Cup of Joe for a Joe

Green Beans Coffee has a program, Cup of Joe for a Joe that I like to contribute to now and then. Here's a sample of some of the responses I get from the troops:

Thank you so much! Much love and respect to you
Service member serving in Bagram PAX Terminal, Afghanistan 

Thank you! It’s Sunday morning and this is exactly what I needed!
Service member serving in Al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait

Michael thank you so much! Coffee is the fuel that gets me through the day. I really appreciate the gift and the support
Service member serving in Camp Buehring (Udairi), Kuwait

Thank you Michael. You're support means alot!
Service member serving in Bagram Main (south), Afghanistan

Thanks Michael! Woke up to this nice surprise this morning! I appreciate it! Davy - Baghdad
Service member serving in Union III, Iraq

Thank you Mr Butler, I appreciate the kind gesture!
Service member serving in JTC, Jordan

Thank you for your support . I appreciate it .
Service member serving in Buehring MOAB, Kuwait

Mr Butler, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. It's so humbling that folks like you are thinking of us back home and taking money from your wallet to spread a splash of cheer. From all of us... Thank you. -Nathan
Service member serving in Al Azraq, Jordan

Thank you
Service member serving in Bagram PAX Terminal, Afghanistan

Thank you sir! This made my week!
Service member serving in Al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait

Thanks for the coffee and even more for the support, Nick
Service member serving in ATOC (Ops Town) - Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar

Michael, Thank you very much for the coffee! Anthony
Service member serving in Bagram Main (south), Afghanistan

Thank you for support the deployed troops. This cup of joe has made my day better, thank you!
Service member serving in ATOC (Ops Town) - Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar

Thank you for your generosity!! It makes a huge difference.
Service member serving in JTC, Jordan

Thank you for the cup of coffee, I really appreciate it. It’s nice to know people back home keep us in their thoughts.
Service member serving in BPC Mall, Qatar

The link is here: GreenBeansCoffeeCompany if you want to give a cup or three.  I don't know about you, but the cost of a cup of coffee to someone far away from home serving their country is a small price to pay. And the rewards are worth it to me! Nobody is paying me to say this, because it makes you feel good! It's  $2.50/ cup. You can write a short message, as I usually do, or not. You can be anonymous if you wish or you can even post your email addy if you are open to corresponding.

C'mon! You've got $2.50 in the couch cushions! Give it a try! You'll be glad you did!

I Humbly Apologize To My Readers

For years I have supported Troopathon, the pro-troop charity which is a part of Move America Forward.  MAF was established 10 years ago.  Many of its staunchest supporters were celebrated personalities like Gary Sinise, Rush Limbaugh, Robert Davi, Donald Rumsfeld, Mark Levin, Dana Loesch, Herman Cain, Allen West, Dr. Ben Carson, John Bolton, Gold Star Mother Debbie Lee and Andrew Breitbart.

I began participating in the annual Troopathon events in 2009.  I became aware of Troopathon after reading a post over at Hot Air.  I became a member of the blogging team known as the "Hot Air Steamers" that participated in the blogger competition to determine which team could secure the greatest number of donations for care packages to our troops.

Today I learned that an examination of fundraising appeals, tax records and other documents shows that Move America Forward has repeatedly misled donors and inflated its charitable accomplishments while funneling the millions of dollars it raised to the men behind the group and their political consulting firms.

To make matters worse “the charity has taken images and stories from other groups and from veterans themselves without permission to use in fundraising appeals.”

“Last year, Move America Forward even solicited funds by claiming a partnership with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the largest hospital for wounded service members in the country. No such partnership existed, Defense Department officials say.”

I received an email from Jonathan Salazar who is a contributor to Breitbart News on May 20, 2014 asking if I would support Troopathon VII this year.  He sent me the link to a webpage where donations could be made to send care packages to our troops and a link to the graphics that I could use to promote the event on my blog.

During one telephone conversation with Mr. Salazar on June 12th, he promised that I would have an opportunity to interview Gary Sinise before the event launched on June 26, 2014.  The interview never occurred.  I attributed it to Mr. Sinise’s obviously busy schedule.  I never gave it another thought.

I heavily promoted Troopathon VII with a blog post. One month before the launch I placed a masthead banner at the top of my blog and added two clickable graphics on my sidebar to make donations convenient.

Ed Morrissey of Hot Air writes, “…the issues of having TPE founders and their vendor operations profiting from the transactions for the care packages is disturbing, if true, even if it doesn’t necessarily violate any laws. That’s certainly not what donors and sponsors thought were happening in the Troopathons, and both MAF and TPE owe those donors and sponsors a more detailed explanation than just dismissing the allegations because ProPublica made them."

I am taking the opportunity today to say how sorry I am to anyone who may have been persuaded to donate to Troopathon in 2014 or in previous years at my behest.

It sorrows me that the name of Andrew Breitbart has been sullied.  He loved our troops and was the event’s most devoted supporter.

I hope you can forgive me for being misled and in turn misleading you, my readers.

Kim Baker, who authored the exposé for ProPublica, received this bullshit statement from Danny Gonzalez, Director of Communications for Move America Forward.