helping faith organizations get funding to do social services, especially in emergencies like this?”
“Yes, sir. Exactly.”
“Good. Then how do I apply for some of that money?”
“Um, sir….. that’s not how it works.”
How it worked, back then, was that various Federal agencies got to funnel money to faith-based organizations that they selected, with money going to folks like Pat Robertson! The head of the White House office eventually resigned in disgust.
Now, I don’t know if things work all that differently now that President Obama has taken over, but just the simple fact that the Department of Homeland Security called my cell phone to let me know whom to call, what page on the White House web site to go to, and that they were, in fact, looking to work with organizations like ours, was truly amazing.
I wonder if they called the 700 Club?
I have a problem withObama. I will not vote for him in 2012. Fool once shame on me; fool twice shame on Obama!!! When the Nazi party was in power under Bush/Cheney there was no evidence of bipartisanship. I am sick of Obama’s attempt at bipartisanship. One war criminal is reinventing another war criminal to look like a human being. Please excuse me while I go to the toilet to puke!!!
France and the USA have been screwing Haiti for about 100 years and after this helping period they will screw Haiti again.
I applaud the effort the Homeland Security to contact organizations to help Haiti. However the fact that the money will still come from the Federal Government does not remove the huge price tag Haiti and its poverty stricken souls will have to repay the U.S. if return for its “generosity.” This kind of aide never comes without strings. Our Foreign Policy will dictate that we mingle in their Government and demand payback in the guise of either stealing any natural resourses they have left or the slave labor our Multi-Nationals with demand when they insert themselves to “rebuild” the city. Unfortunately the “Change We Can Believe In” did not arrive with Obama. Progressives are going to have to unite and like anything else “Be the Change” we want to see!
It ain’t necessarily so… If Congress passes the Jubilee Act, if the president signs it into law, all debt principle and interest will be forgiven with none of the usual strings attached, like closing free schools and charging for clean drinling water.
We need to be the change that we can believe in, and one way to do that is to make it clear that we want the Jubilee Act enacted. it’s one small step in freeing the poorest of the porr from the iron fist of the world bank and IMF, one small step to redress the horrible wrong of Haiti’s exorbitant reparation principle and interest.
Under the current circumstances, it is the least that we can do for these stricken people.
Thank you for posting this. And yes, the Jubilee Act would help tremendously. I agree that somehow we have to come together to be the change we want. If we don’t the dittoheads will.
Do we really want that?