The University of Evansville Lady Aces' annual "Hoops for the Cure" game, which supports the local Susan G. Komen for the Cure affiliate, has had an announced attendance of at least 1,100 the past five years — including a record 3,485 in 2008.
At the 10th annual game Sunday, its first year at the Ford Center, it drew 676 people, according to university statistics.
"There has never been a year like this," said Martha Fischer, 64, who's been a Lady Aces season ticket holder for the past 20 years. "And the only reasonable explanation is that the public is just not supporting the Komen."
Fischer was referring to the national Komen office's announcement to cut breast-cancer screening grants from Planned Parenthood two weeks ago and its subsequent withdrawal of that decision, two moves that could affect the Evansville branch even though its money is never directed to Planned Parenthood.
"I think it could have something to do with all of the negative things that have been going on in the news lately," said Sheila Seiler, director of the Greater Evansville Komen affiliate, speaking about game attendance.
What is it that they say about Karma again?
I doubt that too many people will shed a tear for the demise of the Komen Foundation, now that they are clearly being run with a conservative political agenda.
And the lesson, which the GOP would be smart to finally learn, is that you NEVER attack a woman's right to health care, or ability to control when and if she has children.
There will be tears shed if all that money Komen used to raise doesn't go to another research fund and to other support groups.
ReplyDeleteThe pink crap can go away, but the money still is very much needed in cancer programs.
I'm signing petitions like crazy for this. Brinker must step down and they need to clean out their board. Only then will I begin to think about supporting them or their sponsors.
ReplyDeleteHey, my Monday needed a smile! Thank you for providing it. And Komen? Hey, payback is a bitch....an angry one!
ReplyDeleteShame on the 676 who did show up. The stands should have been empty. There's a Komen race here in MN that has been getting a lot of TV time. Let's see how that attendance pans out this year.
ReplyDeleteThose organizers in Evansville act like they're SO surprised.
ReplyDeleteWhat part of No-to-Komen do they NOT understand?
And yet - GOP spokesman and surrogates are still hammering the administration about the contraception issue, saying it was the beginning of the end of religious freedom when they know damn well that is untrue.
ReplyDeleteWhat it is, more likely than not, is that they are running scared. The right wing now running the GOP had wanted to hammer women in every way they could so we all would go back into the home, quietly, leaving jobs for men, scared to raise our voices.
That is not going to fly. The Komen dust-up proved that. The GOP must think if it keeps hammering, it will eventually make it so but most women and the men who truly love them are tired of the war on women.
Even as I hope the Komen Foundation lesson is taken to heart by the far right, I fear that they are becoming more desperate. They felt they were so close to winning the day. What do you think they will try next?
The Republicans aren't listening. They're doubling down on allowing employers to deny funding for contraception for reasons of conscience.
ReplyDeleteJust like Sarah Palin, Karma is a bitch.
ReplyDeleteUntil they fire Nancy Brinker and do a major house cleaning on the board, Komen is dead in the water. Even if they did have a major coup in their management, it may still be too late for them. Brinker and Handel might well have destroyed Komen by veering is so hard to the right that they drove it right over a cliff.
The strident conservative social issues are losers every time nationally.
My granddaughter goes to the University of Evansville and belongs to a sorority that has those damned pink ribbons on everything. They have made a big deal about supporting Komen in the past. I'd like to think I was a little bit instrumental in some of the fallout because I sent Olivia everything that came out about Komen and Planned Parenthood. I'm sure plenty of other parents did too.
ReplyDeleteI'm donating directly to PP. Komen can go to hell.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP really truly thought that the 2010 elections were a mandate for them to take over the country. It's so rewarding to see them being slammed at every attempt to control workers, women, and even the church. Thank God this happened before the election...I would think anyone running on a GOP platform this fall is going to have trouble defending themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 10:40: Don't worry, that money is FINALLY going to cancer research! Before, Komen kept most of it for itself!
ReplyDeleteThe problem with wishing the Komen Foundation ill is that it is the only group specifically funding breast cancer research, as far as I know. We have to be careful what we wish for.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI'm signing petitions like crazy for this. Brinker must step down and they need to clean out their board. Only then will I begin to think about supporting them or their sponsors.
10:50 AM
The only way i will support the Komen 'corporation' again is if Oprah takes it over for a $1 a year salary.
Oprah or Michelle Obama. One of those girls... that's the only way...
We are bothered not only that this is a conservative nut group, the biggest fact to come out of all of this is how much money they rake in that they pay to themselves. People should be outraged that they have been "dupped" by the pink brigade for years into thinking they were walking their butts off and begging people for money just to make these B's rich. Only 20% goes to helping fight cancer. The rest is overhead.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think that it helped Komen for people to find out the salaries of Brinker and the other top people. I have been spreading that information far and wide.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said somewhere else... A scorned woman is something to behold... MILLIONS of scorned women... WATCH OUT!!!
ReplyDeleteno truer words have even been spoken
ReplyDelete"And the lesson, which the GOP would be smart to finally learn, is that you NEVER attack a woman's right to health care, or ability to control when and if she has children."for a guy your pretty damn smart..thanks.Tami
Anonymous wakeUpAmerica said...-The problem with wishing the Komen Foundation ill is that it is the only group specifically funding breast cancer research, as far as I know. We have to be careful what we wish for.
ReplyDelete-------
People are giving directly to the National Cancer Society and University research centers. Komen isn't the only one, they are the "middle man". Bypass them.
I'm not a conspiracy minded person. I tend to be logical and intuitive. So here goes: Have you noticed that Big Pharma sponsors many of the Komen events? IF there is/or will be, a cancer cure, I think they (BP) would do anything to bury the patents. There is something wrong with that partnership/alliance. Cancer (detection, treatment, etc.) is Big Pharma's biggest source of revenue. It behooves BP not to find a cure.
The food industry poisons and manipulates what we eat and drink. Petroleum industries sell their byproducts for making most of the stuff we buy. Cosmetics and skincare use parabens in their products that have been proven to cause cancer. The list goes on.
Practice prevention as much as possible- buy locally produced foods, read labels, buy natural. One doesn't have to live in fear, just be practical and educated.
Ironically, Komen would have been better off if they had not reversed their position on PP. The PP supporters will not return to Komen with the current leadership, and the PP opponents will now avoid Komen as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course the Republicans didn't learn a thing from this. Romney said if elected he will de-fund Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA. And Boehner & co have new legislation for insurance companies not funding birth control.
ReplyDeleteThis is just the beginning! Who's taking bets on how long Komen will still be around before they have to untie the pink ribbons and change their name to "Xe"?
ReplyDeletePeople have been awakened to the politics and exploitation behind the Komen organization. It's radioactive now. I am really curious how many protesters and how many people are going to drop out of their annual 3 day clog up the streets-a-thon, which they've been advertising like crazy. More money for advertising means less money being applied to cancer research folks, and it costs serious money to put on these big events.
ReplyDeleteKomen sucks.
M from MD
one of my "favorite" comments by an extremely ignorant woman said: well if a woman stays abstinent until marriage and faithful to her husband then she won't get 'female' cancers...
ReplyDeletetry telling that to the thousands of women that have a genetic mutation that increases the risk of endometrial cancers by 70% -- like what runs in my family...
any woman that actively participates in the destruction of another women's health and reproductive choices can go f*ck themselves!
What's a little brouhaha? That's why CEO Nancy Brinker gets paid the big bucks ($417,171 salary) to handle these little slowdowns in cash intake. Got to keep those Komen employees well compensated! That's what's important, am I right?
ReplyDeleteWhat if they gave a 10K race and nobody came?
ReplyDelete"The problem with wishing the Komen Foundation ill is that it is the only group specifically funding breast cancer research, as far as I know."
ReplyDeleteNot hardly. Do a little google research and ask any local hospital or teaching hospital who else is doing research. They are FAR from the only ones. They are just the only ones who have LAWYERS they pay to keep their "branding" pure. They are also the only ones who pay their directors HUGE salaries. And the only ones who are pushing a HATE WOMEN agenda.
Initially what started as Komen's political decision to not fund grants to Planned Parenthood has opened the eyes of previous supporters. As many of your readers have noted, politics has now taken a back seat to the public's awareness of obscene salaries paid to the management team at Komen.
ReplyDeleteNancy Brinker's salary and expenses total near $ 1/2 million dollars a year - nearly as much as Komen provides to Planned Parenthood. It's easy to decide where I want my money to go now that I'm aware of Komen's lavish spending.
The Daily Beast has a new article about Brinker posted today on their website. Here is the link:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/13/komen-founder-nancy-brinker-s-puzzling-expense-report.html
Komen Founder Nancy Brinker’s Mysterious Expense Report
ReplyDeleteNancy Brinker, the powerhouse founder of the embattled Komen Foundation, billed her charity for $133,507 in expenses at a time when she had a full-time job elsewhere. How her lavish spending and controversial leadership style alienated some staffers.
Nancy Brinker, a socialite, powerbroker, and former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, has turned Susan G. Komen for the Cure into a cancer-fighting giant over the past three decades. Now, critics say, it may be time for her to go—if she wants to preserve the very charity she built.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/13/komen-founder-nancy-brinker-s-puzzling-expense-report.html
I figured that I have given SGK about $10,000 over the past 10 years, either through my own donations or by collecting from friends and colleagues to run/walk in Komen events. Never again.
ReplyDeleteWhat SGK did in the name of family values is despicable.
The leader is a bitch and demands major deference from her staff. She paid herself 133,000 in expenses when she had a full time job elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteWe can support NIH (National Institute of Health) breast cancer research by buying the Breast Cancer stamp from the Post Office. No administrative salaries. No fundraising costs. So simple.
ReplyDeleteI have not used a non-breast cancer stamp since they were first issued. Every time I send a card or pay a bill the stamp reminds the recipient that breast cancer research needs their continued support.
Off the topic- have you googled Romney lately? He's having a Santorum problem. Does it have to do with what Seamus did? Eat some karma Willard.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/13/spreading-romney-satire-leaks-into-candidates-top-google-results/
Here is how to do it in memory of Seamus. Mitt Romney http://spreadingromney.com
It makes me sad and angry that someone like Elizabeth Edwards may still be alive if Komen had spent more money and time researching a cure for cancer than spending most of it on salaries and marketing.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet again we see plain evidence that the majority simply do not support right wing philosophies.
ReplyDeleteYet they continue trying to force them on us while telling us THEY are the majority and the "real" Americans. ...And while simultaneously crying about "big government" or "liberals" trying to "force" things "down their throats".
It's like they've elevated the old game of "why are you hitting yourself?" to an entirely absurd level.
Only a conservative could make sense of a twisted philosophy that says denying people access to things equals "freedoms".
I guess they're "free" from being able to do their own family planning or "free" to be abstinent.
I see how it works: why should insurance be forced to cover anything when people are already perfectly "free" to live subhuman animalistic lives, suffer and die?
it's how God and George Washington intended, right?
We don't need food stamps, there are perfectly good garbage cans behind every restaurant!
Having a roof over your head is overrated! Rain and snow are only made out of water, and water is utterly harmless! In fact, you NEED water to live, so we're just giving Americans the freedom to be exposed to more of it! They should thank us!
That's the "American Way". isn't it? "Fuck you, I've got mine! Now apologize for not having any." That's what makes us "exceptional", right? Maybe I'm confused. :P
'Governor' Palin meet 'Ambassador' Brinker.
ReplyDeleteAt the Daily Beast article:
"At the same time, they describe her as an imposing figure who flies first class, prefers five-star hotels, and generally exhibits an entitled air, which, they say, is at odds with the organization’s important mission. Employees don’t call her “Nancy,” these people say. They are expected to call her “Ambassador Brinker.”"
Obama’s Budget Health Care Savings In One Chart
ReplyDeletehttp://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/13/424136/obama-budget-health-care-savings-in-one-chart/
Independents Embrace Obama As They Flee Romney And The GOP
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-independents-poll
OT - Andrew Sullivan has the Newsweek cover story again - "The Politics of Sex". Andrew's title, "How Obama Set a Contraception Trap for the Right."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/02/12/andrew-sullivan-how-obama-set-a-contraception-trap-for-the-right.html
Shall we take bets on whether Palin will again feign outrage?
Great article from Andrew Sullivan, here's a snip:
ReplyDeleteObama's Contraception Trap For The GOP
...Obama’s greatest skill is in getting his opponents to overreach and self-destruct. And this issue could not be more tailor-made to benefit the candidate with real potential pull with far-right-wing Catholics and evangelicals: Santorum. If the GOP really makes this issue central in the next month or so, Santorum (whose campaign claims to have raised $2.2 million in the two days following his victories last week) is by far the likeliest candidate to benefit. It could finally unite the Christian fundamentalist right behind him—especially since Romneycare contained exactly the same provisions on contraception that Obamacare did before last week’s compromise was announced.
That’s right: Romneycare can now accurately be portrayed as falling to the left of Obamacare on the contraception issue. This could very well be the issue that finally galvanizes the religious right, especially in the South. Imagine how Santorum could use that on Super Tuesday. In fact, it could be the issue that wins him the nomination. And do you really think that would hurt Obama in the fall?
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/02/id-like-to-respond-in-part-to-joe-scarborough-on-meet-the-press-on-his-interpretation-of-my-new-newsweek-cove.html
News like thes warms my heart. Moderates must throw cold water on the rabid right wing mob.
ReplyDeleteGinaM@12:35...
ReplyDeleteYes Ma'm...I agree!
It is astounding how little goes to actual research, and how much the upper echelon is paid for spreading self-serving propaganda.
This is a typical regressive welfare program paid for by caring individuals for whom the recipients have nothing but contempt.
12:22: AMEN to that!
ReplyDeleteAs a point-in-case: There is a company out there, Dendreon, making Provenge, an anti-prostate-cancer drug, that is very successful, but the FDA and Big Pharma, are trying to keep them down. The cost of the treatment is $93K, and it is even approved by Medicaid! But... If the drug gets more wide-spread, that means that the Chemo-producing Big Pharma will loose out of that HUGE market, so, they do all they can to keep the drug off the market, or to restrict it to only end-stage cancer, even though it is even MORE effective if given early on!
Gryph...
ReplyDeleteMy apology to GinaM @ 12:35
My comment was not meant to be anon.
WakeUpAmerica, they aren't the only ones funding breast cancer research. And only a paltry 17% of all they rake in every year, was going to that research! Some of what they rake in was going toward SUING other cancer organizations for having the nerve to use the color pink and the word "cure". I'm surprised they haven't sued Pepto Bismal!
ReplyDeleteKomen actively lobbied against Federal funding for research into environmental causes of breast cancer. Why? Because big pharma, big oil and big chem don't want their products exposed as cancer causers. And we know when the big three shout, Republicans jump. I personally think environmental toxins will be found to cause breast cancer in many women. But with Komen working on the cure, we're going to be waiting a lot longer to find that out.
ReplyDeleteWhat Komem failed to realize (because their leaders are living in the Republican fantasy bubble where everyone agrees with their views) is that the majority of activist women, women who passionately care about women's health care, are progressives. After seeing the comments on blogs and boards, I'd guestimate that 80% of their most active community fundraisers are progressives. And Handel says the PP acted like a bully. PP stood back and let Komen supporters tear the organization a new one. She is again, living in a Republican bubble.
ReplyDeleteCn you imagine the female backlash should frothy mix were elected. We would start talking impeachment the next day!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the closing comments of the article.
ReplyDeleteIn addition when you are a charitable organization you need to stick to doing what your 501 docs say you are doing, becasue when you fill out your request for grants, you have to stick to your own definition of yourself, your mission.
Grant writing is an art form, matching the words of the mission with the requirements of the grants.
If you don't use "their" money the way they say they want it used - I believe it's called cutting your nose off to spite your face.
If you suddenly veer from a Breast Cancer Cure mission into an anti Birth Control mission, or try to hide the one behind the other, you won't get the Breast Cancer cure grants.
Also too, a lot of government, business, and large grant foundations don't like getting pulled into a political or controversial public kerfuffle. They don't want that kind of PR, and they will deny the grant.
Koman administrators made a very stupid and very amateur move and they are getting smacked for it.
It makes me wonder if Brinker really knows anything about the actual nitty gritty of charitable money raising.
It also makes me wonder if it were not an outsider to charitable work, like Handel, who knew political money raising, who over rode Komen's grant writing employees and so laid a giant steamy poop pile in the foyer of the foundation.
They will have to work very hard to get the trust of large donor businesses and foundations, not to mention the governments, state and national, to be able to get back what they have lost.
Opening a can of WHOOP-ASS on the GOP...
ReplyDelete"There is absolutely no religious liberty infringement in requiring insurance companies to cover contraception," said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. "The birth control rule is what we call in First Amendment analysis a 'generally applicable and neutral law.' 'Generally applicable,' means it applies to everybody. And it's neutral -- it doesn't target any specific faith. So if a law is generally applicable and neutral, it's not a First Amendment violation. It's basic, elementary First Amendment law."
But if Republicans want to wage a First Amendment war over the contraception rule, they might want to consider the long history of American pacifism and its internal moral struggles with taxation. If, as Republicans are now claiming, it is a breach of the First Amendment to require Catholic hospitals to provide their employees with health insurance that covers birth control, then it would also follow that the war in Afghanistan must be a far more severe violation of religious liberty.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/13/contraception-coverage-catholic-bishops-birth-control-pacifists_n_1274392.html?ref=politics
If you want to continue to support breast cancer research (PLEASE DO!) you can send your donation to the National cancer Institute and request that it be designated to breast cancer research. OR, you can check out your nearest university or hospital cancer research institute and google its breast cancer research activities.
ReplyDeleteI can promise that any cancer researcher would be more than happy to meet with you, and tell you about projects they're working on. And, you will receive a great deal more appreciation from them for your gift than any Komen email thank you.
Jon Stewart on the birth control kerfuffle:
ReplyDeleteThe Vagina Ideologues
Perfect.
GinaM, "Xe"! That is the awesomest comment ever! Too, too funny - you're a gem.
ReplyDelete