Texas Campaign for the Environment credibility? (Howe: neighborhood, deductible, salaries)

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Wrong. Your "freedom of speech" ends when you trespass on my property. No legitimate "charity" needs to PAY aggressive salespeople to constantly harass people in their homes. Nor does it have to feed its employee lines of tripe like the one you just wrote here. Go away, scammer.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by rebcat

Actually, what they do is NOT soliciting, which means exchanging money for goods or services. As a nonprofit, their work is free speech protected under the first amendment.

I'd suggest a visit with Merriam-Webster. It is most certainly soliciting.

: to ask for (something, such as money or help) from people, companies, etc.
: to ask (a person or group) for money, help, etc.
: to offer to have sex with (someone) in return for money.


As for me personally, I bought the ring doorbell. Previously I just didn't answer the door. Now I tell them to go away, remotely.

[IC_deLight]

Not a fan of the not-so-nonprofits. They are certainly intended to be profitable for the executive directors, attorneys, and employees working there as well as the vendors providing services. There often is not much independence between the "non-profit" and the vendors it engages. Many times the vendors create the nonprofit as a mechanism for generating and funneling the need for services to the vendors. The executive directors sometimes conceal their total compensation package by having a moderate W-2 salary while getting significant perks in the form of per diems, cars, trips, healthcare, retirement, and other perks. Many of them are run by attorneys promoting litigation to "protect the environment".

Here is a link to TCE's 2015 IRS 990 form as provided by a private service provider:
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990...01512_990O.pdf

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by rebcat

Actually, what they do is NOT soliciting, which means exchanging money for goods or services. As a nonprofit, their work is free speech protected under the first amendment.

The dictionary does not agree with you.
-----------------
so·lic·it

verb

ask for or try to obtain (something) from someone.
"he called a meeting to solicit their views"

synonyms: ask for, request, seek, apply for, put in for, call for, press for, beg, plead for More
ask (someone) for something.

"historians and critics are solicited for opinions by the auction houses"
accost someone and offer one's or someone else's services as a prostitute.

"although prostitution was not itself an offense, soliciting was"

[lugo1978]

They're a scam... The door knocker gets a commission on your donation. I worked for them one day and quit because it's a bunch of lies.

[Reefmonkey]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Wrong. Your "freedom of speech" ends when you trespass on my property. No legitimate "charity" needs to PAY aggressive salespeople to constantly harass people in their homes. Nor does it have to feed its employee lines of tripe like the one you just wrote here. Go away, scammer.

Yes, Texas Campaign for the Environment is pushy and annoying, and I don't donate to them because of this and other reasons even though I am an environmental scientist, but you are actually wrong and rebcat is right on the freedom of speech issue. The right of someone, whether a salesperson, a religious proselytizer, or a charitable organization to walk up your front walk, knock on your door, has been affirmed as a 1st Amendment right by the courts. And while a salesman can be required to get a permit, can be charged with criminal trespass for ignoring a no soliciting sign, religious, political, and non-profit canvassers like Texas Campaign for the Environment have special protections under the 1st Amendment. They cannot be required to get a permit, and they are exempt from things like do not call lists. The Supreme Court case which affirmed this is Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton — 536 U.S. 150.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Reefmonkey

Yes, Texas Campaign for the Environment is pushy and annoying, and I don't donate to them because of this and other reasons even though I am an environmental scientist, but you are actually wrong and rebcat is right on the freedom of speech issue. The right of someone, whether a salesperson, a religious proselytizer, or a charitable organization to walk up your front walk, knock on your door, has been affirmed as a 1st Amendment right by the courts. And while a salesman can be required to get a permit, can be charged with criminal trespass for ignoring a no soliciting sign, religious, political, and non-profit canvassers like Texas Campaign for the Environment have special protections under the 1st Amendment. They cannot be required to get a permit, and they are exempt from things like do not call lists. The Supreme Court case which affirmed this is Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton — 536 U.S. 150.

But they are required to respect the 'no soliciting' signs or face a potential misdemeanor.

[m1a1mg]

Reefmonkey, if they were simply providing information you would be correct. However, they hire people to solicit for funds.

[DashRiprock]

I've developed quite a thick callous for door-to-door solicitors over the years. I used to try to be patient and respectful, but found that any slightest amount of interaction led to them opening another line of attack.

Several years ago, it seemed like we were getting a particularly heavy influx of one these environmental groups, like 2 or 3 times a month. One of their tactics was to ask leading questions like "do you care about clean water?" When you naturally said "yes" they would launch into some horror story about toxic waste spills in Ohio or something. One of them came to the door one time during a particularly foul mood of mine for some reason, asked "do you care about clean water?", and I said "not a bit". I wish I'd had a camera to take a picture of the look on his face - I think for the first time in his life he was completely speechless.

Anyway, I felt kinda bad about that but the more they pestered me, the less I cared. Nowadays I just interrupt them before they get started and say "thanks, but we're good" and close the door. There's almost nothing else you can do.

We've been getting a lot of pest control guys lately, more so than the environmental guys.

Oddly enough, the very worst I ever experienced was from some financial adviser type from one of the big name brokerage firms. I can't specifically remember which one so I won't say who I think it was, but it was a household name and a respected firm. I found it astounding that they would send people door to door in the first place, but the level of persistence from this guy was off the charts. So much so that to this day I think it was probably a scam.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by rebcat

Actually, what they do is NOT soliciting, which means exchanging money for goods or services. As a nonprofit, their work is free speech protected under the first amendment.




Nope. They don't sell their database outside the organization:
https://www.texasenvironment.org/pri...-tab-1-privacy




https://www.texasenvironment.org/victories/
Getting curbside recycling for Dallas and Houston, banning fracking in Denton (short-lived, though it was), making Dell and Apple recycle their computers.... pretty legit, if you ask me.

A common misconception about what freedom of speech means. Freedom of speech means that the government cannot legislate against freedom of speech. Individuals are perfectly free to deny you the right to say whatever you want whenever you want or to disagree with you. With freedoms come responsibilities, one of which is to accept the consequences of your chosen actions/words. That's the part that those who cry "freedom of speech" at every opportunity tend to ignore.



"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.