My take on things with having worked with the media for years is that they will search out the pissed off widow who will bitch about whatever because it makes for compelling TV which increases viewership and generates higher advertising revenues.

You don't know how many people they went through to find these dissatisfied ingrates.  Who knows, these women may have sought the media outlet out and they were all too wiling to put them on the air.

Since September 11 the State of New York, private relief agencies, charitable funds and affected businesses have bent over backward to do whatever we can.  My agency lost 40 people in the WTC.  I've spoken with their families and their colleagues who were there that day.  Not a day goes by that I don't go home and cry myself a migraine headache after the stories I hear and the suffering I witness.  I can tell you, most people have been incredibly grateful for the efforts being made on their behalfs.  Those that are less than pleasant to deal with are usually in shock and its not a true reflection of the person.  Until you have had your life ripped apart like they have you really aren't ENTITLED to comment.  Even if you have been in their shoes you need to recognize that complex emotional and psychological reactions are occuring and everyone handles things differently.

My agency is administering the World Trade Center Relief Fund and one of the concerns that every fund has is what will our disbursements do in terms of eligibility for other aid.  It takes time to unwind the complex laws and regulations at the federal and state level.  Sometimes these laws need to repealed or amended, or regulations need to be revised.  This all takes time.  I'm sure this is no relief to those in need, but it is reality.  It also helps to make sure that the greatest number of deserving individuals receive assistance.

I applaud Cantor Fitzgerald for their commitment to providing for their employees and my sympathies go out to everyone who lost family and friends - I lost several friends that day.  Let's not judge people too harshly here and lets try to remember the days immediately following September 11 when we were all going out of our way to help each other.

In a way you are right Garandman, but those people also had the time to prepare for the possibility that their sons or daughters would not be coming home.  While their husbands and wives were off at war they were continuing to live back on the homefront, working and supporting their families.  sure, some of the GI pay probably came home, but they likely didn't have their financial footing ripped out from underneath them.  These people will survive as well, I'm chalking this up to a couple of women who probably were never happy with what they had no matter how opulent.  they need something to complain about and someone was willing to shove a microphone in their face and give them a soapbox.  I won't judge all of the widows and widowers by these two.

Excuse me, exactly how does one prepare for the their son, daughter, father, mother, or spouse to not come home from the military?

If by living in constant fear that your bread winner (earning just about the poverty wage and non-union) will not return from six month deployments every two years, on top of the normal routine 8 months of the year away I can see your point.

Well Paul there is a bit of a difference between somebody dying while on a routine deployment versus somebody who is in an active war zone.  If you can't see that the probability of death or serious injury is higher during war time in a combat zone than it is on routine peactime deployment I don't know what to tell you sir.

I don't know, and so I am asking, are there not survivor benefits for the families of those killed in service to their country?  The NYPD and FDNY families will receive financial support, do military families not receive the same?

As far as insurance, many companies are not paying out until death certificates have been obtained.  If you die in a car accident and they have your body the payout can be as quick as that week.  The normal period of time to declare somebody dead without a body is three years!  They passed legislation recently to allow immediate issuance of death certificates for the WTC which will speed up payouts.  However, before that these people would have had to wait up to three years if the insurance companies refused to pay without a death certificate.

As far as living in fear, I have nothing but respect for military families.  I also think that the extended periods apart might make these families stronger and better able to transition to mommy or daddy, husband or wife, not coming home ever again.  Easy?  Never.  Easier?  Perhaps.

Garandman, your point is well taken.

I too put myself through college and graduate school - entirely on my own.  Believe me, I'll be paying for it for another 15 years to come!  The last thing my father gave me was a car in 1993 when I was 20 years old.  I still have that car and will be driving it for at least another year or two.  why don't I dump that car and get a new ride befitting the hard work I put in and the sacrifices I have made?  Well, I have a little event to pay for next year - my wedding - because my bride-to-be's father is a louse and walked out on her, her mom and her sisters leaving them in utter poverty (the hard working class kind, not the welfare kind).

Her mom would love to help pay for the wedding but I won't hear of it.  She has very little, and what she has she should keep for herself.  We'll do just fine on our own.

So I hear ya brother, I hear ya!

I'm much in agreement. Do you think that if this happened in any other country but the USA that there would be such an outpouring of support? We're doing all that we can because these people have lost so much. But that doesn't give them the right otsuddenly feel like it is something that we owed to them all along. If you want help... you ask for it. I don't think there is anything wrong with having to show some ID to keep the system honest. As a Fraud Investigator by day I KNOW that there will be people who'll claim that they lost someone just to get a free ride for the rest of their lives. If I could I'd have them executed by firing squad on national TV.... but I can't. So instead we have to go through the process of sorting out the real victims from the frauds.

IF YOU WANT HELP.... ASK FOR IT FIRST.

Shooter, I'm working personally on one of the funds.  While i can not speak to what the other funds are doing I can tell you there are legal reasons that prevent us from just writing checks, including the fact that receipt of aid from one group might legally preclude it from another, or diminish benefits that one is eligible for from another source.  Assistance also carries tax implications.  Until new laws and regs are adopted people might find themselved thrown into higher tax brackets or lose eligibility to claim certain credits and exemptions based upon receiving aid.  These things all have to be ironed out and I can assure you there are a whole lot os us lazy government types working 16 plus hour days to help these people.

SO KINDLY BACK THE PHUCK OFF!

Well shooter, it might surprise you to know that when working those kind of hours a break on occassion is needed and maybe even deserved.  So yes, I put down the phone and post here and read an interesting thread if I see one - especially if it has to do with the funds we are working on.

I have no excuse for the Red Cross, I am not affiliated with them in any way.  I am disgusted with them as well, at least in this regard.  Sorry your money isn't going where you wanted it to.  I'd be pissed to.