This reversion back to prior practices, as was the decision to create the distance from Planned Parenthood, is not political. Right? And the Easter Bunny leaves those eggs. USA Today separately reports, including its publishing online the entire latest Komen statement:
We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives.
The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics - anyone's politics.
Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public's understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.
We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.
This is one of the most encouraging showings of how public opinion can help shape a reversal of a bad direction.
If only now there were as much noise made in Minnesota about the GOP-ALEC Putsch to undermine unions in Minnesota, the sun would shine brighter and the birds would sing sweeter. We can hope. This latest Komen change goes along with the impeach Scott Walker movement, as a voice of reason prevailing against dark forces. Let us hope for finality, this time, this version.
__________UPDATE__________
Try the Komen blog now:
http://blog.komen.org/
One expects - hopes - there may be some form of a sorting out of leadership at Komen. They have recognized and are moving in a proper direction, and should decide whether they want to keep anyone in leadership believing otherwise.
I could not find the earlier message on the message board, now, the one reported in the post below, published before news of the recantation was released by Komen. See the message board now:
http://apps.komen.org/Forums/
It publishes the item USA Today publishes, per the above quote. From the board and the founder, not from the Komen founder, alone, as was the item reported below, which was atop the message board, then.
___________FURTHER UPDATE__________
I tried to use Google cache for a screen shot of the earlier founder-only statement reenforcing the prior decision, but my Google search did not indicate it was cached. If anyone can get a screenshot, please email me. KOS, here, did take an interesting screenshot of a since scrubbed item:
Then there is this.
One has to hope that once the dust settles, scrubbing is explained/undone, that the organization moves on and that the NFL still has the pink ribbon, pink shoe thing, to voice support for the underlying message that should NOT get lost in any of the current events: Breast Cancer Kills, and all reasonable effort to prevent it, or lower mortality by regular screening, wherever done, is needed. That is the basic message that needs to survive the tempest of the moment. Long term, the effectiveness of Komen, in its mission, should not be undone or lessened, because of this unfortunate situation and how it has unwound. The goal should remain as focused and publicized as ever. Screen for cancer, and thus lessen the risks.