Tom Philips was a great man whose generosity knew no bounds. He opened not only his then substantial pocketbook – having been a very savvy and successful entrepreneur – but also his own home with a single intent: to nurture a new generation of journalists who were not afraid to question the “conventional wisdom.”
His mission was to break the stranglehold that the Left Wing ideologues had on the national debate and in forming the “national consensus.”
He contributed his boundless energy to this life-goal which is eminently and essentially American: to help us foster a true political dialogue on the future of this country. To give us on the “other side” at least a fighting chance to have our views known.
I was at the time a (poorly paid) working journalist, the Editorial Page Editor of the Budapest Sun in Hungary, when Tom Phillips’ generosity and the late and very great Bob Novak’s keen eye identified me as someone worthy of his Journalism Fellowship in 1998.
I was working under a brilliant mentor at the Budapest Sun – Jim Michaels who was a former US Marine and the son of the then-Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine – and from Jim I learned everything about journalism. Not the absurd “social active” journalism churning out ideological thugs from journalism schools across the country, but actual journalism which relies on honesty, humility, and a connection with your readers (customers).
And it was around this time I applied and was accepted as a Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellow with the topic of, “Abandoning American Values in Post-Cold War US Foreign Policy.” It was all about how the Clinton Administration botched the enormous opportunity presented by the end of the Cold War to promote actual American values rather than the bogus “woke” agenda of his cronies who are, disgustingly, still with us.
The opportunity of a lifetime – a peace dividend, which is definitionally conservative – was squandered by the world of Strobe Talbott and Richard Holbrooke and all of those thugs. Toby Gati. Hillary. All of them.
Tom Philips was also way way way ahead of his time. He put his money where his mouth was. It took perhaps a quarter of a century after Tom’s investment in what can only be considered “alternative media” for the concept to not only take hold, but to wildly surpass the influence of the mainstream corporate media.
There is no direct connection that I know, but if you celebrate the brilliant success of a Tucker Carlson single-handedly defeating the mainstream drones like St. George slaying the dragon, you should thank Tom Phillips, whose vision and generosity one and a half generations ago paved the way for the relative freedom we are enjoying today.
Rest in peace, Mr. Phillips. Thank you for the wonderful opportunities your generosity provided me.
