RICK BERMAN 2 BAK

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see 322 for full bak</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LI</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rick Berman</font></font></font></font></div><div>President, Berman and Company and Government Relations Consultant</div><div>Washington, District of Columbia, United States500+ connections</div><div>
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</div><div>The College of William and Mary - Marshall Wythe Law School</div><div>
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</div><div>About</div><div>Experienced Owner with a demonstrated history of working in the public relations and communications industry. Skilled in Crisis Management, Public Affairs, Political Communication, Nonprofit Organizations, and Grassroots Organizing. Strong entrepreneurship professional graduated from Transylvania College.</div><div>
</div><div>Articles by Rick</div><div>
</div><div>California’s cautionary minimum wage tale</div><div>By Rick Berman</div><div>Mar 10, 2022</div><div>
</div><div>Federalism on full display as Utah navigates drunk-driving legislation</div><div>By Rick Berman</div><div>Mar 2, 2022</div><div>
</div><div>‘My2022’ app should be a wake-up call for U.S. to get serious about China</div><div>By Rick Berman</div><div>Feb 15, 2022</div><div>Activity</div><div>
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</div><div>Great news to close the work week... recognition from Newsweek as a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace for 2021. Testament to the power of a brand and…</div><div>Liked by Rick Berman</div><div>Personal post that doesn't relate to business. Many know that over Covid I've grown a lot of hot peppers and developed some killer hot sauce recipes.…</div><div>
</div><div>Personal post that doesn't relate to business. Many know that over Covid I've grown a lot of hot peppers and developed some killer hot sauce recipes.…</div><div>Liked by Rick Berman</div><div>Thanks for all you do! Happy Bosses Day to our fearless leaders. #NationalBossDay #BossDay #WalkOns</div><div>
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</div><div>Shared by Rick Berman</div><div>Join now to see all activity</div><div>Experience</div><div>
</div><div>President</div><div>Berman and Company</div><div>1986 - Present36 years</div><div>
</div><div>Washington, D.C.</div><div>
</div><div>Pillsbury Restaurant Group Graphic</div><div>Executive Vice President</div><div>Pillsbury Restaurant Group</div><div>1984 - 19862 years</div><div>
</div><div>Dallas, TX</div><div>
</div><div>Steak and Ale Graphic</div><div>Human Resources and Public Affairs Senior Vice President</div><div>Steak and Ale</div><div>1975 - 19849 years</div><div>
</div><div>Dallas, TX</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">U.S. Chamber of Commerce Graphic</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Labor Law Director</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">1972 - 1974 2 years</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Washington, D.C.</span></div><div>
</div><div>Dana Corporation&nbsp;</div><div>Corporate Law Attorney</div><div>Dana Corporation</div><div>1969 - 19723 years</div><div>
</div><div>Toledo, OH</div><div>
</div><div>Bethlehem Steel Graphic</div><div>Labor Law Attorney</div><div>Bethlehem Steel</div><div>1967 - 19692 years</div><div>
</div><div>Bethlehem, PA</div><div>
</div><div>Sunoco Graphic</div><div>Auto Mechanic</div><div>Sunoco</div><div>1958 - 19679 years</div><div>
</div><div>Queens, NY</div><div>Part-Time</div><div>
</div><div>Education</div><div>The College of William and Mary - Marshall Wythe Law SchoolThe College of William and Mary - Marshall Wythe Law School Graphic</div><div>The College of William and Mary - Marshall Wythe Law School</div><div>Juris Doctorate</div><div>1964 - 1967</div><div>
</div><div>Transylvania College Graphic</div><div>Transylvania College</div><div>Bachelor's degreePolitical science</div><div>1960 - 1964</div><div>
</div><div>Recommendations received</div><div>
</div><div>“It is with pleasure that I recommend Rick Berman and his company. Rick is a leader in innovation in the beverage alcohol industry. Rick was first to recognize the need for dramatic change in this industry helping the industry found the American Beverage Institute. Bermanco recently has branched out to include the food and beverage industry. His personal and company contributions in Washington are moving this industry forward helping the industry and governmental regulators understand the tasks in front of us both internally and externally for a brighter future.”</div><div>
</div><div>Click here to view Dan Mindus’ profile</div><div>Dan Mindus</div><div>“With the possible exception of my parents, I have learned more from Rick than from anyone else in the world. He is a consummate businessman. Watching him work taught me most of what I know about marketing, sales, human resources, PR, managing business relationships, and on and on. It was a pleasure to go to work for him every day.”</div><div>
</div><div>2 people have recommended Rick</div><div>Join now to view</div><div>
</div><div>More activity by Rick</div><div>
</div><div>Congratulations to Dr. Steve Damron on his retirement as Dean of College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at Tarleton State. Steve has made a…</div><div>Liked by Rick Berman</div><div>
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/bogus-allegation-that-putin-is-funding-california-environmental-charity/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/bogus-allegation-that-putin-is-funding-california-environmental-charity/</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Analysis</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>The bogus ‘allegation’ that Putin is funding a California environmental charity</div><div>Image without a caption</div><div>By Glenn Kessler</div><div>Staff writer</div><div>March 17, 2022 at 3:00 a.m. EDT</div><div>
</div><div>Listen to article</div><div>13 min</div><div>
</div><div>Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)</div><div>
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</div><div>“It has been alleged that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is using a San Francisco-based e-NGO, the Sea Change Foundation (Sea Change), to funnel money into U.S.-based environmental advocacy efforts designed to undermine American energy production. … Notably, reports suggest that your organization is one of the top e-NGO recipients of Sea Change grants since 2006.”</div><div>
</div><div>— Letter signed by every GOP member of the House Energy Committee, written to several environmental groups, March 10</div><div>
</div><div>Note the passive voice in this letter — “it has been alleged.” There’s just enough smoke in the four-page missive to suggest there’s a raging fire. At Fox News, the resulting story was headlined: “House Republicans demand answers from environmental groups over allegation of collusion with Russia.”</div><div>
</div><div>The letter demanded answers by March 25 from three environmental groups — the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Sierra Club — on whether they have received funding from Russia or China and whether any funding from Sea Change, an environmental philanthropy, was used for anti-fracking advocacy. Sea Change contributes about $40 million to $50 million a year to a variety of environmental organizations.</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>“Provided the public reporting of Putin’s dark money influence in Europe and the concerns surrounding similar efforts in the United States, we write today to explore your connections with Sea Change,” the letter said. “Any action by President Putin, the Russian government, or Putin’s allies to undermine American energy security must be addressed.”</div><div>
</div><div>But upon inspection, the allegations crumble into dust. The flimsiest of dots are connected to make a case. What is even more astonishing is that, regular as clockwork, Republicans have been making these bogus claims every few years, even after credible explanations have been given. Small wonder — they keep getting the same favorable headlines from right-leaning media.</div><div>
</div><div>The Facts</div><div>This all started in 2014, when the Republican staff of the Senate Environment Committee published a report alleging that a group of “left wing millionaires and billionaires … directs and controls the far-left environmental movement, which in turn controls major policy decisions and lobbies on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).” The report focused on Sea Change Foundation, based in California, which it said “relies on funding from a foreign company with undisclosed donors.”</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>The president of Sea Change is Nat Simons, a son of billionaire hedge fund investor James Simons, who is one of the world’s richest people, with a net worth of almost $29 billion. The committee report conceded that Nat and his wife, Laura Baxter-Simons, “predominantly fund Sea Change through their own personal wealth, mostly attributed to their ties to Renaissance Technologies, a wildly profitably hedge fund.”</div><div>
</div><div>But the report also noted that “in addition to funding by the Simons, the only other source of its contributions derives from a Bermuda-based company called Klein Ltd.” In 2010, Klein contributed $13 million to Sea Change, about half of Sea Change’s contributions that year, and in 2011 Klein contributed $10 million to Sea Change, about one-third of the contributions. The report decried the “lack of transparency” about Klein’s funding and said the company appeared to have been set up “for the sole purpose of funneling anonymous donations to Sea Change.”</div><div>
</div><div>There was not a word in the report about Russian money. But then, in December 2015, a group called the Environmental Policy Alliance issued a six-page paper titled “From Russia With Love?”</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>Note the question mark. It intended to raise allegations but provide plausible deniability. The paper — it’s too thin to be called a report — claimed it was building on the Senate report by examining the law firm that set up Klein.</div><div>
</div><div>That firm, Wakefield Quin, is one of Bermuda’s top law firms. The hyped discovery in the paper was that some of the lawyers at the firm held directorship positions in companies of some of their clients, including some linked to the Russian energy sector. One 2008 court case in the British Virgin Islands, for instance, resulted in a money laundering conviction against a client associated with an adviser to Putin. “While it is unclear who is funding Klein, the law firm controlling this shady offshore funder of the U.S. environmental movement has ties to Russian money laundering, a friend and advisor of Vladimir Putin, Russian oil production, and more,” the paper said.</div><div>
</div><div>Law firms, of course, often have many clients, sometimes with shared interests. But that does not mean the law firm is coordinating among its clients or funneling money between them. The dots are so poorly connected as to be almost nonexistent.</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>Moreover, there is a certain irony in the Environmental Policy Alliance issuing the paper. It’s one of the many “AstroTurf” organizations — faux think tanks — run out of the offices of Berman and Company, headed by GOP lobbyist Richard “Rick” Berman. The group’s webpage says it is devoted to “uncovering the funding and hidden agenda behind environmental activist groups.”</div><div>
</div><div>In 2014, the New York Times obtained a recording of a closed-door speech in which Berman bragged to a group of oil industry executives about how he kept corporate donations secret behind a wall of nonprofit groups that sponsor major advertising campaigns supporting industry objectives. “There is total anonymity,” he said. “People don’t know who supports us.”</div><div>
</div><div>Despite the dubious provenance and the flimsy reasoning, the claims made by Berman’s group keep circulating.</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>In 2017, when Russian interference in the 2016 election was in the news, two Republican lawmakers from Texas, Lamar Smith (since retired) and Rep. Randy Weber, issued an open letter asking the Treasury Department to investigate possible money flows from Putin to Sea Change.</div><div>
</div><div>The letter began by citing concerns raised about Russia’s opposition to fracking by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.</div><div>
</div><div>Rasmussen in 2014 was quoted as saying that Russia “engaged actively with so-called nongovernmental organizations — environmental organizations working against shale gas — to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas.” He provided no proof and declined to say more, saying, “That is my interpretation.”</div><div>
</div><div>Clinton, in a private speech in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2014, alluded to Russian disinformation efforts. “We were up against Russia pushing oligarchs and others to buy media,” she said. “We were even up against phony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand against any effort, ‘Oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever will be a problem for you,’ and a lot of the money supporting that message was coming from Russia.”</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>The speech was revealed when Russia hacked the account of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and turned over his emails to WikiLeaks. But Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman, said she was not talking about Russia funding groups in the United States. “I remember this speech,” he said in an email. “She was talking about proposed pipelines in Europe that would have threatened Russian supply.”</div><div>
</div><div>One repeatedly cited statistic is that Russia invested $95 million in nongovernmental organizations to persuade European governments to stop shale gas exploration. The number appeared in a 2018 Senate committee report, sourced to the Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies. But the Wilfried Martens Center report does not explain how that figure was calculated and attributes it only to a 2015 “interview with anonymous contributor.” The report also is unclear about how much of this funding came from what are known as GONGOs (government-organized nongovernment organizations) or Russian oil companies themselves, as opposed to secret conduits of Russian money.</div><div>
</div><div>Finally, the letter referred to a national intelligence report issued on Jan. 6, 2017, about Russia’s efforts to influence the political debate in the United States. That report noted that RT, the Russian news channel, “runs anti-fracking programming, highlighting environmental issues and the impacts on public health.”</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>In other words, concerns about apparent Russian efforts to use nongovernmental groups in Europe to undermine fracking were leveraged to suggest that the same problem existed in the United States. But the only direct intervention in the United States that has been identified was a Russian news network.</div><div>
</div><div>When Smith and Weber issued their letter, the Bermuda law firm issued a blistering statement denying any suggestion that it acted as a conduit for Russian funds. “The allegations are completely false and irresponsible,” the firm said. “Our firm has represented Klein since its inception, and we can state categorically that at no point did this philanthropic organization receive or expend funds from Russian sources or Russian-connected sources and Klein has no Russian connection whatsoever.”</div><div>
</div><div>Politico quoted a Sea Change spokesperson as saying that no money from Russia had been received and that none of its donations to environmental groups were earmarked for opposition to fracking — which was supposedly the point of the subterfuge. From our study of Sea Change’s tax filings, its contributions have been focused broadly on climate change mitigation, energy efficiency and clean-energy policies.</div><div>
</div><div>Advertisement</div><div>Finally, a year later, the Sea Change Foundation revealed the source of Klein’s funding — the Simons family wealth. It turns out it was just another trust for the family’s billions.</div><div>
</div><div>“I wish to clarify that press reports speculating that Klein has received funding from outside sources are factually incorrect and have no basis,” Nat Simons said in a 2018 statement to Inside Philanthropy. “Neither Klein nor Sea Change Foundation has ever solicited or accepted contributions from non-family related sources.” Simons said that the name of the Bermuda funding vehicle had been changed from Klein Ltd. to Sea Change Foundation International.</div><div>
</div><div>Yet, here we are, with a new letter. This new missive repeats, at the start, the same items as the earlier letter — such as quotes from Rasmussen, Clinton and the national intelligence report. It adds a 2019 quote from former Trump aide Fiona Hill, made during the first impeachment inquiry, that Putin “saw American fracking as a great threat to Russian interests.” (Hill told the Fact Checker that “this was only a general statement” as “Putin went on a rant about fracking that I personally witnessed in November 2011.”)</div><div>
</div><div>Then the letter claims that “it has been alleged that Putin” is using Sea Change to advance his interests. No mention is made of Sea Change’s 2018 statement explaining the family wealth as the source of the money.</div><div>
</div><div>The letter is so stuck in a time warp that it’s out of date. Rod Forrest, a director and senior counsel at Wakefield Quin, told The Fact Checker that the law firm no longer represents Sea Change (or Klein) and has not done so for some time. “Wakefield Quin does not have any directorship positions with any investment or other group connected in any way to any Russian minister,” he added.</div><div>
</div><div>Nat Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons, in a statement to The Fact Checker, said: “We are disappointed to see false allegations of foreign influence through Sea Change Foundation resurface after this untrue assertion was fully refuted in a statement released in 2018. To state clearly, neither Klein nor Sea Change Foundation has or had any connection to Russia or Russian funds.”</div><div>
</div><div>The environmental groups also issued statements denying any links to Russian funds.</div><div>
</div><div>“We receive no funding from the government of Russia,” said Bob Deans, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s director of strategic engagement. “We answer to our independent leadership, and we don’t do the bidding of any government — foreign or otherwise — in our work to advocate for common sense environmental protections in the public interest. These allegations are rooted in a smear campaign orchestrated nearly a decade ago by fossil fuel interests and a right-wing think tank. They only serve now, as then, as a distraction.”</div><div>
</div><div>“This false conspiracy theory, invented by the same deceitful front groups paid to do polluters’ and Big Tobacco’s dirty work, has been repeatedly debunked over its nearly 10-year existence,” said Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce. “The Sierra Club has no connections to Russia or China, and proudly fights for clean energy and climate action because this is what our planet requires, our families deserve, and what the overwhelming majority of Americans across the country demand.”</div><div>
</div><div>“This story is completely false and has been put to rest for years,” said David Willett, a League of Conservation Voters spokesman. “We have no connections to Russia, or China, and have been an effective advocate for environmental protection for over 50 years. These false and poorly-researched allegations are rooted in a nearly 10-year-old right-wing think tank and fossil fuel industry-funded smear campaign that gets revived every few years to serve as a distraction.”</div><div>
</div><div>Jack Heretik, a spokesman for the House Energy Committee’s GOP members, said: “If the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club have nothing to hide, then we look forward to seeing the evidence by March 25.”</div><div>
</div><div>Will Coggin, a Berman and Company research analyst associated with entities such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and the Environmental Policy Alliance, issued a statement defending the 2015 paper: “The NATO Secretary General said Russians were working with environmentalists to oppose fracking in other countries as a scheme to help Russian energy. Our report highlighted how a shadowy Caribbean-based organization gave $23 million to Sea Change and how the firm where that group was based had connections to Russian clients. The questions we raised are still unanswered, and this situation deserves a full, independent investigation.”</div><div>
</div><div>The Pinocchio Test</div><div>For years, it’s been clear that Sea Change Foundation has no connection to secret Russian money. After all, the foundation is associated with one of the world’s richest families. On top of that, we can find no evidence that money donated by Sea Change resulted in anti-fracking campaigns. The foundation might have been quicker to reveal that Klein’s funds were just more of the Simonses’ money, but in any case that has been known now for four years.</div><div>
</div><div>The lawmakers may pretend that they are just asking questions, but in reality they are recycling claims that have already been adequately debunked. It’s a smarmy way to earn some publicity during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They earn Four Pinocchios.</div><div>
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</div><div>The Fact Checker is a verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network code of principles</div><div>229 Comments</div><div></div><div>
</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">new? fluff? talk?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">r<b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ichard B. Berman</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(born 1942) is an American</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer" title="Lawyer" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">lawyer</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations" title="Public relations" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">public relations</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Executive_Officer" class="mw-redirect" title="Chief Executive Officer" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">executive</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and former</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbyist" class="mw-redirect" title="Lobbyist" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">lobbyist</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-The_Wage_Warrior_1-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-The_Wage_Warrior-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Through his public affairs firm,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company" title="Berman and Company" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Berman and Company</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, he runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Union_Facts" title="Center for Union Facts" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Union Facts</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Policies_Institute" title="Employment Policies Institute" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Employment Policies Institute</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup></font></div><div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr;"><div class="mw-parser-output" style=""><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His organizations have run numerous media campaigns concerning&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity" title="Obesity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">obesity</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugary_drink_tax" title="Sugary drink tax" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">soda taxation</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking" title="Smoking" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">smoking</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty_to_animals" title="Cruelty to animals" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">cruelty to animals</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_cow_disease" class="mw-redirect" title="Mad cow disease" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">mad cow disease</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Taxes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">taxes</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt" class="mw-redirect" title="National debt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">national debt</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_and_driving" class="mw-redirect" title="Drinking and driving" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drinking and driving</a>, as well as the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage" title="Minimum wage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">minimum wage</a>.<b> Through the courts and media campaigns, his company challenges regulations </b>sought by consumer, safety and environmental groups.<sup id="cite_ref-usatoday_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-usatoday-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Eric_Lipton_7-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-Eric_Lipton-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup></font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 7px; display: table;"><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Early_life_and_family" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;"><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early life and family</span></span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Career</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Organizations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Organizations</span></font></a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#The_Center_for_Organization_Research_and_Education" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">The Center for Organization Research and Education</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#American_Beverage_Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">American Beverage Institute</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Employment_Policies_Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Employment Policies Institute</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Center_for_Union_Facts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Center for Union Facts</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Enterprise_Freedom_Action_Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Enterprise Freedom Action Committee</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#Criticism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Criticism</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life_and_family">Early life and family</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman grew up in the Bronx borough of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New York City</a>. His father ran gas stations and car washes. Berman did general labor at these businesses on weekends and summers while growing up. He attended&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania_University" title="Transylvania University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Transylvania University</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky" title="Kentucky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kentucky</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-KY-2012-01_8-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-KY-2012-01-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup>&nbsp;After graduating from college in 1964, Berman went on to&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_and_Mary_School_of_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="William and Mary School of Law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">William and Mary School of Law</a>&nbsp;and was class of 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-npr_9-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-npr-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup>&nbsp;His late son was&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Jews" title="Silver Jews" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silver Jews</a>&nbsp;musician&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berman(musician)" title="David Berman (musician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">David Berman</a>, who died by&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide" title="Suicide" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">suicide</a>&nbsp;on August 7, 2019 at age 52.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup>&nbsp;The two had been&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_estrangement" title="Family estrangement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">estranged</a>&nbsp;due to David's strong disapproval of his father's work.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career">Career</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After law school, Berman worked as a labor law attorney for&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem_Steel" title="Bethlehem Steel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bethlehem Steel</a>, and from 1969 to 1972 he served as a corporate lawyer for&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Holding_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Dana Holding Corporation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dana</a>, an automotive parts company in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,Ohio" title="Toledo, Ohio" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Toledo, Ohio</a>. From 1972 to 1974 he was employed as labor law director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Chamber_of_Commerce" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Chamber of Commerce" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington, D.C.</a><sup id="cite_ref-npr_9-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-npr-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He moved into the food and beverage industry in 1975 under the mentorship of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Brinker" class="mw-redirect" title="Norman Brinker" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Norman Brinker</a>, founder and owner of the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak%26_Ale" class="mw-redirect" title="Steak & Ale" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Steak & Ale</a>&nbsp;chain of restaurants. Berman started a government affairs program, launched his first&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee" title="Political action committee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">PAC</a>&nbsp;for Brinker, and worked there until 1984. He served as executive vice president of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillsbury_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="Pillsbury Company" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pillsbury Restaurant Group</a>&nbsp;from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, he formed&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company" title="Berman and Company" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berman and Company</a>. In 1991, he created the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Policies_Institute" title="Employment Policies Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Employment Policies Institute</a>&nbsp;to research entry-level work issues and argue "the importance of minimum wage jobs for the poor and uneducated." In practice, this translated to opposing&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage" title="Minimum wage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">minimum wage</a>&nbsp;hikes on the theory that they would reduce employment.<sup id="cite_ref-pm_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-pm-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the 1990s, Berman was the president of Beverage Retailers Against Drunk Driving (BRADD), an organization formed to combat&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving" title="Mothers Against Drunk Driving" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-pm_13-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-pm-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup>&nbsp;As president, he argued for "tolerance of social drinking."<sup id="cite_ref-pm_13-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-pm-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup>&nbsp;He has also worked as a consultant for the Minimum Wage Coalition to Save Jobs.<sup id="cite_ref-pm_13-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-pm-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a document released by&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a></i>&nbsp;on October 30, 2014, from a talk Berman gave to the Western Energy Alliance, Berman reassured potential donors about the concern that they might be found out as a supporter of one of his organizations: "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity."<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup>&nbsp;He also touted his "win ugly" method of personal attacks on&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union" title="Trade union" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">labor union</a>&nbsp;leaders,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalist" title="Environmentalist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">environmentalists</a>, and others who opposed him.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Organizations">Organizations</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As of May 2009, Berman was the sole owner and executive director of Berman and Company, a for-profit management firm that ran fifteen corporate-funded groups, including the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. He has held at least sixteen positions within these interlocking organizations.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Harpers-May2009_16-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-Harpers-May2009-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;As of 2010, just six of these nonprofits provided as much as 70% of Berman and Company's revenue.</span><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;Bloomberg News reported that from 2008 to 2010, Berman and Company was paid $15 million from donations to his five nonprofit organizations.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Bloomberg_18-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-Bloomberg-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Through these organizations, Berman and Company has received 60 "POLLIE Awards" since 2002 from the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_Political_Consultants" title="American Association of Political Consultants" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">American Association of Political Consultants</a></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Organizations founded and managed by Berman include:</font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Center_for_Organization_Research_and_Education">The Center for Organization Research and Education</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Organizational_Research_and_Education" title="Center for Organizational Research and Education" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Organizational Research and Education</a>&nbsp;<b>(CORE), </b>formerly the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>&nbsp;(CCF) and Guest Choice Network (GCN), is a non-profit advocate for the food industry and was formed in 1995 with funding from tobacco giant Phillip Morris.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wp_21-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-wp-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup>&nbsp;CORE generally promotes deregulation in the marketplace against what it believes is encroachment by government or scare tactics promulgated by activist groups. CCF also runs the organizations HumaneWatch<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup>&nbsp;and PETA Kills Animals, which criticize the practices of HSUS and PETA, respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a></sup>&nbsp;</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>These campaigns run&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smear_campaign" title="Smear campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">smear campaigns</a>&nbsp;</b>that allege that "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humane_Society_of_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="The Humane Society of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Humane Society of the United States</a>&nbsp;gives less than one percent of the money it raises to local pet shelters",<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup>&nbsp;and that "PETA kills 89% of the adoptable dogs and cats in its care.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a></sup>Berman's attacks on animal rights organizations have gained support from many individuals and organizations working in the agriculture and agribusiness sector.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In March 2013,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Navigator" title="Charity Navigator" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Charity Navigator</a>&nbsp;issued a Donor Advisory advising that "the majority of the Center for Consumer Freedom's program expenses are being directed to its CEO Richard Berman's for-profit management company, Berman and Company"</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-CharityNavigator_27-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-CharityNavigator-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;The&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune" title="Chicago Tribune" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chicago Tribune</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;depicted CCF as an organization that "employs razor-sharp wit and unconventional tactics."</span><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Berman and Company does not publicly name its clients;&nbsp;</b></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes" title="60 Minutes" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">60 Minutes</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;obtained a list of companies that funded the Center for Consumer Freedom in 2002. Among the parties named were&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coca-Cola_Company" title="The Coca-Cola Company" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">The Coca-Cola Company</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyson_Foods" title="Tyson Foods" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Tyson Foods</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outback_Steakhouse" title="Outback Steakhouse" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Outback Steakhouse</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-3" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ap_29-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-ap-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s_International,Inc." class="mw-redirect" title="Wendy's International, Inc." style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Wendy's International, Inc.</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-4" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinker_International" title="Brinker International" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Brinker International</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;(parent company of&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili%27s" title="Chili's" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Chili's</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romano%27s_Macaroni_Grill" title="Romano's Macaroni Grill" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Macaroni Grill</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">),&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arby%27s" title="Arby's" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Arby's</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooters" title="Hooters" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Hooters</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-ap_29-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-ap-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Lobster(restaurant)" class="mw-redirect" title="Red Lobster (restaurant)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Red Lobster</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-ap_29-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-ap-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="American_Beverage_Institute">American Beverage Institute</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beverage_Institute" title="American Beverage Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Beverage Institute</a>&nbsp;(ABI) is a trade association opposed to laws intended to criminalize alcohol consumption, including the push to further lower existing blood-alcohol arrest thresholds.</font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Employment_Policies_Institute">Employment Policies Institute</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Policies_Institute" title="Employment Policies Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Employment Policies Institute</a>&nbsp;(EPI) is a nonprofit research center opposed to raising the minimum wage, particularly in the labor-intensive restaurant industry. 'TIME Magazine' described EPI's work as helping to "lay the groundwork for the minimum-wage fight in 2014."<sup id="cite_ref-The_Wage_Warrior_1-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-The_Wage_Warrior-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Center_for_Union_Facts">Center for Union Facts</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Union_Facts" title="Center for Union Facts" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Union Facts</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;(CUF)&nbsp;</span><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;argues that&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union" title="Trade union" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">unions</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;are corrupt and bad for workers.</span><sup id="cite_ref-npr_9-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-npr-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;It has run full-page ads in major print media outlets</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> (New York Times,&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and&nbsp;The Washington Post)</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b> blaming trade unions for the bankruptcies of American industries</b>. The CUF website purports that it is the largest online database of labor-union reporting on salaries, budgets, and political spending. CUF has produced TV ads alleging intimidation by trade unions. CUF is a non-profit; 2007 federal tax returns showed revenues of $2.5 million, with $840,000 being paid to Berman and Company for management services.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Harpers-May2009_16-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-Harpers-May2009-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Enterprise_Freedom_Action_Committee">Enterprise Freedom Action Committee</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Enterprise Freedom Action Committee is a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee" title="Political action committee" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">political action committee</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-shep_31-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-shep-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[31]</a></sup>&nbsp;The group spent $315,000 on a campaign<b> against&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;</b>during the 2016 Republican primaries.</span><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Criticism">Criticism</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><table class="box-Criticism_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-criticism" role="presentation" style="background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251); margin: 0px 103.833px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 10px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(242, 133, 0); border-image: initial;"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image" style="border: none; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="width: 52px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="Unbalanced scales.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Unbalanced_scales.svg/45px-Unbalanced_scales.svg.png" decoding="async" width="45" height="40" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Unbalanced_scales.svg/68px-Unbalanced_scales.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Unbalanced_scales.svg/90px-Unbalanced_scales.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="354" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></font></div></td><td class="mbox-text" style="border: none; padding: 0.25em 0.5em; width: 740.667px;"><div class="mbox-text-span"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This article's&nbsp;<i>Criticism</i>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<i>Controversy</i>&nbsp;section&nbsp;<b>may compromise the article's&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">neutral point of view</a>&nbsp;of the subject</b>.<span class="hide-when-compact">&nbsp;Please&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view#Article_structure" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">integrate the section's contents</a>&nbsp;into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material.</span>&nbsp;<span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">February 2022</span>)</i></span></font></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman has appeared on&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes" title="60 Minutes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Minutes</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-5" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colbert_Report" title="The Colbert Report" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Colbert Report</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-colbert_33-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-colbert-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN" title="CNN" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN</a><sup id="cite_ref-cnn_34-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-cnn-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;in support of his organizations.&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes" title="60 Minutes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Minutes</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;has called him "the booze and food industries' weapon of mass destruction,"</span><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-6" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;labor union activist&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bensinger" title="Richard Bensinger" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Richard Bensinger</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;gave him the nickname "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr.Evil" title="Dr. Evil" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Dr. Evil</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,"</span><sup id="cite_ref-usatoday_4-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-usatoday-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-60min_5-7" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-60min-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kranish" title="Michael Kranish" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Michael Kranish</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;of the&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Globe" class="mw-redirect" title="Boston Globe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Boston Globe</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;dubbed him a "pioneer" in the "realm of opinion molding."</span><sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In September 2013,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="The Huffington Post" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">The Huffington Post</a>&nbsp;included Berman on its list of "America's Ruling Class Hall of Shame", described as a "sleazy corporate front man</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">."</span><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humane_Society_of_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="The Humane Society of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Humane Society of the United States</a>&nbsp;(HSUS) and the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_Opportunities_Center" title="Restaurant Opportunities Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Restaurant Opportunities Center</a>&nbsp;have criticized Berman. HSUS has carried out its own investigations of CCF and Berman, and filed complaints about CCF with the IRS.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a></sup>&nbsp;CCF has responded by filing its own complaint with the IRS against HSUS.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Labor groups pushing to increase the minimum wage are also taking a tough line against Berman and his clients. The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_Opportunities_Center" title="Restaurant Opportunities Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Restaurant Opportunities Center</a>&nbsp;has taken an aggressive approach in its campaigns against Berman's base of support within the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Restaurant_Association" title="National Restaurant Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Restaurant Association</a>&nbsp;and related enterprises.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a></sup></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a January 4, 2015 article,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salon(website)" class="mw-redirect" title="Salon (website)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Salon</a>&nbsp;criticized Berman as a propagandist, "a gifted translator of biz-think into the common sense of the millions".<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Berman has responded to such criticism by stating that his groups have acted as "<b style="">watchdogs who question the motivation, tactics and fundraising efforts of these powerful groups</b>" and that targets "throw mud" instead of "debating the actual issues"</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.5em; list-style-type: decimal; margin-top: 0.3em; column-width: 30em;"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-parent 0 list-item 0; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-The_Wage_Warrior-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-The_Wage_Warrior_1-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-The_Wage_Warrior_1-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2166775,00.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"The Wage Warrior"</a>. TIME Magazine. March 10, 2014<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">February 28,</span>&nbsp;2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Wage+Warrior&rft.pub=TIME+Magazine&rft.date=2014-03-10&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.time.com%2Ftime%2Fmagazine%2Farticle%2F0%2C9171%2C2166775%2C00.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-2" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/about.cfm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Website of the Center for Consumer Freedom</a>&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050623201632/http://www.consumerfreedom.com/about.cfm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Archived</a>&nbsp;2005-06-23 at the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayback Machine</a></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-3" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_09/c3973039.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Business Week magazine online, Feb 27, 2006"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Business+Week+magazine+online%2C+Feb+27%2C+2006&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessweek.com%2Fmagazine%2Fcontent%2F06_09%2Fc3973039.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-usatoday-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-usatoday_4-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-usatoday_4-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today" title="USA Today" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">USA Today</a></i>&nbsp;article: "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2006-07-31-lobbyist-usat_x.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Got a nasty fight? Here's your man</a>",&nbsp;<i>USA Today</i>, July 31, 2006.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-60min-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-60min_5-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFSafer2007" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morley_Safer" title="Morley Safer" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Safer, Morley</a>&nbsp;(2007-07-17).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/05/60minutes/main2653020.shtml" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. 'Dr. Evil'<span class="cs1-kern-right" style="padding-right: 0.2em;">"</span></a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes" title="60 Minutes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Minutes</a></i>&nbsp;(program episode).</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=60+Minutes&rft.atitle=Meet+Rick+Berman%2C+A.K.A.+%27Dr.+Evil%27&rft.date=2007-07-17&rft.aulast=Safer&rft.aufirst=Morley&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fstories%2F2007%2F04%2F05%2F60minutes%2Fmain2653020.shtml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-6" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFWarner2005" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Warner, Melanie (2005-06-12).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/business/yourmoney/12food.html?pagewanted=all" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Striking Back at the Food Police"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2011-11-17</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Striking+Back+at+the+Food+Police&rft.date=2005-06-12&rft.aulast=Warner&rft.aufirst=Melanie&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2005%2F06%2F12%2Fbusiness%2Fyourmoney%2F12food.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-Eric_Lipton-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-Eric_Lipton_7-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text">Lipton, Eric (9 February 2014.).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/fight-over-minimum-wage-illustrates-web-of-industry-ties.html?r=2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Fight Over Minimum Wage Illustrates Web of Industry Ties</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a>.</i>&nbsp;Retrieved 12 February 2014.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-KY-2012-01-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-KY-2012-01_8-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFBoxley2012" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Boxley, Mark (2012-01-31).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140201202653/http://www.kyforward.com/2012/01/betty-gail-brown-cold-case-police-have-evidence-suspicions-%E2%80%94-but-no-resolution/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Betty Gail Brown cold case: Police have evidence, suspicions — but no resolution"</a>.&nbsp;<i>KyForward</i>. Lexington, Kentucky. Archived from&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kyforward.com/2012/01/betty-gail-brown-cold-case-police-have-evidence-suspicions-%E2%80%94-but-no-resolution/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">the original</a>&nbsp;on 2014-02-01<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2014-06-16</span></span>.&nbsp;<q style="quotes: " apos="apos">The page-long entry details an encounter with a fellow Transylvania student, Richard Berman...."he remembers Betty as a very nice girl, but that it was such a long time ago that he remembers very little more than that."</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=KyForward&rft.atitle=Betty+Gail+Brown+cold+case%3A+Police+have+evidence%2C+suspicions+%E2%80%94+but+no+resolution&rft.date=2012-01-31&rft.aulast=Boxley&rft.aufirst=Mark&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kyforward.com%2F2012%2F01%2Fbetty-gail-brown-cold-case-police-have-evidence-suspicions-%25E2%2580%2594-but-no-resolution%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-npr-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-npr_9-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-npr_9-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-npr_9-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94395162" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Profile: Employee Freedom Action Committee</a>". September 18, 2008&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR.org" class="mw-redirect" title="NPR.org" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NPR.org</a></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-10" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFAniftos2019" class="citation magazine cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Aniftos, Rania (August 9, 2019).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8527092/david-bermans-cause-of-death-revealed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"David Berman's Cause of Death Revealed"</a>.&nbsp;<i>Billboard</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Billboard&rft.atitle=David+Berman%27s+Cause+of+Death+Revealed&rft.date=2019-08-09&rft.aulast=Aniftos&rft.aufirst=Rania&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Farticles%2Fnews%2F8527092%2Fdavid-bermans-cause-of-death-revealed&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-11" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFSean_Michaels2009" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Sean Michaels (2009-01-26).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jan/26/silver-jews-david-berman-father" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Silver Jews reveal cause of split: 'My father is a despicable man … a human molestor'<span class="cs1-kern-right" style="padding-right: 0.2em;">"</span></a>.&nbsp;<i>The Guardian</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Silver+Jews+reveal+cause+of+split%3A+%27My+father+is+a+despicable+man+%E2%80%A6+a+human+molestor%27&rft.date=2009-01-26&rft.au=Sean+Michaels&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmusic%2F2009%2Fjan%2F26%2Fsilver-jews-david-berman-father&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-12" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFDaniel_Schulman2009" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Daniel Schulman (2009-01-28).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/01/silver-jew-strikes-back" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"A Silver Jew Strikes Back"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Jones(magazine)" title="Mother Jones (magazine)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mother Jones</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Mother+Jones&rft.atitle=A+Silver+Jew+Strikes+Back&rft.date=2009-01-28&rft.au=Daniel+Schulman&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2009%2F01%2Fsilver-jew-strikes-back&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-pm-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-pm_13-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-pm_13-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-pm_13-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-pm_13-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFRichard_B.Berman1995" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Richard B. Berman (1995). Barbara Trach (ed.).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/quk06c00" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"RICHARD B. BERMAN (quk06c00)"</a>&nbsp;<span class="cs1-format" style="">(PDF)</span>.&nbsp;<i>Philip Morris</i>&nbsp;(résumé).&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_Tobacco_Documents_Library" class="mw-redirect" title="Legacy Tobacco Documents Library" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">UCSF Library, Legacy Tobacco Documents Library</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2012-10-15</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Philip+Morris&rft.atitle=RICHARD+B.+BERMAN+%28quk06c00%29&rft.date=1995&rft.au=Richard+B.+Berman&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Flegacy.library.ucsf.edu%2Ftid%2Fquk06c00&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-14" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/31/us/politics/31lobbyist-docs.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"<span class="cs1-kern-left" style="padding-left: 0.2em;">"Endless War" and Other Rallying Points"</span></a>.&nbsp;<i>The New York Times</i>. 2014-10-30<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=%22Endless+War%22+and+Other+Rallying+Points&rft.date=2014-10-30&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Finteractive%2F2014%2F10%2F31%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2F31lobbyist-docs.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-15" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFLipton2014" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Lipton, Eric (October 31, 2014).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html?r=1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: 'Win Ugly or Lose Pretty'<span class="cs1-kern-right" style="padding-right: 0.2em;">"</span></a>.&nbsp;<i>The New York Times</i>. pp.&nbsp;A19<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2014-11-01</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Hard-Nosed+Advice+From+Veteran+Lobbyist%3A+%27Win+Ugly+or+Lose+Pretty%27&rft.pages=A19&rft.date=2014-10-31&rft.aulast=Lipton&rft.aufirst=Eric&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F10%2F31%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fpr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html%3F_r%3D1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-Harpers-May2009-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-Harpers-May2009_16-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-Harpers-May2009_16-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFKen_Silverstein2009" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ken Silverstein (May 2009). "Corporate Front Man: Richard Berman manages the news on key labor-backed bill".&nbsp;<i>Harper's Magazine</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Harper%27s+Magazine&rft.atitle=Corporate+Front+Man%3A+Richard+Berman+manages+the+news+on+key+labor-backed+bill&rft.date=2009-05&rft.au=Ken+Silverstein&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-17" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/06/18/us/20100618-berman-flowchart.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Nonprofits Paying a For-Profit Firm"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New York Times</a></i>. 2010-06-17<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2011-01-24</span></span>.&nbsp;<q style="quotes: " apos="apos">Six nonprofits provide as much as 70 percent of revenues for Berman and Company. Many of the groups' board members are current and former employees of the company.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Nonprofits+Paying+a+For-Profit+Firm&rft.date=2010-06-17&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Finteractive%2F2010%2F06%2F18%2Fus%2F20100618-berman-flowchart.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-Bloomberg-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-Bloomberg_18-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFDrajemWingfield2012" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Drajem, Mark; Wingfield, Brian (2012-11-01).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-02/union-busting-by-profiting-from-non-profit-may-breach-irs.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS"</a>. Bloomberg.com<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-04-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Union+Busting+by+Profiting+From+Non-Profit+May+Breach+IRS&rft.date=2012-11-01&rft.aulast=Drajem&rft.aufirst=Mark&rft.au=Wingfield%2C+Brian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2F2012-11-02%2Funion-busting-by-profiting-from-non-profit-may-breach-irs.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-19" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFAmerican_Association_of_Political_Consultants1999–2013" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">American Association of Political Consultants (1999–2013).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theaapc.org/default.asp?contentID=577" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Past Winners"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-12-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Past+Winners&rft.date=1999%2F2013&rft.au=American+Association+of+Political+Consultants&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaapc.org%2Fdefault.asp%3FcontentID%3D577&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-20" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCSF" class="mw-redirect" title="UCSF" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">UCSF</a>'s&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_Tobacco_Documents_Library" class="mw-redirect" title="Legacy Tobacco Documents Library" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Legacy Tobacco Documents Library</a>&nbsp;records show an&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/luk06c00" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">$800,000 check in December 1995</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=avp27d00" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">$200,000 check in May 1996</a>&nbsp;written to Guest Choice Network and Berman.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-wp-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-wp_21-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington Post</a></i>&nbsp;article: "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601259_pf.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">The Escalating Obesity Wars: Nonprofit's Tactics, Funding Sources Spark Controversy</a>".</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-22" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.humanewatch.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">HumaneWatch.org</a>&nbsp;website, maintained by the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-23" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.petakillsanimals.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">PETAKillsAnimals.com</a>&nbsp;website, maintained by the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-24" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2010-04-14/news/the-humane-society-and-big-agriculture-slug-it-out-over-animal-rights/full/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights"</a>.&nbsp;<i>Riverfront Times</i>. April 14, 2010.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Riverfront+Times&rft.atitle=The+Humane+Society+and+big+agriculture+slug+it+out+over+animal+rights&rft.date=2010-04-14&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.riverfronttimes.com%2F2010-04-14%2Fnews%2Fthe-humane-society-and-big-agriculture-slug-it-out-over-animal-rights%2Ffull%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-25" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.activistfacts.com/about/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"About Us - Activist FactsActivist Facts"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=About+Us+-+Activist+FactsActivist+Facts&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.activistfacts.com%2Fabout%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-26" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFOlberding" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Olberding, Matt.&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://journalstar.com/business/local/farm-and-food-recall-worse-pr-than-anything-anti-meat/article_8322883a-3719-5fd3-8bd0-67eb99bd8c1e.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Farm and Food: Recall worse PR than anything anti-meat groups could conjure"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Farm+and+Food%3A+Recall+worse+PR+than+anything+anti-meat+groups+could+conjure&rft.aulast=Olberding&rft.aufirst=Matt&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fjournalstar.com%2Fbusiness%2Flocal%2Ffarm-and-food-recall-worse-pr-than-anything-anti-meat%2Farticle_8322883a-3719-5fd3-8bd0-67eb99bd8c1e.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-CharityNavigator-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-CharityNavigator_27-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11842" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Charity Navigator: Donor Advisory"</a>. Charity Navigator. 2013-03-02<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-04-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Charity+Navigator%3A+Donor+Advisory&rft.pub=Charity+Navigator&rft.date=2013-03-02&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.charitynavigator.org%2Findex.cfm%3Fbay%3Dsearch.summary%26orgid%3D11842&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-28" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMartin2003" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Martin, Andrew (2003-08-04).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-08-04/news/0308040074_1_richard-berman-girl-scout-berman-charges" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Flinging mud in nation's food fight"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune" title="Chicago Tribune" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chicago Tribune</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-11-04</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Chicago+Tribune&rft.atitle=Flinging+mud+in+nation%27s+food+fight&rft.date=2003-08-04&rft.aulast=Martin&rft.aufirst=Andrew&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Farticles.chicagotribune.com%2F2003-08-04%2Fnews%2F0308040074_1_richard-berman-girl-scout-berman-charges&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-ap-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;">^&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-ap_29-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:</span><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-ap_29-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-ap_29-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;"><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span>&nbsp;<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=8984" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Berman's Battle</a>&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101205120303/http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=8984" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Archived</a>&nbsp;December 5, 2010, at the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayback Machine</a>"<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Prospect" title="The American Prospect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The American Prospect</a></i>".</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-30" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text">Daniel Schulman&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/hidden-interests-dr-evils-payday" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Dr. Evil's Payday How PR op Richard Berman's "economic literacy" nonprofit spun payday loans into gold.</a>&nbsp;Mother Jones, September/October 2009</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-shep-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-shep_31-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text">Kate Sheppard&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/04/donor-advisory-group-flags-berman-nonprofits" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Donor Advisory Group Flags Berman Nonprofits</a>&nbsp;Mother Jones, 5 April 2013</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-32" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cmte=C90012162&cycle=2016&txt=" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs and Coordinated Expenses as of March 21, 2016</a>&nbsp;The Center for Responsive Politics, March 21, 2016</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-colbert-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-colbert_33-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colbert_Report" title="The Colbert Report" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Colbert Report</a></i>&nbsp;-&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/123821/october-29-2007/richard-berman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">October 29, 2007: Richard Berman</a>.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-cnn-34" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-cnn_34-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN.com" class="mw-redirect" title="CNN.com" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">CNN.com</a>&nbsp;transcript: "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/04/sm.23.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">CNN SUNDAY MORNING Interview With John Banzhaf, Richard Berman</a>".</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-35" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-35" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFKranish2013" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Kranish, Michael (2013-05-19).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2013/05/18/corporations-anonymously-fund-attacks-and-influence-washington-policy-through-nonprofit-groups/qyaJIFcv7yYOsQvya6ykAK/story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Washington's robust market for attacks, half-truths"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globe" title="The Boston Globe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Boston Globe</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-11-04</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Boston+Globe&rft.atitle=Washington%27s+robust+market+for+attacks%2C+half-truths&rft.date=2013-05-19&rft.aulast=Kranish&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bostonglobe.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F2013%2F05%2F18%2Fcorporations-anonymously-fund-attacks-and-influence-washington-policy-through-nonprofit-groups%2FqyaJIFcv7yYOsQvya6ykAK%2Fstory.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-36" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-36" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFDreier2013" class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Dreier" title="Peter Dreier" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dreier, Peter</a>&nbsp;(2013-09-22).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/americas-hall-of-shame_b_3972642.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"America's Ruling Class Hall of Shame"</a>.&nbsp;<i>The Huffington Post</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2013-11-06</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Huffington+Post&rft.atitle=America%27s+Ruling+Class+Hall+of+Shame&rft.date=2013-09-22&rft.aulast=Dreier&rft.aufirst=Peter&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fpeter-dreier%2Famericas-hall-of-shame_b_3972642.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-37" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-37" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/taking-on-the-popular-dr-evil-targets-humane-socie/ncsyJ/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Taking on the popular: 'Dr. Evil' targets Humane Society"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Taking+on+the+popular%3A+%27Dr.+Evil%27+targets+Humane+Society&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mypalmbeachpost.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Ftaking-on-the-popular-dr-evil-targets-humane-socie%2FncsyJ%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-38" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-38" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/critical-flier-targets-humane-society-gala-support/ncswk/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Critical flier targets Humane Society gala, supporters"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Critical+flier+targets+Humane+Society+gala%2C+supporters&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.palmbeachdailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fcritical-flier-targets-humane-society-gala-support%2Fncswk%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-39" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-39" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMark_Drajem2013" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Mark Drajem (2013-11-07).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-07/latest-salvo-in-feud-targets-humane-society-s-accounting.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Latest Salvo in Feud Targets Humane Society's Accounting"</a>.&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_News" title="Bloomberg News" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bloomberg News</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2014-03-01</span></span>.&nbsp;<q style="quotes: " apos="apos">[CCF] submitted a complaint saying the Humane Society violated IRS rules by listing as contributions the $17.7 million value of air time for its public service announcements to promote pet adoption.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Bloomberg+News&rft.atitle=Latest+Salvo+in+Feud+Targets+Humane+Society%27s+Accounting&rft.date=2013-11-07&rft.au=Mark+Drajem&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2F2013-11-07%2Flatest-salvo-in-feud-targets-humane-society-s-accounting.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-40" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-40" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFGreenhouse2014" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Greenhouse, Steven (2014-01-16).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/business/as-worker-advocacy-groups-gain-momentum-businesses-fight-back.html?r=0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Advocates for Workers Raise the Ire of Business"</a>.&nbsp;<i>The New York Times</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">13 August</span>&nbsp;2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Advocates+for+Workers+Raise+the+Ire+of+Business&rft.date=2014-01-16&rft.aulast=Greenhouse&rft.aufirst=Steven&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F01%2F17%2Fbusiness%2Fas-worker-advocacy-groups-gain-momentum-businesses-fight-back.html%3F_r%3D0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-41" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-41" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFFrank2015" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Frank, Thomas (4 January 2015).&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.salon.com/2015/01/04/chain_restaurants_are_killing_us_billionaire_bankers_minimum_wage_toilers_and_the_nasty_truth_about_fast_food_nation/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Chain restaurants are killing us: Billiionaire bankers, minimum-wage toilers and the nasty truth about fast-food nation"</a>.&nbsp;<i>Salon Magazine</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">27 January</span>&nbsp;2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Salon+Magazine&rft.atitle=Chain+restaurants+are+killing+us%3A+Billiionaire+bankers%2C+minimum-wage+toilers+and+the+nasty+truth+about+fast-food+nation&rft.date=2015-01-04&rft.aulast=Frank&rft.aufirst=Thomas&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2F2015%2F01%2F04%2Fchain_restaurants_are_killing_us_billionaire_bankers_minimum_wage_toilers_and_the_nasty_truth_about_fast_food_nation%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-42" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman(lawyer)#cite_ref-42" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a></b></span>&nbsp;}<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131217030459/http://www.bermanfacts.com/myths/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">"Myths"</a>.&nbsp;<i>Berman Facts</i>. Archived from&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bermanfacts.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" external-link-ltr-icon.svg="external-link-ltr-icon.svg" e54="e54" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">the original</a>&nbsp;on 2013-12-17<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved&nbsp;<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">8 August</span>&nbsp;2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Berman+Facts&rft.atitle=Myths&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bermanfacts.com&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARichard+Berman+%28lawyer%29" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li></ol></div></div></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Categories</a>:&nbsp;</font><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 0px; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1942_births" title="Category:1942 births" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1942 births</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Living people</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_nonprofit_chief_executives" title="Category:American nonprofit chief executives" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American nonprofit chief executives</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Critics_of_animal_rights" title="Category:Critics of animal rights" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Critics of animal rights</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_lobbyists" title="Category:American lobbyists" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American lobbyists</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Transylvania_University_alumni" title="Category:Transylvania University alumni" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Transylvania University alumni</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:William%26_Mary_Law_School_alumni" title="Category:William & Mary Law School alumni" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">William & Mary Law School alumni</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Berman_family" title="Category:Berman family" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berman family</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Bethlehem_Steel_people" title="Category:Bethlehem Steel people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bethlehem Steel people</a></li></ul></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FB 3 22</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>Intro</div><div>Rick Berman is the President of Berman and Company, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm spe</div><div>
</div><div>Page · Public figure</div><div>
</div><div>info@bermanco.com</div><div>bermanco.com</div><div>Photos</div><div>Privacy&nbsp; · Terms&nbsp; · Advertising&nbsp; · Ad Choices&nbsp; &nbsp;· Cookies&nbsp; ·&nbsp; &nbsp;· Meta © 2022</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>February 15&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>FBI Warns Olympians: Use Burner Phones</div><div>‘My2022’ app should be a wake-up call for U.S. to get serious about China</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>‘My2022’ app should be a wake-up call for U.S. to get serious about China</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>January 26&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><b>Chinese Communist termites in America.</b></div><div>Chinese Communist Party termites are everywhere in U.S.</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Chinese Communist Party termites are everywhere in U.S.</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>January 13&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Education Unions vs. Kids Learning.</div><div>Bipartisan anger over <b>Chicago Teachers Union</b> should be channeled into lasting change</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Bipartisan anger over Chicago Teachers Union should be channeled into lasting change</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>1 Comment</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>January 3&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Charities: Use more head than heart.</div><div>Donors should do their homework before writing a check</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Donors should do their homework before writing a check</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>December 15, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Unions keep trying to screw employees</div><div><b>Democrats’ Protecting the Right to Organize Act is bad legislation</b></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Democrats’ Protecting the Right to Organize Act is bad legislation</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>December 1, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Innovative recycling will reverse pollution.</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>www.linkedin.com</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>November 18, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Short-term medical thinking will increase patient victims. https://www.linkedin.com/.../drug-pricing-proposal...</div><div><b>Drug pricing proposal is another exercise in Washington short-sightedness</b></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Drug pricing proposal is another exercise in Washington short-sightedness</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>2</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>November 3, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Union liars keep on lying</span></div><div>Five myths perpetuated by labor unions</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Five myths perpetuated by labor unions</span></div><div>https://www<b>.washingtontimes.</b></div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>October 19, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div>Teacher Unions vs. Students</div><div><b>Teachers unions spin alternative facts over pandemic school closures</b></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Teachers unions spin alternative facts over pandemic school closures</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>October 6, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Headed for 70’s era inflation?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Biden’s inflation crisis and America’s loss of economic confidence</span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Biden’s inflation crisis and America’s loss of economic confidence</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>September 22, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><b>Does Your Pension Support the Chinese Military?</b></div><div>Public pensions must divest from China</div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Public pensions must divest from China</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>2</div><div>1 Comment</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">September 8, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Environment: Complaints vs. Solutions</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Banning fossil fuels and plastics is not the answer, let’s get <b>innovative</b></span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Banning fossil fuels and plastics is not the answer, let’s get innovative</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>August 25, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><b>Chemical burgers won't save our planet.</b></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Environmental wokeism is targeting your burger</span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Environmental wokeism is targeting your burger</div><div><b>A vegan diet won't save us</b> https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>1</div><div>1 Comment</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">August 11, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Senate votes to have your car towed</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Infrastructure proposal mandating alcohol detection devices could maroon you in a parking lot</span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Infrastructure proposal mandating alcohol detection devices could maroon you in a parking lot</div><div>Breathalyzers in cars will drive false reading in both directions https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>1</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">July 27, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The union attempt at highjacking money, rights and freedom. Again.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The PRO Act: A cash cow for unions and Democrats’ campaigns</span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>The PRO Act: A cash cow for unions and Democrats’ campaigns</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>1</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div><b>July 13, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</b></div><div><b>Inflation is the new Pandemic.</b></div><div><b>Rising inflation: America’s ticking time bomb is only accelerating</b></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Rising inflation: America’s ticking time bomb is only accelerating</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>1</div><div>0 Comments</div><div>Rick Berman</div><div>June 29, 2021&nbsp; ·&nbsp;</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Unique Chinese spy threats.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Data privacy protection: Biden drags his feet on China, TikTok and Confucius Institutes</span></div><div>LINKEDIN.COM</div><div>Data privacy protection: Biden drags his feet on China, TikTok and Confucius Institutes</div><div>https://www.washingtontimes.</div><div>Connect with Rick Berman on Facebook</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BAK</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TWO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see main and tag</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/16</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAPT 3 22</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HTML</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">hides all info</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">son not pleased w/ dad work; David Berman, the songwriter and poet best known for co-founding the indie rock band Silver Jews, died at the age of 52, an anonymous law enforcement official told the New York Times that poet was found in an apartment in Brooklyn and pronounced dead at the scene.(suicide hanged, not 1st attempt, ]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/08/13/if-<b>john-oliver</b>-wants-be-funny-about-science-non-profits-i-can-help-write-better-material-13303</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">berman acsh claims total transparency; oil conf</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/05/13240/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman">https://www.prwatch.org/news<b>/2017/</b>05/13240/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman</a></font></div><div>
</div><div><div>Bradley Foundation Bankrolls Front Groups of Discredited PR Spin Doctor Richard Berman</div><div>By Mary Bottari | May 9th, 2017&nbsp;</div></div><div>
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) pull back the curtain on the highly politicized funding of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and its relationship with Richard Berman, the public relations spin doctor dubbed a "hired gun" for corporate America by 60 Minutes.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley is bankrolling multiple Berman front groups along with groups across the nation that are working to "defund Big Labor" and to destroy unions, the most significant advocate for higher wages and better working conditions in America. Berman was caught on tape telling prospective funders: "I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions" and "marginalize the people on the other side," as CMD helped reveal in 2014.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The highly political nature of Bradley's efforts is underscored by Bradley grantees who boast in major newspapers and in Bradley-funded publications like the Daily Signal that the evisceration of public and private sector unions in states like Wisconsin and Michigan was successful in turning blue states red in the last presidential election cycle. Bradley even has a promotional video "Blue Lakes Red States," boasting of the success of its numerous grantees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has mastered the dark art of dissemination disinformation though front groups, websites, TV and print ads and paid social media campaigns. While most of Berman's front groups are no more than a website, a few of them have been incorporated as non-profit "charitable" organizations. They may even have an employee attached to them and a specific focus, but as the New York Times detailed in 2016, employees are generally housed at the PR firm Berman and Co. and report to the boss, Rick Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These "charities" serve the function of allowing groups like Bradley to send tax-exempt funds, which are then funneled into Berman's wholly-owned for-profit entity, Berman and Co., under the rubric of "management fees." This scheme has prompted Charity Navigator, an independent authority on charitable giving, to issue donor warnings on Berman front groups. It has also prompted serious complaints against Berman and Co. for abusing the tax code and engaging in activities for private benefit.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley Files suggest that the foundation is quite comfortable with the Berman shell game. Bradley board documents characterize Berman's confusing jumble of front groups and websites as a "collaborative cluster of nonprofit groups" and reveal for the first time that Bradley itself created a Berman project called the "Interstate Policy Alliance" within Berman's Employment Policies Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog group, filed an IRS complaint against Berman some years ago and helps track the flack's activities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"When a company or a foundation gives money to Richard Berman or one of the groups set up and run by his consulting firm, they're investing in his way of doing business, which includes exploiting 'fear and anger' to 'shoot the messenger,' usually in defense of issues his clients don't want to be publicly identified with," said Matt Corley, CREW Research Director.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One example is Berman's "BigGreenRadicals.com" website, an attack on four environmental organizations, the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch. The website says it is a project of the "Environmental Policy Alliance" and does not disclose Berman's involvement. The Bradley files reveal for the first time that the foundation gave $150,000 to a Berman front group to fund this website under the misnomer "public education" (Center for Consumer Freedom, Grant Proposal Record, 11/12/2013).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In recent years, the site has been trashing environmental activists in Colorado. There has been a multi-year throw down between anti-fracking community groups battling it out against the oil and gas industry, and the national environmental groups have been lending a hand.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Richard Berman is a go-to hire for corporate bullies. If the Bradley Foundation is paying groups to focus more on political bullying, it makes sense they would support Berman's attacks on environmental advocates," said Connor Gibson of Greenpeace's investigations team.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More recently, Bradley has funded another Berman front group to "expose Big Labor's strategies and tactics, including in the policymaking arena." Materials included in the Bradley files as examples of Berman's work are a series of print ads accusing teachers of treating kids like garbage and ads that liken teachers' unions to roach traps (Center for Union Facts, Grant Proposal Record, 1/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley enemies list - sidebarBradley even has an enemies list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In board meetings and committee meetings in 2014, Bradley Foundation staff distributed and discussed a chart of "Organizations that Attack Conservatives." The chart lists 17 groups with information about their size, funders, and leadership. The groups are a mixture of good government groups, media groups, public relations firms, and funding organizations including, in alphabetical order:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alliance for Justice; American Bridge, BerlinRosen; Center for American Progress/Think Progress Blog; Center for Media and Democracy; Change.org; Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW); Color of Change; Common Cause; Democracy Alliance; Fenton Communications; FitzGibbon Media; Media Matters for America; Mother Jones, One Wisconsin Now; Open Society Institute; and Progress Now.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A note with the chart says Bradley wanted to "survey the landscape of such groups for a more informed perspective about that which could perhaps be done to mitigate the damage they could do." The note says the information about the groups came from two Berman websites "Activistfacts.com and CREWexposed.com, projects of the Bradley-supported Center for Consumer Freedom" (Meeting of the Implementation and Impact Committee, October 14, 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Through Berman, the Bradley Foundation can engage in unseemly opposition research and disinformation campaigns, while still keeping the appearance of a staid, philanthropic institution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>According to the Bradley Files, Bradley has given Berman groups at least $6.5 million. </b>Bradley gave Berman's "Employment Policies Institute," an organization that spreads misinformation about the effects of minimum wage increases and other workplace reforms, a total of $3,650,000 between 2009-2015; Berman's "Center for Consumer Freedom," a front group created to undermine public support for food-safety and animal welfare groups, $625,000 between 2009-2013; Berman's "Center for Union Facts," created to attack and undermine unions and collective bargaining, $2,240,000 between 2006-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley funds the "Capital Research Center" to work with Berman on projects. The Center is not part of the Berman operation, but is run by a former Berman employee, Scott Walter. It received $2.5 million from Bradley between 1998-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But for all intents and purposes, the Bradley foundation is underwriting the activities of three people: Berman and Co. President Richard Berman, Vice President Sarah Longwell (who is often listed as the contact for Center for Consumer Freedom and many other Berman groups), and Vice President Michael Saltsman (who is also listed as the head of the Employment Policy Institute, which is located within Berman's offices).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley bankrolls Berman for at least three sets of activities:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Disseminating studies via the Interstate Policy Alliance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Recommending state infrastructure investments</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coaching on "crisis communication" and opposition research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dissemination of Studies</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman's Employment Policies Institute (EPI) was named to confuse the public with an actual think tank, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which employs a host of PhD-level economists and other support staff. Berman's EPI has no economists on staff, but does employ "Research Director" Michael Saltsman, who has no advanced degree. MSNBC's Chris Hayes pinned Saltsman down on that point in a remarkable interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2013, Bradley earmarked $300,000 for a new Berman project within EPI called the Interstate Policy Alliance (IPA). In 2014, the grant for the same work doubled to $600,000 and included "crisis communication" for Bradley-funded groups on the receiving end of bad publicity, and in 2015, Bradley provided $400,000. Click here for a full list of Berman IPA groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley documents describe IPA as a "discrete channel" for "studies" that could be utilized by state-based groups "to achieve maximum credibility in local and social media outlets."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Created at Bradley's behest in 2012 and with continuing Bradley support since then, IPA is a discreet channel for the better coordination and presentation of helpful, high-quality research on existing and proposed state-level, free-market policies around the country. It provides this research, too often out of reach for many small state think tanks, and customizes it for each state to achieve maximum credibility in local- and social-media outlets. The Searle Freedom Trust has joined Bradley in support of the project" (Barder Fund, August 18, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State think tanks participating in Berman's IPA, which include Wisconsin's Bradley-supported MacIver Institute, do not have to pay for the research or its packaging or dissemination. They are able to easily access data that has been uploaded to a password-protected website. As needed, Berman's IPA also helps with report writing, graphic design, news release preparation, op-ed placement and the scheduling of interviews, (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015 ).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, the Center for Media and Democracy and the Energy and Policy Institute revealedhow IPA operated, when it reported that the Beacon Hill Institute was releasing misleading studies attacking President Obama's Clean Power Plan, an ambitious multi-year effort to cut carbon pollution and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. The funding for the study came through the previously unknown group called the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In many of its sponsored research "studies," IPA promotes fossil fuel development over renewables. This has been a long-term agenda item of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate funded bill mill and many State Policy Network "think tanks" and advocacy groups funded by Bradley. In addition, the Bradley documents examined by CMD show Bradley is funding numerous climate denial groups, including Myron Ebell's Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One IPA report, touts the tens of billions of revenue North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia might gain from offshore oil and gas development in the Atlantic Ocean.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another report argues that fossil fuel development of federal lands in seven Rocky Mountain states will grow the economies at a faster pace than renewables.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another promotes the transfer of federal lands to states, claiming that revenues from taxes and fees will rapidly flow to states.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And yet another study criticizes the Renewable Portfolio Standards in 29 states and D.C. as costly to consumers, while ignoring any benefits to jobs or the environment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Infrastructure Investments</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files reveal that the foundation has a previously undisclosed stream of funding to build right-wing infrastructure nationwide and is using a metric to assess the strength and depth of the infrastructure in individual states a phenomenon that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has dubbed the Bradley Blueprint.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, Bradley asked Berman's IPA and the allied Capital Research Center (CRC) in Washington, D.C. to conduct an assessment of "second tier" states for consideration as "potential targets of opportunity" to enhance their infrastructure investments.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files also laud Berman & Co.'s Vice President Saltsman, who is described variously in Bradley documents as the "executive director" of EPI and "executive director" of IPA. "The talented and energetic Saltsman's IPA experience has exposed him to many of the strengths and weaknesses of the mid-sized state think tanks and conservative infrastructure around the country."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CRC/IPA evaluation of the quality and potential of states' existing conservative infrastructure and recommended investments in eight states: Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and California in that order. The documents note "(Given IPA's Bradley supported role in trying to help all state think tanks, they were quite keen on the report's contents being kept confidential)" (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley asked Saltsman "to discreetly consult with ALEC's Lisa Nelson, ATRF's Grover Norquist, and Ned Ryun of the also Bradley-supported American Majority" on what states should get funding (Barder Fund, 8/18/15).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The advisors named Colorado a top tier priority. Not only is Colorado an important swing state, but Coloradan Terry Considine is on the Bradley Board of Directors. Considine is a failed Colorado politician, but a dedicated right-winger who has long served on the Board of Directors of Club for Growth, the national dark money group.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The political nature of Bradley's investment in this swing state is made clear in a report "Colorado state-infrastructure recommendations" included in the Bradley documents. "Colorado is an important swing state with a broad base of center-right organizations and donors," writes Bradley. The report discusses "The Gang of Four" liberal funders in the state who were featured in an "attention-getting" book called "The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)," which details how a small group of Democratic donors helped turn the state blue. The book made a big impression on Bradley staff; a picture of the cover is included in the Bradley documents multiple times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now Bradley wants to fund institutions in Colorado in an effort to swing the pendulum back again. Bradley recommends five specific grants, including two that illustrate the political nature of the endeavor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommends $125,000 to American Majority for 2016. The grant asks for support for a new field office in the I-25 corridor, an executive director, field staffer and intern. "They would coordinate with Centennial [Institute] and Independence [Institute] to identify, train and nurture mentoring relationships with conservative Coloradans." American Majority is an organization that trains candidates to run for office. It claims to be nonpartisan, but was founded by Republicans to train Republicans (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommended $250,000 to the Independence Institute in 2016. The Independence Institute is a State Policy Network member heavily funded by Bradley for both its work on climate issues and its anti-union work. The Bradley documents say it is led by "the charmingly bombastic Jon Caldara" "who has lead the creation of one of the more-effective conservative state infrastructures." But that infrastructure has a problem. "Colorado has 3,600 local governments."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Not only does the left exercise its power and coercion through these governments, he and [the Independence Institute] believe, but it uses them as farm teams to groom people for higher office." Caldera wants to counter this problem and "build a better bench" for the right-wing by compiling a database of every appointed and elected position in Jefferson County and conducting outreach to these officials. The Institute would coordinate its activities with American Majority, the Centennial Institute and the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Staff recommended $75,000 for this later institution (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These two investments appear to be exactly the type of political spending that might run afoul of IRS rules for permissible non-profit activity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other Colorado grantees included Colorado Christian University for its Centennial Institute ($75,000), Leadership Program of the Rockies ($75,000) and the Steamboat Institute ($50,000).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Crisis Communications" and Opposition Research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley has also bankrolled the Berman team for a communications program for many years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Also at Bradley's behest in 2012, CCF [Center for Consumer Freedom] created a related crisis-communications program for state infrastructures. It has been led by Berman vice president Sarah Longwell, formerly director of public affairs at the Bradly-supported Intercollegiate Studies Institute... CCF has consistently exposed the agenda of the activist groups that seek to attack personal freedom and its allies" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This crisis communication work as described by Bradley relates directly to the successful, grassroots campaigning against ALEC that was sparked in 2011 after CMD published more than 800 ALEC "model bills" secretly voted on by corporate lobbyists and legislators on its website ALECexposed.org in 2011.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To quote from the Bradley files:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In the wake of the media firestorm that engulfed the American Legislative Exchange Council last year, it was clear that a new group of influential, media-savvy activist outfits have emerged—along with a new group of targets that includes state think tanks and other entities including foundations. The Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Walmart, Johnson and Johnson, McDonalds and Wendy's are just a few of the funders that cut ties to ALEC following the media onslaught generated by activists who successfully linked it to the shooting of Trayvon Martin."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"ALEC never saw it coming. Neither really did the Heartland Institute or Chick-fil-A see what was coming when they subsequently have been on the receiving end of similar onslaughts. Caught flat footed as the media charged ahead with the 'Stand Your Ground' story, ALEC had no rapid-response strategy in place to combat this runaway narrative. Berman and Co.'s advice to ALEC to be more aggressive in its response was not followed. The 'I stand with ALEC website' came much too late and brought far too little to its defense" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These are "case studies," writes Bradley staff, and "cautionary tales" for any conservative organization. Now Bradley wants to fund CCF for an "off the shelf public relations strategy for use by any such conservative outfit caught in the media crosshairs."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Already-prepared "well sourced opposition research" is key, says the Bradley grant document:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Just as CMD was able build an online dossier on ALEC that provided activists and sympathetic journalists with a base of research, so too is CCF using its data and information to build a 'bigger and better clearinghouse of research on groups within the wider left-wing network' as part of a rapid response strategy."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CCF boasts of training Bradley-supported "think tanks" across the nation that are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), such as North Carolina's Civitas Institute, Michigan's Mackinac Center, and Washington State's Freedom Foundation. CCF asks Bradley for support to expand this type of opposition research and training to the rest of the SPN network and the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a grant proposal record, "Full Service Menu" of Berman Center for Consumer Freedom services would include, 1) support for two or three studies a year, 2) op-ed drafting and placement, 3) drafting and sending of news releases on the groups behalf, 4) compiling a media list of reporter contacts, 5) ad buying for television, radio, print and online, 6) crisis communication assistance and in-state infrastructure seminars (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley is recommending a $200,000 grant in renewed support for ALEC in 2016 as it continues to build a "comprehensive communications infrastructure" in response to citizen campaigns targeting its funders. The grant summary reads: "ALEC has been under sustained, organized attack from the Left for several years, as well-documented in Bradley Prize recipient Kimberly Strassel's new book The Intimidation Game: How the Left Silences Free Speech. Under Executive Director Lisa Nelson and at Bradley's urging, ALEC is aggressively, but thoughtfully responding." "The plan consciously mimics the Left's Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL)...the parent organization of Forecast the Facts and Color of Change."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC also redesigned and beefed up its website, deployed more social media, and partnered with CrowdSkout a data analytics company to track, view and engage supporters (ALEC, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley outlines the bigger game plan for ALEC: "The larger plan also has an important component for aggressive 'opposition research,' which has yielded many beneficial outcomes, including to Strassel for her helpful book, among others." This last comment in the Bradley documents suggests that ALEC provided Wall Street Journal editorial writer Kim Strassel with information for her book Intimidation Game. In it, Strassel portrayed the sustained citizen campaigning against ALEC as a well-funded, nefarious effort to crush the "free speech" rights of ALEC and its enormous funders, including Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and ALTRIA/Phillip Morris (Strassel received a $250,000 Bradley Prize in 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As part of its opposition research funding, Bradley recommended $115,000 in 2016 for the Capital Research Center run by Bradley-ally Scott Walter to develop "an online encyclopedia of the left" in conjunction with Berman that mimics the Center for Media and Democracy's Sourcewatch.org wiki. CRC wants to focus on the anti-ALEC groups and the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal funders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This will be a comprehensive, wiki-style resource that provides in-depth profiles of left-of-center individuals and organizations based on the model of the Center for Media and Democracy's website Sourcewatch.org…CRC plans to take a page out of Sourcewatch's playbook by ensuring that its new, wiki-style encyclopedia of the left is thorough, regularly updated and written in a manner that is accurate and measured in order to attract and retain a larger audience. The website will be constructed and in partnership with Berman and Company [where Walter worked briefly as director of development], and CRC is collaborating with ALEC and the Heartland Institute to make use of their data as it builds the new website's profile list," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Sourcewatch is a widely used resource that significantly influences public opinion regarding the activities of center-right groups and individuals. While there are a number of conservative resources that profile organizations and individuals on the Left (such as David Horowitz's DiscoverTheNetworks.org, Heartland Institute's LeftExposed.org, Berman and Company's ActivistFacts.org and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise's UndueInfluence.com) CDC will build upon and complement their efforts adding value through its more comprehensive coverage, superior search engine optimization, and wiki-style format," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Current members of the Bradley Foundation Board are Richard W. Graber (President), Art Pope (Chairman; Variety Wholesalers), Patrick J. English (Vice Chairman; Fiduciary Management, Inc.), Terry Considine (AIMCO), Curt S. Culver (MGIC), Robert P. George (Princeton University), Victor Davis Hanson (Hoover Institution), Diane Hendricks (ABC Supply Co. and Hendricks Holding Co.), Cleta Mitchell (Foley & Lardner), and James T. Barry III (The Barry Company). Former board members include Michael W. Grebe and George F. Will.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Armiak, Evan James, Nick Surgey, and Lisa Graves contributed research to this series.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC ExposedPublic RelationsState Policy Network</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">News</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">old/2x?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://stophumanewatch.org/blog/berman-rebrands-center-for-consumer-freedom-moves-into-new-territory</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">web of lies</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman is a corporate lobbyist and PR marketer who makes a living defending the worst corporate abuses. Through his public relations firm, Berman & Company, Inc. — a for-profit company that apparently has no other purpose than to operate Berman’s various faux nonprofits — Berman wages war against legitimate charities, public interest groups, and the facts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman has created more than one hundred deceptive astroturf groups, websites, and “nonprofit” organizations that funnel millions of dollars in tax-exempt corporate donations into his for-profit PR firm — and from there, into his personal bank accounts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman’s websites are frequently cited in the same breath, as if they were independent sources. That’s a flagrant attempt to deceive the public into thinking that unsupported claims are confirmed by independent sources. In fact, these websites are just sockpuppets for Richard Berman’s astroturfing enterprise.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The following is a list of astroturf ventures run by Richard Berman. Some have been retired, such as Trans-FatFacts.com, which failed to convince the public that trans-fats are full of cancer-fighting healthiness. Others, like the state-specific anti-union websites, are apparently parked and waiting for an appropriate venue to launch.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Organizations</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Company, Inc.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Organizational Research and Education</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Consumer Freedom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Accountability in Science</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Environmental Policy Alliance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HumaneWatch</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ActivistCash</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Humane Society for Shelter Pets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Beverage Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Employment Policies Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Union Facts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Employee Freedom Action Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">First Jobs Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Miscellaneous</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Company, Inc. (BCI)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">doing business as: “A/B/See Marketing Research”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">omg no idea he was (maybe) in on longmont ~ frack ord</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/07/12/bradley-foundation-funds-web-climate-change-deniers/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Armiak</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley Foundation internal documents reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveal a concerted effort by the organization to delegitimize climate science, while promoting fossil fuel energy development in the United States.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An analysis of Bradley’s climate-related activities shows that the foundation has made significant grants to support energy policy think tanks, attack-dog groups that target environmentalists, and efforts to discredit climate science.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A 2013 internal foundation document details how Bradley “instructed staff to explore options…to make more energy-related grants.” The document also notes that the Board gave a “terminal grant” of $263,591 to the Sand County Foundation (SCF), which previously administered the Bradley Fund for the Environment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[oh, they cut them off!] legit eg soil</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[Sand County Foundation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">131 W. Wilson Street</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Suite 610</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Madison, WI 53703</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(608) 663-4605</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(608) 299-3745 (fax)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">info@sandcountyfoundation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The documents do not reveal Bradley’s motivation in splitting from SCF, but they do outline a serious effort to promote fossil fuel industry interests at the expense of the environment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CENTERS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL AND FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As part of its push to support studies and public relations to cast doubt on mounting scientific evidence on climate change, Bradley has focused its resources on “Energy Policy Centers,” many of which are housed in “Bradley-supported” State Policy Network (SPN) “think tanks.” SPN is a web of 156 right-wing groups in 49 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, and the UK that receives funding from the billionaire Koch brothers, the Bradley Foundation, and the Roe Foundation, as well as many multi-national corporations.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The examined documents show that the Center for Energy Policy and the Environment (CEPE) at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MIPR), a member of SPN, received a total of $500,000 for its Center, with another $200,000 distributed in 2016. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, February 23, 2016) CEPE works to promote fossil fuel development despite the devastating effects of climate change. A background document on CEPE states its goal clearly: “The Center’s research and public education activity aims at demonstrating that the United States is poised to reap substantial economic benefits in the form of job creation, lower gasoline and electricity prices, and increased productivity provided public policies allow companies to access valuable energy resources and distribute them at home and abroad.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A recommendation by Bradley staff on the Manhattan Institute’s 2016 grant proposal specifically states that CEPE is worth funding because, “They have succeeded in identifying and publicizing so many of the falsehoods that surround energy and the environment.” (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, February 23, 2016) An example of this “success” can be found in the work of CEPE senior fellow Mark Mills, who is recognized as originating the idea that North America can surpass the Middle East as the largest energy supplier in the world. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, November 12, 2013)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Energy Policy Center (EPC) at another SPN “think tank”, the Independence Institute, received $195,000 from the Bradley Foundation between 2012 and 2016.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley documents examined show that EPC’s purpose is to “consciously counter-balance former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter’s environmental think tank” at Colorado State University, which promotes a “New Energy Economy.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley considers EPC to be highly successful in fighting local and federal environmental initiatives. The Bradley documents note that EPC was a “key coalition partner” in preempting local bans on fracking in Colorado, and that it “has developed a toolkit for policymakers, attorneys general, and other conservative state think tanks to help them push back against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.” (Independence Institute GPR, June 2, 2015)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to these two centers, Bradley has funded the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), an “associate member” of SPN, and the Center for Energy Innovation and Independence at Consumers’ Research.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CEE is led by the prominent climate change denier Myron Ebell, who steered Trump’s EPA transition team. Ebell also chairs the Cooler Heads Coalition, which brings together right-wing activists and scholars for monthly meetings. The coalition was established on May 6, 1997, “to dispel the myths of global warming by exposing flawed economic, scientific and risk analysis.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CEI was long tied to tobacco disinformation campaigns, but is now a leading organization in the movement to discredit climate science.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley does not mention how much of its funding to CEI was designated for CEE operations. Between 1986 and 2015, Bradley Foundation gave $2.2 million to CEI, the majority of which was “to support general operations.” (Competitive Enterprise Institute GPR, June 2, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Energy Innovation and Independence received $250,000 from Bradley in 2013 to get the new group off the ground. According to a background document, the group “will closely monitor federal environmental regulations and potentially lay the foundation for multi-state litigation against them, similar to those actions in the Obamacare and Dodd-Frank lawsuits, of which aggressive (Scott) Pruitt was and is a part.” Pruitt is the former AG of Oklahoma and recently resigned as the EPA Administrator under Trump.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">SMEAR CAMPAIGNS AND FUNDING EFFORTS TO DISCREDIT CLIMATE SCIENCE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At the same time Bradley rolled out funding for “Energy Policy Centers,” it was doling out cash to discredit environmental organizations and climate change science.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A grant proposal record for the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), a front group created by the close Bradley ally Rick Berman, details an organized effort to weaken the credibility of well-respected, national environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, the National Resources Defense Council, and Food and Water Watch. (The Center for Consumer Freedom GPR, November 12, 2013) Berman also founded Berman and Company, a notorious Washington, D.C.-based corporate lobbying and PR company known for creating numerous corporate “front groups” and astroturf propaganda campaigns.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman’s anti-environmental project at CCF was called Big Green Radicals and was seeded with a $150,000 “public education” grant from Bradley in 2013.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to Bradley’s background document, the Big Green Radicals project would include the following components:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[N]ew, updated research profiles for NRDC, Food and Water Watch, and Sierra Club; standalone websites for all three organizations; a Facebook group seeded with several thousand fans [sock puppets?]to provide a base for the message; the production of two online videos to explain the real agenda of the environmental left; and Google keyword advertising for members of the media and the public searching for information about one of the targeted groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to providing the start-up funding for Big Green Radicals, Bradley gave $85,000 to the Capital Research Center (CRC), a group led by former Berman and Company employee Scott Walter. The grant was designated for “general operations,” but it may have been used to support the publication Green Watch. A background document on CRC states that, “Green Watch tracks the money flow to environmental nonprofits and critiques their positions, and those of their allies, including their policymaking ones.” (Capital Research Center GPR, August 19, 2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Since 2014, the Bradley Foundation has distributed numerous grants to discredit the vast amount of scientific research demonstrating the harmful effects of climate change. In 2014, it gave $65,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute (GMI), a right-wing front group largely funded by oil and gas interests. Newsweek called GMI “a central cog in the denial machine” in 2007.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GMI folded in late 2015, so Bradley recommended $50,000 in “seed funding” the following year for its “successor organization,” the CO2 Coalition. The coalition is led by a Dr. William Happer, a well-known climate change denier. “We’re doing our best to try and counter this myth that CO2 is a dangerous pollutant. It’s not a pollutant at all,” Happer said at a Heritage Foundation event on energy and climate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another $10,000 Bradley grant in 2014 for the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC) went to support its Science & Public Policy Institute (SPPI). A staff recommendation notes that SPPI “has helped demonstrate that no real-world data confirms that floods, draughts [sic], or hurricanes are becoming more frequent or severe, as global-warming alarmists allege. Neither is there any real-world data that sea levels are about to rise precipitously, inundating the world’s coasted [sic] lowlands, as is also often alleged.” (Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change GPR, June 17, 2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ENERGY ROUNDTABLES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Documents show that, beginning in 2013, Bradley provided funding to the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, also an SPN member, to host and organize two “energy roundtables” a year — one before the Heritage Foundation’s annual Resource Bank meeting, and the other before SPN’s annual fall meeting. (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 10, 2015)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The $50,000-per-year grant from Bradley for the meetings was matched “by staff arrangement” by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a front group for the energy industry that promotes fossil fuel development and opposes efforts to regulate its activities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Planned and put on in close cooperation with the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the roundtables allow state think tanks to better promote free-market energy and environmental policies,” one document states. (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 12, 2013)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attendance has been high at the roundtables, with as many as “67 SPN leaders” attending the event in Denver in September 2014. The agenda for that meeting details presentations from a number of fossil fuel lovers including: Artic Power, Consumer Energy Alliance, Vital for Colorado, Devon Energy, GOPAC (a political action committee that backs and trains Republican candidates), and Freedom Partners. Freedom Partners, a funding conduit for the billionaire Koch brothers, delivered a talk on “Messaging and State Action.” (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 11, 2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BRADLEY GRANTEES WORKED TOGETHER TO DEFEAT LOCAL REGULATIONS ON FRACKING IN COLORADO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2014, the Independence Institute and Berman’s Big Green Radicals worked in lockstep in Colorado to defeat local fracking bans, such as the one that passed by ballot measure in Longmont in November of 2013. A 2015 Bradley backgrounder on the Independence Institute praises the anti-fracking work of Independence Institute’s Energy Policy Center, saying, “It has also been a key coalition partner in the movement to stop local and statewide bans on hydraulic fracturing. Last year, current Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper crafted a delicately balanced compromise on local control of oil and gas drilling that removed all initiatives on the issue from the state ballot.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman’s Big Green Radicals rolled out an attack campaign to discredit anti-fracking efforts in the state in May of 2014. Big Green Radicals assertedthat “extreme groups, mostly based far from Colorado in San Francisco, New York, or Washington D.C., are spending millions and spreading their anti-science message to scare voters into approving ballot measures in November to send the oil and gas industry (and the jobs and affordable energy it provides) packing from the Centennial State.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The efforts by these two groups were successful in overturning local fracking bans. Bradley agreed and decreased its funding recommendation for EPC to $25,000 in 2016, saying, “it is unlikely that there will be any significant developments for EPC in the upcoming months, and therefore staff believes this reduced award is important.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It is uncertain where the next battleground for energy development will be for Bradley, but the documents demonstrate that they have the funds to bankroll infrastructure in place to discredit climate science and smear the opposition.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">OTHER NOTABLE BRADLEY GRANTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other significant Bradley grants to support fossil fuel development or dispute climate science in recent years include:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$150,000 to Opportunity Ohio for “program activities.” (2016)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$100,000 to Energy and Environment Legal Institute for “transparency practice general.” (2016) HORNER SCHNARE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$20,000 to Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment for “general operations.” (2016)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$200,000 to Competitive Enterprise Institute for “general operations” and “litigation.” (2013, 2015)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$100,000 to The Sand County Foundation for “energy resource development.” (2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$100,000 to National Center for Policy Analysis for “general operations.” (2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$20,000 to Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment for “general operations.” (2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">slate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2011/08/mad_at_madd.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">saletan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mothers Against Drunk Driving Receives Another 'D' from Charity Rating Guide," shouts the Aug. 24 press release. It notes that the guide's publisher, the American Institute of Philanthropy, "says most highly efficient charities are able to spend 75 percent or more of total expenses on charitable programs. Yet, MADD has spent as little as 61 percent on programs."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sixty-one percent versus 75 percent? That doesn't sound great, but it doesn't sound awful, either. So why the press release?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Look at who's issuing the release: the American Beverage Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ABI calls itself "a restaurant trade association, representing America's favorite restaurant chains as well as hundreds of individual restaurants and on-premise retailers." It stands for "the protection of responsible on-premise consumption of adult beverages." In other words, ABI doesn't represent the alcohol industry. It represents places where you might go to drink alcohol before getting in your car to drive home.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hence its war on MADD. ABI wants to weaken drunken-driving regulation by persuading MADD's donors to stop giving money to the organization. To discourage them, ABI argues that MADD has wasted donations and "diverted money" from programs to get "drunk drivers off the roads."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's a touching plea. But if MADD were truly ineffective, ABI would be happy to let MADD's donors go on wasting their money. ABI is trying to defund MADD not because MADD diverts money from drunken-driving crackdowns, but because MADD spends money on drunken-driving crackdowns.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over the years, ABI has fought MADD on nearly every alcohol-related issue, from liquor taxes to sobriety checkpoints. Often, the merits are debatable. But ABI doesn't argue for moderation. Like the National Rifle Association, it opposes any restriction, no matter how reasonable. Consider interlocks, which can prevent a car from starting if its driver's breath, as measured by a sensor, exceeds a proscribed blood-alcohol limit. ABI opposes the use of these devices not just for the general public but even for "first-time DUI offenders" with blood-alcohol concentrations below 0.15 percent. (The legal threshold for DUI is 0.08 percent.) &nbsp; ABI complains that "legislatures are steadily approving legislation aimed at first-time offenders, often drivers who are only one sip above the limit. … This legislation is the first step of anti-alcohol groups toward their long-term goal of universal interlocks."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This extremism is part of a broader pattern. In addition to MADD, ABI is waging PR wars against the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and other organizations with "very radical agendas." ABI's executive director, Rick Berman, runs a network of lobbying groups that oppose regulation of animal welfare, soda, corn syrup, indoor tanning, and mercury in fish. Berman's Web sites condemn the Humane Society of the United Statesand claim that the "anti-cancer benefits" of tanning "far outweigh the risks associated with over-exposure." In defense of public smoking, Berman asserts a "lack of evidence that second-hand smoke causes cancer."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unlike MADD, Berman doesn't reveal his donors. But over the years, investigative journalists have identified some of them, including Coca-Cola, Wendy's, White Castle, and Outback Steakhouse. And thanks to documents exposed by the 1998 tobacco settlement, you can read Berman's 1995 letters to Philip Morris, in which he obtained $600,000 in seed money for his PR empire by pledging "to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists." In total, Philip Morris gave Berman nearly $3 million during the three years covered by the documents.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I don't know enough about MADD's finances to tell you whether MADD is the best investment of your charitable dollars. I recommend reading MADD's annual reports and tax forms before making that decision. But after researching Berman and his various front groups, I can say this: Any organization Berman has vilified is probably worth giving money to.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD admits it could be more efficient—we "continue to streamline our efforts to be fiscally responsible"—but it cites the poor economy as a big reason for its troubles. Even ABI acknowledges that MADD's top salaries became a bigger share of its spending in part because, during the tenure of MADD's former chief executive, Chuck Hurley—possibly the greatest CEO name ever—"MADD's revenue declined nearly one-quarter," forcing layoffs and program cuts. The logical solution would be to give MADD more money, not less, so that MADD can increase the percentage of revenue it spends on fighting drunken driving. Or, if you're one of Berman's funders, you could cut him off, thereby reducing the money MADD has to waste on overcoming his smears.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But if you decide not to give money to MADD, I'd suggest reallocating your dollars to any of the other nonprofits Berman and ABI have denounced as radical do-gooders, such as the Humane Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. I don't always agree with these organizations, or with MADD. But if they're pissing off Rick Berman, they must be doing something right.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Correction, Aug. 29, 2011: I originally ended the quote about ABI's interlock position after "offenders." ABI managing director Sarah Longwell argues that I should have included the whole line: ABI is " against ignition interlocks for first-time DUI offenders with low BAC." In retrospect, I think she's right. My point was, and is, that ABI's position against interlocks is extreme because it extends to people who have already been caught driving with blood-alcohol levels above the legal limit. But, to be fair, it does not extend to all such people.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although ABI's page of position statements does not define "low BAC" or state its preferred threshold, Longwell, in an email, clarifies ABI's position as follows:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ABI supports mandating in-car breathalyzers for drivers caught with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.15 percent (even if it's their first time) or those with a previous drunk-driving offense. However, for someone whose impairment level is below .15 on their first offense, a judge should be trusted to decide whether an ignition interlock is an appropriate punishment. It's wrong to say that ABI opposes interlocks for first-time offenders; rather, ABI supports judicial discretion in the case of low-BAC, first-time offenders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(Return to the corrected sentence.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010 last time? ref 2012</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shown Here:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Introduced in Senate (02/25/2010)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere Act of 2010 or the ROADS SAFE Act of 2010 - Directs the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to carry out a collaborative research effort to continue to explore, and report to specified congressional committees on, the feasibility and the potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated with, more widespread deployment of in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">co 13-3 gop</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Corker, Bob [R-TN]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>02/25/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>04/12/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>04/13/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Dorgan, Byron L. [D-ND]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>04/20/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>04/28/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>04/29/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>05/06/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Inouye, Daniel K. [D-HI]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>05/14/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>05/20/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>05/27/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>05/27/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>06/07/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>09/20/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>09/27/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>09/27/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12/07/2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/3039?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22alcohol%22%2C%22alcohol%22%5D%7D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref CREW 7/18</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">good lord why?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BERMAN GROUP QUIETLY RAN ANTI TRUMP ADS UNDER OBSCURE TRADE NAME</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.citizensforethics.org/berman-group-quietly-ran-anti-trump-ads-obscure-trade-name/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Matt Corley&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">July 25, 2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In mid-May, Richard Berman, the infamous president of corporate public relations firm Berman and Company, published an op-ed in TheWashington Times decrying an investigation into the lack of female directors in Hollywood because, in his view, “China’s growing direct and indirect control of soft communications like movies and radio” is a greater concern. Calling the probe of gender bias in the film industry a “domestic comedy,” Berman concluded, “instead, let’s focus on the tragedy that is China’s ongoing control of women’s bodies, USA assets and the movie industry.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The column was the first in a series of op-eds by Berman about China’s financial interest in American communications industries that culminated this month with the soft announcement of a new Berman project. Of course, Berman being Berman, he didn’t exactly make it clear that he was promoting his own campaign and gave no indication of who was funding it. Instead, in a post on Independent Journal Review, he simply encouraged readers to watch a video that would “scare” them about Chinese ownership of American radio stations.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Security</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The video was hosted on the YouTube page of the Center for American Security, a heretofore unknown entity. The group’s Facebook page, however, gave away the game by initially referring to Berman’s July 1 USA Today op-ed on China as “[o]ur piece” before editing out the reference. The Facebook page also includes a link to a website called China Owns Us, described as “a project of the Center for American Security,” that features a white paper on “China’s Stealth Power Play in the United States.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The website doesn’t have an “About” page or any actual information about what the Center for American Security is. Is it a new non-profit or just a “project” of one of the pre-existing non-profits Berman uses to do work for his clients? Corporate records reveal that it is technically a separate trade name for the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee, a section 501(c)(4) organization that Berman has used to campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act and President Obama’s health care reform efforts:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">enterprise freedom action committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s unclear what exactly led to Berman’s newfound interest in Chinese ownership of movie theaters and radio stations. He is well-known in Washington, DC for using non-profit groups established and run by his for-profit firm for “shoot the messenger” campaigns on behalf of corporate interests. Berman’s non-profits, which include the Employment Policies Institute and the Center for Organizational Research and Education, have not previously focused on media ownership.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corporate records also show that the Center for American Security is not the only new project operating out of the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee. Last March, the group also started using the Coalition to Unite America as a trade name. But what is that?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s the name Berman placed on digital ads the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee ran attacking Donald Trump this spring. One ad asked whether Trump represented entertainment or leadership while the other featured children worrying about Trump, including asking why he is “such a bully.” Berman once told a room full of energy executives, “If you want a video to go viral, have kids or animals.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee reported spending $355,000 on independent expenditures opposing Trump to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), viewers of the actual ads would have had no way of knowing Berman’s group was behind the attacks. Neither the videos nor the website that hosts them, Trump-Truth.org, mention the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee, just the Coalition to Unite America. On the flip side, the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee’s filings with the FEC, which were previously reported on by OpenSecrets, make no mention of the Coalition to Unite America.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In effect, by creating and using multiple trade names, Berman is able to distance his own organization from any backlash over the ads. The viewer wouldn’t know the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee was involved while anyone looking at FEC records wouldn’t be able to go find the actual ads for which the group reported paying because they were put out under the Coalition to Unite America’s name. Only someone checking obscure DC corporate records could make the connection between the two names.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related Tags: Donald Trump, Elections, Richard Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">april 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CREW Staff&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 13, 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Last week, Claire Moser of the Public Lands Project at the Center for American Progress highlighted the role that Richard Berman’s public relations firm, Berman and Co., is playing in a campaign to sell off America’s national forests and public lands. Berman and Co. is notorious for using nonprofit front groups to wage deceptive campaigns on behalf of corporate clients. One of Berman’s employees, Will Coggin, has been spamming newspapers with op-eds arguing that public land management should be moved from the federal government to the states, who are more likely to sell the land for energy development.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Each of Coggin’s nearly identical columns — published under the guise of Berman’s Environmental Policy Alliance project — accuses several sportsmen’s groups who oppose shifting control of public lands of being “green decoys” because they have received some funding from environmentally engaged foundations.&nbsp; “A quick look at their ‘dark money’ financial backers makes their true motive clear: To lock away land from being utilized for economic growth and jobs,” writes Coggin.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It takes a lot of gall for a Berman operative to attack other organizations over “dark money,” especially as part of an attack campaign that appears to have gotten its seed money from a foundation described as “the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement” by Mother Jones. In 2013, Donors Trust, a donor-advised fund “dedicated to promoting a free society,” gave $57,250 to Berman’s Center for Consumer Freedom “for hunting organization opposition research.” That same year, the Center for Consumer Freedom reported spending $71,132 on research into “various environmental activist groups and their activities.” The “Green Decoys” project debuted in January 2014.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Since launching, Coggin has published at least 29 op-eds and letters-to-the editor attacking groups such as Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, including three more since Moser’s story. None of them mention that Coggin works for Berman and Co., instead listing him as an analyst at either the Center for Consumer Freedom or the Environmental Policy Alliance. Only three mention that the Environmental Policy Alliance’s parent organization, the Center for Organizational Research and Education, “is supported by a variety of businesses and foundations, including those in the hospitality, agriculture and energy industries.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One publication, the Sierra Sun, posted an editor’s note after running a letter last August, writing that Coggin had “misidentified himself as a senior research analyst for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Policy Alliance” and is “is actually employed by Berman and Co.” The note closed with an apology to readers: “the Sierra Sun regrets publishing this misinformation.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coggin’s refusal to admit his own agenda while casting aspersions on others is not the only deceptive aspect of his and Berman’s public lands campaign. In a Washington Examiner op-ed last October about Trout Unlimited’s opposition to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management issuing oil and gas leases in Nevada, Coggin cited research by University of Wyoming professor Timothy Considine claiming that up to 208,000 jobs would be created if all of the oil and gas projects on federal lands in seven Western states were approved.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unmentioned by Coggin? Professor Considine’s report was funded by another one of Berman’s front groups, the Employment Policies Institute, and “prepared under a consulting agreement with the Interstate Policy Alliance.” On his curriculum vitae, Professor Considine also lists himself as a consultant for the Interstate Policy Alliance on “energy development on federal lands.” The Interstate Policy Alliance is a project of the Employment Policies Institute that works with the think tanks in the conservative State Policy Network to “support and promote state-based research” from a free market perspective. The Guardian recently documented how the Interstate Policy Alliance is funding research critical of the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rules.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coggin isn’t the only Berman employee to cite Professor Considine’s research while arguing for opening up public lands to development without acknowledging their ties. In June 2014, Anastasia Swearingen, a Berman employee, published op-eds in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Salt Lake Tribune that cited Professor Considine’s research as proof that “radical environmentalists have prevented Western states from reaping enormous economic benefits.” Like the Sierra Sun, the Salt Lake Tribune came to regret describing the op-ed as having been written by a representative of the Environmental Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The column now carries an editor’s note as well: “This commentary originally described the author as a senior research analyst for the Environmental Policy Alliance. In fact, Anastasia Swearingen works for the public relations firm Berman and Co., which manages the Environmental Policy Alliance and represents clients in the energy industry.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related Tags: Corporate, Disclosure, Financial, Governance & Legislation, Lobbying, Organizations, Transparency</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CATEGORIES:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Industry Influence (15)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Finance (7)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Press Releases (6)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ethics & Corruption (5)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lobbying (5)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Transparency (5)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Federal Agencies (4)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FOIA (3)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corporate (2)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corruption (2)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">August 4, 2008 WHO IS RICHARD BERMAN? In light of Center for Science in the Public Interest newest investigation "Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 22, 2013 CORPORATE BULLY RICHARD BERMAN On Sunday, the Boston Globe published a front page exposé on Richard Berman’s network of business front groups,&nbsp; describing his work as “a case study of what critics say is an...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">December 2, 2014 DR. EVIL MEETS THE KOCHTOPUS: AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY NOW SUPPORTING BERMAN GROUP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Like something out of a horror movie, two of the most notorious dark money networks in America have joined forces. Recently released tax filings for 2013 confirm that corporate front...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">July 17, 2013 RICHARD BERMAN: WORKING HARD AND PLAYING BY THE RULES SHOULDN’T KEEP YOU OUT OF POVERTY Last week, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed living wage legislation requiring very large retailers to pay employees in the District $12.50 an hour. The bill has yet to be...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 3, 2014 ANTI-UNION BERMAN GROUP HIRES LOBBYIST TO PUSH BILL AIMED AT UNDERMINING UNIONS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman, who once bragged about his consulting firm's lobbying, now runs away from the lobbyist label as fast as he can.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">February 12, 2014 HIRE RICK BERMAN’S FOR-PROFIT AND HIS NONPROFIT WILL GO TO WAR FOR YOU&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For much of the last decade, the sugar industry and the manufacturers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have been at war, fighting over health claims regarding their respective...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 13, 2015 BERMAN LANDS CAMPAIGN SEEDED WITH $57,000 FROM “DARK MONEY ATM”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman's dark money group to attack on national parks and forest.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">August 22, 2014 BERMAN ENLISTS INDUSTRY SCIENTIST FOR LATEST PROJECT, FLIP-FLOPS ON CANCER RISK OF TANNING</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Accountability in Science is the latest project hatched by corporate PR man Richard Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">January 14, 2009 CREW LAUNCHES BERMANEXPOSED.ORG– RIPPING THE CLOAK OF SECRECY AWAY FROM FRONT MAN RICHARD BERMAN</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CREW launches BermanExposed.org to expose the activities of lobbyist Richard Berman, his front groups, projects and the tactics of his firm.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 25, 2006 CREW SUES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OVER ANTI-UNION LOBBYIST RICHARD BERMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Department of Labor (DOL) over its refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information Act...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">July 25, 2016 BERMAN GROUP QUIETLY RAN ANTI TRUMP ADS UNDER OBSCURE TRADE NAME In mid-May, Richard Berman, the infamous president of corporate public relations firm Berman and Company, published an op-ed in The Washington Times decrying an investigation into the...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 25, 2006 CREW SUES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OVER ANTI-UNION LOBBYIST RICHARD BERMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Department of Labor (DOL) over its refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information Act... Page 1 of 3123</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">wt bs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Rick Berman - - Thursday, June 18, 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ANALYSIS/OPINION:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Just in time for Father’s Day, the federal government and automakers have unveiled the perfect gift for Dad — a device to stop him from drinking a beer or two at a ballgame before driving home. In fact, the system is even called DADSS. It’s short for the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety — passive, alcohol sensing technology under development for installation in all cars.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This paternalistic intrusion into our vehicles is an overreaching solution in search of a problem.[back to classic nanny state big bro paranoia]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Drunk driving used to be punished with little more than a traffic ticket — which was a problem. Then in 1980, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) started a national campaign to strengthen punishments for drunk drivers and educate the public about the dangers of driving drunk. The campaign morphed into ubiquitous public service messages, including “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” and “Don’t drink and drive.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The resulting shift in behavior represents one of the most successful examples of developing a new societal norm. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been cut in half since the campaign began — in 1980 more than 21,000 Americans died in drunk-driving crashes. In 2013, that number was just over 10,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For sober drivers and their companions today, the chances of dying at the hands of a drunk driver are smaller than most people imagine. Consider that in 2013, nearly 80 percent of those killed in drunk-driving crashes were either the drunk drivers themselves or the adults who (presumably) willingly got into the car with an already-impaired driver. Conversely, your exposure to being killed by a drunk driver is one chance in every 1.4 billion miles traveled. That’s nearly 250,000 round trips from New York City to Los Angeles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Of course, this doesn’t mean that drunk driving isn’t a problem — it is. But much like every crime in society, there will always be that irreducible minimum of violent behavior. And that can’t be affected without an enormous financial cost and surrender to a suffocating police-state mentality.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for decades. During that time, I’ve watched MADD turn from targeting the chronic, heavily intoxicated repeat-offender drunk drivers to policies aimed at reducing moderate, responsible drinking. Even MADD’s founder, Candy Lightner, who once worked with me on the problem, acknowledged mission creep when she said MADD has “become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DADSS is yet another step toward that neo-prohibition. Both the federal government and MADD admit the goal is to put detection devices in every car. And because an individual’s blood alcohol concentration level rises over time after consumption, the devices to be effective will have to be set with a margin as low as .03 or .04 percent to ensure drivers can’t operate a vehicle while above the current .08 percent legal limit. It means for most adults, driving home after one or two drinks with dinner could be a thing of the past.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then there is the issue of electronic-mechanical integrity. Even if these devices are manufactured to the government’s targeted Six Sigma standard of reliability, they’re going to malfunction up to 4,000 times per day nationwide. Sober drivers will be stranded. Drunk drivers will be able to start their cars. And if the technology is slightly less reliable, there could be up to 3 million malfunctions every day.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Considering the trade-offs — possible malfunctions when you can least afford being stuck, a likely end to moderate drinking before driving, and a host of lawsuits surrounding these malfunctions after a crash — installing these devices in every car simply isn’t a proportional response to a diminishing problem. And that says nothing about the added cost to each car that will be paid by every owner. In 2013 there were 2,115 driving-while-intoxicated innocent-victim fatalities. For context, in that same year, 28,851 people died from unintentional poisoning and 6,601 died from unintentional suffocation. More than 25,000 died from falling down at home.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Risk is everywhere, but we don’t ban bleach or plastic bags because if accidentally ingested or used improperly, they can be deadly.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD has made great strides toward protecting innocent people from drunk drivers. Instead of focusing on the remaining problem — chronic drunk drivers who continue to drive while highly intoxicated despite the social stigma, risk to themselves and others, and threat of punishment — the organization wants to punish and or inconvenience all of us.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As difficult an idea as it will seem to some, it’s one more government restraint the evidence doesn’t justify. This Father’s Day, we don’t need DADSS to replace the ones we already have.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">• Rick Berman is president of Berman and Co., a Washington public affairs firm.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/18/rick-berman-dadss-drink-and-drive-alcohol-detector/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rick Berman - - Thursday, June 18, 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ANALYSIS/OPINION:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Just in time for Father’s Day, the federal government and automakers have unveiled the perfect gift for Dad — a device to stop him from drinking a beer or two at a ballgame before driving home. In fact, the system is even called DADSS. It’s short for the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety — passive, alcohol sensing technology under development for installation in all cars.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This paternalistic intrusion into our vehicles is an overreaching solution in search of a problem.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Drunk driving used to be punished with little more than a traffic ticket — which was a problem. Then in 1980, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) started a national campaign to strengthen punishments for drunk drivers and educate the public about the dangers of driving drunk. The campaign morphed into ubiquitous public service messages, including “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” and “Don’t drink and drive.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The resulting shift in behavior represents one of the most successful examples of developing a new societal norm. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been cut in half since the campaign began — in 1980 more than 21,000 ...[sez lichtener sp mom thinks gone too far?]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For sober drivers and their companions today, the chances of dying at the hands of a drunk driver are smaller than most people imagine. Consider that in 2013, nearly 80 percent of those killed in drunk-driving crashes were either the drunk drivers themselves or the adults who (presumably) willingly got into the car with an already-impaired driver. Conversely, your exposure to being killed by a drunk driver is one chance in every 1.4 billion miles traveled. That’s nearly 250,000 round trips from New York City to Los Angeles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Of course, this doesn’t mean that drunk driving isn’t a problem — it is. But much like every crime in society, there will always be that irreducible minimum of violent behavior. And that can’t be affected without an enormous financial cost and surrender to a suffocating police-state mentality.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for decades. During that time, I’ve watched MADD turn from targeting the chronic, heavily intoxicated repeat-offender drunk drivers to policies aimed at reducing moderate, responsible drinking. Even MADD’s founder, Candy Lightner, who once worked with me on the problem, acknowledged mission creep when she said MADD has “become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DADSS is yet another step toward that neo-prohibition. Both the federal government and MADD admit the goal is to put detection devices in every car. And because an individual’s blood alcohol concentration level rises over time after consumption, the devices to be effective will have to be set with a margin as low as .03 or .04 percent to ensure drivers can’t operate a vehicle while above the current .08 percent legal limit. It means for most adults, driving home after one or two drinks with dinner could be a thing of the past.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then there is the issue of electronic-mechanical integrity. Even if these devices are manufactured to the government’s targeted Six Sigma standard of reliability, they’re going to malfunction up to 4,000 times per day nationwide. Sober drivers will be stranded. Drunk drivers will be able to start their cars. And if the technology is slightly less reliable, there could be up to 3 million malfunctions every day.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Considering the trade-offs — possible malfunctions when you can least afford being stuck, a likely end to moderate drinking before driving, and a host of lawsuits surrounding these malfunctions after a crash — installing these devices in every car simply isn’t a proportional response to a diminishing problem. And that says nothing about the added cost to each car that will be paid by every owner. In 2013 there were 2,115 driving-while-intoxicated innocent-victim fatalities. For context, in that same year, 28,851 people died from unintentional poisoning and 6,601 died from unintentional suffocation. More than 25,000 died from falling down at home.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Risk is everywhere, but we don’t ban bleach or plastic bags because if accidentally ingested or used improperly, they can be deadly.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD has made great strides toward protecting innocent people from drunk drivers. Instead of focusing on the remaining problem — chronic drunk drivers who continue to drive while highly intoxicated despite the social stigma, risk to themselves and others, and threat of punishment — the organization wants to punish and or inconvenience all of us.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As difficult an idea as it will seem to some, it’s one more government restraint the evidence doesn’t justify. This Father’s Day, we don’t need DADSS to replace the ones we already have.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">• Rick Berman is president of Berman and Co., a Washington public affairs firm.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">quote shows up here and in beck bk:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">march 2012:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/217573-sarah-longwell-managing-director-american-beverage-institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned," said Lightner in a 2002 Washington Times interview. "I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, MADD has lobbied Congress to enforce its neo-prohibitionist philosophy on all Americans. The Senate Transportation Reauthorization Bill (S. 1813), passed Wednesday, was amended to include funding for the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) — a federal program working to create alcohol detection systems for installation in all cars. The bill appropriates $24 million in additional funding over 2 years for the research program. This is a massive increase from the $10 million the program received over the last 5 years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration presentation revealed, the program’s big-picture objective mirrors MADD’s extreme interlock agenda: “DADSS in every vehicle.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD once claimed that the use of this technology would be strictly voluntary. Now, as the devices grow close to completion, the story has changed: MADD hopes they’ll be used in all cars.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Even if these alcohol detection devices were manufactured to six sigma standards and 99.99966 percent were default free, it would still mean over 4,000 misreadings per day. That means every day, thousands of sober drivers could find their cars locked down by a faulty interlock– bringing chaos to personal and professional lives as a matter of course.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DADSS supporters claim the alcohol detectors would be voluntary and set at 0.08, but there is a mountain of evidence showing that their true goal is to put alcohol sensing technology in all cars as original equipment, set well below the 0.08 level.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The anti-alcohol movement knows full well that it’s impossible, for physiological and liability reasons, to set interlocks at the 0.08 legal BAC limit. Instead, they’d likely be preset as low as 0.02 – the BAC of an average male after one beer. Under MADD’s rule, you’d better not get any big ideas about that glass of wine at dinner or a champagne toast at your daughter’s wedding.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These new policies would not only decimate America’s hospitality industry, but would have a chilling effect on personal freedom. An America where cars cannot start if an individual has had one serving of alcohol would be far less free, far less prosperous and, in all likelihood, far less friendly. Life would be a cross between the Prohibition era and George Orwell’s 1984. American’s should let their voices be heard on this issue now -- before we let the neo-prohibitionists treat all of us like criminals.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Longwell is the managing director of the American Beverage Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ABL newlter no name:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Transportation Reauthorization in Limbo; Senate Version Contains DADSS Funding On March 29, Congress passed the 9th extension of current transportation legislation that will keep funding in place through June 30. The current law was set to expire on March 31 should Congress have failed to act. This gives Congress 90 days to work out their differences and, in the case of the House, simply get a longer-term transportation bill passed.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Senate passed a surface transportation reauthorization bill (S. 1813) on March 14 by a vote of 74-22. Transportation reauthorization legislation historically contains alcohol traffic safety provisions; the Senate’s bill this year continues that tradition. S. 1813 allows states to qualify for impaired driving countermeasure funding by implementing effective programs or ignition interlocks (broadly defined).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;It also includes incentive grant language similar to what has been in past transportation bills. S. 1813 also includes funding for the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program of $12 million/year for 2 years. This provision of the Senate legislation was originally introduced as a stand-alone bill (Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere Act of 2011 (S. 510)) by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) on March 8, 2011.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The original House transportation bill did not include DADSS funding. With passage of the Senate bill, the onus is now on the House to pass its own legislation before the expiration of the current law on June 30. Initially, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) introduced a H.R. 7, a five-year reauthorization bill with a price tag of approximately $260 billion. Not expansive enough for House Democrats, the bill also ran into surprisingly strong headwinds from Chairman Mica’s own caucus, with many Republicans lamenting it as too costly. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has signaled that the House could be forced to consider a two-year bill similar to the Senate’s, though just how similar remains to be seen. Senate Democrats are using the relatively broad bipartisan support for their chamber’s bill (Three-fourths of the chamber vote...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">abi links to&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington Times (Washington, DC)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">August 6, 2002&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">byline: Sam Bresnahan, THE WASHINGTON TIMES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MIDDLETOWN, Va. - The new president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will earn every dime of her annual $75,000 salary this year fighting off critics who say the once all-powerful group has become an organization of prohibitionists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD's new eight-point attack plan is named "Let's Get MADD All Over Again," indicating a worry that the nonprofit group has lost some of its punch, said one MADD vice president.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wendy Hamilton, who has quietly transformed herself from a stay-at-home mother of three into the new president of MADD, must now transform the lobbying efforts of the aging organization - which still commands an impressive $50 million in annual revenues.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We really need to kick-start this whole program," said Jan Blaser-Upchurch, MADD's vice president of victim issues. "We need to make people outraged and concerned that this drunk-driving problem has not gone away."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mrs. Hamilton cites the AIDS epidemic as one of the issues that has shifted the limelight away from MADD, as has the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and the Washington area. …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By - The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 6, 2002</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MIDDLETOWN, Va. The new president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will earn every dime of her annual $75,000 salary this year fighting off critics who say the once all-powerful group has become an organization of prohibitionists.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD's new eight-point attack plan is named "Let's Get MADD All Over Again," indicating a worry that the nonprofit group has lost some of its punch, said one MADD vice president.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wendy Hamilton, who has quietly transformed herself from a stay-at-home mother of three into the new president of MADD, must now transform the lobbying efforts of the aging organization which still commands an impressive $50 million in annual revenues.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We really need to kick-start this whole program," said Jan Blaser-Upchurch, MADD's vice president of victim issues. "We need to make people outraged and concerned that this drunk-driving problem has not gone away."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mrs. Hamilton cites the AIDS epidemic as one of the issues that has shifted the limelight away from MADD, as has the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and the Washington area.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I'm not trying to minimize in any way what happened to our country on that day, because if anybody knows terror, I think the victims of drunk driving certainly do," said Mrs. Hamilton, noting that about 14,000 Americans have been killed in drunk-driving crashes since September.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The organization's plan, which calls for widespread sobriety checkpoints and increased excise taxes on beer, among other measures, has drawn sharp criticism from civil-liberties and consumer-rights advocates.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"They started off in the 1980s with a legitimate goal. However, like many nonprofits, you have the question: Once you have achieved your goal, what do you do with your organization?" said Martin Wooster, who has written extensively on various philanthropic issues and is a visiting fellow at the Capital Research Center.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In response to MADD's proposed excise-tax increase on beer, Mr. Wooster points out that such taxes are higher now than they have ever been. "You're punishing every beer drinker in America, and for what reason?" he asked.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD's directors hope their plan will reduce the annual number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities from its current level of about 16,000 down to 10,000. From 1980, the year of MADD's founding, to 1994, the annual drunk-driving death rate decreased 43 percent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But the statistic has leveled off since 1994, prompting some observers to say MADD is now merely flogging a cause that has already been largely accomplished.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Candy Lightner, MADD's founder, says she disassociated herself from the movement in 1985 because she believed the organization was headed in the wrong direction.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned," said Mrs. Lightner, who founded MADD after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver. "I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several years after she left MADD, Mrs. Lightner briefly represented the American Beverage Institute in its fight against the 0.08 percent BAC law. She also lobbied Congress to enforce tougher penalties for drunk drivers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mrs. Hamilton, whose tenure as MADD president began in June, denied her organization is against any and all alcohol consumption. "It's not about people drinking," she said. "It's about people drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car and putting themselves, and everybody else on the highway, at risk."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MADD in the past few years has targeted elementary- and middle-school students in their education campaigns against drinking and against alcohol advertising.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also included in MADD's eight-point plan are stricter seat-belt laws in all 50 states, and increased federal funding of alcohol-abuse prevention and education.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With only two years to accomplish all of this, Mrs. Hamilton hit the ground running.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In July, she met with congressmen and other advocacy groups in Washington. Then she was off to a book signing in New York City, the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver and another conference in Montreal.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If Mrs. Hamilton had been told 30 years ago that she would one day serve in a position of such influence, she probably would have laughed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I went to college to get my 'Mrs.' degree," said Mrs. Hamilton, who happily married at the age of 20 and contentedly remained at home to care for her children. Little did she know a single act of irresponsibility would alter her life's course, indelibly marking her character and catapulting her into a career of activism.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That day in 1984 is etched deeply into Mrs. Hamilton's memory. "My mother called me on a beautiful day just like this," she said. "I could tell that something horrible had happened. And she finally said, 'It's Becky and Timmy. They're both dead.'"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Becky was Mrs. Hamilton's 32-year-old sister, and Timmy her 22-month-old nephew. Both were killed after a drunk driver crossed into their lane, causing a head-on collision.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, you don't expect to hear that," Mrs. Hamilton said, as she recalled the memory. Since that day, her life has never been the same. Over the next few weeks, as she grieved over her loved ones, Mrs. Hamilton came to learn of an upstart organization known as MADD.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">She feels that small events, like pieces of a puzzle, came together and led her into a life of activism. The week after the funeral, she stumbled upon a MADD bumper sticker while going through Becky's belongings. She saw an article about MADD while reading a magazine. And there was even a MADD chapter in Crown Point, Ind., where she lived at the time a striking coincidence, considering how few chapters existed in 1984, only four years after MADD's founding.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"A lot of what's happened to me in my life since then has been just pieces of the puzzle that have been building a picture," Mrs. Hamilton said.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I believe there's a reason why I'm sitting here today," she said, recalling the tragedy that took her sister's life. "That's what I'm doing now, keeping her legacy alive."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">sw in main. this is update/reminder:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rick_Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard B. (Rick) Berman is a former labor management attorney and restaurant industry executive who, with his firm Berman & Co., currently works as a Washington, D.C. lobbyist for the food, alcoholic beverage, tobacco industries and, more recently, other industries. Berman & Co. has lobbied for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday's, Uno's Restaurants, and Wendy's.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has earned the nicknames "Dr. Evil," the "Conservatives' Weapon of Mass Destruction" and the "Astroturf Kingpin" for his repeated use of the strategy of forming dozens of non-profit front groups, attack-dog web sites, and alleged think tanks that defend his corporate clients' interests by attacking their critics, allowing his paying clients to remain out of public view.[1][2]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Co.'s many front groups work to counteract minimum wage campaigns, keep wages low for restaurant workers, and to block legislation on food safety, secondhand cigarette smoke, and drunk driving and more.[3] Since 2013, Berman and his Employment Policy Institute "think tank" have led a national fight against campaigns to raise the minimum wage and to provide paid sick leave for workers with renewed attacks on proponents (including the Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of SourceWatch), misleading reports, op-eds, TV and radio ads, and more, as reported by the New York Times.[4] The New York Times has also reported that he "receives millions of dollars from business" in order to wage these campaigns.[5]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has also actively campaigned against any attempts to limit smoking in restaurants and bars. In testimony before the New York City Health Oversight Committee, Berman said, "The level of exposure to secondhand smoke for bartenders, waiters and waitresses is considerably lower than the federal air quality limits established by the federal government."[6]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman is the president, executive director, and board member of the Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE, called the Center for Consumer Freedom/CCF until early 2014).[7] In spite of its former name, CORE is more concerned about industry than the consumer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman is also the executive director and president of the Employment Policies Institute,[8] the Employment Policies Institute Foundation, the American Beverage Institute, and the Center for Union Facts.[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman's company had 28 employees and took in $10 million dollars a year as of 2006, but "only Berman and his bookkeeper wife" know how much of the $10 million ends up in their own pockets, according to USA Today.[10]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More recently CMD revealed[11] that the Bradley Foundation is funding a number of Berman's front groups to attack labor, environmental and other groups, as well as to assist and train other Bradley-funded organizations in crisis communications (more below.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents&nbsp; [hide]&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bradley Foundation Ties, "Go-To Hire For Corporate Bullies"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1.1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"Management Fees" Syphoning Charity Funds To Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1.2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Attacking Labor Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1.3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Attacking Environmental Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman & Co.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Admits to Working for Monsanto</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman behind Movement to Sell off Public Lands</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Pushes Congress to Pass Employee Rights Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Using Front Groups to Attack Barack Obama's New Power Plant Rules</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Exposed in Unguarded Advice to Fossil Fuel Execs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7.1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Explains his Playbook</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7.2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Other Quotes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rick Berman, Dubbed "Dr. Evil" by 60 Minutes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Heads Phony Think Tank, Employment Policy Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Attacks on Raising the Minimum Wage</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Advocating for Food Industry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11.1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Attack on Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, and NRDC</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Deceptive Berman Campaign for Tanning Industry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">13<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Opposing the Americans with Disabilities Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">14<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Defending Alar</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ethics Violations</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">16<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Court Ruling against Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">17<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tobacco Industry Involvement</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pro-Alcohol Industry Activity</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">19<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>People to Call Concerning Experiences with Richard Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Work History</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">21<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Contact</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Articles and Resources</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Related SourceWatch Articles</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.1.1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berman Front Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Related PRWatch Articles</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>External Articles</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>External Resources</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22.5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>References</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley Foundation Ties, "Go-To Hire For Corporate Bullies"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD's 2017 exposé on the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation revealed that the foundation has given Berman front groups at least $6.5 million.[11]From the exposé,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"According to the Bradley Files, Bradley has given Berman groups at least $6.5 million. Bradley gave Berman's "Employment Policies Institute," an organization that spreads misinformation about the effects of minimum wage increases and other workplace reforms, a total of $3,650,000 between 2009-2015; Berman's "Center for Consumer Freedom," a front group created to undermine public support for food-safety and animal welfare groups, $625,000 between 2009-2013; Berman's "Center for Union Facts," created to attack and undermine unions and collective bargaining, $2,240,000 between 2006-2015."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In addition, Bradley funds the "Capital Research Center" to work with Berman on projects. The Center is not part of the Berman operation, but is run by a former Berman employee, Scott Walter. It received $2.5 million from Bradley between 1998-2015."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Management Fees" Syphoning Charity Funds To Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From the CMD exposé,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"While most of Berman's front groups are no more than a website, a few of them have been incorporated as non-profit "charitable" organizations. They may even have an employee attached to them and a specific focus, but as the New York Times detailed in 2016, employees are generally housed at the PR firm Berman and Co. and report to the boss, Rick Berman."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"These "charities" serve the function of allowing groups like Bradley to send tax-exempt funds, which are then funneled into Berman's wholly-owned for-profit entity, Berman and Co., under the rubric of "management fees." This scheme has prompted Charity Navigator, an independent authority on charitable giving, to issue donor warnings on Berman front groups. It has also prompted serious complaints against Berman and Co. for abusing the tax code and engaging in activities for private benefit."[11]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attacking Labor Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From the CMD exposé,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Bradley is bankrolling multiple Berman front groups along with groups across the nation that are working to "defund Big Labor" and to destroy unions, the most significant advocate for higher wages and better working conditions in America. Berman was caught on tape telling prospective funders: "I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions" and "marginalize the people on the other side," as CMD helped reveal in 2014."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The highly political nature of Bradley's efforts is underscored by Bradley grantees who boast in major newspapers and in Bradley-funded publications like the Daily Signal that the evisceration of public and private sector unions in states like Wisconsin and Michigan was successful in turning blue states red in the last presidential election cycle. Bradley even has a promotional video "Blue Lakes Red States," boasting of the success of its numerous grantees."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[. . .]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"More recently, Bradley has funded another Berman front group to "expose Big Labor's strategies and tactics, including in the policymaking arena." Materials included in the Bradley files as examples of Berman's work are a series of print ads accusing teachers of treating kids like garbage and ads that liken teachers' unions to roach traps (Center for Union Facts, Grant Proposal Record, 1/10/2015)."[11]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attacking Environmental Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From the CMD exposé,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"One of the projects funded by Bradley was the "Big Green Radicals.com" website, which attacks four effective environmental organizations, the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch. The website says it is a project of the "Environmental Policy Alliance" and does not disclose Berman's involvement. The Bradley files reveal for the first time that the foundation gave $150,000 to a Berman front group [CCF] to fund this website under the misnomer "public education" (Center for Consumer Freedom, Grant Proposal Record, 11/12/2013)."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In recent years, the site has been trashing environmental activists in Colorado. There has been a multi-year throw down between anti-fracking community groups battling it out against the oil and gas industry, and the national environmental groups have been lending a hand."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">""Richard Berman is a go-to hire for corporate bullies. If the Bradley Foundation is paying groups to focus more on political bullying, it makes sense they would support Berman's attacks on environmental advocates," said Connor Gibson of Greenpeace's investigations team.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Co.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Main article: Berman & Co.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Co., a Washington, DC public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman, represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. Berman & Co. has lobbied for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday's, Uno's Restaurants, and Wendy's.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman & Co. operates a network of dozens of front groups, attack-dog web sites, and alleged think tanks that work to counteract minimum wage campaigns, keep wages low for restaurant workers, and to block legislation on food safety, secondhand cigarette smoke, and drunk driving and more.[12] In 2013-14, Berman and his Employment Policy Institute "think tank," have led a national fight against campaigns to raise the minimum wage and to provide paid sick leave for workers with renewed attacks on proponents (including the Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of Sourcewatch), misleading reports, op-eds, TV and radio ads and more.[13]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman Admits to Working for Monsanto</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On May 12, 2016 Berman admitted to advising the controversial corporate giant Monsanto in an interview with the Cato Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I’ve moved people to different points of view over time just by changing the language. You know, I often told Monsanto, I’ll just use one company’s position here, I often told Monsanto they made a very big mistake when they called genetically modified, GMOs, when they call them genetically modified organisms exactly that. Why would you call, why would you tell people it’s safe to eat genetically modified organisms? That’s not the first thing that you think of when you get out of bed in the morning, that I want some genetically modified organisms with my Cheerios. On the other, on the other hand, if they had just called these new foods that they were creating with science, if you call them genetically modified foods, or more importantly, genetically improved foods, so if you called them GIFs, genetically improved foods, rather than GMOs, you immediately would have had a different reaction on the part of the public. And so, I think you could have moved the needle enormously. It wouldn’t have gone so far south if you had just used different language."[14]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Listen to the full interview here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman behind Movement to Sell off Public Lands</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The U.S. Senate passed Amendment 838, "a non-binding amendment that called for the transfer of public lands, including National Forests, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, to state control," on March 26, 2015.[15]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 51-to-49 vote was mainly along party lines, with Senators Corey Gardner (R-CO), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) joining the Democrats in opposition.[16]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During the week of the vote, Will Coggins, a senior research analyst at Berman and Company, took out four nearly identical opinion pieces in Montana, Nevada, and Utah arguing strongly in favor of the transfer of public lands to the states while also attacking hunting and fishing groups as "green decoys."[17][18][19][20]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This coordinated public relations campaign suggests that Berman and Company is behind the movement to sell off public lands, AllGov reports.[15]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In response to the amendment's passage and the opinion pieces written by Berman and Company, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Executive Director Land Tawney wrote, "Nationally, an organized, concerted movement is underway to sell off and limit access to America's public lands and waters. These are not merely the actions of a lunatic fringe. Now is the time to double down and fight back against this ill-conceived idea."[21]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Think Progress reports that "[l]egal scholars have noted that these so-called 'land transfer' schemes are unconstitutional, economic analyses have found them to be fiscally reckless, and sportsmen's groups argue that they would result in diminished public access for hunting and fishing."[22]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman Pushes Congress to Pass Employee Rights Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Toward the end of 2014 and into 2015, Berman, Newt Gingrich, and various Berman front groups began pushing Congress to pass the so-called "Employee Rights Act," a bill whose seven provisions are designed to further weaken unions and make it even harder for workers to organize. For example, on March 9, 2015, LaborPains.org, the joint blog of Berman front groups the Center for Union Facts and the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee, published a post encouraging Congress to pass the "Employee Rights Act," claiming a connection with Scott Walker's signing of a bill to make Wisconsin a so-called "Right to Work" state.[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The post followed months of opinion pieces taken out in major newspapers across the United States by Berman, Gingrich, Michael Saltsman, or various combinations of the three in support of the legislation.[24][25][26][27][28][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although the "Employee Rights Act" claims to protect workers' rights, it does the opposite. San Francisco State University Professor John A. Logan noted:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In a recent Washington Post op-ed, right-wing lobbyists Rick Berman and Newt Gingrich urged the new Republican Congress to enact the ludicrously mistitled "Employee Rights Act" (ERA), a bill so reactionary it could have been penned by the Koch brothers themselves. In the name of 'protecting' employee rights, the ERA would make it extraordinarily difficult for workers to choose unions and would give a virtual pass to unscrupulous corporations that coerce and intimidate employees. While it won't become law while the Democrats control the White House, the ERA provides an illustration of the draconian legislation that Republicans will unleash on workers if they win control of both the presidency and the Congress in 2016."[30]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman Using Front Groups to Attack Barack Obama's New Power Plant Rules</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Guardian uncovered in February 2015 that "Berman has secretly routed funding for at least 16 studies and launched at least five front groups attacking Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting carbon dioxide from power plants."[31] The Berman front Employment Policies Institute funded the reports, which were carried out by the Beacon Hill Institute, an ALEC-allied member of the right-wing State Policy Network (SPN) headquartered on the campus of Suffolk University.[31] The Beacon Hill Institute received $41,500 from the Employment Policies Institute to research the effects of the EPA rules.[31] According to The Guardian, "The reports, claiming the power plant rules would lead to rolling blackouts, send electricity prices skyrocketing, and devastate local economies, are being published in 16 states by a network of pro-corporate and ultra-conservative thinktanks."[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Guardian quoted Jay Duffy of Clean Air Task Force when it reported that the Beacon Hill Institute's research and analysis are not academically rigorous: "BHI's interpretation of EPA's analysis just doesn’t hold up... BHI has skewed timelines, underestimated the social cost of carbon, and overestimated the effect on electricity prices. As a result, their study badly inflates the costs and minimises the benefits of EPA’s draft rules."[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman Exposed in Unguarded Advice to Fossil Fuel Execs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD posted new audio exposing Rick Berman's corporate PR spin machine in October 2014. Listen to the audio here:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">File:Berman presentation.mp3</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more about this story on CMD's PRWatch here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 30, 2014, the New York Times broke the news that a speech Rick Berman had given to oil and gas executives at an event sponsored by the Western Energy Alliance in Colorado Springs in June 2014 had been secretly taped, and that Berman told those gathered that "if the oil and gas industry wants to prevent its opponents from slowing its efforts to drill in more places, it must be prepared to employ tactics like digging up embarrassing tidbits about environmentalists and liberal celebrities."[8]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attendees included representatives from Anadarko Petroleum,[8] Halliburton Company, ExxonMobil, Devon Energy, and Noble Energy.[32]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman told the executives they "must be willing to exploit emotions like fear, greed and anger and turn them against the environmental groups. And major corporations secretly financing such a campaign should not worry about offending the general public because 'you can either win ugly or lose pretty,' he said. 'Think of this as an endless war,' Mr. Berman told the crowd... 'And you have to budget for it,'" according to the Times.[8]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bloomberg also reported on the leaked audio, noting that "Berman offered companies a way to anonymously target their environmental foes -- at a cost of as much as $3 million."[32]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bloomberg spoke to Pennsylvania’s former top natural-gas regulator Michael Krancer, who said that industry supporters have no choice but to take Berman's advice and play dirty: "There is an anti-fossil fuel movement, and a very well-funded lobbying campaign is behind it," he told Bloomberg. "These are people who want to live in a dream world."[32]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman Explains his Playbook</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman's remarks to his audience revealed a kind of Ten Commandments from his playbook:[33]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Screw" your enemy. Berman boasted about his obsession with unions and his attack on their efforts to raise the minimum wage for American workers: "I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Marginalize" your opponents. Berman described his tactics against public interest groups: "wherever possible I like to use humor to minimize or marginalize the people on the other side." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Demolish the moral authority" of powerful public interest voices: "I got George McGovern to come out and say that unions were wrong. I represent some alcohol companies, I got Candy Lightner, who started Mothers Against Drunk Driving, to come out and say that MADD was overreaching and that she endorsed our position, our client position, rather than the MADD position. That is a demolishing of moral authority." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Make it personal." Berman's associate Hubbard described how they go after concerned citizens who dare to challenge their clients: "we do have a section on every single activist. Their rap sheets, their criminal records they have. We’re really making this personal. We’re trying to make it so they don't have any credibility with the public, with the media, or with the legislators." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Brand" whole movements as "not credible." Berman & Co. detailed their game plan to try to marginalize people concerned about fracking, as noted by Bloomberg media:[32] "what we wanted to do is that we wanted to brand the entire movement behind this as not being credible, and anti-science." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Being "nasty" wins. Berman shakes off concerns that his activities are too nasty or aggressive, saying "you can either win ugly or lose pretty." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Push "fear and anger." Berman talked about pushing people's emotional buttons on fear, love, anger, greed, and sympathy, stating: "you could not get into people's heads and convince them to do something as easily as you could get into their hearts or into their gut to convince to do something. Because, emotions drive people much better than intellectual epiphanies." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Treat public policy as "endless war." Berman recognized that the public interest groups are appealing to the American people: "If you think about it these groups, the Sierra Club, who is the natural enemy of the Sierra Club? Who is the enemy of Greenpeace? You know at the surface, you would love to be a group like that because everyone should be in favor of you, who could be against you? That’s very difficult to over come and they play on that, and they trade on that, and that's our opportunity and also our challenge. So it is an endless war." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Give corporate cash "total anonymity." Berman reassured his audience that he can keep their role in these tactics secret: "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don't know who supports us. We've been doing this for 20 something years in this regard. And to the degree to anybody is concerned about that I will tell you there are all sorts of ways, all sorts of firewalls that have been established to get this done on an anonymous" basis. He added: "I am religious about not allowing company names to ever get used. At least I'm not going to allow them to get used. And I don't want companies to ever admit that because it does give the other side a way to diminish our message." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tear down celebrities who speak out. Berman's associate Hubbard noted that taking down celebrities who speak up is a key part of their strategy because: "the problem is that the public really does have a celebrity worship culture. But the good news is that there is nothing the public likes more than tearing down celebrities and playing up the hypocrisy angle." Listen to this clip here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other Quotes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a transcript of his talk, Berman also said:[34]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I get up every morning and I try to figure out how to screw with the labor unions -- that's my offense."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If you want a video to go viral, have kids or animals... Use humor to minimize or marginalize the people on the other side."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There is nothing the public likes more than tearing down celebrities and playing up the hypocrisy angle."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"People always ask me one question all the time: 'How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?' We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don’t know who supports us."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"They characterize us in a campaign as being the guys with the black helicopters. And to some degree, that's true. We’re doing stuff to diminish the other sides' ability to operate."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rick Berman, Dubbed "Dr. Evil" by 60 Minutes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/05/13240/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) pull back the curtain on the highly politicized funding of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and its relationship with Richard Berman, the public relations spin doctor dubbed a "hired gun" for corporate America by 60 Minutes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley is bankrolling multiple Berman front groups along with groups across the nation that are working to "defund Big Labor" and to destroy unions, the most significant advocate for higher wages and better working conditions in America. Berman was caught on tape telling prospective funders: "I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions" and "marginalize the people on the other side," as CMD helped reveal in 2014.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The highly political nature of Bradley's efforts is underscored by Bradley grantees who boast in major newspapers and in Bradley-funded publications like the Daily Signal that the evisceration of public and private sector unions in states like Wisconsin and Michigan was successful in turning blue states red in the last presidential election cycle. Bradley even has a promotional video "Blue Lakes Red States," boasting of the success of its numerous grantees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has mastered the dark art of dissemination disinformation though front groups, websites, TV and print ads and paid social media campaigns. While most of Berman's front groups are no more than a website, a few of them have been incorporated as non-profit "charitable" organizations. They may even have an employee attached to them and a specific focus, but as the New York Times detailed in 2016, employees are generally housed at the PR firm Berman and Co. and report to the boss, Rick Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These "charities" serve the function of allowing groups like Bradley to send tax-exempt funds, which are then funneled into Berman's wholly-owned for-profit entity, Berman and Co., under the rubric of "management fees." This scheme has prompted Charity Navigator, an independent authority on charitable giving, to issue donor warnings on Berman front groups. It has also prompted serious complaints against Berman and Co. for abusing the tax code and engaging in activities for private benefit.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley Files suggest that the foundation is quite comfortable with the Berman shell game. Bradley board documents characterize Berman's confusing jumble of front groups and websites as a "collaborative cluster of nonprofit groups" and reveal for the first time that Bradley itself created a Berman project called the "Interstate Policy Alliance" within Berman's Employment Policies Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog group, filed an IRS complaint against Berman some years ago and helps track the flack's activities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"When a company or a foundation gives money to Richard Berman or one of the groups set up and run by his consulting firm, they're investing in his way of doing business, which includes exploiting 'fear and anger' to 'shoot the messenger,' usually in defense of issues his clients don't want to be publicly identified with," said Matt Corley, CREW Research Director.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One example is Berman's "BigGreenRadicals.com" website, an attack on four environmental organizations, the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch. The website says it is a project of the "Environmental Policy Alliance" and does not disclose Berman's involvement. The Bradley files reveal for the first time that the foundation gave $150,000 to a Berman front group to fund this website under the misnomer "public education" (Center for Consumer Freedom, Grant Proposal Record, 11/12/2013).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In recent years, the site has been trashing environmental activists in Colorado. There has been a multi-year throw down between anti-fracking community groups battling it out against the oil and gas industry, and the national environmental groups have been lending a hand.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Richard Berman is a go-to hire for corporate bullies. If the Bradley Foundation is paying groups to focus more on political bullying, it makes sense they would support Berman's attacks on environmental advocates," said Connor Gibson of Greenpeace's investigations team.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More recently, Bradley has funded another Berman front group to "expose Big Labor's strategies and tactics, including in the policymaking arena." Materials included in the Bradley files as examples of Berman's work are a series of print ads accusing teachers of treating kids like garbage and ads that liken teachers' unions to roach traps (Center for Union Facts, Grant Proposal Record, 1/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley enemies list - sidebarBradley even has an enemies list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In board meetings and committee meetings in 2014, Bradley Foundation staff distributed and discussed a chart of "Organizations that Attack Conservatives." The chart lists 17 groups with information about their size, funders, and leadership. The groups are a mixture of good government groups, media groups, public relations firms, and funding organizations including, in alphabetical order:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alliance for Justice; American Bridge, BerlinRosen; Center for American Progress/Think Progress Blog; Center for Media and Democracy; Change.org; Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW); Color of Change; Common Cause; Democracy Alliance; Fenton Communications; FitzGibbon Media; Media Matters for America; Mother Jones, One Wisconsin Now; Open Society Institute; and Progress Now.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A note with the chart says Bradley wanted to "survey the landscape of such groups for a more informed perspective about that which could perhaps be done to mitigate the damage they could do." The note says the information about the groups came from two Berman websites "Activistfacts.com and CREWexposed.com, projects of the Bradley-supported Center for Consumer Freedom" (Meeting of the Implementation and Impact Committee, October 14, 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Through Berman, the Bradley Foundation can engage in unseemly opposition research and disinformation campaigns, while still keeping the appearance of a staid, philanthropic institution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the Bradley Files, Bradley has given Berman groups at least $6.5 million. Bradley gave Berman's "Employment Policies Institute," an organization that spreads misinformation about the effects of minimum wage increases and other workplace reforms, a total of $3,650,000 between 2009-2015; Berman's "Center for Consumer Freedom," a front group created to undermine public support for food-safety and animal welfare groups, $625,000 between 2009-2013; Berman's "Center for Union Facts," created to attack and undermine unions and collective bargaining, $2,240,000 between 2006-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley funds the "Capital Research Center" to work with Berman on projects. The Center is not part of the Berman operation, but is run by a former Berman employee, Scott Walter. It received $2.5 million from Bradley between 1998-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But for all intents and purposes, the Bradley foundation is underwriting the activities of three people: Berman and Co. President Richard Berman, Vice President Sarah Longwell (who is often listed as the contact for Center for Consumer Freedom and many other Berman groups), and Vice President Michael Saltsman (who is also listed as the head of the Employment Policy Institute, which is located within Berman's offices).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley bankrolls Berman for at least three sets of activities:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Disseminating studies via the Interstate Policy Alliance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Recommending state infrastructure investments</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coaching on "crisis communication" and opposition research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dissemination of Studies</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman's Employment Policies Institute (EPI) was named to confuse the public with an actual think tank, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which employs a host of PhD-level economists and other support staff. Berman's EPI has no economists on staff, but does employ "Research Director" Michael Saltsman, who has no advanced degree. MSNBC's Chris Hayes pinned Saltsman down on that point in a remarkable interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2013, Bradley earmarked $300,000 for a new Berman project within EPI called the Interstate Policy Alliance (IPA). In 2014, the grant for the same work doubled to $600,000 and included "crisis communication" for Bradley-funded groups on the receiving end of bad publicity, and in 2015, Bradley provided $400,000. Click here for a full list of Berman IPA groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley documents describe IPA as a "discrete channel" for "studies" that could be utilized by state-based groups "to achieve maximum credibility in local and social media outlets."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Created at Bradley's behest in 2012 and with continuing Bradley support since then, IPA is a discreet channel for the better coordination and presentation of helpful, high-quality research on existing and proposed state-level, free-market policies around the country. It provides this research, too often out of reach for many small state think tanks, and customizes it for each state to achieve maximum credibility in local- and social-media outlets. The Searle Freedom Trust has joined Bradley in support of the project" (Barder Fund, August 18, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State think tanks participating in Berman's IPA, which include Wisconsin's Bradley-supported MacIver Institute, do not have to pay for the research or its packaging or dissemination. They are able to easily access data that has been uploaded to a password-protected website. As needed, Berman's IPA also helps with report writing, graphic design, news release preparation, op-ed placement and the scheduling of interviews, (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015 ).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, the Center for Media and Democracy and the Energy and Policy Institute revealed how IPA operated, when it reported that the Beacon Hill Institute was releasing misleading studies attacking President Obama's Clean Power Plan, an ambitious multi-year effort to cut carbon pollution and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. The funding for the study came through the previously unknown group called the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In many of its sponsored research "studies," IPA promotes fossil fuel development over renewables. This has been a long-term agenda item of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate funded bill mill and many State Policy Network "think tanks" and advocacy groups funded by Bradley. In addition, the Bradley documents examined by CMD show Bradley is funding numerous climate denial groups, including Myron Ebell's Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One IPA report, touts the tens of billions of revenue North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia might gain from offshore oil and gas development in the Atlantic Ocean.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another report argues that fossil fuel development of federal lands in seven Rocky Mountain states will grow the economies at a faster pace than renewables.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another promotes the transfer of federal lands to states, claiming that revenues from taxes and fees will rapidly flow to states.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And yet another study criticizes the Renewable Portfolio Standards in 29 states and D.C. as costly to consumers, while ignoring any benefits to jobs or the environment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Infrastructure Investments</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files reveal that the foundation has a previously undisclosed stream of funding to build right-wing infrastructure nationwide and is using a metric to assess the strength and depth of the infrastructure in individual states a phenomenon that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has dubbed the Bradley Blueprint.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, Bradley asked Berman's IPA and the allied Capital Research Center (CRC) in Washington, D.C. to conduct an assessment of "second tier" states for consideration as "potential targets of opportunity" to enhance their infrastructure investments.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files also laud Berman & Co.'s Vice President Saltsman, who is described variously in Bradley documents as the "executive director" of EPI and "executive director" of IPA. "The talented and energetic Saltsman's IPA experience has exposed him to many of the strengths and weaknesses of the mid-sized state think tanks and conservative infrastructure around the country."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CRC/IPA evaluation of the quality and potential of states' existing conservative infrastructure and recommended investments in eight states: Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and California in that order. The documents note "(Given IPA's Bradley supported role in trying to help all state think tanks, they were quite keen on the report's contents being kept confidential)" (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley asked Saltsman "to discreetly consult with ALEC's Lisa Nelson, ATRF's Grover Norquist, and Ned Ryun of the also Bradley-supported American Majority" on what states should get funding (Barder Fund, 8/18/15).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The advisors named Colorado a top tier priority. Not only is Colorado an important swing state, but Coloradan Terry Considine is on the Bradley Board of Directors. Considine is a failed Colorado politician, but a dedicated right-winger who has long served on the Board of Directors of Club for Growth, the national dark money group. AIMCP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The political nature of Bradley's investment in this swing state is made clear in a report "Colorado state-infrastructure recommendations" included in the Bradley documents. "Colorado is an important swing state with a broad base of center-right organizations and donors," writes Bradley. The report discusses "The Gang of Four" liberal funders in the state who were featured in an "attention-getting" book called "The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)," which details how a small group of Democratic donors helped turn the state blue. The book made a big impression on Bradley staff; a picture of the cover is included in the Bradley documents multiple times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now Bradley wants to fund institutions in Colorado in an effort to swing the pendulum back again. Bradley recommends five specific grants, including two that illustrate the political nature of the endeavor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommends $125,000 to American Majority for 2016. The grant asks for support for a new field office in the I-25 corridor, an executive director, field staffer and intern. "They would coordinate with Centennial [Institute] and Independence [Institute] to identify, train and nurture mentoring relationships with conservative Coloradans." American Majority is an organization that trains candidates to run for office. It claims to be nonpartisan, but was founded by Republicans to train Republicans (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommended $250,000 to the Independence Institute in 2016. The Independence Institute is a State Policy Network member heavily funded by Bradley for both its work on climate issues and its anti-union work. The Bradley documents say it is led by "the charmingly bombastic Jon Caldara" "who has lead the creation of one of the more-effective conservative state infrastructures." But that infrastructure has a problem. "Colorado has 3,600 local governments."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Not only does the left exercise its power and coercion through these governments, he and [the Independence Institute] believe, but it uses them as farm teams to groom people for higher office." Caldera wants to counter this problem and "build a better bench" for the right-wing by compiling a database of every appointed and elected position in Jefferson County and conducting outreach to these officials. The Institute would coordinate its activities with American Majority, the Centennial Institute and the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Staff recommended $75,000 for this later institution (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These two investments appear to be exactly the type of political spending that might run afoul of IRS rules for permissible non-profit activity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other Colorado grantees included Colorado Christian University for its Centennial Institute ($75,000), Leadership Program of the Rockies ($75,000) and the Steamboat Institute ($50,000).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Crisis Communications" and Opposition Research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley has also bankrolled the Berman team for a communications program for many years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Also at Bradley's behest in 2012, CCF [Center for Consumer Freedom] created a related crisis-communications program for state infrastructures. It has been led by Berman vice president Sarah Longwell, formerly director of public affairs at the Bradly-supported Intercollegiate Studies Institute... CCF has consistently exposed the agenda of the activist groups that seek to attack personal freedom and its allies" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This crisis communication work as described by Bradley relates directly to the successful, grassroots campaigning against ALEC that was sparked in 2011 after CMD published more than 800 ALEC "model bills" secretly voted on by corporate lobbyists and legislators on its website ALECexposed.org in 2011.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To quote from the Bradley files:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In the wake of the media firestorm that engulfed the American Legislative Exchange Council last year, it was clear that a new group of influential, media-savvy activist outfits have emerged—along with a new group of targets that includes state think tanks and other entities including foundations. The Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Walmart, Johnson and Johnson, McDonalds and Wendy's are just a few of the funders that cut ties to ALEC following the media onslaught generated by activists who successfully linked it to the shooting of Trayvon Martin."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"ALEC never saw it coming. Neither really did the Heartland Institute or Chick-fil-A see what was coming when they subsequently have been on the receiving end of similar onslaughts. Caught flat footed as the media charged ahead with the 'Stand Your Ground' story, ALEC had no rapid-response strategy in place to combat this runaway narrative. Berman and Co.'s advice to ALEC to be more aggressive in its response was not followed. The 'I stand with ALEC website' came much too late and brought far too little to its defense" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These are "case studies," writes Bradley staff, and "cautionary tales" for any conservative organization. Now Bradley wants to fund CCF for an "off the shelf public relations strategy for use by any such conservative outfit caught in the media crosshairs."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Already-prepared "well sourced opposition research" is key, says the Bradley grant document:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Just as CMD was able build an online dossier on ALEC that provided activists and sympathetic journalists with a base of research, so too is CCF using its data and information to build a 'bigger and better clearinghouse of research on groups within the wider left-wing network' as part of a rapid response strategy."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CCF boasts of training Bradley-supported "think tanks" across the nation that are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), such as North Carolina's Civitas Institute, Michigan's Mackinac Center, and Washington State's Freedom Foundation. CCF asks Bradley for support to expand this type of opposition research and training to the rest of the SPN network and the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a grant proposal record, "Full Service Menu" of Berman Center for Consumer Freedom services would include, 1) support for two or three studies a year, 2) op-ed drafting and placement, 3) drafting and sending of news releases on the groups behalf, 4) compiling a media list of reporter contacts, 5) ad buying for television, radio, print and online, 6) crisis communication assistance and in-state infrastructure seminars (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley is recommending a $200,000 grant in renewed support for ALEC in 2016 as it continues to build a "comprehensive communications infrastructure" in response to citizen campaigns targeting its funders. The grant summary reads: "ALEC has been under sustained, organized attack from the Left for several years, as well-documented in Bradley Prize recipient Kimberly Strassel's new book The Intimidation Game: How the Left Silences Free Speech. Under Executive Director Lisa Nelson and at Bradley's urging, ALEC is aggressively, but thoughtfully responding." "The plan consciously mimics the Left's Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL)...the parent organization of Forecast the Facts and Color of Change."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC also redesigned and beefed up its website, deployed more social media, and partnered with CrowdSkout a data analytics company to track, view and engage supporters (ALEC, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley outlines the bigger game plan for ALEC: "The larger plan also has an important component for aggressive 'opposition research,' which has yielded many beneficial outcomes, including to Strassel for her helpful book, among others." This last comment in the Bradley documents suggests that ALEC provided Wall Street Journal editorial writer Kim Strassel with information for her book Intimidation Game. In it, Strassel portrayed the sustained citizen campaigning against ALEC as a well-funded, nefarious effort to crush the "free speech" rights of ALEC and its enormous funders, including Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and ALTRIA/Phillip Morris (Strassel received a $250,000 Bradley Prize in 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As part of its opposition research funding, Bradley recommended $115,000 in 2016 for the Capital Research Center run by Bradley-ally Scott Walter to develop "an online encyclopedia of the left" in conjunction with Berman that mimics the Center for Media and Democracy's Sourcewatch.org wiki. CRC wants to focus on the anti-ALEC groups and the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal funders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This will be a comprehensive, wiki-style resource that provides in-depth profiles of left-of-center individuals and organizations based on the model of the Center for Media and Democracy's website Sourcewatch.org…CRC plans to take a page out of Sourcewatch's playbook by ensuring that its new, wiki-style encyclopedia of the left is thorough, regularly updated and written in a manner that is accurate and measured in order to attract and retain a larger audience. The website will be constructed and in partnership with Berman and Company [where Walter worked briefly as director of development], and CRC is collaborating with ALEC and the Heartland Institute to make use of their data as it builds the new website's profile list," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Sourcewatch is a widely used resource that significantly influences public opinion regarding the activities of center-right groups and individuals. While there are a number of conservative resources that profile organizations and individuals on the Left (such as David Horowitz's DiscoverTheNetworks.org, Heartland Institute's LeftExposed.org, Berman and Company's ActivistFacts.org and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise's UndueInfluence.com) CDC will build upon and complement their efforts adding value through its more comprehensive coverage, superior search engine optimization, and wiki-style format," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Current members of the Bradley Foundation Board are Richard W. Graber (President), Art Pope (Chairman; Variety Wholesalers), Patrick J. English (Vice Chairman; Fiduciary Management, Inc.), Terry Considine (AIMCO), Curt S. Culver (MGIC), Robert P. George (Princeton University), Victor Davis Hanson (Hoover Institution), Diane Hendricks (ABC Supply Co. and Hendricks Holding Co.), Cleta Mitchell (Foley & Lardner), and James T. Barry III (The Barry Company). Former board members include Michael W. Grebe and George F. Will.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/05/09/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) pull back the curtain on the highly politicized funding of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and its relationship with Richard Berman, the public relations spin doctor dubbed a “hired gun” for corporate America by 60 Minutes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley is bankrolling multiple Berman front groups along with groups across the nation that are working to “defund Big Labor” and to destroy unions, the most significant advocate for higher wages and better working conditions in America. Berman was caught on tape telling prospective funders: “I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions” and “marginalize the people on the other side,” as CMD helped reveal in 2014.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The highly political nature of Bradley’s efforts is underscored by Bradley grantees who boast in major newspapers and in Bradley-funded publications like the Daily Signal that the evisceration of public and private sector unions in states like Wisconsin and Michigan was successful in turning blue states red in the last presidential election cycle. Bradley even has a promotional video “Blue Lakes Red States,” boasting of the success of its numerous grantees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has mastered the dark art of dissemination disinformation though front groups, websites, TV and print ads and paid social media campaigns. While most of Berman’s front groups are no more than a website, a few of them have been incorporated as non-profit “charitable” organizations. They may even have an employee attached to them and a specific focus, but as the New York Times detailed in 2016, employees are generally housed at the PR firm Berman and Co. and report to the boss, Rick Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These “charities” serve the function of allowing groups like Bradley to send tax-exempt funds, which are then funneled into Berman’s wholly-owned for-profit entity, Berman and Co., under the rubric of “management fees.” This scheme has prompted Charity Navigator, an independent authority on charitable giving, to issue donor warnings on Berman front groups. It has also prompted serious complaints against Berman and Co. for abusing the tax code and engaging in activities for private benefit.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley Files suggest that the foundation is quite comfortable with the Berman shell game. Bradley board documents characterize Berman’s confusing jumble of front groups and websites as a “collaborative cluster of nonprofit groups” and reveal for the first time that Bradley itself created a Berman project called the “Interstate Policy Alliance” within Berman’s Employment Policies Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog group, filed an IRS complaint against Berman some years ago and helps track the flack’s activities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“When a company or a foundation gives money to Richard Berman or one of the groups set up and run by his consulting firm, they’re investing in his way of doing business, which includes exploiting ‘fear and anger’ to ‘shoot the messenger,’ usually in defense of issues his clients don’t want to be publicly identified with,” said Matt Corley, CREW Research Director.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One example is Berman’s “BigGreenRadicals.com” website, an attack on four environmental organizations, the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch. The website says it is a project of the “Environmental Policy Alliance” and does not disclose Berman’s involvement. The Bradley files reveal for the first time that the foundation gave $150,000 to a Berman front group to fund this website under the misnomer “public education” (Center for Consumer Freedom, Grant Proposal Record, 11/12/2013).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In recent years, the site has been trashing environmental activists in Colorado. There has been a multi-year throw down between anti-fracking community groups battling it out against the oil and gas industry, and the national environmental groups have been lending a hand.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Richard Berman is a go-to hire for corporate bullies. If the Bradley Foundation is paying groups to focus more on political bullying, it makes sense they would support Berman’s attacks on environmental advocates,” said Connor Gibson of Greenpeace’s investigations team.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More recently, Bradley has funded another Berman front group to “expose Big Labor’s strategies and tactics, including in the policymaking arena.” Materials included in the Bradley files as examples of Berman’s work are a series of print ads accusing teachers of treating kids like garbage and ads that liken teachers’ unions to roach traps (Center for Union Facts, Grant Proposal Record, 1/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sidebar- Bradley Enemies ListBradley even has an enemies list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In board meetings and committee meetings in 2014, Bradley Foundation staff distributed and discussed a chart of “Organizations that Attack Conservatives.” The chart lists 17 groups with information about their size, funders, and leadership. The groups are a mixture of good government groups, media groups, public relations firms, and funding organizations including, in alphabetical order:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alliance for Justice; American Bridge, BerlinRosen; Center for American Progress/Think Progress Blog; Center for Media and Democracy; Change.org; Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW); Color of Change; Common Cause; Democracy Alliance; Fenton Communications; FitzGibbon Media; Media Matters for America; Mother Jones, One Wisconsin Now; Open Society Institute; and Progress Now.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A note with the chart says Bradley wanted to “survey the landscape of such groups for a more informed perspective about that which could perhaps be done to mitigate the damage they could do.” The note says the information about the groups came from two Berman websites “Activistfacts.com and CREWexposed.com, projects of the Bradley-supported Center for Consumer Freedom” (Meeting of the Implementation and Impact Committee, October 14, 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Through Berman, the Bradley Foundation can engage in unseemly opposition research and disinformation campaigns, while still keeping the appearance of a staid, philanthropic institution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the Bradley Files, Bradley has given Berman groups at least $6.5 million. Bradley gave Berman’s “Employment Policies Institute,” an organization that spreads misinformation about the effects of minimum wage increases and other workplace reforms, a total of $3,650,000 between 2009-2015; Berman’s “Center for Consumer Freedom,” a front group created to undermine public support for food-safety and animal welfare groups, $625,000 between 2009-2013; Berman’s “Center for Union Facts,” created to attack and undermine unions and collective bargaining, $2,240,000 between 2006-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley funds the “Capital Research Center” to work with Berman on projects. The Center is not part of the Berman operation, but is run by a former Berman employee, Scott Walter. It received $2.5 million from Bradley between 1998-2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But for all intents and purposes, the Bradley foundation is underwriting the activities of three people: Berman and Co. President Richard Berman, Vice President Sarah Longwell (who is often listed as the contact for Center for Consumer Freedom and many other Berman groups), and Vice President Michael Saltsman (who is also listed as the head of the Employment Policy Institute, which is located within Berman’s offices).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley bankrolls Berman for at least three sets of activities:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Disseminating studies via the Interstate Policy Alliance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Recommending state infrastructure investments</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coaching on “crisis communication” and opposition research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DISSEMINATION OF STUDIES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman’s Employment Policies Institute (EPI) was named to confuse the public with an actual think tank, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which employs a host of PhD-level economists and other support staff. Berman’s EPI has no economists on staff, but does employ “Research Director” Michael Saltsman, who has no advanced degree. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes pinned Saltsman down on that point in a remarkable interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2013, Bradley earmarked $300,000 for a new Berman project within EPI called the Interstate Policy Alliance (IPA). In 2014, the grant for the same work doubled to $600,000 and included “crisis communication” for Bradley-funded groups on the receiving end of bad publicity, and in 2015, Bradley provided $400,000. Click here for a full list of Berman IPA groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley documents describe IPA as a “discrete channel” for “studies” that could be utilized by state-based groups “to achieve maximum credibility in local and social media outlets.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Created at Bradley’s behest in 2012 and with continuing Bradley support since then, IPA is a discreet channel for the better coordination and presentation of helpful, high-quality research on existing and proposed state-level, free-market policies around the country. It provides this research, too often out of reach for many small state think tanks, and customizes it for each state to achieve maximum credibility in local- and social-media outlets. The Searle Freedom Trust has joined Bradley in support of the project” (Barder Fund, August 18, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State think tanks participating in Berman’s IPA, which include Wisconsin’s Bradley-supported MacIver Institute, do not have to pay for the research or its packaging or dissemination. They are able to easily access data that has been uploaded to a password-protected website. As needed, Berman’s IPA also helps with report writing, graphic design, news release preparation, op-ed placement and the scheduling of interviews, (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015 ).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, the Center for Media and Democracy and the Energy and Policy Institute revealed how IPA operated, when it reported that the Beacon Hill Institute was releasing misleading studies attacking President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, an ambitious multi-year effort to cut carbon pollution and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. The funding for the study came through the previously unknown group called the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In many of its sponsored research “studies,” IPA promotes fossil fuel development over renewables. This has been a long-term agenda item of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate funded bill mill and many State Policy Network “think tanks” and advocacy groups funded by Bradley. In addition, the Bradley documents examined by CMD show Bradley is funding numerous climate denial groups, including Myron Ebell’s Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One IPA report, touts the tens of billions of revenue North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia might gain from offshore oil and gas development in the Atlantic Ocean.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another report argues that fossil fuel development of federal lands in seven Rocky Mountain states will grow the economies at a faster pace than renewables.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another promotes the transfer of federal lands to states, claiming that revenues from taxes and fees will rapidly flow to states.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And yet another study criticizes the Renewable Portfolio Standards in 29 states and D.C. as costly to consumers, while ignoring any benefits to jobs or the environment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files reveal that the foundation has a previously undisclosed stream of funding to build right-wing infrastructure nationwide and is using a metric to assess the strength and depth of the infrastructure in individual states a phenomenon that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has dubbed the Bradley Blueprint.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, Bradley asked Berman’s IPA and the allied Capital Research Center (CRC) in Washington, D.C. to conduct an assessment of “second tier” states for consideration as “potential targets of opportunity” to enhance their infrastructure investments.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bradley files also laud Berman & Co.’s Vice President Saltsman, who is described variously in Bradley documents as the “executive director” of EPI and “executive director” of IPA. “The talented and energetic Saltsman’s IPA experience has exposed him to many of the strengths and weaknesses of the mid-sized state think tanks and conservative infrastructure around the country.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CRC/IPA evaluation of the quality and potential of states’ existing conservative infrastructure and recommended investments in eight states: Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and California in that order. The documents note “(Given IPA’s Bradley supported role in trying to help all state think tanks, they were quite keen on the report’s contents being kept confidential)” (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley asked Saltsman “to discreetly consult with ALEC’s Lisa Nelson, ATRF’s Grover Norquist, and Ned Ryun of the also Bradley-supported American Majority” on what states should get funding (Barder Fund, 8/18/15).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The advisors named Colorado a top tier priority. Not only is Colorado an important swing state, but Coloradan Terry Considine is on the Bradley Board of Directors. Considine is a failed Colorado politician, but a dedicated right-winger who has long served on the Board of Directors of Club for Growth, the national dark money group.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The political nature of Bradley’s investment in this swing state is made clear in a report “Colorado state-infrastructure recommendations” included in the Bradley documents. “Colorado is an important swing state with a broad base of center-right organizations and donors,” writes Bradley. The report discusses “The Gang of Four” liberal funders in the state who were featured in an “attention-getting” book called “The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care),” which details how a small group of Democratic donors helped turn the state blue. The book made a big impression on Bradley staff; a picture of the cover is included in the Bradley documents multiple times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now Bradley wants to fund institutions in Colorado in an effort to swing the pendulum back again. Bradley recommends five specific grants, including two that illustrate the political nature of the endeavor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommends $125,000 to American Majority for 2016. The grant asks for support for a new field office in the I-25 corridor, an executive director, field staffer and intern. “They would coordinate with Centennial [Institute] and Independence [Institute] to identify, train and nurture mentoring relationships with conservative Coloradans.” American Majority is an organization that trains candidates to run for office. It claims to be nonpartisan, but was founded by Republicans to train Republicans (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley recommended $250,000 to the Independence Institute in 2016. The Independence Institute is a State Policy Network member heavily funded by Bradley for both its work on climate issues and its anti-union work. The Bradley documents say it is led by “the charmingly bombastic Jon Caldara” “who has lead the creation of one of the more-effective conservative state infrastructures.” But that infrastructure has a problem. “Colorado has 3,600 local governments.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Not only does the left exercise its power and coercion through these governments, he and [the Independence Institute] believe, but it uses them as farm teams to groom people for higher office.” Caldera wants to counter this problem and “build a better bench” for the right-wing by compiling a database of every appointed and elected position in Jefferson County and conducting outreach to these officials. The Institute would coordinate its activities with American Majority, the Centennial Institute and the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Staff recommended $75,000 for this later institution (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These two investments appear to be exactly the type of political spending that might run afoul of IRS rules for permissible non-profit activity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other Colorado grantees included Colorado Christian University for its Centennial Institute ($75,000), Leadership Program of the Rockies ($75,000) and the Steamboat Institute ($50,000).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS” AND OPPOSITION RESEARCH</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley has also bankrolled the Berman team for a communications program for many years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Also at Bradley’s behest in 2012, CCF [Center for Consumer Freedom] created a related crisis-communications program for state infrastructures. It has been led by Berman vice president Sarah Longwell, formerly director of public affairs at the Bradly-supported Intercollegiate Studies Institute… CCF has consistently exposed the agenda of the activist groups that seek to attack personal freedom and its allies” (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This crisis communication work as described by Bradley relates directly to the successful, grassroots campaigning against ALEC that was sparked in 2011 after CMD published more than 800 ALEC “model bills” secretly voted on by corporate lobbyists and legislators on its website ALECexposed.org in 2011.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To quote from the Bradley files:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“In the wake of the media firestorm that engulfed the American Legislative Exchange Council last year, it was clear that a new group of influential, media-savvy activist outfits have emerged—along with a new group of targets that includes state think tanks and other entities including foundations. The Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Walmart, Johnson and Johnson, McDonalds and Wendy’s are just a few of the funders that cut ties to ALEC following the media onslaught generated by activists who successfully linked it to the shooting of Trayvon Martin.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC never saw it coming. Neither really did the Heartland Institute or Chick-fil-A see what was coming when they subsequently have been on the receiving end of similar onslaughts. Caught flat footed as the media charged ahead with the ‘Stand Your Ground’ story, ALEC had no rapid-response strategy in place to combat this runaway narrative. Berman and Co.’s advice to ALEC to be more aggressive in its response was not followed. The ‘I stand with ALEC website’ came much too late and brought far too little to its defense” (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These are “case studies,” writes Bradley staff, and “cautionary tales” for any conservative organization. Now Bradley wants to fund CCF for an “off the shelf public relations strategy for use by any such conservative outfit caught in the media crosshairs.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Already-prepared “well sourced opposition research” is key, says the Bradley grant document:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Just as CMD was able build an online dossier on ALEC that provided activists and sympathetic journalists with a base of research, so too is CCF using its data and information to build a ‘bigger and better clearinghouse of research on groups within the wider left-wing network’ as part of a rapid response strategy.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CCF boasts of training Bradley-supported “think tanks” across the nation that are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), such as North Carolina’s Civitas Institute, Michigan’s Mackinac Center, and Washington State’s Freedom Foundation. CCF asks Bradley for support to expand this type of opposition research and training to the rest of the SPN network and the Interstate Policy Alliance.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a grant proposal record, “Full Service Menu” of Berman Center for Consumer Freedom services would include, 1) support for two or three studies a year, 2) op-ed drafting and placement, 3) drafting and sending of news releases on the groups behalf, 4) compiling a media list of reporter contacts, 5) ad buying for television, radio, print and online, 6) crisis communication assistance and in-state infrastructure seminars (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, Bradley is recommending a $200,000 grant in renewed support for ALEC in 2016 as it continues to build a “comprehensive communications infrastructure” in response to citizen campaigns targeting its funders. The grant summary reads: “ALEC has been under sustained, organized attack from the Left for several years, as well-documented in Bradley Prize recipient Kimberly Strassel’s new book The Intimidation Game: How the Left Silences Free Speech. Under Executive Director Lisa Nelson and at Bradley’s urging, ALEC is aggressively, but thoughtfully responding.” “The plan consciously mimics the Left’s Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL)…the parent organization of Forecast the Facts and Color of Change.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC also redesigned and beefed up its website, deployed more social media, and partnered with CrowdSkout a data analytics company to track, view and engage supporters (ALEC, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradley outlines the bigger game plan for ALEC: “The larger plan also has an important component for aggressive ‘opposition research,’ which has yielded many beneficial outcomes, including to Strassel for her helpful book, among others.” This last comment in the Bradley documents suggests that ALEC provided Wall Street Journal editorial writer Kim Strassel with information for her book Intimidation Game. In it, Strassel portrayed the sustained citizen campaigning against ALEC as a well-funded, nefarious effort to crush the “free speech” rights of ALEC and its enormous funders, including Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and ALTRIA/Phillip Morris (Strassel received a $250,000 Bradley Prize in 2014).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As part of its opposition research funding, Bradley recommended $115,000 in 2016 for the Capital Research Center run by Bradley-ally Scott Walter to develop “an online encyclopedia of the left” in conjunction with Berman that mimics the Center for Media and Democracy’s Sourcewatch.org wiki. CRC wants to focus on the anti-ALEC groups and the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal funders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“This will be a comprehensive, wiki-style resource that provides in-depth profiles of left-of-center individuals and organizations based on the model of the Center for Media and Democracy’s website Sourcewatch.org…CRC plans to take a page out of Sourcewatch’s playbook by ensuring that its new, wiki-style encyclopedia of the left is thorough, regularly updated and written in a manner that is accurate and measured in order to attract and retain a larger audience. The website will be constructed and in partnership with Berman and Company [where Walter worked briefly as director of development], and CRC is collaborating with ALEC and the Heartland Institute to make use of their data as it builds the new website’s profile list,” (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Sourcewatch is a widely used resource that significantly influences public opinion regarding the activities of center-right groups and individuals. While there are a number of conservative resources that profile organizations and individuals on the Left (such as David Horowitz’s DiscoverTheNetworks.org, Heartland Institute’s LeftExposed.org, Berman and Company’s ActivistFacts.org and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise’s UndueInfluence.com) CDC will build upon and complement their efforts adding value through its more comprehensive coverage, superior search engine optimization, and wiki-style format,” (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Current members of the Bradley Foundation Board are Richard W. Graber (President), Art Pope (Chairman; Variety Wholesalers), Patrick J. English (Vice Chairman; Fiduciary Management, Inc.), Terry Considine (AIMCO), Curt S. Culver (MGIC), Robert P. George (Princeton University), Victor Davis Hanson (Hoover Institution), Diane Hendricks (ABC Supply Co. and Hendricks Holding Co.), Cleta Mitchell (Foley & Lardner), and James T. Barry III (The Barry Company). Former board members include Michael W. Grebe and George F. Will.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Armiak, Evan James, Nick Surgey, and Lisa Graves contributed research to this series.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see ~ CPP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">suffolk, beacon hill he paid for BS study, used by Alford?&nbsp; team red AG?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">off bs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.bermanco.com/rick-berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">vid incl PSA's http://www.bermanco.com/television-video/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tag line from 60 min wmd&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApCMdZQnuQ</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">colbert trms 60 mon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">trms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlZAeYMPEbE upload 0ct 09&nbsp; Rachel Maddow-Confronting Rick Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HE links, in fact features 3 vids</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Bulldog Public Relations Awards are a distinguished honor in the public relations industry, judged annually by a blue-ribbon panel of journalists and PR professionals. Berman and Company has won 16 Bulldog awards since 2002, including the competition's Overall Grand Prize in 2005.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Pollie Awards recognize outstanding creativity in advertising and public affairs. They are awarded annually by the American Association of Political Consultants, a bipartisan organization of political professionals from the local level to the White House. Berman and Company has claimed 52 Pollies, including Gold awards for Internet websites, and for print, broadcast, and outdoor advertising. In the past decade, Berman and Company has won more Pollie Awards for humor than any other firm.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Inhouse Design Awards from Graphic Design USA magazine honor in-house graphic design excellence, and recognize designers working within corporations, media companies, nonprofits, government, and educational institutions. InHouse Design Awards have been presented to Berman and Company 32 times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Aegis Awards are the video industry's premier peer-recognition competition for outstanding video productions and non-network TV commercials. Berman and Company's video work has won 16 Aegis Awards.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Telly Awards are the most prestigious awards honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, and video and film production at the highest levels. Berman and Company has received 7 Telly Award</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.consumerfreedom.com/about/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.consumerfreedom.com/press/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">_CREW, chipotle</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">will coggin research</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">--</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">eg</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks Crop Science and Supports Green Effort to Limit Consumer Food Choice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(August 4th, 2014)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By: Will Coggin Newspaper: The Blaze There is an ongoing battle over genetically engineered foods and Chuck Norris has entered the fray – and knocked himself out. In a recent column at WorldNetDaily, Norris saddled up with left-wing environmentalist groups … Continue reading ?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">read more here »</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Flack? Polticical operative?&nbsp; PR? watchdog?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">bush 43 recess apt to ? nope, micael NRLB</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Recess_appointments_made_by_President_George_W._Bush</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">----</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom rolls to srcwtch</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">srcwtch 7/16</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">other Berman Front Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ActivistCash.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AFT Facts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Beverage Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AnimalScam.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Big Green Radicals</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Consumer Freedom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Organizational Research and Education</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Union Facts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMDScam.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CREW Exposed</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CSPI Scam</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Defeat the Debt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EmployeeRightsAct.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Employment Policies Institute</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Enterprise Freedom Action Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EPA Facts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Green Decoys</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hands Off My Bacon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HumaneWatch.org</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Interlock Facts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Interstate Policy Alliance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LaborPains.org</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LEED Exposed</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maternity Pens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MinimumWage.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NegligentDriving.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">No Drink Tax</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ObesityMyths.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PETA Kills Animals</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Physician Scam</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protecting Bad Teachers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Responsible Limits</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rethink Reform</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rotten ACORN</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Teachers Union Exposed</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The New Prohibition</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tipped Wage</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unite Here Exposed</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vote Our Future</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">WorkerCenters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related PRWatch Articles</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anne Landman, Rick Berman's For-Profit Non-Profits Under the Microscope, PRWatch.org, June 20, 2010.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anne Landman, Rick Berman Attacks the Humane Society, PRWatch.org, February 17, 2010.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, Berman & Co.: "Nonprofit" Hustlers for the Food & Booze Biz, PRWatch, First Quarter 2001, Volume 8, No. 1.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LI</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Independent Accounting Professional</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington D.C. Metro AreaAccounting</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">dl pix</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Andrea Roberts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">at</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Zeynep Dayar</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Zeynep Dayar</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senior Software Engineer at Zoetis</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Brown</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Brown</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Management Consultant at Blockbusters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Racioppo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Racioppo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">IT Staffing at Software Guidance & Assistance</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nicholas Cramer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nicholas Cramer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bringing the bees to the cloud.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Bryant</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Bryant</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Solutions Architect at EST Group</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barclay Palmer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barclay Palmer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Executive Producer at IBT Media</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">--</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">intelius</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also Known As</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie L Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Age</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie L Berman is in her 60's</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie Has Lived In</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Orlando, FL</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mc Lean, VA</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington, DC</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie's Relatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joshua Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seth Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5557 Oxxxxx Ixxx Ln</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Orlando FL</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">dn@.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">dn@*.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">sername Matches</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DixieBerman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BermanDixie</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie.Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman.Dixie</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie_Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman_Dixie</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dixie-Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman-Dixie</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">intelis finds:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.consumerdeception.com/index.asp</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 1995, Berman and Norm Brinker, his former boss at Steak and Ale Restaurants, were identified as the special-interest lobbyists who donated the $25,000 that disgraced then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was hauled before the House Ethics Committee for influence-peddling over the money. Berman and Brinker were lobbying against raising the minimum wage. Richard Berman is a spin doctor. For example, he has argued against a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) initiative to lower the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for drivers by claiming that the stricter limits would punish responsible social drinkers. He has claimed that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warnings about salmonella-related food poisoning are just "whipping up fear over food." Here's how an internal Philip Morris memo described Berman's spin: "His proposed solution would broaden the focus of the 'smoking issue,' and expand into the bigger picture of over-regulation. Smoking won't kill you; over-regulation will. Berman is "a one-man wrecking crew on important issues. His approach has been described as "misleading" and "despicable. Berman has been called "a tobacco company whore," but he's branched out since then. Using "freedom of choice" as his battle cry, Berman has now taken on PETA and a number of other groups and organizations whose points of view could have an impact on the profits of his clients by waking consumers up. Berman's Guest Choice Network has an "advisory panel" whose members in 1998 included officials representing companies ranging from Cargill Processed Meat Products and Outback Steakhouse to Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association and Sutter Home Winery. Berman's clients are companies with vested interests in low employee wages; cheap, unhealthy restaurant-chain food, particularly meat; and tobacco, soft drink, and alcohol consumption—companies like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Armour Swift, and Philip Morris, whose product line includes Kraft Foods and everything from Marlboro cigarettes to Oscar Meyer wieners and which is a major shareholder in its former subsidiary Miller Brewing, now known as SABMiller. PETA's recent successes in gaining fast-food industry concessions for more humane conditions for farm animals have sent ripples of fear through the food and beverage service industry. About the same time that McDonald's buckled to PETA's demands, Richard Berman changed his front group's name and stepped up his attacks. The key to Berman's aggressive strategy is, in his own words, "to shoot the messenger ... we've got to attack their credibility as spokespersons,"—an interesting remark from someone whose background and funding so severely challenge his own credibility. PETA has since created a response site, PETA Saves, which discusses Richard Berman and the CCF's smear campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">....?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CCF</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">popeo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Steve_Bartlett</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Bartlett, a former Member of Congress, is President and CEO of The Financial Services Roundtable, a peak organization for the financial services industry in the United States. 2m$/yr ceo $</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://fsroundtable.org/bits/about/bio/sbartlett.htm 404</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bartlett</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harry Steven Bartlett, known as Steve Bartlett (born September 19, 1947) is the former President and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, an advocacy group lobbying the U.S. federal government on financial services legislation, a position which he held from 1999 to 2012.[2] He is a former U.S. congressman from Texas's 3rd congressional district, a mayor of Dallas, Texas, and member of the Dallas City Council.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Piling On: EFAC in Berman Anti-Union Context & Oregon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CHRIS LOWE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(This column began life as a comment on Carla Axtman's Boogeyman Boogie column, but couldn't get through the spam filter, so I am offering it separately as an adjunct background piece. Hat-tip, apologies and thanks to Carla. CL)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carl Axtman has drawn attention to Oregon's U.S. Senate race being one of several in the cross-hairs of an organized big business campaign aimed simultaneously at fighting off the challenge of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would widen the means by which workers could form unions, and at defeating Democratic senatorial candidates who might provide the margins allowing EFCA to pass. This column has a narrower focus on one of the main forces behind that campaign, lobbyist Rick Berman's astroturf empire, how it works, and why Jeff Merkley may have emerged as a particular Berman target.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To start, let us note the acronyms of the Employee Free Choice Act and the Employee Freedom Action Committee: EFCA and EFAC. This is not an accident, but a standard confusion sowing operating procedure in Rick Berman's stable of pro-corporate, anti-worker, anti-health astroturf groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Carla's WW link also points out, we've already seen the beginning of this national anti-union, anti-Democratic campaign in Oregon. Jeff Merkley was the very first of the candidates targeted by Berman & Co. The anti-Merkley anti-union broadcast and print ads that appeared shortly before the May primary were EFAC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If you go to the "States" section of the EFAC website you can tell which campaigns are being targeted by the fact that they start by saying "[Name of candidate] is doing labor union bosses' dirty work" followed by other cookie-cutter smeary boilerplate. Since you have to click on states one at a time, and only six of 33 races are targeted so far, this limited cut-and-paste lack of content takes patiences to discover. The other states just have some facts about donations to candidates.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to Merkley, Tom Allen of Maine, Bruce Lunsford of Kentucky and Al Franken of Minnesota, whom Carla mentions, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana also are on the Berman/EFAC hit list (so far).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Jeff Merkley was first. At the end of May, no other candidate was doing labor union bosses' dirty work, or if one was, EFAC's site didn't tell you that. A peek into Berman & Co.'s operations may show why.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Let's start with Berman & Co. itself. Suppose you wanted to contact Rick. Here's how: Mailing address: 1090 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005; Telephone: 202-463-7100; Fax: 202-463-7107; Email: Rick@bermanco.com.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now let's turn to labor. We find a triangular stool. One leg is EFAC. EFAC is a 501(c)4, meaning a tax-exempt non-profit corporation allowed to conduct education and advocacy around issues and legislation. Who is EFAC's Communications Director? Tim Miller. Suppose you wanted to contact Tim. Here's how: Mailing address: 1090 Vermont Ave NW. Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005; Tel.: (202) 420-7864; Fax: (202) 463-7107.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hey, look at that! Same address, and Tim and Rick have the same fax machine!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Next leg is the Center for Union Facts. The Center for Union Facts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, i.e. supposedly restricted to charitable and educational activities. You may remember CUF from the primary season too. They were the ones who ran some random-seeming anti-union ads with the tag line "Thanks, Union Bosses!" Who's their Communication Director? Well, the website doesn't say.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So how would you contact them? Mailing address -- you guessed it -- is: 1090 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005; tel.: 202-463-7106. Be careful! If you dial one digit wrong, your ear will buzz from Rick & Tim's fax machine! Remember that number.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, it turns out that CUF has a subsidiary website Teachers Union Facts, with an interesting URL: teachersunionexposed.com. Suppose you wanted "interviews, comments, or information," whom would you contact?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why, Tim Miller! E-mail miller@unionfacts.com, or call (yes!) 202-463-7106. But don't get that last digit wrong, unless you want your ear to buzz! (Wonder if that's ever happened to Bill Sizemore?)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The third anti-labor leg is the oldest, and indeed may be the oldest of Rick Berman's large Augean stable of front groups, into which following anti-union work only begins to penetrate: The Employment Policies Institute, a policy research non-profit, tax status not stated, which these days seems much concerned with the dangers of excessive minimum wages.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Who is their Communications Director? Yup, Tim Miller. I know, I know. But if you think this game is too easy, don't blame me. Take it up with Rick and Tim. Mailing address (ho hum): 1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005; Tel: 202-463-7650 ext. 109; Fax (there it is again): 202-463-7107.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, to get at a couple of other interesting things, we have to take brief excursion outside of labor and anti-union matters, though not outside of scurrilously mendacious and nasty class warfare. Let's pay a visit to The Center for Consumer Freedom, another 501(3)c.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Their Communications Director? Why, that extremely busy fellow, Tim Miller, of course. No mailing address supplied this time, but his phone contact, 202-463-7112, is eerily familiar (old parodic images of multi-phone movie mogul desks pop into my mind).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So, what's so interesting about the CCF? Actually, too much to go into here entirely.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But one thing is that CCF provides insight into the whole structure of Berman's activities. It seems that in 2005, for example, "over 40% of the expenditure" of this "charitable and educational non-profit" was paid to Berman and Company, Rick's very much for profit organization, for "management services." The pattern is standard....</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/08/this-column-beg/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">eg csm op ed payday</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2008/0506/p09s01-coop.html [ggl ban ads?]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://epafacts.com/epa-awards-sexual-harassment-and-porn-watching-with-promotions-and-bonuses/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cats:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://epafacts.com/transparency-problems/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://epafacts.com/agenda-driven-science/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">omg</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://epafacts.com/agenda-driven-science/bullying-scientists/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no bylines</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ggl finds vnr shop from berman?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a brief profile accompanying its endorsement of a telecom company, Home Front Communications has a staff of six people and was co-founded by Paul Frick. [5]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Karen_Ryan ket5chum</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alberto Garcia appeared as a 'journalist' in one of the video news releases produced for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the PR company Home Front Communications. The video extolled the virtues of the Bush Administration's changes in late 2003 to Medicare.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Home Front Communications</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2030 M Street, NW Suite 750</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Phone: 202-544-8400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fax: 202-544-5448</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Home_Front_Communications</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">60 MINUTES POLITICS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Meet Dr. Evil</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. "Dr. Evil"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Morley Safer Speaks To A Lobbyist Some People Love To Hate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CORRESPONDENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel Schorn</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;1</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This segment was originally broadcast on April 8, 2007. It was updated on July 17, 2007.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rick Berman takes a certain pride, even joy, in the nickname "Dr. Evil." But the people who use it see nothing funny about it—they mean it.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His real name is Rick Berman, a Washington lobbyist and arch-enemy of other lobbyists and do-gooders who would have government control—and even ban-a myriad of products they claim are killing us, products like caffeine, salt, fast food and the oil they fry it in. He's against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, animal rights activists, food watchdog groups and unions of every kind.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As correspondent Morley Safer reports, Berman believes we are fast becoming a nation of passive children ruled by the iron thumb of self-appointed "nannies" and he gets paid good money to keep all those "Mary Poppinses" at bay. And they have reserved a special place in hell for him.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Let me just take you through some of the things your critics have said about you. Sleazy, greedy, outrageous, deceptive, ineffective except when it comes to making money for yourself, corporate lackey who is one of the scariest people in America," Safer remarks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"You know, I grew up in the Bronx. Name-calling is not the worst thing that I've been subjected to," Berman replies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rick Berman is lawyer and a lobbyist, which some might say is bad enough, but he would say lawyer and lobbyist for personal freedom.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If the government is truly interested in my health and welfare, I'm appreciative of it. But, I think I can take care of myself," Berman tells Safer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman claims that we are quickly becoming a "nanny state," an overregulated society with ever-declining freedom of choice from how much we earn, to when we may drive, to what we eat.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He has particular contempt for so-called "food cops" who claim to know what's best for us.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"They create this Chicken Little mentality that the sky is falling over everything," Berman says. "You know, the latest study says this, the latest study says that. And they drive the government to satisfy that artificial public need."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman blames activist, safety and watchdog groups—"do-gooders run amok" he calls them—for trying to scare America into submission. He points to those endless reports, often contradictory, which offer us a dizzying array of fearful news about everyday food and drink that might just kill you: like tuna fish, chicken, diet soda, salt, and that demon, trans-fats.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I don't think that the other side should be allowed to talk and the response be intimidated into submission or silence. And so I'm the other side," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The other side as in big business, mainly the food, beverage and restaurant business, which have a vested interest in encouraging people to continue to eat, drink and be merry to their heart's delight.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman's the booze and food industry's 6'4", 64-year-old weapon of mass destruction. They hire him to front for them in the "food wars."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The businesses themselves don't find it convenient to take on causes that might seem politically incorrect, and I'm not afraid to do that," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Asked if has become a major tool for corporate America, Berman says, "My mission is not to defend corporate America."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"You're a hired gun," Safer remarks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Well, I go out to people and I say, 'Look, if you believe in what I believe, will you help fund it?' Now, I don't know if that's a hired gun or not. But, the point is, yes, I do get paid for educating people. If that's my biggest crime, I stand accused," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And it's not just the "food police" Berman goes after: it's anyone who seeks to limit or regulate our way of life, like animal rights activists, trial lawyers, and his current favorite, union leaders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And Berman uses ads to drive home the message.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"You know what I love? Paying union dues, just so I can keep my job," one TV ad says. "I really like how the union discriminates against minorities!" "Nothing makes me feel better than knowing that I'm supporting their fat-cat lifestyles. Find out the facts about union officials at unionfacts.com" "Thanks, union bosses!"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There's no sense in putting out a 17 page scientific report that nobody will read. So, I put out a 30 second commercial that makes the point," Berman explains.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">prev Next 1 / 3</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2: But the "point" is not made by Berman and Company. He has come up with a clever system of non-profit educational entities. Companies can make charitable donations to these groups, which have names like Center for Consumer Freedom and Center for Union Facts. They are neutral sounding but "educating," with a particular point of view, all perfectly legal.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman and his staff of young crusaders attack the nanny culture by combing through watchdog and government reports, seeking inconsistencies, overstatements, seizing on the one fact here or there that might discredit the research. And Berman says he's rarely disappointed. OPPO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He blasts MADD for no longer being run by mothers, and PETA, who he accused of killing animals in its care. And he questions the danger of mercury in tuna; he says it's massively over-hyped.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Web sites devoted to nanny bashing and ads showing children being exploited by union bosses are all in a day's work for Rick Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the end, Berman says it's all about "shooting the messenger."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Shooting the messenger means getting people to understand that this messenger is not as credible as their name would suggest," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While those tactics have made him rich and powerful, they have also made him mightily unpopular. Even in a mudslinging city like Washington, it's difficult to find someone who provokes as much venom as Rick Berman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"He's a one-man goon squad for any company that's willing to hire him," says Dr. Michael Jacobson, who heads the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a healthy food advocacy group. Jacobson has been the point man in the "food wars" for decades.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jacobson's declaration of war on obesity has often brought him face to face with "Dr. Evil."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Berman is against every single measure, no matter how sensible. He'd have no restrictions on tobacco advertising, junk foods galore in schools. No minimum wage," Jacobson tells Safer. "He wants to leave corporate America unfettered of any regulations that protect the public's health."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jacobson says corporate America simply hires Berman to say the nasty things they wouldn't dare say themselves.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"He's a hit man. He's dishonest, deceptive, he makes things up," Jacobson says. "He does things that the companies can't do or say themselves, badmouthing just about anybody who says anything critical of industry."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Who are the companies that support Berman?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The food industry, the beverage industry, alcoholic beverage industry, the restaurant industry's a major supporter. He doesn't disclose the names of his funders," Jacobson says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But a partial list of Berman's clients was leaked to the media some years back. Names included Coca-Cola, Tyson Chicken, Outback Steakhouse and Wendy's.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman will not confirm or deny. "You're not going to get a lot of companies who want to say that I'm funding Rick Berman to go after you. They're just not going to do it," he says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Asked if these companies are embarrassed about being associated with him, Berman says, "I think it all comes down to not wanting to be targeted. I mean, I get attacked. But, I don't get attacked for my information. I get attacked personally."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And though his business rakes in millions, Berman says it's not about the cash. He says it's a calling.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I didn't need to be doing this. I'm doing this because it's a passion of mind. I believe in what I'm doing," Berman tells Safer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"But, you're also doing it for the money. C'mon, admit it," Safer says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I was making a lot of money before I ever started this firm. I do it because I believe in it. I do it because it's the right thing to do," Berman replies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman says his methods are fair, and that he is only responding to his opponents, who consistently use scare tactic.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He has spoken out against trans-fat, that controversial frying oil under attack by city councils around the country. Berman says it's hardly the poison its enemies claim it is.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"People should not be led around by the nose with bad information," Berman says. "You can make up your own mind as to whether or not margarine is really rat poison as some people have said."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Oh come on…," Safer remarks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"But, that's what they've said," Berman replies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"You just love it when they do that, though, don't you?" Safer asks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Well, they're so stupid when they do that because they leave themselves open for criticism," Berman says. "And that's the tension between these communication battles. Somebody exaggerating the hell out of a story and someone like myself coming in and saying, 'What in the world were you thinking.'"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And on the very genuine issue of increasing obesity in this country, Berman's blood boils when people describe it as an "epidemic" or "disease."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There are people, the morbidly obese who truly do have a problem in this country. I mean, these are the people who when you see them walk down the street, you get the feeling that their butt is another zip code. OK, I understand that. Okay? That's a problem. Those people are at a health risk. But this whole issue that it's a disease, that it's not your fault that you're fat. I mean, if this is a disease, this is going to be the only disease in the country that you could solve by taking long walks and keeping your mouth shut. This is a personal responsibility issue in most cases," Berman says.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I understand that and a lot of social activists and the government to some extent is trying to get these people to change these bad habits," Safer remarks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I have no problem with education. But, education turns into regulation, you know?" Berman says. "As the government gets deeper and deeper into people's lives, they start to dictate more and more. If a bartender can cut you off for visibly being intoxicated, why won't we get to the point where a restaurant operator is not allowed to let you order dessert? I mean, you could get there."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Oh, it sounds ridiculous, right? 'Well, I can't imagine that.' But, imagine ten steps to get there and all of the sudden it doesn't appear so crazy," Berman adds.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And that is how Dr. Evil frames almost any issue he fights—resist or big nanny will crush you.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He says MADD won't be happy until there is a breathalyzer in every car. Caffeine and salt will disappear, America will be regulated to a police state, one without French fries or foie gras.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I am not opposed to stopping any of the stuff that's really bad. But, I am opposed to making the problem seem worse than it is. And these groups will make it seem so bad so it justifies their Draconian solutions," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Michael Jacobson says Berman, in his malevolence, is distorting deathly serious issues that will have long term effects on Americans.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"An occasional hot dog is not gonna kill anybody. But, when you're having fettuccini Alfredo one night and the next day you have a double whopper with cheese at Burger King and the next day you go over to Denny's and you have one of their enormous breakfasts, that's what's killing us. Half a million people die every year of heart disease," Jacobson says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Asked if Berman believes in what he does, Jacobson says, "He's a PR guy. How you can believe anything he says? I think he's in favor of making a lot of money."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"But I think he does hit a nerve in this country when he goes after the nanny state that everything you do is being controlled by Big Mother," Safer remarks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Yeah. Isn't it terrible? We have health departments that are trying to clean up restaurants, environmental agencies that are trying to clean the air and the water. It's just terrible," Jacobson says. "I think it's great that government sometimes protects the public's welfare. And he's there protecting industry."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman concedes government has a role, but says for the most part the marketplace will self-regulate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If the other side thinks that I'm all of these bad things, the one thing that they must think is I'm effective, or else they wouldn't be bitching about it so much," Berman says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The fact is you enjoy being the contrarian. You like to be out there," Safer says.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Well, I don't want to be in a business where it's a me-too thing, where everybody's saying the same thing, and I'm saying, 'Oh by the way, I agree,'" Berman replies. "I'm not afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman says he rates his success by one simple measure: is he making people think twice? DOUBT = WIN</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As for his critics, Berman says, "I say to them, 'Look, once you get past the name-calling, tell me what's wrong with our statistics. Tell me what's wrong with our science.' Have I said anything that's wrong, or am I just objectionable? And if I'm objectionable, I say, 'Take a deep breath and get over it. I'm not going away.'"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Produced By Deirdre Naphin and Katy Textor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2x?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This is a beta version of NNDB</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard B. Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Born: c. 1942</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Birthplace: Bronx, NY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gender: Male</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Race or Ethnicity: White</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sexual orientation: Straight</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Occupation: Activist</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Party Affiliation: Republican</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nationality: United States</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Executive summary: Astroturf spindoctor</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Public relations maven and owner of Berman & Company, a DC-based PR firm known for setting up political groups designed to look like grassroots efforts, but funded by corporate interests backing the tobacco industry, restaurant chains, beer conglomerates, etc.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; University: Transylvania University, Lexington, KY (1964)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Law School: JD, College of William and Mary</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; American Beverage Institute&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Center for Consumer Freedom&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Center for Union Facts&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Employment Policies Institute&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Brinker International Lobbyist</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Pillsbury Executive Vice President, Pillsbury Restaurant Group (1984-86)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Steak and Ale Senior Vice President (1975-84)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; US Chamber of Commerce Labor law director (1972-74)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Dana corporate lawyer (1969-72)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Bethlehem Steel labor law attorney (1967-69)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; DeMint for Senate Committee&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; George W. Bush for President&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; John McCain 2008&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; National Republican Senatorial Committee&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Newt 2012&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; The Western Way PAC&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; District of Columbia Bar 21-Jan-1975</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; Virginia Bar Association&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.nndb.com/people/392/000130999/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">coc 3</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://shutthechamber.org/news/american-rights-work-us-chambers-anti-union-agenda</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s most powerful business lobbying organization1, has been campaigning against unions, fair labor practices, increases in the minimum wage, and legal protections for America’s workers for nearly a century.&nbsp; The Chamber’s anti-union initiatives are just one part of its multi-issue agenda.&nbsp; Unlike other anti-union organizations, this prominent lobbying force does not hide its alignment with big business.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Chamber has an annual budget of $150 million2 and 300 staff members.3&nbsp; With President Thomas J. Donohue at the helm, annual contributions to the hamber from its largest corporate members rose from $600,000 to $90 million in less than a decade.4&nbsp; Since he took office in 1997, Donohue has built a more aggressive and politically-powerful Chamber not afraid to take on controversial issues at the request of its large corporate donors and the Bush White House.5&nbsp; This direction has caused the Business Roundtable and other moderate members of the business community to distance themselves from the organization.6</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Even when Donohue first took office Business Week expressed caution at his “frontal assault on unions,” commenting that “Polls show strong public support for giving workers their piece of an expanding economic pie.”7&nbsp; Although an increasing number of its member organizations pursue cooperative and socially-responsible labor relations, the Chamber continues to advocate against unions, and appears to be ramping up its attack.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Role of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the Anti-Union Network</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lobbying</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2004, the Chamber spent $24.5 million lobbying the federal government.8</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber works closely with the Bush administration9 and prominent anti-labor conservatives on Capitol Hill such as Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA), head of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.&nbsp; An anti-workplace safety zealot, Norwood was given the Chamber’s Spirit of Enterprise Award for his pro-Chamber voting record.&nbsp; Norwood caused controversy this year for his insensitivity during Congressional hearings on the Sago mineworkers tragedy, and for lobbying loudly against renewal of the Voting Rights Act.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber lobbies to oppose pro-worker legislation, including the Family Time and Workplace Flexibility Act, Fair Minimum Wage Act, and an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act.10</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Among the Chamber’s legislative priorities is opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act , which would strengthen labor law and provide workers with the right to union representation via the card check process when a majority present signed union authorization cards to their employers.11&nbsp; On May 4, 2006, the Chamber sent a letter to all Republican members of Congress urging them to support the Secret Ballot Protection Act,12 which would outlaw union recognition through card check.&nbsp; The Chamber also operates a website urging its members to pressure Congress on the issue.13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Litigation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Its recent litigation efforts include an attempt to strike down a California law prohibiting the use of tax dollars for anti-union activity, and litigation to overturn county “Peace Agreement” ordinances.14</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber recently filed amicus briefs in two significant cases before the National Labor Relations Board to argue for rulings that limit the ability of workers to form unions.&nbsp; One case could define millions of workers as supervisors, revoking their right to organize, and the other could effectively quash the card check method of organizing.15</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber has also lobbied the Bush administration on nominations to the National Labor Relations Board,16 and succeeded in placing one of their staffers on the Board.&nbsp; In 2002, President Bush appointed Michael Bartlett, then Director of Labor Law Policy for the Chamber, to sit on the five-member Board in a recess appointment that lasted nearly one year.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sponsoring propaganda</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For decades, labor-community coalitions have joined together to hold corporations accountable for their treatment of employees.&nbsp; Recently, the Chamber published a briefing book aimed at attacking the motives and methods of these so-called ‘corporate campaigns.’17&nbsp; The author, Jarol B. Manheim, a George Washington University political scientist, not only villifies corporate campaigns, but finds danger in any critique of the corporate world.&nbsp; Manheim previously testified about the subject before Rep. Norwood’s House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in 2002,18 and also serves as a consultant on anti-union matters, having written a confidential “Positioning Memo” to help Verizon in its intense efforts to fight its employees’ union activity.19</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber is reportedly behind the launch of a new, aggressive propaganda campaign against unions by “notorious DC lobbyist” Richard Berman.&nbsp; In February 2006, with the assistance of Chamber labor lobbyist Randel Johnson,20 Berman created the Center for Union Facts, a new front group responsible for a steady stream of anti-union TV commercials and full-page ads in major daily newspapers.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Union Facts’ legislative agenda is strikingly similar to the Chamber’s.&nbsp; Berman has admitted to launching the Center for the purpose of halting workers’ ability to form unions through card check and to support the Chamber-backed Secret Ballot Protection Act sponsored by Charlie Norwood, which would outlaw the currently voluntary card check process.21&nbsp; Berman also recently divulged to The Wall Street Journal that the Center was formed to “wage a campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act,” bipartisan legislation that would require employers to recognize unions formed by the card check process, which the Chamber also adamantly opposes.22</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman has utilized Chamber connections for fundraising. Berman told The New York Times that he asked Chamber of Commerce officials at a state conference to recommend that businesses in their states donate to his anti-union campaign.23&nbsp; Berman has declined to say who has pumped $3 millioninto his group, beyond claiming that funding comes from corporations, foundations, trade associations, and individuals.24&nbsp; Randel Johnson has repeatedly denied any Chamber funding of the Center, yet admitted “he had served as an adviser to the Center.”25</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman does have longstanding ties with the Chamber, having served as its labor law director, planning union avoidance strategies for the organization from 1972-74.26</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Connections to players in the anti-union movement</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A number of key players in the conservative movement have worked for the Chamber, including Grover Norquist, who served as the Chamber’s chief speechwriter in the 1980s.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chamber does not pursue its anti-union agenda alone, it coordinates with a number of players in the anti-union movement.&nbsp; For instance, it participates in Grover Norquist’s Alliance for Worker Freedom “Labor Reform Working Group” meetings.&nbsp; The agenda of the December 2005 meeting of this group focused on a range of union-related issues, including card check, project labor agreements, and the Department of Labor’s new database on union information.27&nbsp; Attendees included Richard Berman, along with representatives from the Chamber, the DOL, the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors, Senator Bill Frist’s office, and Rep. Charlie Norwood’s office.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You'd think a group called the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) would be dedicated to promoting the needs and desires of America's workers. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, CDW spreads half-truths and lies about the Employee Free Choice Act to wage an ill-conceived assault on the rights and opportunities of millions of men and women across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Here's the real scoop on the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CDW is a front group for business associations, industry lobbying groups, and right-wing policy centers who are against workers getting a fair shake in this economy. Its financial backers include some of the most virulent anti-worker and anti-union organizations in the country, including:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s most powerful business lobbying organization,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a group whose biggest member is Wal-Mart, the poster child for low wages,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">and the Associated Builders and Contractors, an association of anti-union contractors who fight against workers having unions to improve their wages and safety on the job.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CDW is doing the dirty work for CEOs and corporate special interests. Too ashamed to be fighting publicly against policies that would provide workers with real economic opportunities, these companies instead use their deep pockets and powerful influence to fund CDW’s dishonest PR and lobbying campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CEOs and multimillion dollar business industry groups backing CDW don’t care about democracy or privacy. They’re distorting the truth because they want to stop workers from having a better standard of living, access to health care, job security, and the rest of the benefits that accompany union membership.&nbsp; These same groups oppose everything from paid sick days to fair pay and even the hugely popular Family and Medical Leave Act. It's unbelievable that business interests would suddenly care about privacy now, when corporations increasingly monitor employees’ every move – including e-mail, phone calls, personal belongings, and even interactions outside of the workplace.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CDW spreads misinformation.&nbsp; Contrary to the lies and distortions displayed in CDW’s new TV ad and on its website, the Employee Free Choice Act does not take secret ballots away from workers. The legislation instead offers employees an alternative to the current, broken system that is slanted heavily in favor of management against workers. In fact, the bill would ensure that workers can choose their own union formation process, either through majority sign-up or a National Labor Relations Board election.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CDW’s own data and research is flawed. Instead of using well-respected academic research and public opinion surveys to test the merits and support for the Employee Free Choice Act, CDW released a poll in April 2008 claiming widespread opposition to the bill. However, even the most conservative political scientists and pundits could easily review the poll’s loaded questions and determine that it in no way accurately tested the public’s perceptions on the issue.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">My colleagues Aliya Haq and Laurie Johnson recently exposed the new hack-job attacks on the Clean Power Plan by Berman and Associates, an aggressive, polluter-funded public relations firm based in Washington, DC. Berman's 'study' (really a gross attempt at stacking up worse-than-worst-case costs and ignoring the benefits) includes attacks on clean energy in Nevada and New Mexico. The reports don't say much about methodology, but as my colleague Laurie points out, there isn't much to it. It's so filled with inaccuracies and blatant falsehoods hard to know where to begin.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">My question: Who asked Berman to bring his junk science out west?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Mexico and Nevada are both in great positions to meet and beat EPA's Clean Power plan: utilities in both states have plans to retire part (in NM) or all (in NV) of their dirty coal assets over the coming years and few states have better clean energy opportunities (check out the NREL solar, wind and geothermal potential maps). Costs for wind and solar in the West are at all-time lows and both states could see huge benefits from increasing clean energy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Mexico and Colorado utility regulators recently approved a wind power purchase by utilities because it was cheaper than any fossil alternative.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada is already exporting solar power to California and with the rise of the new joint energy market with California; it is poised to sell even more. Nevada's Republican Governor Brian Sandoval signed legislation supported by the state's largest utility to end dependence on coal and bring in more renewable energy. That legislation will make compliance with EPA's proposed standard remarkably easy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In New Mexico the 'report' is being released by the Rio Grande Foundation, a right-wing group funded by the Koch brothers. But it's not Berman's first hit-piece in New Mexico. Last year, one of his employees published an attack on clean energy in the Albuquerque Journal. Which begs the question: who is paying Berman to attack clean energy in the west?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Berman brags about his his ability to hide his funders. The Guardian reports:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"People always ask me one question all the time: 'How do I know that I won't be found out as a supporter of what you're doing?'" Berman told a conference of energy executives last year. The talk was secretly recorded and leaked to the New York Times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We run all of this stuff through non-profit organisations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don't know who supports us," Berman told the energy executives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Perhaps the funders of this latest attack will remain in the dark. Fine, but let's leave their 'reports' out with the trash.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TAGS:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">actonclimatealecbermancarbonpollutionstandardscleanenergycleanpowerplanclimatechangenevadanewmexicorenewableenergysolarwind</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">top dark $</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Enterprise Freedom Action Cmte</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">hides all info</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div></div>