Microsoft and AT&T are joining 400 donors to hold the festivities to mark President Barack Obama’s second inauguration event. The total amount raised so far is although not yet revealed by the committee of Obama supporters but the list of benefactors has been disclosed It include the big corporate houses like Microsoft and AT&T. The other big names contributing money to help the festivities include-West Coast wealth manager Whittier Trust Co, health insurer Centene Corp and Genentech, the pharmaceutical company. Most of the benefactors for this gala event and grand parade are individuals.
The first presidential inauguration event held by the committee in 2009 raised a record amount of $53 million. Last time only individual donors were allowed to contribute for the event and the maximum donation amount was limited to $50,000. This year the committee is allowing corporate houses to donate for the event. Individuals can gift up to $250,000 for this year’s celebration.
This inauguration ceremony will supposedly be smaller as compared to the previous one which attracted 1.9 million visitors. In the year 2009, the organizers had hosted 10 official balls, which has been reduced to just two this year.
The gala event and the grand parade are scheduled for January 21, 2013. President Barack Obama will be sworn publicly for his second term in the event.
AT&T has long been a financial supporter of anything and everything that is diametrically opposite of that for which Barack Obama stands: his liberal/progressive ideals and policies which those on the conservative, Republican, socio-political and theological Right, despise. Every Right-winged, Republican political candidate that AT&T could possibly financially support, it HAS supported.
The alternate cell phone provider CREDO MOBILE, which OEMs the Sprint network to US customers, and is part of the well-known-and-respected “Working Assets” not-for-profit organization, has long decried AT&T’s nefarious financial support of Right-winged causes…
SEE: http://www.credomobile.com/mission/Progressive-Social-Change.aspx
SEE: http://www.credomobile.com/mission/nonprofit-donations-current.aspx
SEE: http://www.credomobile.com/mission/political-victories-current.aspx
…and routinely markets its services to AT&T customers who want to do their small part to NOT put money into the coffers of a big corporation which turns around and uses some of it to so stongly support that which they despise.
From CREDO’s FAQ…
—– BEGIN CREDO FAQ SNIPPET —–
Why switch to CREDO Mobile?
You may be surprised to learn that your choice of cell phone isn’t neutral. For example, did you know that AT&T has contributed to right-wing politicians working against your values? At CREDO, we’ve supported progressive causes for more than 27 years, through automatic donations from our members and our citizen-activism programs. Since 1985 we’ve raised more than $70 million for nonprofit groups like Earthjustice, Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. So if you stand for progressive beliefs, join the only phone company that stands with you.
—– END CREDO FAQ SNIPPET —–
My point is not to promote CREDO (though if it inadvertently picked-up a customer or two from this posting, I’m okay with that); rather, my point in showing what CREDO writes on its site and uses in its advertising is to help document what AT&T does with its money, and how strongly at least one of its competitors feels about it. It is an irony, then, that AT&T would now, with its long track record of huge amounts of financial support for President Obama’s socio-political enemies, step forward and pretend that it likes him.
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Gregg L. DesElms
Napa, California USA
gregg at greggdeselms dot com