Posted on 07/24/2006 10:16:33 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
As supporters of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, we were disheartened to read Jerry Seper's front-page article Thursday about questions and criticisms of President Chris Simcox's management of the organization. According to the article, the volunteer group has not made any financial statements or fundraising records public since April 2005 -- circumstances that have strained relations between Mr. Simcox and several of his top employees, some of whom have resigned in protest.
Mr. Simcox must resolve these problems quickly. Failure to do so would only encourage the organization's critics -- who have made no secret of their desire to see the Minuteman volunteers arrested for vigilantism. But more importantly, according to Mr. Simcox's estimate, Americans have donated $1.6 million to the corps because they believe in their mission to secure the southern border. In return, the least they should expect is transparency and the assurance that their donations went to help the volunteers in the field. But the truth is that no one except Mr. Simcox knows how much money has been donated and what it has been used for.
So far, Mr. Simcox has been unable to come up with a good explanation -- at least one that can be independently verified. And while he insists the money went to help field operations, workers at these locations tell a different story. For instance, Vern Kilburn, who resigned earlier this year as director of operations for the organization's northern Texas sector, told The Washington Times that only two checks for $1,000 came from Minuteman headquarters in October and that other directors across the country "are having similar problems." Some volunteers said that money promised by Mr. Simcox for food and supplies never arrived. "An awful lot of equipment I saw was donated," said Mike Gaddy,...."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
ping
The drumbeat continues, and its coming from conservative quarters. It ain't going away.
ping
No it isn't and their press releases will not satisfy the demand for information.
This is too important of issue to screw up, liberal groups would say oh well and continue the battle. Conservatives will just not fund groups that are necessary to battle for their beliefs.
Chris Simcox needs to solve this so people will have confidence to donate to the Minutemen.
I want to see an accounting also, but was it ABC News started this matter?
He'll avoid it as long as he possibly can
It sounds like either one of two things. He has sources of money that are embarrassing or he is pocketing more money than he should. If it is the later then he could apply to be the CEO of the United Givers Fund. Remember their scandal a few years back?
Lots of fins in the water over this one. Rightfully so, there's so much chum in this story, and the left really hasn't grabbed hold of it yet. I personally think the WT is trying to give Simcox an out to a potentially devastating blow to the border cause. So far stonewalling and delaying is all the WT is getting, so the gloves are coming off.
I support the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps 100%, but what is the big deal about this? Why don't they just come clean?
Minuteman leader details stance to county Republicans
By JOANNA DODDER
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT Chris Simcox told Yavapai County Republicans this past week that he helped create the Minuteman movement after seeing paramilitary-style escorts alongside caravans driving through the Organ Pipe National Monument in 2001.
When he asked monument and Border Patrol officials what was going on, they said the caravans were drug dealers and Simcox should just look the other way, he related.
Today, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has approximately 40 chapters in 39 states, said Simcox, who is a frequent commentator on the Fox News channel.
Simcox told a packed audience at a Yavapai Republican Men's Forum luncheon in Prescott that he didn't come to talk about immigration.
"That's not our focus," he said. "Our focus is why we have illegal immigration: unsecured borders."
It's the biggest national security problem this country faces, and it's not a racial or political issue, he said. Columbian, Mexican and even Russian drug dealers rule our southern border, he said.
"People are dying while this debate is going on," including illegal immigrants, he said.
The Minutemen, which he called the "nation's largest neighborhood watch group," has spotted and reported nearly 13,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol, he said.
The Minutemen also have built nearly 10 miles of border fence that's styled after Israel's Gaza Strip fence, with four layers of razor wire and fences, he said. The group has hired a contractor to help because it's having trouble recruiting volunteers during the extreme June heat.
The fence has cost approximately $300,000 per mile, he said. Considering the U.S.-Mexico border is 1,980 miles long and less than 300 miles now have a fence, it would cost about $510 million to finish the fence, he estimated after his speech. That's only half of what the federal government spends each month in Iraq, he said.
The Minutemen want a fence along the entire border, along with 30,000 to 40,000 National Guard troops that can guard the border instead of just doing support work as they are now, Simcox said.
Simcox drew a standing ovation at the start of his speech and several loud episodes of clapping. The Republicans didn't cheer, however, when he mentioned that he left the party and registered as an Independent to make a statement about how he disagrees with Bush administration policy. Some in the audience clapped when he said Bush and others are wrong to seek to reward illegal immigrants for breaking the law, by offering them a path to citizenship.
The U.S. Senate put forth a bill to make Bush happy, not citizens, he said. He said Arizona House Bill 2577 included too many parts and officials should focus first on securing the border.
About a half-dozen Minutemen attended Simcox's speech.
"You name it, I've seen it," said Chino Valley resident David Jones, a line boss for the Minutemen on the border. He's seen plenty of trash and dead bodies since he joined the group last year, he said.
"They don't come to this country to benefit our country, they come here to take from this country," he said.
To learn more about the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, visit its Web site at www.minutemanHQ.com.
Simcox said he co-founded the Minuteman Man oh man, read the outright lies in this by Simcox
Project with Jim Gilchrist, and now his group focuses on border activity while the Project group focuses on immigration issues.
(Boldness Added).
I thought he said it would cost 55 million
He's upped the amount?
Broken Borders: Broken Promises (Simcox-Minuteman)
Group Example:
This guy is either INSANE or he has just confessed to fraud.
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