Truth, Lies, Fact or Fiction.
Email that starts “Dear Fellow Leaguers” was sent out to a number of members a few weeks ago and is based
on some truths, and is as far as we can tell not the full story as it changes on an hourly, Daily, Weekly and
Monthly basis.
Every effort is being made on behalf of the membership to protect the Marine Corps League by a number of
National Officers and the Board of Trustees.
Posted below is an excerpt from an Email to our Department Officers from Commandant Ransom.
“It’s common in a investigation of this magnitude that information is leaked and sometimes we don’t get
all the facts correct. I firmly believe that all this will be resolved and once again, we must stand fast until
the whole process works out. I plan on having some caucuses in Arizona for New York delegates and by
that time have some hard facts on this matter and the position we will take as a Department.
I’m not so concerned about all the rhetoric we have been getting via emails but “what are the facts, what
is the solutions and National makes changes to see that this does not happen again. We are not only
saving our beloved League but paving the way for those coming after us. We have to get this correct.
Please, if anyone has any input to give me before I leave, please do so. Remember, it’s not what’s been
said, it’s how we resolve it and move on.”
Please forward all correspondence to Jeff Smith, Department Adjutant at 337 Winton St. Syracuse, New York
13203 or Email to jdsmith1945@verizon.net NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. All information received will be
delivered to Commandant Ransom.
Dear Fellow Leaguers,
I cannot in good conscience remain silent any longer. The executive director, Michael Blum, has made many
poor and a few patently illegal decisions which have depleted our finances and exposed us to potential Federal
legal issues.
First off, the IRS code 4958 specifically prohibits the hiring of family members. Mr. Blum has hired both of his
sons to 'run' the IT department of the MCL, with a combined salary and benefits of over $150,000 per year. For
the expenditure we have received the value as follows.
1) Our Website has not been updated since 2004, and many parts of it do not function at all. For one
example it is not possible to download many of the 'available' forms. Also, the ships store sizing choice doesn't
work and it is hard to maneuver around to find items, the newer items are not even on there, and when I have
inquired about this I am told the site will not allow additions or changes. Richard Blum, who is responsible for
web hosting, has ordered many thousands of dollars worth of equipment, on the league charge accounts,
shipped to his residence in Florida, where he operates a SEPARATE WEB HOSTING SERVICE named
HOSTING WAREHOUSE. I am certain that there are many other businesses being hosted on the MCL
equipment, per the report of Lori Kaiser. Oh, and Richard bills $16,000 per year to host the site, which can be
done commercially for $100-$150 per month. NEW DEVELOPMENT * AS OF THIS 7/9/2015- THE
WEBSITE HAS DISAPPEARED - NO WARNING, JUST GONE! mcleague.org and all of the links now just
goes to "SERVER NOT FOUND" - when calling MCL Headquarters even the staff had no prior knowledge.
2)New Computers, which were purchased over 18months ago and sat in boxes until the IT department
was given a deadline by the Board of Directors. This deadline was not met, and when it was finally addressed it
was a fiasco as none of the staff knew the computers would be wiped of their data history and the installation
done haphazardly, the computer system at the National HQ is riddled with problems and is basically still nonfunctional for many of the employees. An example would be, Quick Books, the league uses this program for the
accounting of MCL, along with its different programs and foundation and is also used for the merchandising
aspects of the business, it had not been updated since 2007, until the new computers were installed with a newer
version which was 8 versions past the old one. It was in fact, so out of date, that it was no longer compatible
with any other systems. With so much money being invested into the IT department, it would have seemed
reasonable to have had this updated before now. By the way, these new computers are way more elaborate then
needed for the daily function. They have touch screens, web-cams, and microphones, these added features were
costly and completely a waste of the leagues money.
3) Many employees at the National Headquarters are living without many computer functions that are
necessary to their jobs properly. Email does work properly, printers do not function, and even the most
mundane changes require an admin password, which have been hoarded by Richard Blum and his brother, Jason
Blum, who was fired for insubordination and misappropriation of MCL property. Specifically he was directly
ordered not to remove the hard drives from the old computers, which he promptly did, and hid them off-site.
They have since then been moved to yet another remote location (most likely by his daddy). All of the
information on these drives is crucial to retrieving years of work including, forms, documents, emails,
correspondences, quotes, spread sheets, vendor information, order histories were on these drives, and not easily
replaced. Information, that represents thousands of hours of work. At this writing none of that info has been
made available on the 'new' computer system, which is a moot point really, since the 'new' system doesn't work
properly. NEW DEVELOPMENT * as of 7/9/2015 THE MCLEAGUE.ORG EMAILS HAVE ALSO BEEN
SHUT DOWN WITH NO WARNING!
Richard stated that he hired "the proper tool for the job" in his brother Jason, because he was 'too busy and sick'
to perform his duties alone. Of course, in his admin post on the website of April 15, 2015, he praises Jason for
his abilities, without mention him by name or revealing that in fact, they are brothers, and sons of the Executive
Director Michael Blum. Richard also references in this post the he works 7 days a week, without extra pay. I am
unsure exactly what he is spending all this time on, given the massive dysfunctionality of the MCL IT situation
as a whole. Oh, and Richard just happens to be the ONLY person who can post on the site, in this same post he
claims responsibility for all technology at the NHQ and "beyond" so by his own admission, all of the issues and
problems are his alone to deal with. I am aware of numerous emails to Richard asking why the computer
systems do not function properly, and he has replied that he is being "harassed" by all these request that he just
do what he's paid for. As a result of all this backbiting and infighting in the NHQ, the ability of the staff to
actually serve the members has been severely crippled.
In the July/August issue of Semper Fi he equates his 'battle with technology to real physical combat, which is
horsepucky in the first degree. I've never had a computer, phone, VCR or any electronic device try to slip a
knife between my ribs. Metaphors have their place in life but they should be appropriate for the situation. This
edition of the "tech corner" seems to be a soapbox to pat himself of the back, which is ironic due to the mess the
IT services of the MCL has become.
Let's also remember who the editor of Semper Fi is - Mike Blum. The recent report from Tony M. couldn't have
been more flattering if it had been written by Mike HIMSELF. He also makes mentions of delinquent members,
their dues money, and suggests firing a few league employees. Perhaps whoever is in charge of membership and
dues, certainly not any expensive salaried contracted employees, regardless of their actual worth and/or
usefulness to the healthy growth of the MCL. It is exactly this untouchable status that allows power to corrupt
those who feel above accountability. I hope this sheds a bit of light on the shadows surrounding the man with
'nothing to hide'.
In closing, I wonder if the Board or the MCL Members are aware how salary increase monies are allocated. For
Instance, one year actual workers in the NHQ received as little as 50 cents per hours increase, while the
executive director raised his own pay by $30,000 per annum (which works out to $14 per hours based on a
standard 2080 work year). Some of the employees are less than the $15 per hour minimum wage that is all over
the news, after 10 years of service or more. The Blum trio, on the other hand, enjoy a combined salary and
benefit package approaching half a million dollars. Are the league members getting good value for that money?
I think not.
Thanks for listening.
Anon.