VIDEO: Stephen Colbert learns about farms for Farm Aid

Comments

1. Roland says:
   October 15, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   I’m not sure how to feel about this.

   I’ve given the farmaid site a review. The board of directors seems to be people I think are respectable, and will make good decisions. However, they essentially are acting as a clearinghouse for other NPO who are seeking funding. I’m not willing to give money to this charity who is acting as a promotion tool.

   I have not seen an exact break down of expense reports on where which money goes where. How much money goes into lobbying? None of this information is present and as much as I think think the Board is respectable, I do not intend to give to them without that information. They list grant programs that they give to, and if I see one that interests me, I would much rather give directly to them then go through a middle man who takes 3% of the cut.

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   • DB says:
     October 15, 2009 at 10:21 pm

     It’s good that you research charities before you donate to them. There are many who, as you stipulate, have way more overhead than is necessary. And you are right, many charities pour money into lobbying and other activities that do not benefit the people who the donors intended it to benefit.

     However, Farm Aid has been around for many, many years (since 1985). If you are concerned about the overhead that is going into the charity, you are more than welcome to check out their annual public report that shows that 86% of their funding went to the farmers in their aid programs. As far as large-scale charities go, that is a very reputable amount.

     I’m sure that Willie Nelson, or another friend, asked if he would be willing to support the charity by making the video. The point of featuring these videos was to show that Stephen is again supporting another charity. His charitable nature is infamous in Hollywood, and we here at No Fact Zone just wanted to highlight another great deed of Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A.

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     • Roland says:
       October 16, 2009 at 8:03 am

       I’m sorry, I did not intend to make you assume that Colbert was supporting a bad charity. I also loved the Colbert video and I love his contributions to charity and I support many of the charities that he does financially.

       However, this charity is “Presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic” whom I disagree with greatly.

       John Mackey who is the CEO and co-founder has been in the pocket of health insurance agents and advocating against health insurance for all Americans.

       While I know this is a non-partisan blog, I must speak that supporting a so called “NPO” that is presented by Whole Foods and Mackey, I cannot stand alone in this propaganda. I am ashamed that Colbert would lend credence to this event. I think Colbert, Nelson and friends should look closer into this event. The very fact that Farm Aid boasts that the conservatives sponsored in 2008 the whole event disturbs me.

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       • DB says:
         October 16, 2009 at 8:20 am

         While the CEO of Whole Foods may have (drastically) different political beliefs than I do, to discredit the entire Farm Aid organization due to its affiliation with one neo-con, in my opinion, is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

         While I do not agree with Mackey’s political views, I personally continue to support the mission of Whole Foods and also shop there regularly. When Mackey made his statements to the WSJ, there was a considerable backlash in the liberal community. But the point was made, and a strong one I believe, that the Whole Foods brand was built on making healthy, sustainable food choices available to the masses, and has been at the forefront of “green” corporation changes. No other national grocery chain has been committed to ecologically sound products as Whole Foods has, and thousands of employees work for that company that do not have the same beliefs as the CEO, and they continue to strive to fulfill the missions of the business.

         The good that Whole Foods does to the farming community and green product companies cannot be discounted simply because the CEO got political in an op-ed. The organization has done too much good for too long to be discounted based on one person’s affiliation. If I withheld my money to any corporation that had leaders who were conservatives, the only place I would be able to shop would be the local farmer’s market. And there, only a few booths.

         Most high-level business leaders are successful due to their conservative fiscal values. Even famous liberals Ben and Jerry sold out to a multi-national conglomerate when they realized their business had gotten too big to manage at the local level. But the country runs on the gas and breaks of each political party. While the extreme partisanship seen in the past 10 years is not ideal, the two-party system does provide for a gas-and-brake style of checks and balances that help to keep things in check, on both sides.

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       • Roland says:
         October 16, 2009 at 9:25 am

         That’s fine DB. I just disagree with you. I do throw the entire organization out of any type of NPO status. When the person who presented the 2008 awards for Farm Aid denies health care coverage and opposed minimum wage for workers, I just cannot support a charity that he belongs to.

         I am a conservative fiscal person, and I am a socially conscious person. I do not believe that health care should be available for those who can afford it. I support many charities that help unfortunate families. My sister was in the hospital over a decade ago because of an injury to her back and I found myself in a Ronald McDonald housing housing facility because insurance companies called it a pre-existing injury.

         We had insurance, but we were denied anyways. I was shot in the head and denied insurance coverage for the hospital bills. I am not going to support people who are spending millions to oppose health insurance reform, especially when reform means that others who are in my position will not have to face the same issues that I have.

         I never stated that conservative fiscal policy is what I am against. I believe strongly in fiscal restraint. However, I do believe that companies should afford its employees some type of health care package and a living wage. Monetary beliefs like this increases spending in the capitalist society and provides more people the ability to have a good life.

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       • DB says:
         October 16, 2009 at 10:36 am

         I absolutely support health care coverage. Currently, with my new job, I am ineligible for health care benefits until December, and co-workers are contracting H1N1 like it’s going out of style. The public option is looking *very* good right about now. I also have a very close friend who has gone on permanent disability due to HIV, and he is ineligible for Medicaid for another year. Until then, close to 50% of his pension will be paid to COBRA, if he chooses to pay it. He may end up being completely insurance free, which I can guarantee you will kill him. And that makes me sad beyond measure. So no health care reform touches me on a very personal level.

         But to say that I will not support the 71 people who benefited from the $468,650 worth of Farm Aid grants in 2008 due to the fact that one person who supports them financially does not believe in health care seems to be counterproductive.

         And to make judgements on Stephen due to what he chooses to support also seems to be inappropriate. Tons of people think that Bill Gates is a monopolizing demon, and yet people continue to support DonorsChoose.org who benefitted from a huge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Many liberals are violently opposed to the war, and yet they support the WristSTRONG campaign and the support for the injured vets and their families.

         If a person we deem “bad” is trying to make a little good out of his life, is it really our place to deny the people for who the charity assist the support that they so desperately need? If we don’t support these farmers, will they not have the ability to pay for health insurance too, not to mention their mortgates and food?

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2. Roseha says:
   October 16, 2009 at 1:16 am

   I kind of wondered if it was Neil Young who asked Stephen to do the video, since he’s been on the Report and on Farm Aid since the beginning.

   Fine cause and the videos are both great.

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3. Millie McClave says:
   October 21, 2009 at 6:38 am

   I would like to see Farm-Aid supported by the HEB chain here in South Texas. Quite frankly HEB is the only place my husband and I shop for groceries and it is rather disturbing that you just never know quite where the vegetables are grown or what pesticides are used or the conditions that the fruit and vegetables are grown under. Most of the countries that a lot of this stuff comes from have no laws in place regulating any of it.

   It would be comforting to know it was all grown right here in the USA, by hard working American Farmers, just like it use to be before we sent all the jobs of growing our food to other countries.

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