Somebody Is Unclear on the Concept...
Ah. Once again Tim Lambert directs us to:
The Reform Club: In Defense of Opinion Journalism : Kathy Hutchins said: "Iain [Murray] modestly refrains from recounting many of the accusations I'm sure he himself has had to endure; I know when I worked at CEI the greater part of any joint panel appearance with a leftie would consist of listening to a litany of all the filthy corporate pigs that had bought my soul with their ill-gotten lucre. What was so infurating is that I'd get back to the office and get an earful from a donor because I'd written something pro-market that he didn't like. It takes a rare talent to piss off all of the people all of the time."
Somebody is very unclear on the concept. Either the donors don't understand that what they have purchased with their contributions is Kathy Hutchins's brain to think about the issues and not pieces that propagandize for their interests, or Kathy Hutchins doesn't understand that her bosses have promised the donors that she will write pieces that propagandize for their interests.
I wonder who?
I must say that listening to stories about Washington think-tank discussions with donors has made me much more aware of the value of academic freedom, and extremely grateful for the job U.C. Berkeley's high officials do in creating the conditions under which we aren't under pressure to shade our views to avoid nasty phone calls and meetings with donors who feel they have been cheated.