Everyone’s heard of Netflix, they’ve got over 3 million subscribers. You are probably one of them. Did you know that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings donated 3/4 of a MILLION DOLLARS to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s very “special election” campaign? $730,000 to be exact, mostly going to Proposition 77, the redistricting “reform” measure that gives the power of redistricting to a group of old crusty white men. On the face, Prop 77 has good intentions, but is a crappily crafted piece of legislation that is part of Arnie’s power grab agenda. Reed says, “Win or lose this cycle, I’ll continue to invest both philanthropically and politically, I don’t feel any donor fatigue, because improving California” is “a multi-decade effort, not a one-shot fix.” If by “improve” he means “owned by big business and conservative interests” then brace yourself California! It’s a bit curious as Hastings has traditionally given to Democrats, though a only a drop in the bucket comapred to the amounts he’s doling out to Arnie this year.
There is an alternative. GreenCine, pronounced GREEN-SEEN. It’s just like Netflix but without the evil. GreenCine, based in San Francisco, is owned by a couple of independent cinema nuts. Their focus is more on independent films, documentaries and anime while still harboring the full array of Hollywood blockbusters. They have a thriving online commununity and make daily recommendations. They don’t donate a million dollars to a bad washed up actor turned bad washed up politician. They DO donate a portion of their profits to local non-profit film arts organizations. GreenCine likes to support organizations that make better films.
On this election day, how are your dollars voting?
[thanks to George for the source photo]
Hi, Eddie! Congrats on the SFist link.
Do you have anything behind your accusations of evil besides this? Having voted for 77 myself, I think it’s possible to back it for reasons other than a taste for oligarchy.
Geez! try this:
He’s anti-progressive, friend of Bushco, drags everyone out to a frivolous and most costly election in California history, and owns at least 8 hummers. Most of California voted him down.
Hi William. Thanks for the comment. The LA Times article doesn’t say how much of the $730k goes to Arnie’s other initiatives, just that ‘most of it went to promote Prop 77′. It would be interesting to find out. I think Prop 77 is good intentioned but has considerable flaws and isn’t quite ‘non-partisan’. Yes, the current system is broken but Prop 77 would only help to swing the pendulum the other way. It’s a distraction from real reform that should include some sort of proportional representation.
That said, I don’t necessarily think Netflix or Hastings are completely evil. It’s all about degrees. I do think people should know how their dollars are voting, especially when most are pulling the lever counter to those money votes.
[ This is getting confusing. Hastings has donated to democratic causes in the past, but “Arnold” is a republican. Can anyone from California shed some light on what’s going on in your state?
via Jibber Jabber. ]
[ If you’re in the gloating mood, looks like class action victim Netflix poured $750,000 into campaigning for Arnold’s props in the special election. ]
Nobody knows what’s going on in California anymore, it’s like some sort of retarded koala bear tore appart the craniums of it’s people and took a big ol’ crap in ‘em.
For some reason I like NETFLIX more after reading this entry.
It isn’t evil at all. Blockbuster is evil.