Your thoughts on the Southern Poverty Law Center

[underpants]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center

[Ian David]

1. I need to renew my membership

The SPLC rocks!

Your Support Matters
The Southern Poverty Law Center accepts no government funds, nor any part of the court judgments won for its clients. But the cost of operating its educational and legal programs runs into millions of dollars each year.

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[wakeme2008]

2. Good folks and if you do not trust me

then

David Horowitz <9> have both accused the SPLC of exaggerating the threat of racism in order to increase fund-raising revenue and of wrongfully applying the term "hate group" to legitimate organizations.

Consider the source. :)

[underpants]

5. Harper's? The Montgomery paper?

I am just throwing this out there for discussion. I had never heard of this criticism of the SPLC and it does seem (from Wikipedia's own acknowledgement that this information may not be neutral) that these criticims directly follow one another. Same writer? Same interested party getting them published?

You should know that this arises from my reading on "The Bell Curve" and how the SPLC was one of its most vocal critics...well it was a critic of the fact that the Bell Curve was funded by the Pioneer Fund (gee that name sounds familiar) which the SPLC has named as a hate group. To carry this out one more step maybe the Pioneer fund had something to do with this orchestrated criticism of SPLC or maybe it was Charles Murray's friends over at the Bradley Foundation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_bell_curve
Miscellanea
From 1986 to 1989, Murray was given an annual grant by the conservative Bradley Foundation of $90,000, rising to $113,000 by 1991, and then to $163,000 following publication of The Bell Curve.

According to an American Broadcasting Company news report, the Pioneer Fund contributed $3.5 million to researchers cited in The Bell Curve, and almost half of the research cited to support the most controversial racial conclusions of the book was paid for by the Pioneer Fund. <7>

[Tom Joad]

3. I think it is a very good organization.

I would certainly defend it against attacks by David Horowitz, which is part of the wikipedia article.

[underpants]

6. Harper's? The Montgomery paper?

see post #5 above please

[benburch]

4. They are the very engine of progress. nt

[Nite Owl]

7. They are a wonderful

group. Been a member forever, they are the group I give the most to as they have been out there fighting the real 'evil ones' before it was a popular thing to do.

[Cleita]

8. They were able to run the Prince of Darkness, the Rev.

Richard Butler, and his Aryan Nation compound of white supremist criminals out of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, when the local government and it's residents couldn't.

My hat's off to them.

[sybylla]

9. I have to say I was disappointed in them

They are the first non-profit that I have ever been disappointed in.

I gave them $50 about 3 or 4 years ago and they spent that $50 sending me nearly biweekly mailings asking for more money even after I called them and chastized them for failing to put my money to better use.

I didn't need the junk mail and I certainly didn't need to give money to an organization that wasn't going to put it to the use I intended for it.

I liked what they do - or try to do which is why I gave to them in the first place. Perhaps they've reformed their methods since. Just beware they may not be putting your money to the best use.

[Cleita]

10. Most non-profits seem to operate this way. I too get fed-up

with the begging mail with free gifts, so I am very picky whom I give to. Every dollar I give to charity is a dollar I have to squeeze out of my income meaning that I do without something I could have bought with it so I don't want it wasted on those kinds of solicitations for donations.

[UTUSN]

11. K&R n/t