60 Minutes Exposes Next ASHA Convention Speaker's Story: "Serious Questions" About Its Truth

(SEE UPDATE BELOW)
Someone at ASHA really needs to start doing background checks on their convention speakers because 60 Minutes has exposed their latest secular liberal-progressive do-gooder as a fake.

Three cups of B.S.

Greg Mortensen is scheduled to be the guest speaker at ASHA's next convention. His usual take is $30,000. According to investigators, major parts of his story about being captured by the Taliban and raising money for hundreds of girl's schools are nothing but fabrications. 60 Minutes reports that Mortensen spent more money last year flying around the world talking about educating girls than actually doing it. This is typical. The phonies who run many non-profits rake in the cash while the people the non-profits were set up to serve get little or nothing from them (when the non-profit isn't actually exploiting them).

ASHA files its tax returns as a non-profit.

This makes two disastrous strikes in a row for ASHA (you can read about last year's convention speaker by going here and here).

For years, ASHA relied on celebrities (including such speech and language experts as Jay Leno's wife and the drummer from the 80's has-been group Fleetwood Mac) to give the keynote speech at its conventions. Now they are apparently digging through Oprah's old coffee-stained show-guest lists - and it's turned out to be another embarrassment for them.

Dumpster diving at Oprah's house. "Maybe we can find Jenny McCarthy's phone number underneath those empty boxes of Oreo cookies!"

On ASHA's website, convention co-chair Kathy Coufal gushed:

What could be a more appropriate opening than having author and human rights activist Greg Mortenson provide the keynote address! 

Knowing ASHA as I do, I couldn't agree more, Kathy! It's a perfect fit for ASHA!

Let's see you wiggle your way out of this one, ASHA. Frankly, I hope you are forced (by contracts, etc.) to have a publicly disgraced speaker give your keynote address at this year's convention. If you do, I'll make some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show.

Looks like Greg Mortenson, the author of best selling book ‘Three Cups of Tea’ may not be all he’s cracked up to be. In fact, if the CBS documentary set to air tonight is correct, he’s nothing but a big fat liar.

Mortenson is the mountaineer-philanthropist who’s book ‘Three Cups of Tea’, about building schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan has sold several million copies. Now, it looks like the parts about how many schools he’s actually built (he says enough for 60,000 girls – true statistics are far lower than that), the section where he was kidnapped by the Taliban (the Taliban says it never happened) and the bit where much of the money he’s raised with his book is going to help more girls (it’s actually paying for private jets for Mortenson) are nothing but fabrication and lies. Link

On his website, gregmortenson.com, Mortenson claims the kidnapping was carried out by the Taliban. However, the Taliban had no presence in Waziristan in 1996, only arriving in the region after their fall from power in Afghanistan in the winter of 2001. Link

(Author) Krakauer reported that millions of dollars donated to the charity were spent on chartered jets, equipment and advertising for Mortenson's books, even though the charity doesn't receive any royalties for them. One former Central Asia Institute board member told Krakauer that Mortenson "regards CAI as his personal ATM. US official opens inquiry into charity run by 'Three Cups of Tea' co-author

Update 4/21/11: ASHA has now scrubbed its site of all references to Mortensen. This is typical for "we never admit mistakes; we make believe they never happened" ASHA. ASHA might as well stand for the "American Sneaky Hush-Hush Association."

Looks like they are going to need a new speaker for this year's convention. I have a suggestion:

Charlie Sheen: a perfect fit for ASHA

 S.F. Chronicle columnist Debbie Saunders does an excellent job of analyzing why so many (let's include liberal progressive, pro-gay agenda, Obama-adoring ASHA here) drank the Kool-aid given out by the Mortensen adoration cult. A sample:

(Back in 2008, critics) suggested that readers take his tales with "three grains of salt." Instead, he (Mortensen) sold 3 million books. Why? Through the pouring of "Three Cups," Mortenson came to personify every liberal conceit. He pushed books, not bombs. He had a nuanced take on Islamic extremism. He's not afraid of terrorism; for him, "the enemy is ignorance." Marlowe observed, "The implication is that this solitary do-gooder's work is a better model for helping the rural poor in areas that are a breeding ground for Islamic extremism." While to the contrary, the U.S. Army built more schools in just one Afghan province in 15 months than CAI built in a decade. (Italics added. Link)