Justin Elliott has finally solved the riddle of who gave $17-million to Clarion Fund to distribute 28 million DVDs of its anti-Muslim porn (not as in sex) film Obsession during the 2008 presidential election. Well, to be more specific, we know who, or more precisely what gave the gift to Clarion: Donor’s Capital Trust. But till now, we didn’t know who gave the gift to that arch-conservative donor advised fund. Now, we know, thanks to Justin that it was computer power strip king (bet you didn’t know there was such a beast, did you?) Barre Seid (bio). Here’s Clarion’s 990 form addendum documenting Seid’s gift). This complicated funding process, designed to provide plausible deniability to Seid, thus allows his assistant, in the Salon story, to deny Seid funded the film:
“Mr. Seid did not make any contributions to the Clarion Fund.”
She’s right, technically. He didn’t. DCT did. But DCT wouldn’t have without Seid’s gift to it. You see how these dudes operate? Is this legal? Should it be?
Elliott wouldn’t have known any of this unless Clarion’s accountant hadn’t made a serious error in filing Seid’s name on its 2008 IRS 990, something it didn’t need to do. Now that it has done so, Clarion is seeking to walk the horse back to the barn, but with considerable difficulty. It claims that the information filed in its 990 is in error. Excuse me? I don’t know what’s worse, making an error by divuling information that gets you in the dog’s house with a donor; or after the fact telling the IRS you goofed up the forms you filed with it. I know I wouldn’t want to be sitting in front of an IRS agent explaining to him how the data I submitted under penalty of perjury was actually wrong.
I don’t have any problem with anyone doing as Seid did for a project that is clearly non profit and non-partisan. But this specific project, distributing those DVDS during that election was a blatant political interference that usurped the IRS non-profit tax code. I hope to God some IRS agent is now reading this and putting in a call to Mr. Seid’s attorney seeking some answers and perhaps even an audit. While they’re at it they should haul in DCT and Clarion Fund as well. They both have some explaining to do.
In case anyone continues to doubt that the Barry Seid listed in the Clarion Fund filing is the same as Barre Seid, you could do any overlay of the latters private foundation with some of the DCT gifts to right wing Jewish charities. I’m betting that those gifts were donor-advised by Seid and that these are groups he also would’ve given to via his own private giving. Bingo. There’s $450,000 in gifts over a 10-year period from the Seid Foundation to the Foundation for Jewish Camping, and a $10-million 2008 gift (see Schedule A, p. 2 of 4) to the same group through Donors Capital. Perhaps not a smoking gun, but a bit of powder residue. Additionally, Elliot notes a $25,000 gift from the Seid Foundation to Donors Capital in 2005. Where there’s residue there was smoke, and where there was smoke, well…you know what followed smoke–$17-million!
The next time you see a power strip or surge protector or any other product made by Tripp-Lite Power Protection or Trippe Manufacturing, don’t buy it. You’re only enriching Barre Seid and encouraging him to fund another Obsession.
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Mr. Seid’s mustache is très chic! He’s quite the dashing big bucks bigot. Rest assured, I will never buy anything associated with Tripp-Lite Power Protection or Trippe Manufacturing!
Yet another right-wing Jew attempting to vilify Islam. I wonder why.
Maybe because this “right-wing Jew” sees Islam as an anti-semitic existentialist threat?
Probably you would fund a site that vilifies Judaism if you had the money.
Read your your comment again – do you not see the anti-semitism in it? Surely it would have been more PC to write “another right wing Zionist”?
Which means that such a right wing Jew would be racist & Islamophobic.
Why do you not see the commenter Steve Bolles also as racist? He evokes Barre Seid’s Jewishness as if relevant to his argument.
Seid is racist because of his views about Islam. Steve Bolles is also racist for calling him a “right wing Jew” rather than just a “right-wing person”. Judeophobia?
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Well, Seid is a right wing American Jew. He gave $18 million to Clarion Fund for this film not as a “right wing person” but as a “right wing Jew.” If Seid were not Jewish he wouldn’t care about the film or promoting it.
What’s racist about acknowledging this? Seid for sure is racist toward Muslims (or at best ignorant). But Bolles statement was not.
# Shmuel)
I recommend an article “Islamophobia as the new anti-semitism” by The Magnes Zionist that I’ve already posted but that was maybe before your time :-).
Jerry Haber writes among other interesting things:
“It is a sign of the Jews making it in America that with Islamophobia on the rise, many Jews now feel confortable about joining their erstwhile enemies, the nativist (old) anti-semitic bigots, in common cause against the newcomer religion”. Later on, he writes “Take it from me – it’s all about Israel”.
And if you know about Jerry Haber (his pen name) you wouldn’t call him a racist.
BUT I do admit: there are things that is better accepted when it comes from an insider, and that’s the same in all communities.
PS. Judeophobia is NOT calling some-one a ‘right-wing Jew’. If you said ‘all Jews are right-wing’, yes, certainly.
If I say ‘a corrupt Palestinian’ about Mahmoud Abbas or Dahlan, does it make me an Palestino-phobic person ?
http://www.jeremiahhaber.com/2010/08/islamophobia-as-new-antisemitism.html
shmuel –
You don’t get away with accusing people who criticize Jewish bigots of being bigoted for identifying them as Jewish. Seid’s Jewish background and Zionist beliefs are directly relevant to Seid’s hostility toward Muslims.
Certainly, the first of these two characteristics, Seid’s religion, would not have been relevant if Seid and other uber-Zionists had not been indiscriminately accusing almost all critics of Israel as “anti-semitism.” However, once Zionists, the Israeli government, the ADL and B’nai B’rith started to equate criticism of Israel with criticism of all Jews, they implicitly argued that all Jews are Zionists.
In short, for self-serving political purposes, many Jews blurred important distinctions between Judaism and Zionism, thereby making Seid’s Jewish faith and Zionist political beliefs directly relevant and – disastrously for Jews everywhere – provided anti-semites with material for an updated version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Congratulations.
So only Jews are Islamophobic? You know you’re wrong here and mentioning his Jewishness is obscene and offensive to Jews who differ from Seid.
Right wing American Jews who are Israel Firsters are reliably Islamophobic. That was who and what I was talking about.
No, yr petulance is what is becoming obscene. So knock it off and move on.
I think these “right wing” Jews are Jewish by name only. They are the types that join groups like “Jews for Jesus”. Essentially Extremist Evangelical Christian Jews. The Jewish community has it’s greatest ally in the Muslims if they only understood it. Muslims have so much in common with Jews, however this kind of thing has happened before. In Cordoba Spain when the Muslims and Jews lived peacefully and made a lot of progress, many of the Jews allowed/helped the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castille against the Spanish Caliphate. This is sad, because majority of the greatest Jewish books written by the likes of Maimonides was written during that time with the help of the Muslims. Also, don’t forget the Ottoman Turks who saved the Jews from the Crusader onslaught in Europe who had become Anti-Semetic. Where Islamophobia goes, so does Anti-Semitism.
who cares who funded the dvd distribution, this happened in 2008 and mccain didnt win the election. freedom of speech and freedom to ignore. anyone with half a brain knows not all muslims are radicals or terrorists. move on people to real news
Blah, blah, blah. Apparently there are a lot more people in the world than you realize with less than half a brain.
Perhaps, it will be of some interest to readers that Mr. Seid has other interests than hate mongering. He and his buddies recently tried to steal a college, they may be going after your alma mater next.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/18/921508/-Barre-Seids-Obsession
I work for Barre and can tell you a bit about him. First of all, he doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. His only interest in gaining wealth is to give it away to worthy causes.
He has a very open and intellectually curious mind, and has been brainwashed by Steinhart and the Israelis into believing that the Muslims have always been bloody and have always wanted to convert the world by the sword.
He is educable, but for now he’s very brainwashed on this particular idea. If you stop buying his products, not only will I be out of a job, but then he’ll sell the business and be in full time philanthropy which might not be a good thing if he continues to support causes like this.
Don’t throw rocks at him. Educate him.