Free Republic

Donald Trump fired back Tuesday at reports questioning his fundraising haul from a high-profile veterans event in January, releasing an extensive list of charities he said received the donations -- and slamming the media for questioning him. During a press conference at Trump Tower, the presumptive Republican nominee said he's raised $5.6 million and more is coming in. He rattled off the list of charities and the amounts they received, while taking scathing and sometimes-personal shots at the media for pressuring him to disclose the information. “I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job,” Trump...

President Barack Obama’s income fell to just over $436,000 in 2015, the lowest of his presidency, and he and first lady Michelle Obama paid nearly $81,500 in taxes, according to tax returns the White House released on Friday. The president’s more modest adjusted gross income reflected book sales that have continued to fall off in the years since he last published in 2006. The first family paid an effective tax rate of 18.7 percent. The Obamas also reported donating $64,000 to charity, or about 15 percent of their income. Their largest charitable donation, $9,000, went to the Fisher House Foundation,...

Fisher House Foundation has stepped in and offered an advance grant to families of the fallen during the government shutdown, “to ensure there is no funding gap during the most difficult of times, with the understanding that reimbursements would be made at an appropriate time.” The Pentagon has said it cannot pay death benefits to families of troops killed in Afghanistan. ... Fisher House is a charity established to help troops and families in need.

On Veteran’s Day my radio show featured interviews with more than a dozen seriously wounded Marines and Navy personnel who are beneficiaries of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund (www.SemperFiFund.org.) Since its founding in 2003, the Semper Fi Fund has raised more than $55 million to help more than 6,000 service members wounded in the wars of the past decade. Take a quick look at their board of directors and you will quickly see why this organization is so effective and also why you need have no concern over its integrity or the efficiency of its operations. There are many,...

Dear Friends and Colleagues; An opportunity to help wounded warriors and their families presents itself today. Please consider sponsoring an effort by a young Soldier on behalf of Wounded Warriors of all military branches. Army Captain Michael Pariso, an acquaintance of mine currently stationed here at Fort Leonard Wood, has decided to give of himself in this cause by running a charity 5K event along with his daughter on behalf of the Fisher House Foundation (http://www.fisherhouse.org/). When a US Warrior is seriously wounded or injured and faces long term recovery and rehabilitation, they are sent to major military medical centers...

FORT BRAGG -- Matt Leonard suffers from a brain injury, has night terrors and sometimes can barely walk because of blast damage to his left leg. Doctors tell him he'll be picking shrapnel out of his face and appendages for 10 years. As Leonard gets treatment for his service-related injuries at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, the last headache he needs is worrying about how to pay for a hotel so his wife and sons can be close by. "That's why we're here," said Paula Gallero, who has run Fisher House at Fort Bragg since it opened in...

Joe Biden isn’t only a buffoon he’s a typically cheap liberal who is there for a photo op with our wounded warriors, but doesn’t see the need to contribute to a worthy cause like the Fisher House. On Monday, November 23 Vice President Joe Biden and his wife hosted a well photographed early Thanksgiving Day dinner for two ambulatory wounded war fighters and their families. The Marine and Army Sergeant were recuperating at Walter Reed Hospital and their families were staying at the Fisher House guest facility on the grounds of the hospital. Fisher Houses are private hotel rooms offered...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2009 – It was pouring liquid sunshine as the Fisher House Foundation and the Veterans Affairs Department prepared to dedicate the 43rd Fisher House in Brentwood, Calif., on Feb. 6, but the significance of the event wasn’t lost on Mother Nature. The Fisher House located on the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare System campus is a 16,800 square-foot building in the California-Spanish stucco style. With 21 private suites, the building, shown in this artist rendering, provides military families a “home away from home” while their loved ones recover from injuries or illnesses. The newest Fisher...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2008 – More than 50 local Wal-Mart associates donated their time and tinsel Dec. 4 to bring holiday cheer to servicemembers recovering from wounds at Fisher Houses at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Army Col. Bruce E. Haselden, center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center garrison commander, accompanied by Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rolando Moore, welcomes volunteers from Wal-Mart who came to Walter Reed Dec. 4, 2008, to bring cheer to the 27 guest families staying at the medical center's three Fisher Houses. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

We conservatives have learned that we can’t rely on anyone but ourselves, and we’ll have to recapture America from the ground up. Our “to do” list is long, but some things are more important than others. Supporting the Fisher House program is one of these things. Fisher House is a totally privately funded effort to support our recovering wounded warriors by helping their loved ones when they are most in need. When a wounded warrior is recovering state-side, most often the hospital or rehabilitation facility is hundreds of miles from those who dearly wish to visit and give their love...

American Classic Car Show to benefit the Fisher House will be at Tysons Corner at the Wachovia Bank Tower 1753 Pinnacle Drive, McLean, VA. Muscle cars, classic cars,food,games and fun 12 NOON until 4PM.From 123 South, turn Right on International Drive,Left on Greensboro Drive,left on Pinnacle follow the signs to Wachovia Bank Tower.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008 – Wounded servicemembers and their families in San Diego will have a second “home away from home” during the recovery process when Naval Medical Center San Diego celebrates the grand opening of Fisher House II on Oct. 3. Fisher House II, the second Fisher House facility serving Naval Medical Center San Diego, stands ready for its Oct. 3, 2008, grand opening. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Fisher Houses provide respite and accommodations for families of active and retired military patients who have been admitted for medical care. “This facility represents the...

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2008 – More than 400 guests attended a dedication ceremony for the 39th Fisher House recently built on the grounds of Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Richmond, Va., one of the VA’s four Level 1 polytrauma centers. This artist’s rendering depicts the 16,000 square-foot, 21-suite Fisher House built on the grounds of Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, in Richmond, Va. The 39th Fisher House was dedicated in a ceremony July 10, 2008, at the house. Courtesy of Fisher House Foundation  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It was an opportunity to be...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 – Gift cards can make a stay away from home while a loved one recovers easier for servicemembers and their families. A Bank of America Visa debit card bearing the Fisher House Foundation logo is displayed during a ceremony to present the first 400 such cards to the Brooke Army Medical Center Fisher Houses on Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Through a new partnership, Bank of America’s Military Segment has agreed to cover processing and other fees associated with purchasing gift cards, thereby stretching the Fisher House Foundation’s donors’ dollars. Photo courtesy of the Fisher House...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2008 – Volunteer organizations providing support to military families can compete for a share of $75,000 in grant money that could make their efforts a bit easier. Newman’s Own, the Fisher House Foundation and the Military Times Media Group are accepting nominations for the 2008 Newman’s Own Awards through May 2. The Fisher House Foundation is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. The three organizations are looking for innovative plans to support military families from the volunteer groups,...

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2007 – More than 240 golfers, including 10 injured servicemembers, hit the links at Lansdowne Golf Club in Lansdowne, Va., yesterday for the 4th Annual Fisher House Golf Classic fundraiser. Ken Peck (right), National Amputee Golf Association member, demonstrates swinging techniques to two Walter Reed Medical Center outpatients during the Fisher House Golf Classic at the Lansdowne Resort in Lansdowne, Va., April 30. Peck, a golf instructor for 15 years, was one of 240 participants in the fundraiser. Proceeds will go toward the opening of a new Fisher House in Minnesota for veterans with brain injuries....

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2006 -- The Defense Commissary Agency and the Fisher House Foundation have teamed up for the seventh year to offer educational scholarships to children of military families and retirees. The Scholarships for Military Children Program helps children of servicemembers pay for college by providing at least one $1,500 scholarship for each of DeCA’s more than 260 commissaries worldwide, DeCA spokesman Kevin Robinson said. "We consider the commissary to be one of the pillars of the military community," Robinson said. "As such, it is important that we invest in the future of the families we serve." Nearly...

WASHINGTON (Feb. 1, 2006) — Gary Trudeau, nationally syndicated comic artist and political satirist, signed copies of his new Doonesbury book “The Long Road Home” Tuesday at the Pentagon concourse. Among the Soldiers waiting in line to have their book signed was one in a wheelchair who lost his leg in Iraq. Trudeau’s book tells the story of a long-established Doonesbury character, B.D., and his experiences as a National Guard Soldier deployed to Iraq, where he looses a leg in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his Humvee outside of Fallujah. Spc. Joseph Kashnow of the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2006 – Award-winning satirist Garry Trudeau of "Doonesbury" fame visited the Pentagon today to meet with troops wounded in the war on terror and present them autographed copies of his book featuring the healing process of a comic character he said they inspired. Army Spc. Joey Kashnaw, a 4th Infantry Division soldier who lost his leg after being wounded in Taji, Iraq, in September 2003, meets with Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau at the Pentagon. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time," tells the story...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2005 - The Fisher House organization uses more than a million frequent flyer miles per week in distributing free round-trip airline tickets to families of war-wounded servicemembers being treated in military and Veterans Affairs medical facilities across the country. To date, the program has distributed more than 4,000 tickets, using more than 150 million frequent flyer miles, Jim Weiskopf, vice president of communications for the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation, said. He said the foundation's general fundraising, including money received from the Combined Federal Campaign, to pay airport security fees, taxes and administrative fees on the tickets so...