MUST read from MoJo on the Komen head fake today. Do not stop the pressure.

[EFerrari]

What Does Komen's Reversal on Planned Parenthood Really Mean?

snip

It's not entirely clear what this means. Since their initial announcement on Tuesday, Komen representatives have offered an avalanche of shifting explanations for their decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. Those justifications have ranged from a new policy forbidding funding any organization if it or one of its affiliates was under any kind of government investigation to arguing that the problem was that some Planned Parenthood affiliates offered referrals instead of mammograms. But other organizations that received grants from Komen (such as Penn State) were not held to the same standard regarding investigations, and the probe of Planned Parenthood, initiated by an anti-abortion Republican congressman, was seen by critics as political witch hunt. There are problems with the referral argument, too. As my colleague Kate Sheppard wrote on Thursday, criticism of Planned Parenthood over not performing mammograms was something of a "red herring," because "If you have health insurance and a primary care physician or gynecologist, that is generally the person who will refer you for additional care if they find reason for concern after an initial screening. But if a woman doesn't have insurance or a regular doctor, clinics like Planned Parenthood are her point of entry."

Given what Komen officials have said about their new standards requiring direct services, Friday's letter leaves one big question—whether Planned Parenthood meets Komen's criteria for future grants—still unresolved. Komen has not responded to journalists' requests for clarification, telling the Washington Post's Ezra Klein that its statement "speaks for itself."

Throughout the backlash, Komen's leadership insisted its decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood was not political. Although Brinker herself is a former Bush administration official and has given thousands of dollars to Republicans over the years, Komen has not been widely seen as a partisan organization. But Karen Handel, Komen's senior vice president for public policy, is a former Republican secretary of state from Georgia who is avowedly anti-abortion. A report from Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic suggested the Planned Parenthood decision had been "driven" by Handel, and the new standards were a mere pretext for eliminating Komen's funding for Planned Parenthood. (No retraction or correction has been made, and Goldberg says he stands by his reporting.) On Friday morning, Goldberg posted internal memos from Komen instructing employees on how to properly spin the decision.

snip

UPDATE: A Komen board member tells The Washington Post's Greg Sargent that "it would be unfair to expect the group to commit to future grants."

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/komen-reversal-decision-planned-parenthood-funding?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Motherjones%2Fmojoblog+%28MotherJones.com+|+MoJoBlog%29

[ProSense]

1. Greg Sargent:

<...>

Does that mean Planned Parenthood will get Komen grants in the future?

I asked Komen board member John Raffaelli to respond to those who are now saying that the announcement doesn’t necessarily constitute a reversal until Planned Parenthood actually sees more funding. He insisted it would be unfair to expect the group to commit to future grants.

“It would be highly unfair to ask us to commit to any organization that doesn’t go through a grant process that shows that the money we raise is used to carry out our mission,” Raffaelli told me. “We’re a humaniatrian organization. We have a mission. Tell me you can help carry out our mission and we will sit down at the table.”

Pushed on whether this means the new announcement wasn’t really a reversal, Raffaelli pushed back, arguing that Komen, in response to all the criticism, had removed politics from the grant-making process. “Is it really unclear that we’re changing the policy to address criticism?” he said.

Others have pointed out that Komen’s handling of this issue should lead to skepticism of its announcement. Brinker had repeatedly said Komen’s funding decision was rooted in a larger policy change and wasn’t directed at Planned Parenthood in particular, suggesting the decision wasn’t related to the fact that Planned Parenthood was under assault by the GOP. This was contradicted by at least one account. More broadly, the group’s rationale for the decision shifted over the last week.

- more -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/komen-caved-or-did-it/2012/02/03/gIQA9tS9mQ_blog.html

Sounds like they're just trying to put out the firestorm with more lies.

[EFerrari]

2. If you have 30 seconds and use Twitter or FB

please let your people know what is up with @komenforthecure / http://www.facebook.com/#!/susangkomenforthecure

[myrna minx]

3. K&R - They've betrayed trust and they can't spin themselves out

with further disingenuousness.

[EFerrari]

4. But they will try to do exactly that. Keep those cards and letters

going out, folks.

[Angry Dragon]

5. Just have PP put any money received from SGK

into a separate account and earmark it only for breast stuff


edit: played with the 'es'

[justiceischeap]

14. That's what they already do and have always done.

The grants from SGK are specifically for breast cancer screening. The monies cannot be used for anything but that.

[Angry Dragon]

16. I did not know that

So it seems SGK is just playing dishonest games

[justiceischeap]

21. Yep! nt

[Aerows]

6. It WAS political

And I'm making the political choice to back out of any runs and work I would have done for the organization.

Not political my behind.

[EFerrari]

8. I know. On top of everything else, they seem to think we're stupid n/t

[Aerows]

15. That's what angers me the most

Don't insult my intelligence - it's not like I'm as dumb as your right-wing base.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. It sure WAS political! They are LIARS.

I am really disgusted with this whitewash that they're trying to get us to believe.

My money will only go to PP.

[Aerows]

18. Indeed, Peggy

This is BS piled so high you can see it from space and smell it from orbit.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

7. Their statement reeks of lies and weasel words. They need to clean house of rightwing ideologues. nt

[bullwinkle428]

9. The "reversal" means they're going to try the exact same shit again, only in a much

more sneaky and underhanded manner. Scrutiny is required now more than ever.

[EFerrari]

24. You are so right. n/t

[Old and In the Way]

10. PP should go after Komen's core business

Why not fundraise for breast cancer awareness/research in the same way that Komen does? Seems to me that it would be a natural fit for the services that PP currently provides to women. The only difference being that they don't play politics with women's health.

[EFerrari]

11. That's a really good idea, imo. n/t

[Hutzpa]

12. This does not make much of a difference to me

they have been exposed for what they truly are, a RW org headed by right wingers.

[EFerrari]

13. Yes, agreed. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

19. That is more slippery than BushCo lawyer speak.

[EFerrari]

23. Or maybe exactly as slippery as BushCo lawyer speak.

[malaise]

20. K & R

[EFerrari]

22. Thank you, sis.

[cyglet]

25. I don't think SGK is going to survive this

so it's moot.

They should've learned from the multitude of companies that tried to do politically charged things...

[Quantess]

26. That's fine with me.

Someone else will take over the good work.