January 25, 2016

The syndicated show, Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson, is a news-oriented program that hardly lives up to its description.

Full Measure is a broadcast focusing on investigative, original and accountability reporting unique in today’s media and will be dedicated to pursuing Untouchable Subjects through Fearless Reporting. The host is Sharyl Attkisson, five-time Emmy Award winner and recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting. She is backed by a team of award winning journalists.

Sunday's program featured a segment on a couple of high salaries of CEOs of non-profit companies.

There are more than 1.5 million nonprofits or public charities in the U.S. In 2013, they reported a collective $1.74 trillion in revenue and $3 trillion dollars in assets.

But they don't have to pay normal taxes. The IRS exempts them because of the public good they do. But for some nonprofits, it appears charity begins at home, with big executive salaries that seem to belie the altruistic nature of their mission.

Sharyl began with the absurdity of the NFL's status being labeled as a non-profit and the reported 2012 $44.1 million annual salary of CEO Roger Goodell. Her guest today, Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, jumped the whopper of all conclusions by comparing his pay to the salary of Cecile Richards, who makes eighty-five times less than Goodell. She heads the women's healthcare provider, Planned Parenthood, which provides far more assistance for people in need than the NFL.

Chaffetz, in embarrassing fashion, has already grilled Richards on that matter in an exhaustive Congressional hearing, as if she's as decadent as the NFL CEO. The conversation included several other non-profits, ultimately focusing on the pay of college presidents being far too lavish while poor Chaffetz has two kids in college. He made a point to mention his own financial 'woes.'

The most egregious opinion Chaffetz seems to have is that a highly accomplished professional like Cecile Richards should be making pennies because her non-profit organization is antithetical to his standards of actually helping real people. The NFL finally renounced its non-profit status, so he implies that Planned Parenthood should do the same.

CHAFFETZ: If you want to change your structure and be a for-profit organization, make all you want. I'm not trying to dictate this. I'm just saying if you're taking the advantage of the subsidy that comes from being a not for profit, then you're not necessarily going to bring home a seven figure paycheck.

ATTKISSON (announcing): Tired of all the criticism, the NFL gave up its nonprofit status last April after 73 years. They'll lose millions in tax benefits. But they won't have to publicly disclose Goodell's big salary, anymore.

In other words, Attkisson permits Cecile Richards, who helps many poor and needy women obtain life-saving medical care, to be falsely linked to the head of a multi-billion dollar industry like the NFL in an effort to discredit the healthcare provider, again. Since they failed at presenting a fake video as an authentic, fetus-selling grand scheme, Republicans and their complicit media cohorts will keep throwing garbage at legitimate, philanthropic groups until they score enough political points to impress their pseudo-religious, pro-forced birth base.

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