Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 27, 2016

B4

OPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 27, 2016 


The mainstream 
media 
has a tough 
time “balancing” 
the coverage 
of a presidential campaign 
where one candidate is temperamentally 
suited for the Oval Office 
and the other candidate belongs in 
a middle school locker room, snapping 
wet towels. 

 But in the service of “balance,” the 
media is trying its best nonetheless. 
This week, for instance, the Associated 
Press has targeted the Clinton 
Foundation — isn’t everyone? — 
looking for the ever-elusive smoking 
gun, the incontrovertible evidence 
that Hillary turned the State 
Department into a “pay for play” 
playground for the fat cats who 
pumped money into her family’s 
charitable group. The AP found 
zilch.

 People who think the mainstream 
press is “in the tank” for Hillary 
should check out the AP’s social 
media drumbeat. When the story 
was posted on Tuesday afternoon, 
it was accompanied by two promotional 
items that were designed to 
rivet our eyeballs:

“AP analysis: More than half 
those who met Clinton as Cabinet 
secretary gave money to Clinton 
Foundation.”

And this:

“At least 85 of 154 people who met 
or had phone conversations with 
HC while she was SOS donated or 
pledged commitments to her family 
charity.”

Wow, more than half! 85 of 154 
people! That looks really bad - until 
you stop and think and say to 
yourself, “Wait a sec. Hillary Clinton 
was Secretary of State for four 
years...and in all that time she met 
or had phone chats with only 154 
people? Is that really true?”

 Of course not. You rack up the hits 
on social media only if you keep 
things simple. Nuance is the enemy.

 By all accounts, Clinton during her 
tenure met worldwide with roughly 
1700 people. The AP simply decided 
to eliminate, from its tally, 
everyone who worked in any capacity 
for any government, foreign or 
domestic. That’s how the AP got it 
down to 154. In other words, during 
Clinton’s four-year tenure, 85 
of the 1700 people she dealt with - a 
mere five percent - had donated or 
pledged to the Clinton Foundation. 

 Which in itself should not be surprising, 
because the Foundation 
does good works around the world 
(fighting poverty and AIDS, stuff 
like that), and any State Department 
leader is destined as a matter 
of course to encounter philanthropists 
and other heavy hitters who 
have an abiding interest in those 
good works.

 You might ask, “OK, but what 
about those five percent? That’s still 
85 people. That’s enough to show a 
pattern of pay-to-play, the trading 
of cash for favors.”

 Which brings us to the case of 
Muhammad Yumus. This was the 
AP’s showcase attempt to prove 
pay-to-play.

 Yumus is an anti-poverty activist 
and economist based in Bangladesh. 
He gave money to the Clinton 
Foundation - not personally, 
but through a nonprofit bank that 
he chaired. During Hillary’s time at 
State, he was clashing with the Bangladeshi 
government over his tenure 
on the nonprofit bank board. 
He asked for her help in three meetings, 
and, as the story reported, “she 
ordered aides to find ways to assist 
him.” He later resigned from the 
board, and Clinton emailed one of 
her aides, “Sad indeed.” Somehow, 
this revelation has failed to take my 
breath away.

 I suppose you could argue that she 
wanted to help Yumus because his 
bank had donated to the Foundation. 
But it’s way too facile to say 
that he bought access. Thing is, you 
could just as easily argue that she 
wanted to help him because (1) he’s 
the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, 
(2) he has been awarded the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom, (3) he 
has been awarded a Congressional 
Gold Medal, (4) he has been listed 
as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s 
“top 100 global thinkers,” ranking 
one notch from the very top, and 
(5) he has served on the board of the 
United Nations Foundation.

 Granted, the Clintons made things 
worse for themselves by running a 
charitable group while Hillary was 
in office, the kind of arrangement 
that typically (as the AP put it) “fuels 
perceptions” of derring do. But 
there is no “growing proof of pay-
to-play,” despite all the mainstream 
media’s exertions to “balance” campaign 
coverage.

 Someone should also remind Reince 
Priebus that Donald Trump 
has given $110,000 to the Clinton 
Foundation (and has received no favors 
in return), and presumably he 
has done so because, in the words 
of current campaign manager Kellyanne 
Conway, the Clinton group 
“does a lot of good work.” 

 Now there’s a revelation. Even a 
Trump spinner will occasionally let 
slip the truth.

DICK Polman

Mountain 
Views

News

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Susan Henderson

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CONTRIBUTORS

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Howard Hays

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Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Joe Frontino

Rich Johnson

Merri Jill Finstrom

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Rev. James Snyder

Dr. Tina Paul

Mary Carney

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Greg Welborn

Renee Quenell

Ben Show

Sean Kayden

Marc Garlett


SUSAN Henderson

LET’S CHEW ON THE NEW 
CLINTON FOUNDATION 
NOTHINGBURGER

CHOKING ON SMOKE SCREENS AND 
RED HERRINGS!

Talking about air pollution 
and unhealthy eating, that 
is exactly what the 2016 
Presidential race political 
climate is full of. Don’t 
breathe or your brain cells 
may just become so congested 
that you can’t distinguish fact 
from fiction. And for heaven’s sake, stop ingesting the 
red herrings. A smoke screen is something that you 
do or say to hide something or to take attention away 
from something. A Red herring is a kind of fallacy that 
is an irrelevant topic introduced in an argument to 
divert the attention of listeners or readers from the 
original issue. If you keep ingesting either, you will 
have what is equivalent to a bad hangover or bad case of 
indigestion. You know the feeling - it makes you so sick 
that whatever it was that made you sick, you never want 
to do whatever caused it again. 

 Every single day we are bombarded with innuendos 
and sometimes outright lies about what Secretary 
Clinton has allegedly done. It pains me to hear people 
that I value say that “she’s just not trustworthy” and 
when you ask them to tell you specifically what they 
mean, they cannot articulate it or they give you half of 
a half-baked rumor. It also pains me to hear people 
adamant about what shouldn’t have been done when 
she was Secretary of State, especially when they cannot 
even tell you what it is that the Secretary of State is 
responsible for. (See Inset)

 I’m not going to go through the long list of smoke 
screens - ‘lies’ that Trump has bombarded the public 
with, I just ask that the next time you hear anything he 
says about his opponent go online and get the the real 
facts. Guess what, you’ll find, as the FBI Director did, 
that the accusations are without foundation. Trump’s 
statements, like his calling Secretary Clinton bigot or 
unhealthy are just meant to grab attention. Trump just 
keeps the air filled with smokescreens and red herrings 
in an effort to make you really think that he is perfect 
and she is the devil. 

 My eighth grade English teacher used to have an 
expression that she used to engage our minds, “Now 
you think about that.” Funny that her words come to 
mind as I’m writing this article but that is exactly what 
we need to do. Think about what is being said by this 
man who will stop at nothing to try to win.

 

Think about it: Do you really want any Secretary of 
State, past or present, to disclose the intimate details 
of how America operates to the world? When you 
listen to Clinton’s testimony before Congress listen to 
her answers in their entirety, and note her statement 
when she denied receiving or sending classified emails, 
“….and that’s all I can say.” 

Think about it: Why is it that when she is exonerated 
by both the investigation into Benghazi and her Emails, 
suddenly that doesn’t matter. These investigations were 
called upon by Republicans and when they didn’t get 
the outcome they wanted from their chosen inquisitors 
they call for us to waste more money, spend more of 
our taxpayer dollars with further investigations and 
yet they can’t seem to find any money or time to fight 
our current health threat (Zika Virus), a solution to 
our gun problem or cure the raping of Americans by 
Pharmaceutical companies (i.e., the $600.00 epi-pen).

Think about it: Why is Trump on the Smoke and Red 
Herring diet instead of showing potential voters why 
he thinks his policies, item by item, are more beneficial 
for the country than his opponent’s. That’s pretty easy 
though because he has no specific policies, at least none 
that he stays committed to more than a sound bite at a 
time.

It really is the time to clear the air. Creating dust 
storms to obscure real issues is irresponsible. Diverting 
attention from discussion of real issues isn’t funny. This 
isn’t 3rd grade or a reality show for entertainment. This 
man is playing with our lives and children’s future. 

WHAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE DOES:

(Partial Listing from the U.S. State Department) 

Under the Constitution, the President of the United States 
determines U.S. foreign policy. The Secretary of State, 
appointed by the President with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. 
The Secretary of State’s duties relating to foreign affairs 
have not changed significantly since 1789, but they have 
become far more complex as international commitments 
multiplied. These duties -- the activities and responsibilities 
of the State Department -- include the following:

 Serves as the President’s principal adviser on U.S. foreign 
policy;

 Conducts negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs;

 Grants and issues passports to American citizens and 
exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United States;

 Advises the President on the appointment of U.S. 
ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and other diplomatic 
representatives;

 Advises the President regarding the acceptance, 
recall, and dismissal of the representatives of foreign 
governments;

Personally participates in or directs U.S. representatives to 
international conferences, organizations, and agencies;

 Negotiates, interprets, and terminates treaties and 
agreements;

 Ensures the protection of the U.S. Government to 
American citizens, property, and interests in foreign 
countries;

 Supervises the administration of U.S. immigration laws 
abroad;

 Provides information to American citizens regarding 
the political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian 
conditions in foreign countries;

 Informs the Congress and American citizens on the 
conduct of U.S. foreign relations;

 Promotes beneficial economic intercourse between the 
United States and other countries;

Administers the Department of State;

Supervises the Foreign Service of the United States.

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ICYMI: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CLINTON FOUNDATION:

“When I left the White House in 2001 and 
returned to life as a private citizen, I wanted 
to continue working in areas I had long 
cared about, where I believed I could still 
make an impact. That’s what the Clinton 
Foundation has tried to do, by creating 
opportunities and solving problems faster, 
better, at lower cost so that more people 
are empowered to build better futures 
for themselves, their families, and their 
communities. I am grateful to everyone 
in the U.S. and across the world who has 
been involved in our work, and especially 
grateful to Chelsea for her role in increasing 
scope and impact. 

 From day one, the Foundation has 
pursued its mission through partnerships 
with governments, the private sector, 
other foundations, and philanthropists, 
creating networks of cooperation that are 
focused on results. In 2005, we convened 
the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to give 
people all over the world the chance to do 
the same thing.

 These efforts have improved millions of 
lives around the world. For example: 

- More than 11.5 million people in over 
70 countries have access to lifesaving 
HIV/AIDS drugs at 90 percent lower cost 
through our affiliated Clinton Health Access 
Initiative (CHAI), including more than 
800,000 children. That’s more than half the 
adults and three quarters of the children on 
treatment today.

 

- CHAI has also organized the training of 
thousands of health care workers as part 
of an effort to address critical shortages in 
poor countries and help others build strong, 
self-sufficient health systems, and expanded 
access to high-quality, low-cost treatment 
and diagnostics for many other diseases and 
conditions.

 

- Through our work with the affiliated 
Alliance for a Healthier Generation, more 
than 18 million students in over 31,000 
American schools, in every state, now have 
healthier food and more physical activity 
options, and our agreements with the 
beverage industry have reduced the caloric 
intake from drinks by 90 percent in the vast 
majority of U.S. schools.

 

- Our Health Matters Initiative is working 
in six communities to improve health and 
has worked with innovative drug companies 
to help reverse opioid overdoses and combat 
prescription painkiller misuse by lowering 
the cost of autoinjection naloxone and 
making naloxone nasal spray available to 
every high school in the U.S. at no cost.

 

- The Foundation’s Haiti initiative has 
promoted sustainable investment resulting 
in the planting of more than 5 million trees, 
the development of 5 new agricultural 
supply chains benefiting more than 4,000 
smallholder farmers, and support for more 
than 20 entrepreneurial businesses. And 
members of CGI’s Haiti Action Network 
have made more than 100 Commitments to 
Action to strengthen the health, education, 
agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.

 

- Our climate change projects have reduced 
greenhouse gas emissions by more than 
33,500 tons annually across the U.S. We’ve 
also partnered on reforestation and land 
restoration efforts in South America and 
East Africa, and are working with island 
nations to develop renewable energy 
projects and reduce dependence on 
expensive imported diesel and petroleum.

 

- More than 500,000 people in Latin America 
are benefiting from social enterprises that 
connect people to job training, supply chains, 
and entrepreneurship opportunities. 

 

- More than 105,000 farmers in East Africa 
have dramatically increased their yields and 
their incomes.

 

- And, through Too Small to Fail (TSTF), 
we are working with the faith-based 
community, pediatricians, community and 
business leaders, and Head Start educators 
to provide parents with resources in everyday 
settings to support their young children’s 
early brain and language development, 
and have reached 155,000 parents with tips 
through direct text messages. 

 I have found great joy in simple moments 
shared with people who are benefiting from 
our work: holding a baby who is alive and 
healthy because he now has access to AIDS 
medication; planting rows of seeds with 
smallholder farmers in Malawi and hearing 
about how our programs have lifted their 
incomes, enabling them to send their 
children to school and electrify their homes; 
meeting with female entrepreneurs in Peru 
who are earning a good living for the first 
time in their lives by providing essential 
goods to their remote communities. This 
work has been my life for the last 15 years, 
and I couldn’t be more grateful.

 Since Hillary began her presidential 
campaign in 2015, Chelsea and I have 
made it clear that the work the Clinton 
Foundation started should continue if 
Hillary is elected, but that changes would be 
necessary. While it would be presumptive 
to assume a victory in November, now that 
Hillary is her party’s nominee, it would be 
irresponsible not to plan for it.

 If Hillary is elected president, the 
Foundation’s work, funding, global reach, 
and my role in it will present questions 
that must be resolved in a way that keeps 
the good work going while eliminating 
legitimate concerns about potential 
conflicts of interest. Over the last several 
months, members of the Foundation’s 
senior leadership, Chelsea, and I have 
evaluated how the Foundation should 
operate if Hillary is elected. Throughout 
the process, our top priorities have been 
preserving our most important programs, 
supporting the people who work for the 
Foundation and its affiliated programs, 
and resolving legitimate conflict of interest 
questions.

 If she is elected, we will immediately 
implement the following changes: The 
Foundation will accept contributions only 
from U.S. citizens, permanent residents, 
and U.S.-based independent foundations, 
whose names we will continue to make 
public on a quarterly basis. And we will 
change the official name from the Bill, 
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation to 
the Clinton Foundation.

 While I will continue to support the 
work of the Foundation, I will step down 
from the Board and will no longer raise 
funds for it.

 Much of the Foundation’s international 
work, like that of most global NGOs, is 
funded in part by donor governments’ 
bilateral aid programs. If Hillary is elected, 
we will transition those programs out of 
the Foundation to other organizations 
committed to continuing their work. Doing 
this in a way that ensures continuity and 
is respectful of all the employees working 
around the world will take time. We will 
complete these transitions as soon as we 
can do so responsibly. 

 With respect to CHAI, I will step down 
from the Board. We, along with the CHAI 
Board, are additionally considering a range 
of options to ensure that its vital work will 
continue and will announce details soon.

 The Clinton Foundation was originally 
established to build the Clinton Presidential 
Center and Library in Little Rock, and the 
work there will continue regardless of the 
outcome of the election. Since opening its 
doors 12 years ago, more than 4 million 
people have visited the Center and it 
has helped to inspire new generations 
of leaders—including through the 
Presidential Leadership Scholars program, 
a bipartisan educational partnership with 
the George W. Bush Presidential Center, 
the George Bush Presidential Library 
Foundation, and the Lyndon Baines 
Johnson Foundation. The Center has lived 
up to my vision and much more, including 
as an important educational and cultural 
resource and driver of economic growth for 
the Little Rock community. 

 Finally, the Clinton Global Initiative 
(CGI) has accomplished even more than 
I dreamed when it began in 2005, and 
we’ve made the decision that the Annual 
Meeting this September will be the last, 
and that we will no longer hold our CGI 
America meetings. Nine years ago in my 
book Giving, I wrote, “I want to continue 
these meetings for at least a decade, with 
the objective of creating a global network 
of citizen activists who reach across the 
divides of our interdependent world to build 
real communities of shared opportunities, 
shared responsibilities, and a genuine sense 
of belonging.” That is exactly what CGI, its 
members, and its dedicated staff have done. 

 We started CGI to create a new kind of 
community built around the new realities 
of our modern world, where problem-
solving requires the active partnership of 
government, business, and civil society. 
We’ve brought together leaders from across 
sectors and around the world both to 
talk about our challenges, and to commit 
publicly to actually do something about 
them. It was something different, but our 
bet paid off: there was a hunger for the 
chance to make an impact that brought 
together people and organizations with the 
resources to make a difference with people 
who have the knowledge and experience to 
turn good ideas into action. Corporations, 
governments, and non-governmental 
organizations began combining their 
strengths and finding entirely new 
approaches to old problems. CGI quickly 
became an embodiment of what works best 
in the 21st-century world, and what has 
been behind all of the Clinton Foundation’s 
work since the very beginning: networks of 
cooperation.

 This partnership model, which may seem 
self-evident today, was simply not how 
philanthropy and corporate responsibility 
worked over a decade ago. Today, members 
of the Clinton Global Initiative have made 
more than 3,500 commitments that are 
already improving over 430 million lives 
in more than 180 countries. These projects 
will continue to make an impact around the 
world and in the U.S. The idea that working 
together beats going it alone has caught on 
well beyond our CGI community. 

 `It’s been one of the great honors of my 
life to be part of this special community, 
and I hope the hard work and benefits of 
CGI’s great staff and its members’ creative 
cooperation will keep rippling out into the 
world. The commitment model has been 
adopted by other forums and I hope that 
more will do so, or that new organizations 
will arise to do this work. While this year 
will be the last for the CGI Annual Meeting 
and CGI America, I hope and believe we 
can and should preserve CGI University 
(CGI U), our meeting that brings university 
students together to develop innovative 
solutions to important challenges in the 
U.S. and around the world.

 In addition to continuing CGI U and all 
of the activities of the Clinton Presidential 
Center, the Foundation will also continue 
those domestic programs that can be 
maintained with the funding restrictions 
we announced today.

 The process of determining the Clinton 
Foundation’s future if Hillary becomes 
President has not been easy. It’s an 
unprecedented situation, so there’s no 
blueprint to follow. Part of what has 
made the Foundation successful over the 
last 15 years has been our understanding 
that solving problems and creating 
opportunities faster, better, and in the 
most cost-effective way sometimes means 
changing course.

 Working alongside so many passionate 
people around the world who share our 
goals and believe in our approach has made 
these 15 years one of the most rewarding 
chapters of my life, as I know it has been 
for Chelsea. While my role in that work 
will change, the work itself should continue 
because so many people are committed to it 
and so many more are relying on it.

 Chelsea and I are very proud of what the 
Clinton Foundation, its affiliates, and its 
partners have accomplished, and we are 
profoundly grateful to the staff, to those 
who have funded our work, and to all the 
people with whom we have worked and 
from whom we have learned so much. We 
will try to be faithful to them, their values, 
and their work in effecting this transition 
as quickly and effectively as possible.”

 

Sincerely, 

Bill Clinton

 

 The Clinton Foundation convenes 
businesses, governments, NGOs, and 
individuals to improve global health and 
wellness, increase opportunity for girls and 
women, reduce childhood obesity, create 
economic opportunity and growth, and help 
communities address the effects of climate 
change.

https://www.clintonfoundation.org

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