[Vision2020] Mark Potok Visit: The Reality of the SPLC
Tim Lohrmann
timlohr@yahoo.com
Thu, 15 Jan 2004 08:28:34 -0800 (PST)
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Ted,
You and I agree, I mentioned in my first posting that the analogy was somewhat flawed. What Enron etc have done has been found to be absolutely illegal fraud.
What the SPLC does is more akin to misrepresentation of facts. They solicit large sums of money which they lead the donors to believe will be spent on actual "civil rights work"--and they spend it on staff salaries, beefing up their endowment, or raising more money.
As I mentioned, not actionable fraud--just the type of activity that instills mistrust, disgust and resentment when donors discover what their money really was used for.
TL
Aldoussoma@aol.com wrote:
Tim, et. al.
The SPLC may exaggerate threats and not spend money in the most efficient manner, but "fraud" or "near fraud" in your example needs to be defined. To compare what they do to the fraud at Enron requires analysis. This comparison smacks of the same hysteria inducing propaganda you assert the SPLC uses. Enron created paper only economic entities which it used to show fantasy profit generated to boost its bottom line. How could this fraud be compared to the activities of the SPLC? Have they created fantasy hate groups that do not exist which they have used to generate hysteria? Maybe they exaggerate the danger of certain groups, but the groups they reference do exist, do they not? Have they lied about their economic balance sheets to deceive their patrons? If the SPLC claimed to be in dire economic condition when it was raising money hand over fist, giving flat out false economic reports, with deceptive auditing, then maybe the Enron comparison is valid.
Unless the above conditions are met, I think your Enron analogy is flawed.
Ted
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<DIV>Ted,</DIV>
<DIV> You and I agree, I mentioned in my first posting that the analogy was somewhat flawed. What Enron etc have done has been found to be absolutely illegal fraud.</DIV>
<DIV> What the SPLC does is more akin to misrepresentation of facts. They solicit large sums of money which they lead the donors to believe will be spent on actual "civil rights work"--and they spend it on staff salaries, beefing up their endowment, or raising more money. </DIV>
<DIV> As I mentioned, not actionable fraud--just the type of activity that instills mistrust, disgust and resentment when donors discover what their money really was used for.</DIV>
<DIV> TL<BR><BR><B><I>Aldoussoma@aol.com</I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2 PTSIZE="10"><BR>Tim, et. al. <BR><BR>The SPLC may exaggerate threats and not spend money in the most efficient manner, but "fraud" or "near fraud" in your example needs to be defined. To compare what they do to the fraud at Enron requires analysis. This comparison smacks of the same hysteria inducing propaganda you assert the SPLC uses. Enron created paper only economic entities which it used to show fantasy profit generated to boost its bottom line. How could this fraud be compared to the activities of the SPLC? Have they created fantasy hate groups that do not exist which they have used to generate hysteria? Maybe they exaggerate the danger of certain groups, but the groups they reference do exist, do they not? Have they lied about their economic balance sheets to deceive their patrons? !
If the
SPLC claimed to be in dire economic condition when it was raising money hand over fist, giving flat out false economic reports, with deceptive auditing, then maybe the Enron comparison is valid. <BR><BR>Unless the above conditions are met, I think your Enron analogy is flawed. <BR><BR>Ted</FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><p><hr SIZE=1>
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