Petrelis Files

BushCheney Katrina Fund Donors' Names; Clueless Wills; Cheney's Web Page

The Bush Clinton Katrina Fund is doing something unique for a nonprofit and I hope it sets a standard for other tax-exempt charities to follow.

The former presidents' relief fund is posting the names of private individual and corporate donors on its web site.

The Bush Clinton Katrina Fund site reveals forty-two corporations and private foundations have contributed, while 14,215 private individuals' names are listed on the fund's Wall of Contributors. And that 14,215 figure is not the whole picture since quite a few of the listings are for couples, so the total number of donors is actually higher.

Amounts donated are not provided.

On the fund's donation page, contributors are asked if they want their names listed on the Wall of Contributors and the field for that question is checked yes. If donors don't wish to have their name on the wall, they must remove the check from the box.

IRS regulations for 501(c)3 tax-exempt groups allows charities to withhold the names of donors from being reported and/or disclosed in a charity's annual 990 filing. Many charities, with the permission of donors, tend to highlight their big corporate and individual donors in annual reports, which is one way accountability watchdogs have of following some of the money flowing to nonprofits.

Bravo to the Bush Clinton Katrina Fund for proudly showing who's donating to their charity and may other nonprofits do the same.

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September 13 marks two weeks to day that President Bush was goofing off in San Diego with country singer Mark Wills, while thousands of Gulf Coast residents were struggling to survive in Katrina's wake.

Frankly, I'd never heard of Wills before he aided and abetted Bush in his dereliction of duties as commander-in-chief, and he probably expected a big career boost from his photo-op with the president, giving him a guitar with the presidential seal on it.

Many people have justifiably criticized the president for not acting on August 30 to pour federal aid and military might into the affected region and help save American lives, and he's been desperately making amends for ignoring the Katrina crisis for so long.

But what about Wills? He seems to have faded into the woodwork and as far as I know hasn't made any statement about his appearance with Bush on that fateful day, nor has he done anything to assist Katrina's displaced victims.

On his official web site though, Wills asks the following question:

"How many people do you know that have given the president a guitar?"

Well, only one, Mark, and the guitar was given to the president while New Orleans residents were clinging to life, hoping not to drown.

Wills gives the following answer to his question:

"Mark recently participated in the Victory Day Celebration in San Diego, CA. The celebration honored veterans of WW2 [sic]. Also in attendance was President Bush, who was very suprised [sic] when Mark presented him with his very own custom made guitar."

Hello? Ever hear of Katrina, Mr. Wills? Guess not because she isn't mentioned anywhere on your site!

And just in case you somehow missed the photo of Wills diverting Bush's limited attention away from the dead and drowning in New Orleans that day, the singer graciously posts the image on his site. Wills possesses no shame about his deadly, for Katrina's victims, shenanigans with Bush, fourteen long days ago.

Wills should get a clue about his pathetic role in the Katrina disaster and anyone thinking of spending money on one of his CDs or for a ticket to his upcoming concerts, should instead donate the money to a Katrina victim.

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The White House sure could use a better web mistress or web master for its site, one who could give some much-needed focus on the Veep's latest chores performed in his official capacity.

To start off, Cheney's page shows a wide gap in speeches and activities from August 18 through September 12, and there's no mention of Katrina and her aftermath. The closest his page tells you about his Katrina-related work and concerns is in his remarks on Monday to the National Restaurant Association annual public affairs conference.

Photos of Cheney are not up to date, either. The most current one of him is from August 18. Didn't an official White House staff photographer accompany him on his visit to the devastated states?

I searched the following terms using the photo search engine; Dick Cheney, Vice President, Cheney, for the past two weeks, and this is what was returned: "No results were found for your search."

I would expect the White House team to heavily promote the Katrina relief agenda and associated political efforts not just of Bush and the First Lady, but also that of the number two honcho, maybe even his wife too.

Let's not read too much into the incredible lack of attention on the White House site about the Veep's Katrina work, but the missing transcripts of Cheney's remarks in the Gulf Coast area last week and photos gives pause.

The TalkLeft blog yesterday posted this tale, which may provide a larger context to the lame treatment of Cheney recently on the White House site:

"Like many of us, Nora Ephron at the Huffington Post has been puzzled by Dick Cheney's absence during Katrina and doesn't buy that it's because he was on vacation. She wonders whether the President and Cheney have had a falling out.

"A few months ago, I heard of a lunch conversation that Cheney had with a political type in Wyoming. I have no idea if it's true or not, but it makes some sense. Here's the tale:

"Cheney has been getting tired of being called upon to fix Bush's mistakes. Cheney said Bush is almost incapable of making any decision. He waffles and waffles. Then, once he makes a decision, he refuses to change it. Because of his born-again faith, he says "It's in the hands of G-d now" and washes his hands of it. Then Cheney is called in to repair the damage.

"If this story is even remotely true, this may have been the final straw for Cheney, and he decided to let Bush try to wiggle his way out of his Katrina inaction on his own. Cheney's re-emergence this week may be the result of his fellow Republicans begging him to return to save Bush for the sake of the party."

Interesting theory, to say the least, and it may explain why Cheney's duties on Katrina relief are getting such minimal attention on the White House site.