McElveen-Hunter was appointed by Bush in June 2004. Her Red Cross bio says she is the "former U.S. Ambassador to Finland (2001-2003) and the CEO and owner of Pace Communications, Inc., the largest private custom publishing company in the United States. The company's clients include such Fortune 500 companies as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, AT&T, Carlson Hotels, and Toyota."

McElveen-Hunter donated more than $130,000 to the Republican Party since 2000, RAW STORY has found. Her largest donations were $25,000 to the Republican National Committee in April 2004 and $100,000 in July 2000. In May 2000, she gave $1000 to "Bush for President, Inc."

Marsha J. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Red Cross, is a Rear Admiral in the Navy and the Director of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., a global investment bank serving the financial needs of corporations, institutions, governments and high-net-worth investors worldwide, according to the corporation's web site. Evans also sits on the boards of the May Department Stores Company and Weight Watchers International and was recently elected to the board of the Huntsman Corporation, a large chemical and plastics manufacturer. She is also a presidential appointee to the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy.

ARC only gave to victims $10 Million of the $50 Million it collected for the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  According to one researcher, critics also protested holdbacks following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Red River flooding in 1997 and a San Diego fire in 2001.  After 9/11 the ARC held back more than half of the net $543 Million it had raised.  Putting that money in a Liberty Fund, doesn't make me or the victims feel any better.  

While courts have considered the Red Cross a "government instrumentality" immune from state taxation, they have not viewed it as such for purposes of religious discrimination or Freedom of Information Act claims. In other words, the Red Cross obtains the tax benefits of being a "government instrumentality," but is exempt from the obligations that government carries.

One federal court noted that, "Close cooperation with government is essential to the work of the Red Cross. A perception that the organization is independent and neutral is equally vital."

The Supreme Court has found that "time and time again, both the President and the Congress have recognized and acted in reliance upon the Red Cross' status virtually as an arm of the Government."