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ACLU loses a quarter of its annual donations

MyOwnDrum

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Very interesting that one previously anonymous donor was so pivotal in keeping the ACLU afloat.
New York - The American Civil Liberties Union has lost a quarter of its yearly donations after a major donor cut off $19 million in annual giving because of economic difficulties.

David Gelbaum, a wealthy California conservationist, said he was indefinitely stopping the contributions that had made him the New York-based group's largest anonymous donor.

"For a number of years, your organization has received very substantial charitable contributions from me," Gelbaum said in a statement. "My investments in alternative, clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in the American and world financial systems."

Gelbaum also announced he was halting about $12 million in yearly gifts to the Sierra Club Foundation and about $50 million a year that he's been giving to an organization for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gelbaum has given $389 million to the groups from 2005 to 2009.

The New York Times identified Gelbaum in a story published Wednesday. Gelbaum had previously funded those organizations anonymously.

ACLU loses a quarter of its annual donations -- latimes.com

Here's more detail in the NY times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09aclu.html

Mr. Gelbaum began contributing $50,000 or so annually to the A.C.L.U. in the early 1980s and kept increasing his gifts, to $22.5 million in 2008, board members said.

The only condition he placed on the gifts was that he remain anonymous, so only a handful of people at the A.C.L.U. knew he was the donor. He did not respond to e-mail messages or a letter sent to him in care of his investment vehicle, the Quercus Trust.

Calls to the phone numbers listed on filings the trust has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission resulted in busy signals.

Mr. Romero told the organization’s national board about the loss of Mr. Gelbaum’s money at its last board meeting in October, breaking the news in executive session. Mr. Romero did not reveal Mr. Gelbaum’s name, describing him only as “a donor,” board members said

Still, it is hard to keep secrets with a board of more than 80 members, most of whom report to state affiliates. “As soon as he started telling us, anyone who had a laptop with them was busy Googling” and figured out who the donor was, a national board member said.
 
Fantastic news.

I agree. The ACLU has devolved into an organization so steeped in mindless ideology, it has outlived its original purpose IMO. It worships at the altar of an imaginary God of the Church of Separation of Church and State.

:rolleyes:
 
I've seen more than one silver lining to this recession.
 
I agree. The ACLU has devolved into an organization so steeped in mindless ideology, it has outlived its original purpose IMO. It worships at the altar of an imaginary God of the Church of Separation of Church and State.

:rolleyes:

The ACLU has always been a wretched organization founded by far-left radicals & Communists with the objectives of dismantling the Constitution & providing legal counsel for Communist subversives & their sympathizers.
 
I agree. The ACLU has devolved into an organization so steeped in mindless ideology, it has outlived its original purpose IMO. It worships at the altar of an imaginary God of the Church of Separation of Church and State.

:rolleyes:

What do you expect from an organization founded by communists?

.
 
What do you expect from an organization founded by communists?

.

COMMUNISTS? where? Where are those dirty devil dogs hiding? We should snuff them out and kill their entire lineage... whereeeee?
 
This fellow Gelbaum doesn't sound much like a commie.
 
People are waking up to the evils of Liberalism everday.
 
While the ACLU has some good causes that I agree with, its focus on stupid things like nativity scenes on public property and pot legalization (I support the latter, but I don't see where it is in the Constitution), and practically ignores things like gun rights. If it was honest, i wouldn't mind, but it is very selective
 
Then they throw in defending Neo Nazis just to prove they're 'neutral'. :rolleyes: I find that incredibly transparent.
 
I think like any thing else the media has worked to sensationalize certain high profile cases of the ACLU while failing to underscore its general purpose, causing public perceptions to shift. That sort of agenda has been going on for a while now, I've noticed. Neo-Conservative think tanks have spent a lot of effort going after what they deem to be "liberal" organizations in the past 10-15 years because, generally, these "liberal" organizations represent obstacles to the neo-liberalization agenda.

This agency fights for the rights of those who can't afford it and it's a keen watchdog of infringements upon the U.S. constitution. I find it disturbing and very telling of the way things are shaping up in American society that there are those who would celebrate the diminishment of an organization that has dedicated its existence to fighting for the rights of American citizens. It may not be perfect in all cases but you have no idea how lucky you are to have such agency, when many places in the world do not.

Just because a rights organization does not holistically represent your opinions on things does not mean it's worthless and should be tossed out. That kind of partisan blindfold is what is eroding your rights day by day.
 
I agree. The ACLU has devolved into an organization so steeped in mindless ideology, it has outlived its original purpose IMO. It worships at the altar of an imaginary God
Well first, all gods (Yahweh, Zeus, Allah, the FSM, etc) are imaginary. Second the ACLU is way too light on religion in my opinion (they've defending Muslim's "right" to wear a veil on an ID photo shoot). I think that religion should have no protected status whatsoever - churches should be treated just like any other business, nonprofit org, etc. Any "religious right" that goes against our secular laws should not be a "right". And even if the constitution doesn't require a "separation of church and state" as you define it, the constitution doesn't prohibit it either, and I fully support it.
 
The ACLU is one of the only checks upon government and corporate abuse. It would be foolish to dismiss them simply because they sometimes defend silly causes. Its obnoxious how easily our government can lead people by the nose with partisanship.
 
Well first, all gods (Yahweh, Zeus, Allah, the FSM, etc) are imaginary.

Link?

Second the ACLU is way too light on religion in my opinion (they've defending Muslim's "right" to wear a veil on an ID photo shoot). I think that religion should have no protected status whatsoever - churches should be treated just like any other business, nonprofit org, etc. Any "religious right" that goes against our secular laws should not be a "right". And even if the constitution doesn't require a "separation of church and state" as you define it, the constitution doesn't prohibit it either, and I fully support it.

The Constitution outlines the legitimate power that Government has. You have the right to support the government doing a number of unconstitutional things. That doesn't give the Government sanction to do it.
 
Those billionaire commies are the worst kind! :rofl

Communists are like smoke you just can't get the smell out of your hair. Thankfully, for all of y'all, I have a heightened sense of smell, so I can detect Commies from thousands of miles away. I'll start pointing out the Commies when I see them, have no fear.
 
The ACLU is one of the only checks upon government and corporate abuse. It would be foolish to dismiss them simply because they sometimes defend silly causes. Its obnoxious how easily our government can lead people by the nose with partisanship.

Where do you folks come up with this stuff? In no way is the ACLU any kind of corporate watch dog.
 
He sounds like an interesting man.
He does sound very interesting. He's 'broke' now because of investing heavily in green industries.

He's a man of principle and puts his money where his mouth is. You have to respect that.
 
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