Support the (Black) Arts

I'm not ashamed. I went to see an opera on Sunday here in Boston. They had the expected audience reminder to switch off all cell phones, pagers and digital watches. Except that the announcement was brought to us by "Verizon Wireless." Sure, it's the sort of thing that makes the politically-inclined chuckle. Kinda like Chuck E. Cheese advertising on PBS kids' shows.

But that was as far as my thoughts on Verizon's corporate cynicism went. Until today, when I got this e-mail from Working Assets (I've been a customer for five years now). Here goes:

Are you supporting House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's legal defense fund every time you make a long distance call?

If you are a customer of Verizon, your long distance dollars are working to keep Tom DeLay at the helm of an increasingly right-wing Congress. Here's how.

Tom "The Hammer" DeLay is one of the most corrupt members of Congress. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page admits the ethically challenged Republican is a "master" of the Washington "influence peddling" system.

Still, "The Hammer" has been able to amass a fat legal defense fund by tapping into corporate backers - including Verizon - that help fund the right-wing political establishment. Besides helping DeLay, Verizon has contributed over $5.5 million to Republican campaigns since 2000. The company has even hired former Christian Coalition Leader Ralph Reed as a consultant!

If you are a current long distance customer of Verizon, it's easy to speak out against Tom DeLay. Simply join Working Assets, the phone company that raises millions of dollars for progressive groups like ACLU, Planned Parenthood and Rainforest Action Network, and $0 for Tom DeLay.

Okay, so yeah, I'm shilling for Working Assets. With a significant exception-- I'm not asking you to use me as a referral, even though I could reap some benefits by doing so. You wouldn't get such honesty from DeLay. Like I said, I'm a customer, and they're a model for American corporations-- your company can grow dramatically AND donate $46 million to charity at the same time.