Masters of Distortion continue to twist the truth about CSU Stanislaus gala

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The untrustworthy Associated Press continues its war of words against Sarah Palin. The very biased wire service has mastered the art of distortion to attack, disparage and generally cast a shadow over any event in which Gov. Palin is involved.

Case in point: California State University Stanislaus Foundation's 50th Anniversary Fundraising Gala June 25, at which Sarah Palin was the featured speaker. The Foundation has issued a news release and a PDF document of the accounting summary for the the event. Here's the full press release:

California State University Stanislaus today released an accounting summary of the 50th Anniversary Fundraising Gala, hosted by the University Foundation on June 25. Total fundraising surpassed expectations by raising more than $473,000, with net proceeds of over $207,000, making it the most successful fundraiser held in CSU Stanislaus history.

Dr. Ham Shirvani, President of CSU Stanislaus, praised the Foundation for its aggressive and successful fundraising efforts.

“Thanks to the Foundation’s generosity and fundraising, our 50th Anniversary Fundraising Gala was a huge success,” Shirvani said. “I am excited to report that based upon my request, the Foundation has agreed to allocate all of the net proceeds for scholarships, helping us give students peace of mind so they can focus on their academic achievements.”

Shirvani continued, “During these difficult economic times, I am especially proud that we have received an unprecedented level of private support to celebrate 50 years of academic excellence and to help us continue providing hardworking students access to higher education."

“We must support our students and foster their success through fundraising events like these. CSU Stanislaus’ ability to provide access to a quality education, inspire life-long learning in the work place, support economic growth, and meet the growing demand for college graduates depends on adequate financial resources, including private support. I applaud the Foundation for its hard work and thank the University’s supporters for their dedication to higher education.”

For the CSU Stanislaus Foundation’s final accounting summary of the 50th Anniversary Fundraising Gala, go to http://www.csustan.edu/foundation/documentation.html

From this information provided by the Foundation, AP's Garance Burke, with the assistance of Robin Hindery, cooked up a textbook example of biased media reporting. Their headine reads, "Sarah Palin earned $75k for speech at cash-strapped Calif university." In the story's lead, the AP writers again hit on the "cash-strapped" meme:

Capping a long-running dispute, a cash-strapped California public university revealed Friday its foundation arm paid Sarah Palin $75,000 to give a 40-minute speech at an anniversary dinner for the campus.

The implication is clear. If the school was hurting for funds so desperately, what in the world was it thinking by paying that horrible woman so much money to speak for so short a period of time. Why, it was less than an hour, for Gaia's sake!

But in the fourth paragraph, the AP hacks really crank up the distortion:

But in a statement, campus administrators proclaimed the event to be the most successful fundraiser in the school's history, saying it raised more than $207,000 for scholarships — an unexplained increase from the previously released figure of $60,000.

In the press release, University President Dr. Ham Shirvani clearly states the following:

“I am excited to report that based upon my request, the Foundation has agreed to allocate all of the net proceeds for scholarships, helping us give students peace of mind so they can focus on their academic achievements.”

It seems clear enough. Dr. Shirvani asked the Foundation to designate all of the $207,000 -- instead of the previously earmarked $60,000 portion of it -- to scholarships, and the Foundation agreed. How then, is it "unexplained," as the AP hacks wrote?

The piece goes on to rehash details of the events leading up to the event from the point of view of the leftist dumpster-diving students who protested Gov. Palin's appearance at the gala, leftist State Sen. Leland Yee who granstanded those events for all the publicity he could milk from them, and state AG Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, who is running for governor and made a big deal out of launching a trumped up investigation of the whole thing. It's all there, even down to the "bendable straws" that the leftists got so hysterical about.

The hit piece quotes one of the trashy-trolling dumpster divers, a political science major (go figure):

"Our schools are hurting, students are hurting, and to charge that kind of money for a speech I still feel is a bit absurd."

What part of "the most successful fundraiser in the campus' history" don't these moonbats get? Sarah Palin's rock star status allowed CSUS to clear $207,000 off of the event. The Foundation is going to put every red cent of it into student scholarships. And this leftist moron is whining about it?

The writers followed the student's quote with this paragraph:

The university, like dozens of other public colleges, has had to cancel classes and do away with some scholarships as a result of California's ongoing financial woes. Faculty was cut by about 20 percent last fall, and some instructors are teaching twice as many students, said John Sarraille, a computer science professor who heads the local chapter of the California Faculty Association.

So that $207K for student scholarships should come in handy, right? Don't ask the AP.

- JP