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The Wall Street Journal has declared the environmental, social and governance term dead due to investor backlash, political pressure and legal threats.
But as William Shakespeare noted: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Savvy PR people are rebranding ESG as “responsible business,” or lowering the volume on their social impact activity.
Daryl Brewster, who heads Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, told the WSJ: “You can be anti-ESG. It’s hard to be anti-responsibility.”
Long live ESG, whatever it is called.
J Street axes confab… J Street, the top liberal Jewish advocacy group, has postponed its 2024 convention that was set for Washington from April 6 to 9 due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
It will be missed. The organization’s events generally are newsmakers.
At J Street’s December 2022 convention, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told of US willingness to work with the incoming ultra-conservative Israeli government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That’s not working out well these days. Israel’s rampage in Gaza has strained its ties with the Biden Administration.
That convention featured remarks from Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
On Jan. 4, he warned that restrictions imposed by Israel on the West Bank are driving the occupied territory to “the edge of the edge.”
A newcomer to the political scene, Vermont’s then-incoming Senator Peter Welch urged pro-Israel activists to push back against right-wingers.
These days Welch is pushing back at the US government for transferring artillery ammunition to Israel without Congressional approval.
"This type of heavy ammunition has been used to devastating effect in Gaza, contributing to the death and injury of countless civilians and the displacement of an estimated 2 million people who are facing daily bombardment without access to adequate food, water, shelter or medical care,” said Welch on Dec. 31.
J Street on Jan. 8 called on the Biden administration to pressure the Netanyahu government to increase the humanitarian aid to Gaza and to restore power, water and fuel supplies to civilian infrastructure.
It applauded the Biden White House’s rejection of calls by members of Netanyahu’s administration for the mass resettlement of civilians from the Gaza Strip.
J Street’s 2024 conference was to be themed “Lighting the Way.”
One hopes there is still optimism and light available in 2025 when J Street’s next conference is set to take place.
Playing his personal stay out of jail card… Donald Trump argues in favor of presidential immunity because without it, he said: “Every president would always be thinking, with every move made, whether or not there would be a criminal prosecution after leaving office.”
His line of thinking would conveniently cover any president who orders his cultish followers to march on the Capitol and fight like hell to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in order to keep him or her in office.
Trump warned that there would be “bedlam” in the US, if he is prevented from running for another term.
Bedlam is an archaic term for a mental institution. It is derived from London’s Bethlem Royal Hospital, which opened its doors in 1247.
Trump’s recent ravings about Biden trampling on the Constitution, his ability to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Civil War, and recasting the violent mob of Jan. 6 insurrectionists as hostages and martyrs shows how unhinged the former president truly is.
On his next visit to New York, Trump should swing by Bellevue Hospital, America’s version of Bethlem Royal, for a check up from the neck up.
A huge PR opportunity looms for a firm that is willing to take some heat by promoting Immigration & Customs Enforcement... Disgraced New York mayor Eric Adams couldn't wait to make another pilgrimage to Israel to stick it to his successor Zohran Mamdani... Hats off to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett for writing his always engaging and witty annual reports over the years.
The ADL plans a Mamdani Monitor to track down any whiff of antisemitism from the policies and appointments made by his administration. It should have given him a chance to live up to Election Night promise... Brendan Carr, Alden Global Capital, Alphabet, Meta and Elon Musk make Reporters Without Borders' roster of Press Freedom Predators.
Andrew Cuomo's political career is not dead yet... Steve Bannon says Republicans should learn from Zohran Mamdani and his Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, instead of mocking them... Internet advertising model is on the way out, says Tim Berners-Lee... Gannet rebrands as USA Today Inc. What about its other 200 papers?
Thomas Jefferson warned about the dangers of an imperial president who would deny an election loss in a bid to cling to power. Sound familiar?... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reporters don't need his permisson to take a photo of the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial, as long as they are not on the job... Kirkland and Ellison lawyers need some negotiating tips. 
Shareholder activitism is poised to hit an all-time high for 2025... Kamala Harris’ “107 Days” reads like an autospsy of her failed presidential run. Democrats need to look forward, not backward... The Reagan Foundation dishonored The Gipper by providing PR cover to tariff-loving Trump.
