Thursday, June 19, 2008

Dull Reverand Al

The NY Post is reporting today that Al Sharpton may be undergoing a federal probe of the finances of his National Action Network: " The probe into the Rev. Al Sharpton's finances intensified this week, with the IRS sending out a flurry of subpoenas to his most generous corporate donors, The Post has learned." While we don't believe that anything will come of this, we do feel that it's about time-Al's shimy shakedown dance is a disgrace to the whole concept of civil rights, and the genuflection that Democrats give to him is a disgrace as well.

What bothered us particularly in the latest round of subpoenas was the one that went to Anheuser Busch: "Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser and Michelob, confirmed yesterday that it received a federal subpoena in connection to its charitable giving to Sharpton's National Action Network. "We have received a subpoena and are cooperating with the IRS," the company said in a statement."

The Budweiser people have long ignored the push for a minority franchise owner in New York, and beat back an effort by Hispanic distributors a number of years ago to get a piece of the action. So clearly, whatever money Sharpton's "network" gets from Bud is money that helps insulate the company from real empowerment; and if it's happening with beer then we can be sure it's happening elsewhere as well.

In the end, just as it was with shopkeepers and mobsters in the old days, it's cheaper to pay the extortion than to resist the strong arm tactics and become tar baby for the racial arsonist. We wish the Feds well, and hope that, "This Bud's for them."