March 19, 2024

"An award given in the name of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been abruptly canceled after the family of the late Supreme Court justice and others objected..."

"... that this year’s slate of recipients do not reflect her values. The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation last week announced that it would award the prize to Elon Musk, Martha Stewart, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Milken and Sylvester Stallone. Critics couldn’t help but observe that these 'five iconic individuals' — as the awards news release described them — included among them convicted felons and conservative billionaires who own right-wing media enterprises...."


What a mess! How does something like that happen?
Galas built around impressively named awards are a stalwart of the Washington elite social scene — and a way to entice celebrity honorees to rub elbows with politicians and business leaders over $1,000-a-head plates of prime rib....

Ugh. Let them stew in their own au juices.  

55 comments:

Dave Begley said...

"Let them stew in their own au juices." Classic Althouse.

Sebastian said...

"convicted felons"

Milken and Stewart are excellent RBG winners, illustrating the injustice of deep-state persecution and mass incarceration. Musk and Murdoch show the award selectors have a sense of humor, as RBG did (she did, didn't she?). Maybe next year they can pick Eugene Scalia, in honor of his father's friendship with RBG.

Kate said...

Let them give the award to a judge who made friends with his/her ideological opposite, then invite the shoulder-rubbers to join the two judges for a lively (and expensive) dinner conversation.

Dude1394 said...

If democrats are not canceling/censoring/dissappering people then they are not awake.

Mike Sylwester said...

I've been laughing aloud about this for the past ten minutes.

Aggie said...


Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award: First awarded in 2020. That didn't take long, did it?

MadisonMan said...

This is hilarious. Typical close-minded thinking by Democrats.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

We don't have enough elite awards shows in our banana-republic/ hunger games / "Ketanji Brown Jackson ‘concerned’ First Amendment is ‘hamstringing’ government from censorship." one party rule Putin-like state.

MadTownGuy said...

Notorious!

Barbara said...

Meghan Markle should have been on the list.

Michael said...


I possess one of those gold per edged crystalline awards presented to a major business author at a big conference in the late 90s. As conference staff, I noticed he was leaving without his award. Chasing this Major Business Author down, he turned to me and said, "You keep it, I have enough of those in my house"

Barbara said...

Meghan Markle should have been on the list.

Larry J said...

"included among them convicted felons and conservative billionaires who own right-wing media enterprises...."

Leftist billionaires who own left-wing media enterprises are acceptable, but never anyone who disagrees with the Holy Narrative!

Skeptical Voter said...

Oh come on. Wasn't Rocky a battler like Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Jupiter said...

Yes, it's difficult to think of a better place for a nuclear detonation than Washington, DC. One begins to understand Caligula's wish, that all of Rome had a single neck.

Rory said...

Original press release, saying why they were chosen:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2024-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-leadership-award-honors-elon-musk-sylvester-stallone-martha-stewart-michael-milken-and-rupert-murdoch-302087454.html

Tom T. said...

It's a bit of a faux pas to come right out and say that a judge's legacy is political.

Freder Frederson said...

You forgot to mention that Sylvester Stallone was also honored.

RBE said...

I imagine Harry & Meghan are available for an award.

Will Cate said...

I was curious enough to look them up. Light's on, but nobody's home:

Opperman Foundation

tim maguire said...

Kate said...Let them give the award to a judge who made friends with his/her ideological opposite, then invite the shoulder-rubbers to join the two judges for a lively (and expensive) dinner conversation.

I think that's a great idea, but I have no doubt Ginsberg's friendship with Scalia is a source of embarrassment for them, not of pride.

Two-eyed Jack said...

This is only a temporary violation of Conquest's 2nd Law of Politics, but any violation is a shock to the system, worth at least a one Streisand alarm!

William said...

Michael Milken had an extremely impressive second act. He deserves some kind of award, although I suppose not dying from prostate cancer is its own reward....I don't particularly like Sylvester Stallone, but he keeps chugging along. He certainly hasn't let himself go. He's seventy seven years old. I guess steroids don't affect longevity.....If the award is given to that old person who keeps the ball in play the longest, then Rupert Murdoch was a worthy recipient. RBG lasted until she was eighty seven. Impressive, but she was no Murdoch. They should rename the award after Buffet or maybe Munger.

Mason G said...

"included among them convicted felons and conservative billionaires who own right-wing media enterprises...."

No race-baiters? No wonder the family is distressed.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Thomas Hobbes wrote that awards ought to be give exclusively to the dead. There is less competition.

James K said...

"What a mess! How does something like that happen?"

Practically every foundation started by a conservative or intended to be apolitical has been taken over by the left. MacArthur, Ford, Nobel to name a few. Now we see what happens when the tables are turned.

ga6 said...


" it's difficult to think of a better place for a nuclear detonation than Washington"

Davos?






RCOCEAN II said...

Yeah Ginsberg values. You mean leftwing anti-american big business values?

Joe Biden, Bibi netenyahu, Liz cheney, the Sulzberger Family, and Jeff Bezos would be perfect Ginsberg Foundation awardees. Or maybe the Jewish Billionaire who doxxed all those students at Harvard.

rehajm said...

Yeah suck it liberals. Now you know how normal people feel about Oscar Fulbright Emmy Pulitzer Nobel Grammy MacArthur. Suck it.

Wait until somebody tells them RBG was close with Scalia…

RCOCEAN II said...

Notice there is no "Sandra Day O'Connor foundation" giving awards. that's because no one has been able to figure out what her values are, other than protecting the status quo and endless splitting the baby in the middle.

PM said...

The revised RBG recipients:
Peter Buttigieg, Laverne Cox, Lesley Stahl, Mark Zuckerberg and Wendy Carlos.

Ann Althouse said...

Freder Frederson said... "You forgot to mention that Sylvester Stallone was also honored."

What are you talking about? Explanation or apology needed.

MadTownGuy said...

Dude1394 said...

"If democrats are not canceling/censoring/dissappering people then they are not awake."

Nah, even in their dreams they're doing it.

robother said...

Elon Musk and Milken are the ones who don't fit the RBG mode. The others are all oldsters who have overstayed their welcome.

Hassayamper said...

That's a rather interesting list, is it tailored to offend the kind of leftist who takes pleasure in being offended? I'm thinking we right wing extremists have a mole inside whatever organization doles out this award. Excellent. Attack the Left on all fronts.

Joe Smith said...

Celebrity awards are tedious.

How is X 'right wing'?

I thought the left loved freedom of speech.

mikee said...

Nobodies protesting somebodies, again! When will the horror stop! Not getting this award will no doubt cause each and every one of the protesters to use their actions in stories to others the rest of their lives. And cause the intended, and denied, recipients at least thirty seconds of ennui, maybe even a second or two of downright angst, about where to dine that evening instead of at the gala. Quelle horreur!

Geoff Matthews said...

The left cannot abide their institutions being co-opted.

JK Brown said...

Lifestyle charity and awards. Just done to create the society events and create cash funnels for wealthy donors

For decades I have observed an abuse of charities that I am not sure has a name. I call it the "lifestyle" charity or non-profit. These are charities more known for the glittering fundraisers than their actual charitable works --Coyote Blog 2016 (a search brought up a page with an expired cert so I didn't click through.

Kevin said...

Elon Musk, Martha Stewart, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Milken and Sylvester Stallone

Politics aside, haven't these people been honored enough?

Original Mike said...

"What are you talking about? Explanation or apology needed."

Don't hold your breath.

mccullough said...

Ginsburg wasn’t the first female Justice.

She’s already faded from memory.

n.n said...

Aborted. Wicked. Such a "burden". Ironic, but with millions of diverse precedents in America and more globally in progress, entirely predictable, and forward-looking. Here's to hope that they are capable of change.

BarrySanders20 said...

The original Press Release did list The Italian Stallion as a nominee. To be fair, the list is fairly notorious and therefore appropriately honors Notorious RBG.

loudogblog said...

I'm not going to lie. The fact that corporate America has fully embraced Martha Stewart after her conviction and prison time really annoys me. I suspect that she wasn't hurting for money after she got out; but if she was, give her some consulting job if you want to help her. But don't make her a spokesperson for your products.

Temujin said...

Not right-wing media enterprises!!

The horror. The horror.

BarrySanders20 said...

Nobody cared last year when Babs got the Opperman award for leading lady (sorry, "woman of leadership"). Babs is a lefty, so no kvetching.

Jim at said...

You forgot to mention that Sylvester Stallone was also honored. - Freder

"The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation last week announced that it would award the prize to Elon Musk, Martha Stewart, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Milken and Sylvester Stallone."

/shakes head and walks away

Josephbleau said...

"I'm not going to lie. The fact that corporate America has fully embraced Martha Stewart after her conviction and prison time really annoys me."

I am sympathetic with your comment, I would like to think that a person who has been properly judged a criminal should have some shame. Yet there is also the idea that they have paid for their sins and are released from prison with all debts to society paid. What a tragedy otherwise.

I am a bit concerned that prosecutors go after famous people to get re-elected. Al Capone should have been sent up the river but the sentence for tax evasion was a proxy for "we cant prove he killed people."

That's OK only if the prosecutors of the famous are so unbiased that they can be trusted to mete out punishment only to the ones who are really bad, but we can't prove they are bad. Not to create a media storm to re-elect yourself.

Tina Trent said...

Eugene Scalia was Trump's Labor secretary. His other son spent his life representing rapists and defaming their victims. See Benjamin LaGuer.

So no dice there. I could see Ginsberg admiring Martha Stewart. And maybe she loved Stallone movies.

Why did this happen? Easy. Certain foundations want to appeal broadly across political factions to maximize profits.. The nonprofit world is Tammany Hall redux.

GingerBeer said...

Why not simply give the award to the Vainglorious RBG in perpetuity? That would satisfy the purpose of the exercise neatly.

Bill R said...

Re: "Let them stew in their own au juices." Classic Althouse.

Spot on Mr. Begley. Admittedly it was a cheap shot but still, a bull's eye.

Freder Frederson said...

What are you talking about? Explanation or apology needed.

I need to explain or apologize because you didn't research your post thoroughly? Even Jim at (who told me to fuck off just the other day) provided the information you requested.

Ann Althouse said...

"I need to explain or apologize because you didn't research your post thoroughly? Even Jim at (who told me to fuck off just the other day) provided the information you requested."

The information is and always was in MY original post. Somehow you didn't see it before you took a shot at me and even when I prodded you to notice, you didn't pick it up.

Your disrespect for me is ridiculous. Why participate here? You are falling to the level of troll. Do you have ANYTHING decent to say for yourself?

Freder Frederson said...

Your disrespect for me is ridiculous. Why participate here? You are falling to the level of troll. Do you have ANYTHING decent to say for yourself?

I think my disrespect for you is entirely justified. I participate here because you continue to allow your commenters (at least on the right) to continue to spread the most ridiculous lies. And let's not forget that you were a huge fan of the Iraq war, defended Bush's torture regime, and have defended Trump for the last eight years. And considering all the personal insults you have leveled against me, why should I respect you?

I am sorry that when I read your original post, I apparently didn't notice that you included Sylvester Stallone in the intended recipients.