Seems like everybody’s got a petition these days.
I ask that you halt consideration of all pending judicial nominees from the Bush Administration who are hostile to reasonable gun control laws until a new president is sworn in next January. The American people don’t need any more Second Amendment extremists from this lame-duck president.
The left is running scared because it looks as if one of their sacred cows is about to be taken away. Screaming for stricter gun control is their way of “raising awareness,” “doing something for the children,” or even, “making a difference.” Once they’ve vented their spleen and chanted their slogans (preferably in a medium where all their friends can see them doing it), they can go back to their neighborhood coffee house, listen to not-too-weird jazz, and bask in the satisfaction of having been a “part of something important.”
Essentially, it’s a way of looking concerned without having to actually do anything. A Supreme Court ruling in support of the 2nd Amendment as written is going to deal a swift blow to their pet cause, and they’re just a tad bitter about it.
Normally, such behavior would only be an annoying exercise in self-promotion, but the gun-control lobby has some serious money, and some crafty ways of hiding it.
…and frankly, I like kicking hypocrites when they’re down.
Let’s talk about Larry Litvak. He’s on the Board of Directors for the Tides Foundation, a member of the “Political Mutual Funds” Working Group within the New Progressive Coalition, and a founder of Working Assets, the parent company for the CREDO Action organization.
With all these hats, how does a guy find time to earn a living? Well, it would appear that Larry, like many of his ilk, have found some really creative ways to earn serious money. Working Assets sells “socially conscious” credit cards, wireless service and long-distance phone services. Apparently, calling it “responsible” means that they can take some of their customers’ money and funnel it off into happy little causes, like the Brady Campaign.
Of course, it’s hard to find venture capital for a company that offers the same things other, larger companies already do, so where’s a poor white-collar lawyer to turn?
Enter the Tides Foundation, a 501(c)3 management organization with a net worth of $145,459,750 as of 2004. You’ve heard me grouse about the Joyce Foundation before, and although they’re a sneaky bunch, they’ve got nothing on the Tides Foundation when it comes to obfuscating the sources and uses of tens of millions of dollars in tax-exempt funding.
Founded by Drummond Pike, they’ve been tax-exempt since 1995, and they handle donor-advised donations. “Donor advised” donations are tax-deductible and completely anonymous. The funds go to the Tides Center, which manages the money and funnels it into the Tides Foundation, who then parcel it out to various “causes.”
The whole thing sounds like a money-laundering scheme from 1987 or so. It should, since Managing Director Danica Remy learned from the best–she worked for Michael Milken as Vice President of Knowledge Universe. Milken certainly knew a thing or two about shady dealings.
How quickly people drop their principles when money’s involved. Doesn’t this whole scheme sound just like the sort of thing liberals usually scream about when they’re pointing out how evil rich Republicans handle their finances?
The article accompanying the petition I cited above closes with this:
The Senate should simply refuse to move forward with confirmation proceedings for any judicial nominees who hold Second Amendment views far outside the mainstream.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy can shut down the process entirely and keep Second Amendment extremists off the bench. So please send Senator Leahy a message today: block the appointment of federal judges who are hostile to reasonable gun control laws.
It should be noted that Senator Leahy is a former aide and current mouthpiece for the Environmenal Working Group, a project chaired by Drummond Pike.