Financial crisis forces ACLU to cancel annual war on Christmas

As noted earlier, the ACLU recently lost its largest single donor, causing them to cut back on a number of their nefarious activities. Among the casualties of the financial crunch is the annual war on Christmas.

Have you wondered why the American Civil Liberties Union hasn't been carrying out its usual war on Christmas this season? There is a one-word explanation: money.

In a letter to ACLU supporters, its chief writes, "The ACLU was recently notified that our largest individual donor, David Gelbaum, who contributed over $20 million to the organization in 2009, will not be able to continue his support due to a change in his financial circumstances."

Mr. Gelbaum, an investor in "clean" technology, told the New York Times that "my investments in alternative clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in the American and world financial systems."

Thus, the ACLU is deprived of the money with which to mount its usual spate of threats and lawsuits against towns that have the temerity to have Christmas parades or Nativity scenes. Many of the latter have been accompanied in recent years by symbols of other religions, too, but that makes no difference to the ACLU. It's Christianity they're after.

In the past, the ACLU has forced its will on many a beleaguered town, village, or hamlet through sheer intimidation, exploiting its financial advantage to force town councils school boards to give up without a fight. Now, that advantage has been swept away overnight.

Justice is swift and sweet!

A blessed Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

ACLU loses biggest donor; Sierra Club and anti-war groups also take a hit

Earlier this year, it was learned that the Madoff scandal had an adverse financial impact on the ACLU (as well as Planned Parenthood and several other abortion providers). Now, just in time for Christmas, comes this cup of cheerful news.

The American Civil Liberties Union has lost a quarter of its yearly donations after a major donor cut off $19 million in annual donations because of economic difficulties.
David Gelbaum, a wealthy California conservationist, said he was indefinitely stopping the donations that had made him the New York-based group's largest anonymous donor.

"For a number of years, your organization has received very substantial charitable contributions from me," Gelbaum said in a statement. "My investments in alternative, clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in the American and world financial systems."

Gelbaum also announced he was halting some $12 million in yearly gifts to the Sierra Club Foundation and about $50 million a year that he's been giving to an organization serving veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.* Gelbaum has given a total of $389 million to the groups from 2005 to 2009.

The New York Times named Gelbaum in a story published in the newspaper Wednesday. Gelbaum had previously funded those organizations anonymously.

"While we're clearly disappointed that his desire to remain anonymous was breached, we remain eternally grateful for everything he and his family have done to advance the cause of civil liberties for all Americans," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said.

Romero also called Gelbaum an American hero, "an unassuming man with a spectacularly generous spirit."

Gelbaum says he hopes others will step forward and replace his donations.

Gelbaum, a native of Minnesota, once chaired the math department at the University of California, Irvine. He made his fortune working for hedge funds, where he used mathematical formulas to pick stocks and bonds.

He runs an investment firm called Quercus Trust, based in Newport Beach, Calif.

*Those "veterans" groups are anti-war organizations such as Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Bernard Madoff May Be a Hero When It's All Said and Done

First, we learned that the three largest abortion providers in America, including Panned Parenthood, were facing serious financial problems after one of their cash cows, the Picower Foundation, was wiped out by the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme. Now, it turns out that Picower and another Madoff victim, JEHT, were also bankrolling the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Don't let the euphoria over Obama fool you. Liberal activism may be headed for some hard times.

The American Civil Liberties Union, impacted by the unfolding economic crisis, laid off ten percent of its national workforce this week. Thirty-six staffers lost their jobs, including five in the Washington, D.C. legislative office, a source familiar with the firings told the Huffington Post.

A source in the ACLU's Washington office confirmed that there had been layoffs, but couldn't confirm the details. The ACLU has two separate Washington offices: a local branch that works on District of Columbia issues and an arm of the national ACLU, which works on legislative issues. The layoffs impacted the legislative office -- though the District office is not necessarily immune to a budget shortfall.

The loss of the staffers means a likely reduction in influence for the civil liberties organization just as Democrats begin to push a legislative agenda as ambitious as any since the mid-sixties. Liberal advocacy organizations have been hit hard across the board by the economic downturn, as donations have fallen off and returns from investments have gone negative.

UDPATE: Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, issued a statement to the Huffington Post explaining the layoffs. Two foundations that had heavily backed the ACLU were wiped out by fraudulent hedge-fund manager Bernard Madoff.

UPDATE II: Sources familiar with the ACLU's situation say that the two major foundations were the JEHT and Picower Foundations, which were wiped out by Madoff. Another major ACLU donor, Peter Lewis, has also been pounded by the economic crisis. Lewis' centrality to the funding of progressive organizations is hard to overstate. The name of the ACLU's Washington office is "The Peter B Lewis Center for Civil Liberties."