Flanagan, R

Pelican Institute in New Orleans

===

Partner Giles is also in Breitbart's employ apparently. (She introduced him to a forum Saturday at the CPAC event as "my boss.")

Other mentors and funders of O'Keefe's prior endeavors: Ben Wetmore during their joint tenure at the Leadership Institute run by Morton Blackwell. Wetmore wrote (Lindsay Beyerstein found his cached blog): "'I was nearly fired, as was my boss [former] Cong. Steve Stockman, for buying the initial video equipment that James [O'Keefe] used,' Ben wrote last September. He seemed especially bitter that the LI hired and fired idealistic young conservatives capriciously.

...

Flanagan is a graduate student at <a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100202/NEWS01/2020366/Suspect-in-hidden-camera-stunt-at-Louisiana-Sen.-Landrieu%5C-s-office-is-an-MSU-grad-student">Missouri State University, but the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies -- where he is enrolled -- moved to</a> Fairfax, Va., in 2005. It appears unlikely Flanagan has strong ties to the Ozarks.

Citing federal student privacy law, the department has refused to talk about Flanagan.

</blockquote>

DSS twitter feeds disappeared soon after the arrest in New Orleans.

A classmate David Centofante told the News-Leader Flanagan's thesis topic for graduating was on missile defense.

Career Services at the school posts -->

:: EMPLOYERS & RECRUITERS ::

DSS <a href="http://dss.missouristate.edu/recruit.htm">graduates have joined</a> a wide variety of federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Graduates have also gone to work for various corporations in the defense industry, research and analysis firms in the private sector, educational institutions, non-profit think tanks, and as legislative aides and professional staff on Capitol Hill. Numerous former DSS students have attained senior positions in their respective places of employment.

   Throughout the academic year, employer recruitment sessions are held.

</blockquote>

The site also has an internship link for a few credits. Presumably, Flanagan wasn't getting credit for his foray to find the phone closet in the Hale Boggs building.

===

<h3>Robert Flanagan</h3>

According to <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_2_0_t&usg=AFQjCNGRGHPvAvkZUYji0r0-2slMZJ7wHw&sig2=rRJyF_TmyO7hHgma74uUmw&cid=8797492636242&ei=hWxfS9COKuCclQfPgPSEAQ&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.usatoday.com%2Fcommunities%2Fondeadline%25">several</a> <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_0_0_t&usg=AFQjCNF3LX5cr1351KZfZqGNkLCYGwsu0Q&sig2=f53BXdYo_hM-NyjL7ppPmA&cid=8797492636242&ei=hWxfS9COKuCclQfPgPSEAQ&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fblogs%2Fpoliticaljunkie%2F2010%2F0">media</a> <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/26/four-men-charged-with-senate-office-infiltration/">outlets</a>, Robert Flanagan is "the son of William Flanagan, the <a href="http://www.justice.gov/usao/law/aboutus/history.html">acting</a> U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana." The Times-Picayune <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/acorn_gotcha_man_arrested_for.html">reported</a> that "Robert Flanagan's attorney, J. Garrison Jordan, said he believes his client works for the Pelican Institute."

Robert Flanagan is a <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=QXu&q=+site:www.thepelicanpost.org+%22Robert+Flanagan%22+pelican+post&ei=GG5fS_TWKIzRlAf22OHYCw&sa=X&oi=manybox&resnum=2&ct=all-results&ved=0CAIQqAQwAg">frequent blogger</a> for The Pelican Post, where he has <a href="http://www.thepelicanpost.org/?p=247">written</a> <a href="http://www.thepelicanpost.org/?p=449">about</a> Landrieu. The Pelican Post is the <a href="http://www.thepelicanpost.org/?page_id=2">blog</a> of The Pelican Institute for Public Policy, "a non-profit research and education institution that conducts scholarly research and analysis of Louisiana public policy. The Institute's mission is to advance sound policies based on the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty, and limited government."

===

<h1 class="single-post-title">The Pelican Institute: Louisiana’s First “Astroturf” Think Tank</h1>

by Lamar White, Jr on August 1, 2009

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A few days ago, The Pelican Institute for Public Policy published a report titled <a href="http://www.pelicaninstitute.org/files/pdf/High%20Speed%20Rail.pdf" target="_blank">Why Louisiana Should Not Build High-Speed Rail</a> by Randal O’Toole of the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. (Apparently, the days of high speed rail have already come and gone, even though we have never had a national high-speed commuter rail network, and besides, no one is going to want to ride a train, even though most of us have never had the option. Oddly enough, Mr. O’Toole’s report does not include the words “hurricane,” “evacuation,” “New Orleans,” or “Baton Rouge;” it’s almost as if this is a boilerplate, fill-in-the-blanks diatribe against rail in general).

The Pelican Institute is a Louisiana-based think tank founded last year by native New Yorker and Tulane grad Kevin Kane. Jeb Bruneau, son of former State Representative Peppi Bruneau, is its Vice President. (Peppi, as some may recall, was accused of timing his retirement announcement to maximally benefit Jeb’s campaign for the seat. Jeb lost anyway). Though it labels itself as “non-partisan,” the Pelican Institute is undeniably bent toward conservative and libertarian political philosophies, with a concentration on limiting government. Last year, in an article in <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121824246529126197.html" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal</a>, the Pelican Institute was described as a group of up-and-comers confronting the entrenched corruption of Louisiana through serious policy research. Quoting:

“Having a think tank under Edwin Edwards would have been meaningless,” says Stephen Gele, a member of the Pelican Institute’s Board of Directors. “You could have done a 50-page paper, but who would have read it? Edwards would have made up his mind over a game of Bourré” — a Cajun gamblers’ pastime, similar to Spades — “and that would have been the end of it.”

</blockquote>

Fighting words, to be sure.

Earlier this year, the Pelican Institute, along with Citizens Against Waste in Government, published the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pelicaninstitute.org%2Ffiles%2Fpdf%2F2009%2520LA_PorkRprt_3C.pdf&ei=rbt0SsSmEuOBtgepjtCWCQ&usg=AFQjCNF440vqYc5Bht0uUxa_QZefKP8PcA&sig2=QohaEU6Hn_YOoWaZHyIhjA" target="_blank">2009 Louisiana Pork Report</a>, a 36-page report that reads more like snarky opposition to government than serious policy analysis.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for calling out wasteful government spending, but there are numerous problems with the Pork Report.

It’s not even worth the time or energy nitpicking through everything in this ridiculous report. To me, its credibility is immediately undermined by its criticism of the Alexandria Zoo:

The Alexandria Zoological Park was built in 1926, near its present location. It started with discarded pets such as rabbits, goats, and deer. In the late 1960s, the US Department of Agriculture threatened to close it down. A full-time zookeeper was hired and the city started making some improvements.

Today, the zoo has a larger variety of animals than when it first started, and it is a major tourist attraction. But the question is whether taxpayers or visitors have to support it. People pay for entertainment all the time such as movies and eating out, and those activities are supported by the money they spend. That’s how businesses stay alive. The zoo should not be any different. Yet lawmakers approved $175,000 for the zoo in 2008.

</blockquote>

News flash to the New Yorker and the DC-based CAWG: The zoo is not and has never been a private business, and it’s not simply an “entertainment” option. It’s a habitat for over 600 animals, including nearly 30 endangered species, and it’s one of only three accredited zoos in the State. It’s a major quality of life destination in Central Louisiana, and there is absolutely no doubt that our zoo adds value to the entire region.

Regarding that $175,000: I’m sure that the good men and women of the Zoo and the non-profit Friends of the Alexandria Zoo will be thrilled to have the support of the State.

Unfortunately, the check must still be in the mail.

The report lambastes Mayor Cedric Glover for spending $4,475 to attend the United States Conference of Mayors and the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., yet it says absolutely nothing about the tens of thousands of dollars taxpayers have spent to send Governor Bobby Jindal across the country for campaign fundraisers. It criticizes Shaw Group for utilizing $210 million in state incentives, but instead of telling us what, exactly, those incentives were for, it focuses on Shaw CEO Jim Bernhard’s political affiliation. Even though Jindal approved those incentives, the spending is labeled “wasteful” because Bernhard donated to Kathleen Blanco’s gubernatorial campaign.

That’s what The Pelican Institute is: A group of partisan ideologues masquerading as an objective, intellectual “think tank,” outsourcing their “analysis” to established conservative think tanks like Citizens Against Government Waste, the Reason Foundation, and the Cato Institute because they don’t actually employ any real scholars themselves.

The Pelican Institute. Neither pelicans nor an institute. Discuss.

===

All four suspects were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Flanagan is the only suspect from Louisiana. Basel is from Minnesota; O'Keefe, New Jersey; and Dai, the D.C.-Virginia area.

"It was poor judgment," Flanagan's lawyer, Garrison Jordan, said in a brief interview outside the courtroom. "I don't think there was any intent or motive to commit a crime."

Flanagan recently criticized Landrieu for her vote on the Senate health care bill after securing a Medicaid provision estimated in value at up to $365 million for Louisiana. Conservatives accused her of selling her vote but she insisted no "special deals" were made.

"Do not be fooled into believing Landrieu is helping the state of Louisiana," Flanagan wrote in a Nov. 25 post on the Web site for the Pelican Institute, a Louisiana think tank that promotes the free market and limited government. "If the proposed healthcare legislation were to be signed into law, the $300 million allocated to Louisiana will pale in comparison to the long-term debt Louisiana citizens will ultimately shoulder."

---

The Pelican Institute is listed as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a> "Statehouse News Bureau." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a> The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a> Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a> On it's website, the Franklin Center clams that it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a>

<h3>Funding</h3>

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a> (SAM),<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a> a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=State_Policy_Network" title="State Policy Network">State Policy Network</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a> which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_Koch" title="Charles Koch" class="mw-redirect">Charles Koch</a>, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a> SAM also receives funding from the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rodney_Fund" title="Rodney Fund">Rodney Fund</a>. The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation" title="Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-9" title="">[10]</a> a conservative grant-making organization.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a>

<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/e/e4/Franklin_Center_Statehouse_News_Bureaus.jpg" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/e/e4/Franklin_Center_Statehouse_News_Bureaus.jpg" rel="nofollow">Statehouse News Bureaus</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org" rel="nofollow">Source Watch</a>, accessed March 23, 2012</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. <a href="http://www.franklincenterhq.org/2376/think-tank-journalism-the-future-of-investigative-reporting/" class="external text" title="http://www.franklincenterhq.org/2376/think-tank-journalism-the-future-of-investigative-reporting/" rel="nofollow">Think tank Journalism: The Future of Investigative Journalism</a>. Organizational website. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> The Portland Press Herald. <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/news/watchdog-website-puts-a-new-spin-on-politics_2010-10-02.html" class="external text" title="http://www.pressherald.com/news/watchdog-website-puts-a-new-spin-on-politics_2010-10-02.html" rel="nofollow">'Watchdog' website puts a new spin on politics'</a>. News website. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> Truthout. <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/koch-spider-web/1312231636" class="external text" title="http://www.truth-out.org/koch-spider-web/1312231636" rel="nofollow">The Koch Spider Web</a>. News website. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> Sara Jerving, <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/10971/franklin-center-right-wing-funds-state-news-source" class="external free" title="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/10971/franklin-center-right-wing-funds-state-news-source" rel="nofollow">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/10971/franklin-center-right-wing-funds-state-news-source</a>, <a href="http://www.prwatch.org" class="external text" title="http://www.prwatch.org" rel="nofollow">PR Watch</a>, October 27, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> Sam Adams Alliance. <a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/media/5148/sam_adams_alliance_media_kit.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/media/5148/sam_adams_alliance_media_kit.pdf" rel="nofollow">Sam Adams Alliance Media Kit</a>. Organizational PDF. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> Media Matters Action Network. <a href="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/Sam_Adams_Alliance/funders" class="external text" title="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/Sam_Adams_Alliance/funders" rel="nofollow">Sam Adams Alliance</a>. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> Media Matters Action Network. <a href="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/State_Policy_Network/funders" class="external text" title="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/State_Policy_Network/funders" rel="nofollow">State Policy Network</a>. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> Media Matters Action Network. <a href="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/Claude_R_Lambe_Charitable_Foundation" class="external text" title="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/Claude_R_Lambe_Charitable_Foundation" rel="nofollow">Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation</a>. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-9" title="">↑</a> The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/127259723.html" class="external text" title="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/127259723.html" rel="nofollow">Franklin Center boss wants apology from Democratic staffer</a>. News website. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pelican_Institute#cite_ref-10" title="">↑</a> The Bradley Foundation. <a href="http://www.bradleyfdn.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.bradleyfdn.org/" rel="nofollow">The Bradley Foundation</a>. Organizational website. Accessed August 19, 2011.</li>

</ol>

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