Shocking, I know.
[…] in 2010 $100,000,000 was donated to the environmental advocacy organization ClimateWorks by a single progressive funding organization: the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
While the Hewlett Foundation’s $100 million dollar donation is an outlier, the amount of liberal money flowing into environmental groups is undeniably extreme. According to tax records, in 2010 the aforementioned Hewlett Foundation gave a total of $135,203,199 to environmental advocacy groups. Similarly, Pew Charitable Trusts gave out $18,494,516 in grants to the green movement, and Tides chipped in a little over $10 million as well. Environmental advocacy group The Sierra Club Foundation even donated an astounding $33,789,753 to fellow environmental organizations. In fact, the top 30 “Green Movement” funders donated a combined total of $286,861,331 to groups concerned with climate, environment, and sustainable energy, according to 2010 tax information.
Again that is more than $286 million that groups pushing the environmental agenda raked into their coffers in one year alone.
In that single year, these 30 top funders bankrolled a total of 237 different environmental advocacy groups. Many of these groups received grants totaling in the millions of dollars.
Again, we needed this “exposed”? Of course environmental groups and “NGO’s” are political behemoths. Of course, eg., Media Matters isn’t really an unbiased media watchdog organization. Everyone — or at least, anyone sentient — knows this.
I don’t mean to berate such reporting as is being done here — we need it, and my intent is not to minimize the effort to inform — but on another level, so much of what ails this country today is the result of carefully, collegially, and respectfully refusing to call something what it is — opting instead to grant that “everyone is entitled to their opinion” as if virtue lies in our willingness to countenance plain bullshit and “respect” the opinions of plain bullshitters. Otherwise, why would we continue to tolerate tax money for NPR or grants to so-called NGOs that are entirely and often times nearly openly partisan?
That mindset — a kind of relativism masquerading as graciousness and the mark of a fine morality — was crafted and its implementation carried out as a way to institutionalize leftist philosophical assumptions. Further, we’ve been conditioned to feel chastised when we fail to appear to keep an open mind.
I’m sick of the whole damn thing, and I’m tired of people on my side who refuse to wake up to the fact that they are in many respects the Washington Generals to the left’s Harlem Globetrotters: there’s the appearance of opposition — and hell, the Generals even win one every once in a while — but on the real institutionalized issues, the left owns the game. Which is why the country always lurches left.
I want a press that’s adversarial to everyone in power, all the time, be they politicians or organizations that influence politicians. Everything they say should be scrutinized thoroughly. It would be the only way to keep them honest, at least in public.
Yes, I know I’m dreaming.
When the media became one of those organizations (well, institutions) that influence politicians, they lost all incentive to be honest players.
I still can’t believe that I’m called names because I refuse to be a cheerleader for the Generals. But then, I can’t believe that nobody sees the Globetrotters for the statist slavers that they are, either.
If you thought that the Stimulus sent a lot of money overseas, just wait ’til you see how much NPR money goes to Canada and the Brits. Scandalous!
On the other hand, as a Nation we’ve never been smarter or happier. Now excuse me, I’m going to read the latest on how shocked Katy Perry was that her husband wanted her to have his baby.
If you thought that the Stimulus sent a lot of money overseas, just wait ’til you see how much NPR money goes to Canada and the Brits.
That’s alright, Squid, that stuff is commercial TV; that doesn’t come out of my license fee. Except for Sherlock. Hey wait, I want a rebate!
Don’t these environmental groups turn around and spend all those millions of dollars buying political influence? I could have sworn that all the people who fund these groups also fund a bunch of other groups to tell me how that sort of money is corrupting our democratic system of government.
It’s all so confusing! My head hurts. Best stop thinking so hard.
I can’t wait for the first Senator to go on the floor to denounce the BBC as “doing the television that Americans won’t do.”
Outsourcing lefty TV – that’s a good thing, no?
Given the dog’s breakfast we made of Prime Suspect, I’m thinking that we Americans may not be cut out for this popular entertainment thing…
It is, SW — though why we would import it is a different question.
Political Goliaths lends unwarranted grandeur for my tastes. How about Political Fat Asses? Political Behemoths? Political Donkey Dicks?
I thought the US version of Life On Mars was in a different class to ours.
I thought the US version of Life On Mars was in a different class to ours.
Did the Brit version have The Master bloke in it, or am I thinking of summat else?
Not in the ones I saw, di. There was “The Master” in Dr Who. That’s as British as Jubilee Marmite.
I think I’d go with Political Donkey Dicks. Works on numerous levels, not least of which is it fits the rest of the headline perfectly.
I miss “Cracker.” That was a truly great cop show.
– Fuck it. I’m going to have a nice lunch on a Big Mac and fries, and spread my carbon footprint all over the damn place. Outlaw!
I think I’ll stick with “Goliaths,” if only because it allows me to characterize the logging, oil, and development industries as “the little guys” fighting to create jobs in the face of giant eco-lobbyists using their millions to corrupt Congress and the EPA.
I just don’t see the noble warrior intimidating the weak and powerless.
More like the swollen, purple appendage of the democrat donkey fucking everyone that wants to earn a living.
– BTW – that “thinking mans Big Mac” thing really works.
Ramirez outta do a cartoon…
Can you imagine what would happen to our economy if tomorrow the entire regulatory morass visited upon us by environmentalists disappeared? There would be a moment of hushed awe, then business would explode like a nuke. They could have a 10% flat tax, and still pay off the national debt in five years.
Even if you kept the pragmatic common sense regs…7 years tops.
Not in the ones I saw, di. There was “The Master” in Dr Who. That’s as British as Jubilee Marmite.
I meant the bloke who plays The Master in the Dr Who reboot. Blonde chap. I could swear I saw him in a drama where he’s a cop and all of the sudden it’s the 70s and he’s all, “WTF” and I was all, “hey, that’s the bloke what plays The Master.”
I’ve got some Marmite in my cupboard, given to me as a gag gift, “gag” being the operative word.
Can you imagine what would happen to our economy if tomorrow the entire regulatory morass visited upon us by environmentalists
disappearedwere ignored by all and sundry?FTFY.
Cats love Marmite. Problem solved.
John Simm.
Personally, I think we should just use terrible as a noun.
They’re not political goliaths, they’re terrible.