It hasn't been a good PR week for multimillionaire PR flack Rick Berman. This past weekend, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune exposed his attack on The Humane Society of the United States and included the voices of animal shelter leaders concerned that Berman's smear campaign against The HSUS was harming their operations. And today, The New York Times published a front-page story calling out Berman and his half dozen phony "nonprofit" organizations that exist for the sole purpose of attacking many of the nation's leading charities, including The HSUS, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), in a naked self-enrichment scheme for the 67-year-old lawyer and lobbyist.
For the past year, the Center for Consumer Freedom, one of Berman's groups run on a day-to-day basis by David Martosko (who, interestingly, given the attacks on MADD, has a "rap sheet" with a drunk driving conviction and a list of other vehicular violations), has been waging a brand-attack campaign against The HSUS. Berman won't reveal his donors, but last year he made the rounds to a wide range of corporations involved in animal cruelty and told them The HSUS was the greatest threat to their industries and he'd mount a PR offensive with their money. Berman has long had ties to the food and beverage and alcohol sectors, so it wasn't a big leap for him to come with open hand to agribusiness interests upset about The HSUS's undercover efforts exposing slaughterhouse abuses and our successful campaigns against extreme confinement of animals in small cages on factory farms.
There's just one reason that The HSUS is the target of a Berman campaign: we are strategic and effective in fighting institutionalized animal cruelty in the United States and abroad. So we take his attack as a marker of our success. Still though, we are committed to exposing Berman and his phony campaigns, so that no American is deceived by the likes of a scammer like him.
Let me try to draw out the key facts of the Berman shell game.
First, Berman is a guy who defends industries that practice animal cruelty, a man who minimizes the problems of drunk driving and childhood obesity, a fellow who makes the case for the safety of mercury in seafood--a PR smoothie who cut his teeth telling people cigarette smoking was a harmless vice. That should be an unmistakable indicator to anyone concerned about the health and well-being of a civil society that this guy is a disreputable person.
Second, Berman abuses the tax code by creating nice-sounding "nonprofit" charitable organizations that serve no discernible purpose but exist to attack legitimate public interest organizations. Berman and his groups don't help one animal, shelter one homeless person, or do anything for the public good. He is a PR hit man masquerading as a nonprofit, and Stephanie Strom's piece in The New York Times exposes him as such.
Third, corporations that fund Berman's "nonprofits" not only get his public relations services but also unwarranted tax benefits and anonymity. They essentially hire out Berman to do the kind of work they don't want to have their fingerprints on, and they scam taxpayers in the process. There's nothing wrong with companies hiring lobbyists and PR firms to make their case to the American public, but they should disclose who they are and not fleece the American taxpayers in the process.
Fourth, Berman hires his own for-profit PR firm to do the advertising and media work for his nonprofit groups, with a large share of total revenues for each of his groups going to Berman and Company, a for-profit PR company he owns. In 2008, 92 percent of the money taken in by the Center for Consumer Freedom went either to pay Berman or the company he owns. In short, Berman double dips--getting paid by his nonprofits and also his for-profit PR company, which almost exclusively works for his phony organizations. It's a personal enrichment scheme for a multimillionaire.
On one level, it's all worked very well for Mr. Berman. He fights efforts to raise the minimum wage, but he drives a Bentley and a Ferrari, and he lives in a $3.4 million mansion in northern Virginia. But at this unique and unsavory intersection of the philanthropic and corporate sectors concocted by Berman, you'd have a hard time finding a more corrupt scheme anywhere in America.
This post originally appeared on Pacelle's blog, A Humane Nation.
The CCF does not care about animals nor whether HSUS donors are getting a fair shake (which they are; HSUS donors do in fact support initiatives that protect all sorts of animals in all sorts of bad situations, not just the animals that end up in shelters). The CCF cares about whatever their corporate funders pay them to pretend to care about.
Funny, at the end of the day, all that money poured into Berman's coffers could just go into improving animal welfare--that's one way to get HSUS off your back.
Hillary, HSUS
I say, good job CCF, and too bad HSUS, the public is getting wise to your deplorable antics.
$38 million a year just in annual salaries. millions in pension plans. scraps to the shelter animals they use so prominently in their advertising.
they run in when they see a potential problem, get a lot of air time with their t shirts and jackets, then leave animals in need with local service providers, and no money. they talk about breaking up dog fighting groups but then dump the dogs on community rescues and advocate strongly for newborn puppies to be put to death. they pour millions into misinformation about a sustainable seal hunting season but don't send a cent to help the endangered species of seals. they beat their chests about farming practices when they will not give you the name of a single meat, milk, egg or cheese producer they think is humane enough to put food on your plate. they take credit for donations sent by other organizations or individuals and claim it was them providing the assistance.
if you want to help farm animals, support livestock care standards groups in your region. if you want to help shelter animals, donate and volunteer locally where your help is needed. if you want to feed a bunch of lawyers and radical vegans on a mission to take away your pets and and your food one legislative step at a time, donate to H$U$.
A 1991 article about the HSUS's financial malfeasance and ensuing cover-up: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19910220&id=Nd8oAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1967,1920887 .
And, of course, we know that Wayne & Co. don't really care about animals. They sure as hell don't care about ending puppy mills. They're too consistent a source of endless profit for the HSUS. High profile "raids" ensure that the money keeps pouring in. No way they'll kill that revenue stream. That's why Wayne colluded with the AKC to kill federal legislation that truly WOULD have helped stop puppy milling: http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/3TroubleHSUS.html
"Congressional and Senatorial aides who spoke to ANIMAL PEOPLE--some of whom
called before their offices were asked for comment--confirmed that this is exactly what happened: after 124 other legislators had already signed on, Santorum huddled with AKC lobbyist Jim Holt, AVMA lobbyist Pamela Abney, and Pacelle, deleting the requests that cage sizes be increased, water be always available, tethering be banned, temperature guidelines be re-examined, flooring follow specific material requirements, and the number of times an animal may be bred be restricted, and putting the onus on the USDA to enforce the existing regulations that it had already found to be unenforceable."
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/meet_HSUSs_faux_swat_team/
Pacelle, following in the footsteps of his mentor Ingrid Newkirk (PETA's 'Butcher of Norfolk') asked the judge in the Vicks case to KILL all the dogs....even the puppies! Meanwhile, he partnered up with animal torturer Vicks. All to beg for more donations, of course!
The HSUS frequently advises local shelters to KILL instead of placing the animals. The No Kill movement has no use for HSUS either...Check out Nathan Winograd's No Kill blog at www.Nathanwinograd.com....."Humane"? NOT!
Q: How do you know when Wayno is lying?
A: His lips are moving
Animal Rights means No Animals Left.
"If all of you greedy breeders walked in my shoes and actually worked in a shelter you would know".. always the same.. accusations about people they know noting about.. assumptions that are not true.. and of course playing the martyr card.. NONE of this has to do with the TRUTH about the HSUS.. deflect when you cannot deny the truth..
"Janelle Dixon is watching -- but not for the reasons the ad promoters want. Dixon, president of the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, is also the president of the Federation of Humane Societies across the country."
Ms Dixon is also a former employee of the HSUS and the group National Federation of Humane Societies was founded by.. wow .. no other than Wayne Pacelle who also currently sits on the BOD .. connect the dots..
1. You speak of 'ethical hunting" What is that? Can you describe an "ethical hunter"?
2. Can you describe what "humane slaughter" is to you? How is it done?
3. If people eat less meat/ poultry/ dairy/ eggs as you and the HSUS suggest and farm animals are no longer needed in the quantities they are today ( or in the future) what will happen to domestic animals? Will fewer be needed and eventually none? What is your vision for the future of domestic animals
4. Will the HSUS open a "model farm" where animals are bred raised and slaughtered in a "humane " way so that the public will know what you speak of when you say "humane" in relation to breeding, feeding and slaughtering? Or will the public "just know" how you are speaking of
5. How does the HSUS ( and you as its head) see the world in 25 years? What eill be the role of domestic animals?
6. What do you feed your girlfriends cat?
7. Is there a GOOD reason you do not own a pet yourself?
"He is a PR hit man masquerading as a nonprofit,"
Boy oh boy is that the kettle I hear??? Nothing Humane Watch has posted abut the HSUS is a lie..but if you cannot deny the message.. you know what to do.. SHOOT THE MESSENGER.. Wayne may take aim.. but his target is moving.. toward exposing the HSUS for what they are.. an animal scam..and a moving target is hard to hit..
but don't take my word for it.. check it out for yourself at www.humanewatch.org