Straight to Hell Winners

Alexandra Scott was an eight-year-old girl who died two years ago last week of cancer. When she was 4, she started a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research. The outgrowth of that original stand, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, has raised $7 million for pediatric cancer research and care since its inception.

So when I heard that four people broke into the charity's office and stole not only the cash donated by healthy kids to benefit sick kids, but the friggin' lemonade itself, I knew I had my first "Straight to Hell" winner of the summer. But then I heard that the perpetrators were most likely kids themselves, and it seemed excessively harsh. I'm sure little Alex would want to think the best of these young people, so I'll follow her lead, for now.

So how about if we give the award to Leroy Brown instead, the financial manager at the Salvation Army in Newark, New Jersey? Mr. Brown took about $400K of the charity's dollars--monies actually intended for the poorest and the sickest members of the community.

Of course, if you listen to the management at the Salvation Army (or the national media for that matter) these kinds of things never happen there, so it's perfectly acceptable that the organization doesn't have to file even an informational tax return with the federal government, given that they're not only a church, but devoid of any scandals.

Enjoy the heat, Mr. Brown. It can't be any worse than Newark in August.