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Jack Abramoff made payments to two columnists. Liberal journalists, of course, get payments directly from the federal government. That’s what public TV and radio are all about. However, they also have another source of funds-the federally-funded U.S. Institute of Peace.

Last September Dan Noyes of the left-wing Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco wrote a story depicting Supreme Court nominee John Roberts as a corporate flack. The story had no impact on Roberts’ confirmation as Chief Justice. But it might surprise you to learn that Noyes and his group have applied for and received funding from the U.S. Government for their brand of “investigative reporting.” Noyes and his associate, Burton Glass, are listed as recipients of $30,000 from the federally-funded U.S. Institute of Peace.

This is worth noting because the liberal media typically raise a hue and cry about federal funding of news organizations, calling the product “fake news.”

The topic, Global Gunrunning, was featured on a Frontline public television program, also produced with assistance from the Institute of Peace. However, William Kistner of the Center for Investigative Reporting is listed as the contact on this program.

The topic is one worth pursuing. But why is a federally-funded “peace” group underwriting such work? And why does it exist in the first place?

Once considered an obscure federal agency, the U.S. Institute of Peace is a concrete example of why federal spending is out of control. Created by Congress in 1984, it operated on a $21 million budget in 2005. Congress has provided $100 million so it can have its own headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Groups funded by the Institute have included:

• The World Order Models Project, committed to a “just world order.”

• The United Nations Association, the leading pro-U.N. lobby in the U.S.

• The World Federalist Association, dedicated to world government.

• The International Peace Academy, to “make recommendations for future U.N. interventions.”

• New York University, to “revitalize the United Nations system.”

One of the most fascinating recipients of tax money from the Institute is the United Religions Initiative (URI), dedicated to creating a global religion. It got $30,000.

One of the religious traditions considered legitimate by the URI is Wicca or witchcraft. 

Somehow I doubt that we’ll see the Center for Investigative Reporting do a story into the bizarre grants given out by the Institute of Peace.

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