Speechless

I am so happy for the producers of that documentary. They literally could not buy this kind of publicity.

@Mistress Cynica: Manchu will have to go check it out for Team Stinque, because it’s only opening in Canada on Friday. I suspect that a U.S. distributor will hook up with them before Monday.

@SanFranLefty: They’re probably fielding offers as we speak.

Lefty,
The “Planned Parenthood is under investigation by the Feds” is not working as an excuse for Nancy. WFAA in Dallas reported tonight SGKFC is not pulling funding to Parkland Hospital in Dallas.while it is also under investigation by the Feds.

@texrednface: Umm, don’t forget PENN FUCKING STATE UNIVERSITY!

I got my first “cause marketing” eyeopener when I freelanced a job for the American Heart Assoc. It was “suggested” by a salaried employee I lower my bid as AHA is a charity. Yeah, right.

I thought my Mother (Who has had breast cancer) and I were the only people skeptical of SGKFC. What a week! Ther’s a whole ‘nother world out there. Even in the Heart of SGKFC land.

@SanFranLefty: How nice of someone to notice that at last. Nancy Brinker must be clutching her pearls. Literally.

/looks up from watching documentary on the AK-47

Hmmm?

Have Komen and Mary Kay ever had a trademark war over pink?

@texrednface: If you need good nonprofits to donate to in Texas or elsewhere, I can hook you up.

Those of us from Central and South Texas have always looked askance at the Dallas/Houston bitches that embody the Komen Foundation. Think Laura Bush and Barbara Bush Sr.

The society dame strikes back.

Mrs. Brinker announces a 100 percent uptick in donations (with no real dollar figures mentioned, nor supporting data) while her spokesminion pooh-poohs the $650,000 figure PP quoted yesterday. What a great use of your husband’s money, Mrs. Brinker!

@SanFranLefty: Hold on a minute. I get the outrage over withdrawn money from PP for political reasons. And PSU is deserving of oprobrium for the Sandusky Shuffle. But does that mean we should take up our pitchforks and demand that research $ going to PSU’s cancer center hundreds of miles outside of Happy Valley be lost to the ether as well?

I say take it while we can. The good folks at Hershey Med treat a lot of cancer patients, roller coaster ride casualties and yahoo speed freaks screaming by on the interstate between NYC and Bal’more, and that grant money probably includes at least 20% in overhead. Oh, and it contributes to the tax base that keeps some junior Stinquers edumacated, as well.

Finally, someone agrees with me on the absurdity of the pink shit that nfl players had to wear in november. thank you SFL. check this:
http://www.cafepress.com/storenamehere/738613
support the magnetic ribbon industry

@Nabisco: I’m not demanding Happy Valley (I can never get over how dumb that name is) lose its cancer research center. I’m simply pointing out the hypocrisy of the big haired lady from Dallas. The reason Komen Foundation gave for yanking the money to Planned Parenthood was that they adopted a new policy that they will not fund any entity that is “under federal or state investigation,” and that this had nothing to do with politics or pressure, it’s just this new funding policy that conveniently encompasses PP. Well, PSU is under state (and likely federal Dept of Ed) investigation. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If they really mean this new policy is not political and not targeting PP, then yes, that means PSU too. As texrednface points out, Highland Hospital (useless trivia fact – where JFK died) is under federal investigation but is not having its funding pulled.

Bullshit Excuse FAIL

@jwmcsame: @SanFranLefty: How much money is wasted on making pink shit in China that could be spent on research and screening services? That’s what really pisses me off.
Also heard Brinker yesterday claiming that funds to PP were cut because most of the clinics had no mammography machines. I bet for what you spend each year on useless plastic pink swag, you could put a mammography machine and technician in at least every regional center.

BREAKING HARD: Komen’s just reversed course on PP.

@Cubby: too late for them. I had no idea what a shitty org SGK is until they created all this mess. Talk about viral anti-marketing. Now people are paying attention to The Komen Scam and examining other “charities.” Good.

Are charities Citizens United people, too?

@Mistress Cynica: no shit. check these wasteful things as well: i saw an advertisement for knee and hip replacement surgery for pets yesterday. health insurance companies that deny coverage and refuse payment for medical procedures provided to the few who do merit coverage will now cover your pet as well.

on the other hand, check out this jesus-like bad ass:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/02/tom-kims-free-medical-clinic-celebrates-10000th/
this economy is picking up steam and fast. i can tell because my company is taking more home purchase applications than we can handle at 4.00% or lower rates. of course this benefits me and i intend to share this time. Dr Kims patients must chose between food or medicine. A co-worker of mine and me are bringing our first food boxes to the good Doc next week to make his patients choices easier. I suggest anyone with a little left over at the end of the month do the same locally. That’s where charity begins and is better appreciated.

@rptrcub: Did they?

They always said they would continue to fund existing grants. The only difference between the statement that started this controversy and the new statement is that they will restore PP’s “eligibility.” All that means is that they will allow PP to submit grant applications.

But the bullshit rule about orgs under investigation still exists. And who knows what kinds of new rules they’ll create to deny PP applications next year?

Even pro-lifers are saying nothing’s changed:

Ruse responded to that saying those grants will very likely be the last Komen makes to the abortion business.

“Second, Planned Parenthood’s vicious attacks against Susan G. Komen for the Cure has engendered a great deal of hurt and anger inside the organization,”

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: I’ve been wondering about that, and I’ve been trying to track down the original statement. Well, between hack chores.

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: NYT sez they “clarified” that they will only apply the rule to organizations under criminal investigation, not political investigation. But that still leaves open the question, what about Penn State?

And Planned Parenthood received over $3 million in donations in three days.

ADD: Here’s the statement from Komen.

@SanFranLefty: But, of course, they determine what investigation is “political” and what isn’t. I can’t find it now, but I read somewhere earlier this week that PP is under state criminal investigation for Medicare fraud. Probably in Kansas. (What is it with those people?)

Here’s what I can find…

1. The original policy was never formally announced. It was revealed to Komen affiliates in a conference call.

2. Grants are applied for and distributed annually. One news story mentions PP affiliates who were requested to get in their 2012 applications at the last minute.

3. Today’s statement (also at TPM) settles nothing, if you’re suspicious:

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.

But “existing grants” were never at issue. On the other hand, the revised policy…

We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.

…would seem to accomplish what Komen says it does.

My take: Trust, But Verify. We won’t really know whether Komen is pulling any moves until the next round of grants, and that may not be until the end of the year.

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: “Criminal and conclusive”

Why they didn’t just say “convicted”, I dunno.

Poking around a bit more…

During a conference call with reporters [Thursday] afternoon, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure CEO Nancy Brinker and President Elizabeth Thompson revealed the main reason why the Planned Parenthood abortion business lost its funding. It doesn’t do mammograms.

“It was nothing they were doing wrong,” Brinker explained. “We have decided not to fund, wherever possible, pass-through grants. We were giving them money, they were sending women out for mammograms. What we would like to have are clinics where we can directly fund mammograms.”…

“We’ve decided not to fund pass-through grants. What we would like is to have clinics where we can directly fund mammograms,” she added.

That’s also from Life News.

There’s no mention of mammograms in today’s statement — and that excuse came out of nowhere. Look for “pass-through grants” as next year’s dodge.

@nojo: Not very good liars, are they?

@Dodgerblue: Well, what do you expect, they’re Republicans.

In less than a week, they pretty much destroyed whatever goodwill they had taken years to generate and cast a disparaging eye on their “charitable” work.

Bravo Komen.

@ManchuCandidate: Now we know where Herman Cain’s media team went.

@Dodgerblue:
Or came from. This firestorm is jaw dropping in its stupidity.

@Dodgerblue: +1

@SanFranLefty: I find it interesting (and not in a “Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln” kind of way) that Kennedy was not officially declared dead until after last rites were performed at the hospital. If we’re being honest, he died in Dealey Plaza.

What really irks me about this is how it will hurt other breast cancer charities, like the McGrath foundation that uses the money it raises to fund specialist nursing staff, and provide other services for women undergoing treatment.

They should pull their fucking socks up, heads out of their arses, and look around and see what damage they are doing to charities in general.

@CheapBoy: I think that this actually will benefit the other breast cancer charities. SGK has always been the 20,000 pound pink bully elephant sucking all the energy, and if the other groups are savvy, they can use this as an opportunity to say “we spend 95% of our money on research unlike some groups.”

@nojo: Programming/Editorial Note: Guess someone at Gawker still swings by this joint from time to time.

@SanFranLefty: Well, that was all over the Twitters last night.

@nojo: The Twitterz are somewhere that I don’t have time to go. Guess Team Stinque just surfed the meme’s wave a little more quickly…

@SanFranLefty: Yes, it is the rare moment when we beat a full-time paid blogger squad to a story.