Imaginary Conversations and Random Thoughts

It doesn't take much of a Google search to discover that Jesse Jackson has garnered a reputation as a shakedown artist of the highest order. Whether it's Anheuser Busch, or Toyota, or major telecom firms seeking mergers, Jackson finds a way to profit. His procedure is to threaten or initiate a boycott of a company, or threaten or initiate opposition to a proposed merger. When the companies in question "donate" money to Jackson, he suddenly loves the company, or suddenly feels that such and such a merger is a great idea.

Why can't you get Toyota to promise $700 million, per year, for ten years, in business to your friends, like Jackson can do for his friends? For starters, you aren't America's number one race profiteer. Heck, you aren't even California Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose. Here's what his bill would do:

The legislation had already cleared the Assembly and would have required foundations with assets of more than $250 million to disclose the ethnic, racial and gender makeup of their boards and staffs.

It also would have required them to make public the number of grants and dollars awarded to minority organizations.

Let's check the Jackson Model so far. Go to some private group with a lot of money? Check. Insinuate that said group is not meeting appropriate quotas, said quotas being determined by the person doing the threatening, er, complaining? Check. Threaten to initiate actions to financially damage said group? Check. Suddenly be friendly and announce a win-win result if the group caves in to your demands? Check.

Ten of the largest California's largest foundations agreed Monday to a multimillion-dollar, multiyear investment in minority communities.

Assemblyman Cato threatens you with legislation, but if you agree to his demands, the legislation is withdrawn.

Not everyone agrees that the picture is so rosy:
In a letter published Monday in The Bee, Richard Atkinson, a member of the Koret Foundation and president emeritus of the University of California, derided the proposed legislation.

He called it an "intrusive attempt to redirect the distribution of charitable dollars away from legitimate nonprofits" to others "anointed as more 'worthy' by the state."

Well, Jesse Jackson should consider himself to be on notice. The government has figured out it can horn in on his territory.

The information about Assemblyman Cato was originally reported by Aurelio Rojas of the Sacramento Bee.