At some point in his career - and not even that early - Saint David Broder wrote scathingly about various buckraking activities of his fellow journalists. Speaking gigs, that kind of thing. By the end, of course, he was doing it himself.
I'm sure speaking at the "Raytheon Conference For More Efficient Global Murder Machines" is less controversial than speaking at "The Lefty Do Gooder Conference For A Better Future."
The higher the speaking fee, the less controversial it is.
