Have you heard about the strangest new craze in breast cancer charities, the kind that doesn’t actually want to fight breast cancer? This for a brief period was the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the behemoth breast cancer research charity always running around madly putting pink ribbon stickers on everything from yogurt cups to professional football players, after they inexplicably hired rabidly anti-choice wingnut Karen Handel to the Senior VP of Public Policy spot last year (following Handel’s failed run for Georgia governor despite/because of Sarah Palin’s endorsement, hahahah). The foundation then decided they didn’t want to pay Planned Parenthood to help low-income lady people get free breast cancer screenings anymore, in case the ladies might accidentally get an abortion on the way down the hall to the mammography machine. And THEN they lied to everyone about the reason for the decision and said it was because some wingnut Congressman in Florida is “investigating” Planned Parenthood and they can’t give money to organizations being fake investigated by nutjobs. BUT NOW that is all over with, HOORAY, because as soon as the Internet found out about all this a few days ago, it also made a decision, to stop giving money to a pro-breast cancer charity and give all their monies directly to Planned Parenthood instead. So Komen has come back to say NO WAIT DIDN’T MEAN IT WE LURV PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
Here’s the official “shit, sorry” statement from their website, via the AP:
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
Moral of the story: do not hire Sarah Palin’s friends to run any kind of organization that is meant to help people, children! [AP]
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It's bullshit, they're just spinning. They haven't changed anything.
It is their third version of "Why We Pulled the Plug" in past day or so.
I'll be making my third donation directly to PP.
Even if they plan not to fund Planned Parenthood in future years (most likely the case since their board has been taken over by fundy assholes), PP has the time to replace that grant they will no longer get.
Still a dick move by Komen but less harmful for Planned Parenthood.
I saw that, oddly, donations to BOTH groups have skyrocketed. I think (hope?) in the long run PP will be able to maintain their funding while Komen will drop off.
This is what they *have* changed: their desire to keep sucking GOP ass so publicly.
This doesn't mean they will STOP sucking GOP ass any time soon. But you can be sure they'll be investing in heavy-duty privacy screens to shield any such ass-suckery from public scrutiny.
This organization spends, what, 20% of its intake on "the cure," 25% on administration costs, and the remainder on suing the shit out of small businesspeople and publicity-whoring. If you're serious about a cure for cancer, there are LOTS of other organizations that will be happy to take your money and actually give a lot of it to researchers. No need to jump through their fucking hoops.
"This organization spends, what, 20% of its intake on "the cure," 25% on administration costs, and the remainder on suing the shit out of small businesspeople and publicity-whoring. If you're serious about a cure for cancer, there are LOTS of other organizations that will be happy to take your money and actually give a lot of it to researchers."
Forgive me for repeating information I've posted before, but it's worth knowing. A friend of mine worked for the American Cancer Society, and was calling to solicit charity purchases (you know, buy this thing and X% of the proceeds go to charity), and one of the people she called was skeptical:
Friend: What, you think the American Cancer Society is running a scam?
Skeptical guy: Well… No… But you must have expenses; I mean, you gotta pay rent on an office, you gotta pay phone bills — some of the money must go for that.
Long story short, ANY charitable organization is required by law to disclose where their money goes. If you request that information, they have to give it to you. So if you have any doubts or questions, you can easily find out.
tessiee:
It must be reported. But there are still tricks. For example, who here has not gotten some sort of "Survey" from a charity? It always includes a plea for money, doesn't it?
Yet because it is a survey, or includes some information about the cause, the charity can report the expense of sending it out as part of its core mission and not a "fund raising" or "admin" line-item expense.
Komen's line about "contributing to breast-cancer awareness" is double-speak for their junk-mail division. Throw in a "Four things you should know" leaflet, and the whole package (and the postage) is "educational" — even if 90% of what's in the envelope is fund-rasing pitches, lottery tickets, order forms for pink swag, and pre-addressed return mail envelopes.
There are a number of bogus "charities" run by shitstains who pay themselves and their immediate-family "executives" handsomely, and spend the legal minimum on exactly this sort of "educational material."
I honestly believe that they believed the Christofascists bullshit about they represent the majority of Americans and the majority of Americans want an end to Planned Parenthood.
Once the dollars going away exceeded the dollars coming in, they realized that they fucked up.
And here I thought "surrender the pink" meant something completely different.
Looks like you & I are the only ones (possibly in the world) who read Carrie Fisher's book.
Loved that book.
I hear Paul Simon read parts of it.
I read it. Before it was cool. My memory isn't that good. So I could read it again and enjoy it just as much!
Slut.
I say that, of course, with admiration.
There is no better way to prove that you are pro-life like allowing people to have their breast cancer go undetected. Take that, poor tumor carriers!
For freedumz!!!
Please. It's no long "cancer". It's "Freedom Cells. "
It's like the free market on a cellular level.
We need a law to ensure that tumors are not served as food according to Sharia law without first looking at a sonogram.
Freedom cells are the Bain Capital of the microscopic world.
In the current Repubican formulation, that's "Freedom Sells". And at these low, low
pricestaxes who can resist some sweet, sweet freedom*.____________________
* special offer: go off your medication and get a $900 iPad
Cancer cells are just regular cells that have gone Galt.
Wiiiiiiin!
Well consider that the "pro-life" are also actually against a vaccine that would prevent most cervical cancer; I think the only conclusion it that yes, they are the pro-cancer movement.
Everybody knows that cervical cancer is jeebus's punishment for doing the nasty. It's in the bible. I think it's one of the 11 commandments. Which means preventing it is playing right into the devil's hands.
Yeah, the forced birthers think that any woman who has sex without a special ceremony is a slut and deserves to be punished with STDs, unwanted babies and cancer; they truly are an evil movement. But we're supposed to go along with the pretense that they just love the widdle fetuses and not acknowledge that they're really about keeping women down and submissive to the patriarchy.
It makes me feel better to be snarky and make fun of these things, but now and then it hits me. People really and truly believe this shit. Then I get a sad. Sigh.
There was a girl I knew in college who fundamentally, at her core, believed their rhetoric. Every other week she would mass-invite all her friends to an anti-choice rally. She even invited me several times to listen to speakers who were openly anti-gay. Finally one day I couldn't take it any more and told I couldn't attend her prayer breakfast because I was volunteering for Planned Parenthood that morning. I may or may not have made a vacuum sucking sound as she dashed off red-faced.
Also, more Jesus Babbies means more cheap workers, more consumers of made in China sweatshop crap, and more dead soldiers. USA! USA!! USA!!!
Pro-life means protecting the life of every living cell, irrespective of how malign they may be. Killing a tumor is a no-no.
well every sperm IS sacred doncha know…
Every Sperm is Sacred {Monty Python's Meaning of Life} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0kJHQpvgB8
Great point!
Cancer is free market cell division, essentially.
Cancer: it's a baby, essentially.
So, a fetus is a tumor, essentially?
I'll believe a tumor is a fetus when the Santorums dress it up and bring it home to meet the families.
Don't encourage them; they're loony enough to do it.
Damn, I wish I'd known that before, Fare. I would have thrown a shower for my sister with ovarian cancer.
My nose was a womb?
*chuh*
What, now a booger is a fetus, *too*?
Oh, YOU think the poorz are people too, huh? Well, I guess that makes, what, nine of us now?
It used to only cost 10 Ameros to incorporate an organization in the Square State. Even the poorest of the poorz can go another five or six days without food to incorporate themselves to people peoplz too, MB!
It's like the Republicans keep telling us, pdog: them Poorz is jes' as shif'less as all get-out.
Hi Z! How's ur knee?
The current meme seems to be that abortions are the cause of breast cancer.
Oh they've been spreading that lie for a long time now, no matter how debunked it's been; fuck the Bush administration tried to have the DHHS spread that bullshit.
Government-sponsored slut-shaming. How conservative!
I believe that's called a "Faith-based Initiative."
Nice to know that my tax dollars are being used for something that's not only batshit insane, but also misogynistic.
So is that why Dems are aborting black babies? So the mothers will get breast cancer? Wait, PP performs abortions and doesn't tell black ladies they are also giving them breast cancer. Which makes anyone who supports Planned Parenthood the real racist.
But then Dems want to give people health care so doctors can save them by detecting cancer and treating it. But Dems also want to kill people by aborting their babies and giving them boobie cancer. But Dems also need lots and lots of black babies to get hooked on welfare handouts and also vote Democratic…Gah, wingnut logic makes my brain want to curl up in a corner and drink antifreeze.
As nearly as I can figure out, the wingnuts want the wimmenz to have breast cancer, just not from abortions.
"Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer."
EXACTLY. Carry on, please.
Boobs.
Yes, yes, they are…
sweet new avatar
Thanks — I made a decision to defund pedo to death, forever.
By the way, every time I see yours, "I'mmm bringin' home a baayy-be bumblebee, won't mah momma be so proud'a me…" gets stuck in my head for the next hour, and as a consequence, I hate life just a wee bit less.
""I'mmm bringin' home a baayy-be bumblebee, won't mah momma be so proud'a me…" gets stuck in my head"
Momma: Killer, you bring-a home a little baby sheeps?
Killer: Duh, no, Momma.
*smack!*
Nice. Shake!
I'll take two, please, thanks.
Cancer = Bad
Women controlling their own bodies = Worse
Uppity women getting cancer = peace in our time
Cancer > Tebow
Well, if they don't get cancer, how can our nation's brave Washington "outsiders"/historians divorce them?
Just look what happened when we let them control the worl … OK, uh, yeah, well, that's not a FAIR argument because God.
Rethuglican Party, please note: your hateful, sexist, racist, poorz-targeted, anti-choice, repressive War On Wimmenz has been called for exactly what it is.
You like pink? Let's fire up that rusty chainsaw and give you all a collective colonoscopy with it — we'll see how much you like pink.
#Occupy_GOP_A**holes
Oh, god, I get SO hot when you talk dirty to me like that.
Rusty chainsaw, MMM!
Can Wonkette give Komen the boobie prize?
Take two, they're small.
Tits or GTFO.
They would be cancerous tits and not the vision you were thinking of.
Tits AND GTFO, sounds like.
"Computer. Fetus, black, hot."
Captain Sandusky?
Slightly off topic, but that Karen Handel bitch looks like a younger female version of *gasp* me. And that, my friends, is not good. I wouldn't fuck her with Newt's droopy peen.
As I once remarked to a friend after we were accosted by a sex worker of indeterminate gender while walking through Pigalle:
"I hope that's a man, because if not, it's the ugliest woman I've ever seen."
Cecile Richards, on the other hand…..
To be fair, neither would he.
And you're sure of this, why? She has a pulse, therefore she meets Newt's standards.
True that, but is Viagra strong enough to wake the actual dead?
Yes, silly. What do you think Lazarus used?
Still, you gotta admit her "Messiah" is pretty awesome.
I don't know about HER Messiah. Mine wants to kick her ass, though.
She resembles a highly intelligent pig. I'm sure she'd make a fine barbecue sandwich, especially with gobs of slaw and plenty of Frank's Red Hot sauce.
Some terrible cases of whiplash at Komen after this U-turn. Need ambulance chasers STAT.
It's not a u-turn. It's a strategic retreat to a defensible position. They have committed not to drop the current grant to PP. They will quietly not renew or (more likely) renew at drastically diminished levels when the furor has died down. These people have revealed themselves to be right-wing movement hacks, and if there is one thing we have learned about these people, it is that they are relentless.
I agree–in a reply to a comment above I said that even if (when) Komen stops funding Planned Parenthood, PP will have had a year to replace the grant they won't be getting.
It's just that U-turn goes better with whiplash than strategic retreat to a defensible position, even though your characterization is more accurate.
Sorry, I should have realized you would know that, and should have added something like [Of course, I'm not telling you anything you don't know.]
This is a reminder to those of us who might have daughters, nieces, lovers, sisters, wives … keep an eye on this group, and, a year from now if they revert to their old ways under the mistaken impression that no one is watching, take them down publicly AGAIN. And again, and again, and again, until they learn their lesson.
That is the responsibility of a democracy — that all of us citizens have to do our duty to ensure a better world for the ones we leave behind.
"This is a reminder to those of us who might have daughters, nieces, lovers, sisters, wives … keep an eye on this group, and, a year from now if they revert to their old ways under the mistaken impression that no one is watching"
Except that I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed. The kind of people who care about women's health now know that Komen is a bunch of pandering shits, and even if they do "revert", or get lazy about covering their tracks, or whatever, it would be kinda like Robert Blake turning up with yet another dead wife. "Um, yeah, I know this looks kinda bad…"
I certainly hope so, tessiee. These people have no business claiming to be a charity, with their misogynist agenda.
Moral of the story: do not hire Sarah Palin’s friends to run any kind of organization that is meant to help people, children!
We're a center-right, christian country, Goddammit.
GOSHdamnit!
Don't blaspheme!
The Koman credibility horse has left the barn and they're trying to get it back. This is what happens when you hire someone who follows the mindset and logic of Joan of Wasilla and her merry minion Teatards.
My wife and I both agreed we're sending some money to Planned Parenthood this weekend and will not longer support or sanction anything from the Komen foundation. When some of their own staff members quit in response to this, it confirms that this latest spin is total horseshit.
The only good to come out of this is maybe the rest of America will figure out how vile, stupid, and caustic Sarah Palin is.
As you say, the sty door is shut, but the porker has long since left the barn. Too little, too late, ya rancid shithead…
Dang, I wish I could agree with you, but I just got a response from one of my (few) teatard "friends" to my caustic Facebook post about SG Komen backing down,and the entire response was a long compilation of Fucks Snooze talking points. Only death will remove the stoopid.
Part of me is tempted to head over to Breitbart to see what our old trolls are saying about this, but it is a scary place.
Don't do it. Sanity is too precious.
amen, the Komen Korp showed their true colors and will never get another dime from me…for the last 10 years we had the largest (non-corporate) team at the Race for the Cure (over 100 people in our group) in memory of my little sister who died from breast cancer 9 years ago…I've always been a bit wary of them with their fascist-like control of pink ribbons and even suing others for using 'CURE' for their events…I made two donations this week to PP, one for the local folks and one for the national org, and will continue to do so…nothing Komen does or says now will convince me that they are NOT assholes!
So is Newt for or against poor women's boobs?
Newt is for young women's boobs – the Callistatron is approaching her "dump-by" date
He's all for them — until they get cancer, of course.
He was for them before he was against them.
Wait. That was Mitt…
He's for them AND likes to be against them.
Well, if women don't get cancer, how is Newt supposed to know it's time to dump them?
Hey-oh!
Whenever people talk about Newt and women's body parts in the same sentence, I'm really glad I'm not a woman. I shiver hard enough being a man.
He was for them until he became Catholic.
Cancer is the language of ghetto boobs.
We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Is that why at least two people, that we know of, high in your organization resigned in protest over the decision, and you decided to go forward anyway? Please, as Michael Corleone said to Carlo, under frankly rather similar circumstances, "Just don't tell me that you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry."
A tits for tats repartee/
Yeah, I buy that argument of theirs just as much — it's exactly why they defunded PP and then came up with the principle behind it, and then when they explained the principle they couldn't explain why they were still funding Penn State, which is also under investigation. Typical Republican bullshit that their principles are whatever they use to justify their immediate desires.
"They were not"- All together now, – "Oh yes, they fucking well were"…..
"as Michael Corleone said to Carlo, under frankly rather similar circumstances, "Just don't tell me that you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry.""
*is awe-stricken*
"needs of their communities"
Access to mammograms < Red herring needed since demise of ACORN
Freedom of choice as long as you choose the teabaggers way?
Reminds me of when I was a school child and they taught me the USSR was a terrible, scary place because when they had elections there was only one candidate on the ballot. If the teabaggers had their way …
Well, it is well known by those on the Conservative side that while they have your breast all tied up in the machine, Plan Parenthood will strive to shove something up your snatch and abort anhtin they find.
BREAKING: Komen Foundation goes all in, to only fund Botox for rich white women.
This is good news for Callista.
That's nice; still giving my money directly to Planned Parenthood and not to this caving-to-wingnuts Suzan lady.
You are absolutely right, my breast loving friend. I gave a donation a few nights ago and it felt really good.
Amen, I gave two donations this week to PP, one for the locals and one for the national org…I give to them every year anyway but upped the ante this time, and yes it does feel good!
Seconded.
i saw the statement from the founder last night(before the u-turn) and i know she lost her sister and all but MAN she was unappealing. pretty much hit every 'PR no-no if trying to control a crises' (whined, blamed the public, implied PP was unsavory, etc.)
also, she was kinda personally gross: aging entitle white woman wearing too much make-up trying to sound authentic.
Her overly botoxed face and plumped out lips did not help her cred either.
(I know, meeeooowww!)
…but we'll still let Ben Roethlisberger wear one of our ribbons
It's not like you can tell him "no"…
So you're saying they aborted their attempts to politically hijack the funding process at Susan G. Komen?
BTW, if you really want a reason to be pissed off, check out its administrative overhead percentage vs. how much money it actually contributes to breast-cancer awareness.
What's next? Komen cuts off funding to any organization that funds rape exam kits (keeping in the Palin vein)?
What do the Girl Scouts think of this?
Well according to the right wing, the Girl Scouts are a bunch of radical lesbian feminist pagans brainwashing young girls:
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/20…
Girl Scouts: So much more badass than the Boy Scouts can ever hope to be.
Especially the SS Troop.
Praise Jebus for the Inter Tubes. Right DW?
This whole breast thing was a bust.
I'll have to settle for the next-breast thing, then.
Tits a real shame…
NO thanks for the mammaries!
Nice turnaround.
'Breast in Show'.
Jean-Luc!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would show you my tits any time, any space,
P.S.: Komen can still fuck the fuck off. I'm still donating to PP and Emily's List.
Make it so!
Until they shitcan Karen Handel, ALL my contributions will go to Planned Parenthood instead. I used to make donations in my mother's and sister's names, a victim and a survivor, respectively.
That's because you be da man, as One-L Shelee likes to say.
Is it safe to say this whole thing was badly Handeled?
Just wait until Herman Cain gets a handle on these two very important issues.
He may have his hands full.
It's a lot to juggle. It's going to be heads-down, nose to the grindstone. He's just looking forward to a happy ending.
Who are these morons? You're telling me you couldn't see the Decision/Backlash/Reversal pathway laid out before you like the yellow brick fucking road?
For some reason, pro-life nuts think everyone agrees with them, or would if the rest of us just had a chance to see the sonograms.
Well said. In the bubble of like-mindedness decision process, no doubt.
A lot of the bible cranks are like that, too. They think that everyone is "really" Christian, and just being a Jew/Muslin/Hindu/atheist/agnostic to be a pain in the ass.
Hard core right wingers tend to only listen to one another and ignore everyone else. So they end up really believing that a huge majority of Americans agree with their anti-woman, anti-worker, anti-birth control agenda, and that only a small cadre of snobbish elitist Democrats are holding them back. It comes as a genuine shock to them to learn otherwise.
"It comes as a genuine shock to them to learn."
Which is why they keep sending around E-mails like that one with the watermelon patch in front of the White House. "But it was just a joke."
It's also why they live in places like The Villages.
Which makes them The Village People?
When you watch Fucks Gnus 24/7, your grip on reality gets pretty loose after a while.
Too late komen. I'm taking my tits and going home. Oh, and my wallet too.
How are they going to pay their CEO $500,000 if people don't send in those checks?
Don't worry, its an empty threat, considering the contents of my wallet. (also empty)
Well, unlike Komen, we at Wonkette welcome your tits with open arms, no matter what the status of your wallet may be.
That's fucking beautiful, man.
* weeps silently *
Ah, that's so sweet. Hope your not too dissapointed to find out that my tits are almost as flat as my wallet.
If they had a CEO who was actually WORTH $500,000 they wouldn't have gotten into this mess.
These assholes will probably just try to defund Planned Parenthood gradually, by reducing future grants bit by bit. But the damage to SGK's reputation has been done…
…and better yet, now they've probably pissed off the wingnuts as well…
The Republicans in congress have been trying to defund Planned Parenthood under the guise of deficit reduction since the took the House; luckily the Dems have not caved on it. Not yet anyway.
Yes. And they lobbied hard behind the scenes against the ACA (that's the acronym of the healthcare reform act, right?).
ASS.HOLES.
"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities."
Fucktard-speak for "Shit, you caught us. Next year when this dies down we'll just quietly not fund them in any community that expresses some hatred of women for any fucking goddamned reason whatsoever. Just try and wade through all that bullshit."
"Just try and wade through all that bullshit."
Sometimes the bullshit is so deep that you can't row *or* wade through it.
No, but you can shovel it and throw it back.
PS: Welcome mrsbitch. 2p — we haven't seen one of those for awhile.
– "you can't row *or* wade through it"
- "No, but you can shovel it and throw it back."
Shoveling and throwing it back would save having to consider the relative merits of row vs. wade.
Yeah, wtf?!? Not sure what happened there. Apparently Intense Debate hates me – my whole comment history is gone. Not that there was anything profound on it anyway, but still.
Don't worry, the Conservatives will be back. Just imagine their shock about the fact that Plan Parenthood demands that the women's breast be exposed for the testing!
Some of their female staff are unmarried too. And out in public! The horror!
Why I've heard some of their female staff might wear skirts that don't go down to the ankle!
At least they still get to sell their pink barrelled handguns!
The flop house?
Oddly enough, they never considered defunding Penn State. I hear they're under investigation for something, too.
That .gif up top is, like, ten times funnier if you imagine that there's a big pink nipple smack dab on top of Captain Picard's cabeza.
"Self exam, engage."
My mind drifts to Counselor Troi.
Ha! I'm sure she knows just how you feel.
I hope not – or she'd never stop slapping me.
No funny hats for my imaginary boyfriend please. How's your back feeling today?
Still trying to put that problem behind me behind me, but your Cheetara chi-chis are definitely helping.
Thanks!
I shouldn't've but I laughed outloud. I'm so ashamed.
I, too, am ashamed, but there's an image from Ozzfest that I just can't get out of my head.
Handel kind of looks like Haley Barbour in drag.
I would like to hear Planned Parenthood say to SGK, "Thanks, but no thanks. We don't want to take part in your anti-choice, anti-woman platform going forward". But since PP is actually classy, I know they won't.
Still, my donations will go directly to PP going forward. And SGK, you can stick your little pink ribbons up your little pink asses.
"you can stick your little pink ribbons up your little pink asses" had me laughing my ass off. Righteous indignance looks good on you.
Backpedal for The Cure.™
Psh, this whole argument is irrelevant, because everyone knows the whole "breast cancer" theory is a lie propagated by the liberal media. My sister had breasts her whole life and not a single "cancer." I inspected them myself everyday when she was asleep.
Case closed, libtards.
Dr. Volpe, I presume? I thought it was just me!
Nah, I just have an associates in air conditioning repair, BUT I KNOW HOW SCIENCE WORKS, LIBRULS.
Just like the republican party. They do OK with incrementalism, but the classic over-reach gets them every time.
Or reach-around
That's very nice that the Komen Foundation has changed their venal, crass, callous minds after being shouted down by an overwhelming majority of the public. Which only means that next time they'll try to be more underhanded about it. Thanks for letting me know that my money is better spent going directly to Planned Parenthood, Ms. Handel.
Hmmmm, Internet users crash congress' email servers with protest about SOPA and PIPA, Ellen lays the smack on "One Million Moms", and now this. 2012 been pretty good so far.
I just pray that my liver can hold out until November!
Ellen also got her sponsor JC Penny to give that school where the teacher's are working with no salary a $100,000 donation.
The more I read about the Komen marketing firm…I mean charity. The more it sounds like a huge scam.
Great article via HistoriCat:
http://www.ginandtacos.com/2012/02/02/race-for-th…
That IS a very impassioned and informative article. The comments following it are also excellent and worth the time it takes to read them. Among the good links provided there —
A great cartoon: http://lianamaris.tumblr.com/post/16884980496/thi… ]
A cancer survivor's take-down of Komen's good Charity Navigator rating: http://cancerculturenow.blogspot.com/2011/03/kome…
Detailed info about Komen's political agenda: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/01/1060885/…
All worth reading IMHO.
Is Captain Picard reminding himself of what Beverly's boob felt like (in two hands)?
They have bony boobs in the future?? Oh well, at least they're not hairy.
Glad to see women from all over the country made their thoughts known on this. Next – hopefully they will do the same when the personhood stuff comes up. Personally, I am hanging up my pink running shoes, throwing out the damn pink ribbons (I hate that color anyway), and will be throwing more of my efforts to the PP Center I worked in as a volunteer in college.Lesson to anyone who wants to screw around politically with our private partz: go fuck yourself.
I hope Handel is happy, now that she has titty-fucked herself in the face before the world.
She was gettin' bombed,
And I was gettin' blown away,
And she held it in her hand
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
Too little-too late, wingtard assholes!!
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.
And by that we mean, we'll wait until some wingnut assistant assistant DA brings trumped-up criminal charges against PP.
The Komen Foundation is known for using donated funds to sue other cancer foundations. Stay classy, Komen.
Apparently they've trademarked the phrase "for the cure" and sue anyone who tries to use it. Really this whole trademarking common phrases has gotten out of hand – look also at how the NFL is quick to sue anyone who publicly uses the word Superbowl and isn't one of their sponsors, and even tried to trademark the phrase "the big game" when people started using it as a euphemism to get around that.
And the whole turning breast cancer into a product thing every October. It's not just them, but I'll choose to direct my ire their way anyway.
(There may be better links out there but I'm a lazy Googler) http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/?page_id=13
I have a feeling this is a turning point for Komen – people are starting actually look at them, and are disturbed by what they are seeing. The number of people who send their donations directly to Sloan-Kettering or to PP rather than a high-overhead, litigious, wingnut-driven group that pays its head honchos nearly $500,000 a year is likely to be pretty high. The number of people who – like me – have purchased their last item with a little pink ribbon on it is also likely large – not something that encourages participation by corporate partners.
Well, if they are paying their CEO $500K per year, you know it's only a matter of time before greedy Republicans start oozing their way in to get their hands on some of that sweet sweet titty cancer money.
As if they're not already there.
Cancer cells are alive and part of God's plan, just like fertilized ova.
I can only think of "Confessions" by Tim Minchin.
I agree! Until Karen Handel is either shit-canned or resigns (hopefully in humiliating public disgrace) I will never give a penny to SGK.
Wait till people get a load of the salaries these "charitable" shrews receive.
Hey SGK, you can have another donation when you pry it out of my cold, dead cleavage.
I hate breast cancer – it killed my hubs' mom when she was 45, my dear friend when she was 35 – and I will NEVER give this foundation another dime. Planned Parenthood is my new go-to…
Somehow, Fakata, I just can't picture you with "cold, dead" cleavage. Mmmm.
Ah, memories. It seems like only last night that Brinker was telling Andrea Mitchell that most people were applauding the decision:
"All I can tell you is that the responses we're getting are very, very favorable…People who have bothered to read the material, who have bothered to understand the issues– again, we work for a mission every day of our lives."
And it seemed like only yesterday that they were telling us that it was for the sake of womens' health, because PP didn't do their own mammograms. Now this claim took something of a credibility hit when it was observed that almost no physicians have their own on site mammogram machines, but who are we to call Komen liars? According to the position they were maintaining less than 24 hours ago, their reversal on the PP decision is bad for women's health.
Y'know – I'm beginning to suspect that they might be lying to us now, too. Am I crazy?
Bitching at Planned Parenthood for not doing mammograms = bitching at Jiffy Lube for not doing transmission repair.
"Y'know – I'm beginning to suspect that they might be lying to us now, too. Am I crazy?"
Can't it be both?
I hope so.
So, here's a nice way to let Komen know what you think of them (and this weasel-y backpedaling is just that – they didn't say they'll continue to fund PP, just that they're not pulling existing money, for now, etc. etc.):
Go to PlannedParenthood.org
Click Donate
Instead of "One Time Gift", click on the "Honorary Giving" tab
Fill in the acknowledgement section with:
Karen Handel – Senior VP
c/o Susan G. Komen Foundation
P.O. Box 650309
Dallas, TX 75265
Then Karen Handel gets a postcard saying you donated to PP in honor of her.
Emmelemm, I hope you get a well-deserved Nobel prize for this suggestion.
Ah, thank you, that's sweet, but I can't claim credit: My local "alt weekly" paper, The Stranger, suggested it. And I did! I'm positively gleeful at the thought of PP sending tons of postcards to SGK headquarters saying "So and so donated in YOUR name!"
But thanks for providing the address. You made it SO easy!!!
Just did it! Thanks!
I bow before your superior awesomeness.
Also, too, it was suggested that if you had ever donated to Komen in the past, and received one of those pink rubber bracelets, that you cut it up into little bits and mail it to them.
I've never gotten any "pink" merch, but I have sponsored people doing Race for the Cure. Ugh.
Just did it, too (also).
Just printed my receipts. Donations from me AND mom. I have to say I was tempted to put it "In Memory" of Karen Handel, but they didn't give me space to write, "Here's hoping she disappears soon." Thanks for the inspiration, Em.
Thanks for posting this. I just contributed, and I just passed your suggestion on to all of my friends (which, admittedly, isn't that big of a number). I do love irony.
Tits, meet wringer.
What a PR disaster for the organization I would name except I don't want to get sued for misspelling the name or using the wrong color pink.
Shorter Komen spokescreep: "We were saving the breast for last. Oops."
I suppose we should have seen this coming when Komen chose a VP whose name means "Commerce".
In komen's tweet this morning, they said they'd continue to fund PP to the tune of $250K. Somewhere else I read they donated $7M annually, but the $650K actually donated to PP by some of us in the aftermath of komen's disastrous decision seems to be close to the actual annual contributions by komen. Math is hard, I know, but wtf?
As the husband of a breast cancer survivor (17 years and counting: you go, Mrs proudgrampa!!) I have always been suspicious of the Komen. Just seemed to me like they were in it for the wrong reasons.
A shame that they could not remain apolitical.
Now that's a thrilling story. Please give her a big hug, and a big wet smooch, from all of us.
And a smooch for you, too, PG, from the grrls.
You stayed with her after she ruined your life with her cancer? Why do you hate America?
(snark aside, proudgrampa, I also have a survivor in my life and I'm sure it's true for you too that not one day is taken for granted since. Best wishes for the proudgrampas)
I'm always suspicious of a foundation named after somebody. Bill and Melinda excluded of course.
You mean like the Michael Milken Foundation?
The Michael Milken Race to Cure Michael Milken's Prostate Cancer (TM).
… and Restore Him to His Former Wealth (TM).
Breast cancer screening? We thought you said best dancer screaming. Oopsie!
Abortions for some, miniature
American flagspink ribbons for others!Incidentally, in case you missed it, here is the content of a message Handel re-tweeted two days ago: "Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb to throw. Cry me a freaking river."
Someone obviously advised her to take it down, and she did, but the internet is forever.
(See for yourself: http://yfrog.com/kkzyuyp )
"Pro-abortion group" –yep, no political bomb throwing there.
Ironic when she was the one who turned this into a political bomb in the first place.
Hey, Bitch. Several thousand people have given donations to PP and decided to defund your sorry ass. Cry me a fucking river.
"Political bomb to throw"? Projection much?
I suppose that "murdering liberal" would have taken too many characters.
How many tax-exempt dollars donated to Komen were used to pay for Nancy Brinker's facelifts?
Not enough, Katie, not enough.
Nothing good comes from Texas, and fuck Austin, too, I am sick of hearing how its cool, if it was so cool, it would have left Texas.
Austin tried that, moved to Southern California for a while, but then was extraordinarily renditioned back to Texas.
It's being held at gunpoint.
I'm sensing a certain amount of hostility in this thread.
People just hate Friday afternoons.
It's also exceedingly difficult to masturbate to.
I love the smell of Schadenfreude in the morning.
Afternoon, too.
This one's gone on for nearly 48 hours now. Gets 4 stars from moi.
They're going to have one hell of a time getting their money back from that supplier in American Samoa who just finished printing up thousands of pink t-shirts emblazoned with Komen's new slogan: "Abort tumors – not fetuses!"
Anyway, yes: direct your contributions to PP and bypass Komen altogether.
"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation."
…but now it's just fine. We have discovered our inner Teapublican. Folks under investigation are just fine, if they are helping us get more money.
Fixed.
I'll leave the mocking of these morons to those with the "Komen" parts, but I'd like to point out that Planned Parenthood also screens and treats the boy parts.
Good point.
However, that isn't evil, since boy parts are not an abomination in the eyes of Jeebus (unless, of course, they somehow come into contact with other boy parts); only the ladyparts are.
Planned Parenthood chapters have had to deal with bomb scares, real bomb threats, real bombs, insane protesters, credible death threats, etc. etc.
Not surprising they knew how to handle this kerfluffle.
All I said was, this looks like collusion between Handel and the gentleman from Fla. in an effort to push the right-wing religious agenda.
Is it to late to save ACORN now that we are on a roll?
And the Rosenbergs?
Sacco and Vanzetti?
Alger Hiss?
I'd rather give money to the abortion people anyway. I love tits, but Pink Everything is so annoying. At least Planned Parenthood doesn't make everyone wear Aborted Fetus Flesh Tone* for a whole month.
*Dark brown, according to Newt's spokesmoron.
One of my family members is a breast cancer survivor, who said, "You know what's even worse than having breast cancer? Having breast cancer AND I HATE THE COLOR PINK!!"
"We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not."
That is such utter and total BULLSHIT – BULLSHIT!!!!! – that my family can no longer support the Komen Foundation even after their turnaround on this issue.
Why would we want to continue to give money to someone who tells total, bald-faced lies? (Well, other than a politician.)
Congratulations to Karen Handel, the newest captain in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet.
She's already the captain Schettino of the charity business, so I think Carnival would have second thoughts about that.
She's already on the Priebus team, right?
They'll still use the trope that abortion causes breast cancer I bet.
Funny. They have an "A" list of corporate sponsors.
http://ww5.komen.org/CorporatePartners.aspx.
I heard a massive boycott SGK sponsors move was just about to roll out today. Coincidence they did a 180 on their "policy" today. I think not.
They were obviously digging in last night. Brinker on Andrea Mitchell saying that emails to them were 2:1 in their favor, how if people really took the time to understand they'd see Komen was making the right decision. Handel retweeting an incendiary tweet. Brinker posting (one or two days ago) this spectacularly dishonest video on youtube, which contains an awful lot of crow to eat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4oOh6JhayA
Then a few phone calls from a bunch of enormous corporations, and suddenly – in an instant – some wackjob Florida congressman's worthless investigation, some cottage bible printer dropping their pink bible, etc. don't seem so important anymore.
Big Capitol in action is a powerful thing.
So proving once again bullshit walks back and money talks?
"We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not."
"I didn't do it": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbgsoHDc24
Right, I'm waiting , show me one, just one document that shows a donor expressing your failure to "fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors".
The upside from all this is that now we all know what kind of people are running the show over there at the pink ribbon club, and never give them another dime.
I'm waiting for a donor to ask for her or his contribution back.
I've been on the Seattle Times comment boards for the past two days, defending the right to choose – the right to choose to get gay married, and the right to choose to have a legal medical procedure. The religous wingnuts are out in force. It looks like a NOM will front a major effort to overturn the law in Washington state. I'm exhausted. But the thing is, I always knew Komen was a self-serving marketing organization… I'm just unbelievably pleased that now the entire country know it, too.
You're fighting the good fight. So glad you've made some progress. Continued best wishes for success.
"I am LaFetus of Borg."
"Prepare to be defunded."
Not political at all … sorry, been drinking
today, the interwebs are god.
Why does Patrick Stewart keep slapping his ass? Ohhh….
Komen really got their tit caught in a wringer this time….
How much of the money they get REALLY goes to research or do the higher ups make some hefty salaries? Just remember this is a paltry $700,000 out of the millions they take in each year.
That said, they are a private organization and can choose to fund what they want, like I can choose to not fund them and fund PP instead.
It is my understanding they will honor this year but cut them next.
Apparently that's been the general theme of the freak-out over at NRO today: HOW DARE THE LIBERALS QUESTION WHAT A PRIVATE CHARITY DOES WITH ITS MONEY??!!
Which is of course missing the point. Komen can do whatever the hell it wants with the money donated to it, and the donors can choose to get upset and not send them money anymore. Free market!
Shorter: We're not worried about the very sick.
Perhaps too early to pop the champagne: http://studentactivism.net/2012/02/03/komen-state…
My charitable donations and purchases of "Komen" gear is pretty limited, I have bought things in charity auctions and dumb stuff like that, and mercifully am *not* on their mailing list. Not another cent. If they would consider a fascist to head the organization, I'm not interested. There are plenty of organizations, some of them reputable unlike these creeps, that are in the fight against breast cancer and more. I don't have much to give, but what I can will go to them.
If we can prevent all the poor womens out there without healthcare from getting free cancer screanings then they'll die and won't be able to vote for baby hating libruls or worse men hating feminazis. Nothing says pro-life like killing off poor people!
Karen Handel: "Cry me a freaking river" (new form of apology??)
So, they are still lying?
I gave another in your name.
First clue: hiring Karen Handel. As a 40 year resident of the Great State of Dumfukistan, I am familiar with this smug little bitch on wheels. She is a cunt's cunt; but with open sores and scabs. I understand she is now looking for another job. Pretty sure the Heritage Foundation or Faux will find a slot for her.
Aw, thanks guys.
I can't wait for Pinktober, this ought to be fun. I'm throwing out everything I own thats pink, except for my toe shoes, which I worked more honestly to earn than Komen ever has worked, For anything. Also, I will be funding the great cancer research center in my home town, as well as PP, with whom I worked in college.
What I really would like to do is post a bunch of vulgar fun explesives, however, screwing them out of money is more fun.
So why did they hire Karen Handel anyway? If Komen Found. truly wanted to help women prevent breast cancer, they would tell them about the Gerson diet (and other diets that prevent/cure cancer), Essiac, sheep sorrel, baking soda and molasses, iodine and potassium iodide, etc. and many other natural cancer cures that work far, far better than chemo/radiation and don't require exposing yourself to radiation and risking cancer, in order to prevent it.
When Ari Fleischer is supposed help your PR you're pretty much cooked.
Oh this stuff gets me very angry. And as a man, I'm only indirectly effected by their shit; if I had a womb I don't know how pissed I'd get.
Too bad you didn't have a straightened-out coat hanger to poke her with.
"There was a girl I knew in college who fundamentally, at her core, believed their rhetoric."
This reminds me of the funniest line in the movie "Juno".
Juno comes out of the clinic, where the bible nuts are harassing the patients, and talks to her not very bright friend about it:
Juno: Did you know my baby has fingernails?
Friend: Oh, NO! That means that it could, like, scratch your vadge on the way out!
Wombs are overrated. I mainly use mine to store my bike and old stereo equipment.
Would you consider a sublet? I have a cousin who's moving to the States. He's pretty quiet, non-smoker. Except his hookah.
"I mainly use mine to store my bike and old stereo equipment."
Don't they get rusty?
"Wombs are overrated. I mainly use mine to store my bike"
This is even funnier if you know that, in the grade school I went to, "bike" was a euphemism for "dick".
My womb has alwasy been open to tenants of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. Just a rental policy that has treated me well over the years.
Susie hasn't changed. She's just hired a Republican spin doctor.
Wonkette is a safe, giving place where breasts of all shapes and colours may find warm love and acceptance.
That's why our motto is: TGTFO!
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