Trayvon Martin. Photo/Wikimedia

For years, my father, a federal employee with a top secret clearance, carried a copy of his birth certificate when he went into Baja California from our home in San Diego. Many times, when he tried to reenter the U.S., he was stopped by the Border Patrol.

My father had thick black hair and naturally dark skin, and the Patrol thought he was a Mexican brazenly trying to sneak back into the country by claiming to be married to the black-haired, blue- eyed, light-skinned woman he claimed was his wife. Once back home, he faced discrimination because neighbors thought he was Mexican; the ones who knew better discriminated because he was a Jew.

When I was 11 years old, we moved about 120 miles north to a suburb of Los Angeles. My parents bought a house in a new tract of about 150 houses, all owned by Whites and a few Hispanics. Three or four years later, a Realtor came by, plastering flyers on all the houses, announcing he had a special real good, one-time only deal. A few wouldn’t sell their houses at any price if it was a Black who was planning to move into the area. Someone in the tract finally took up the offer, and a Black family–he was a mechanical engineer–moved in. It didn’t take long before other White families began putting their houses up for sale. Only this time, they weren’t getting as much as the first family that sold out. Soon, the prices began tumbling as other Blacks and Hispanics moved in.

Eventually, the first Black family moved out. But my parents refused to sell their house. They had no intention of becoming involved with what was now known as “block busting.” A few of our Hispanic and Black neighbors wondered why we stayed; some even said we were crazy. But, until my father died in 1983, he owned that house in a neighborhood that went from almost 100 percent White to almost 100 percent Black, Hispanic, and lower-class White, refusing to be sucked in by racism.

Discrimination occurs throughout our country, whether we want to believe it or not.

At a synagogue in Sunbury, Pa., someone painted a swastika. In New York City, unidentified individuals threw several Molotov cocktails against a rabbi’s residence. These weren’t isolated incidents. The Anti-Defamation League says there were 1,239 reported incidents in 2010. [The 2011 number is still being tallied.]

Several American communities and the states of Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, and Utah have enacted oppressive anti-immigration laws. On the surface, it appears they want to rid their areas of illegal immigrants, acting only to protect law-and-order. But, the deeper structure is that they fear Hispanics, more of them legal immigrants or citizens of the U.S. than undocumented workers, will get political, educational, and financial power and would reduce the influence of the ultra-conservative White population.

At the University of California at San Diego, a fraternity of Whites sent out invitations to a “ghetto-themed” party, which it called the “Compton Cookout.” The invitation noted that “ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes.” At that same school last year, a Klan hood was placed on a statue of Dr. Seuss.

At innumerable local schools, where the teachers had “cultural diversity” classes in college and on-the-job “diversity training,” it’s not unusual to hear a few teachers telling racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic jokes, not just among themselves in a faculty lounge but also with students.

White supremacists shout for “White Pride!” and Black militants call for “Black Power!” Each claims they aren’t planning to destroy any other race–although myriad Klan and Skinhead actions prove otherwise–but merely to strengthen their own. Add into the mix, a few who will shout “racism” when no racism occurs and, thus, make it difficult for those with true compassion for justice to separate the truth from the fiction. Peel the rhetoric, and the core is still fear.

And that may be why the death of Trayvon Martin is so important. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader in Sanford, Fla., killed Martin, Feb. 26. Zimmerman acknowledges he killed Martin, but claims it was in self-defense. Under Florida’s reactionary “stand your ground” law, borne from fear rather than logic, people who feel threatened can take whatever action they think necessary, even shooting Black teenagers who are armed only with a pack of Skittles.

There are numerous versions of what happened, all of them advanced by myriad people with social and political agendas rather than a search for justice, no matter what they claim. But, fear is at the core of the rhetoric. Mistrust and distrust, often fueled by the mass media with their own agendas, may lead some to irrationally believe that entire demographics of people—White, Black, Hispanic, gay, Jew, Muslim—may pose threats to their own safety, leading them to react as if the threats were real rather than imagined.

The reasons no longer matter to Trayvon Martin. The lesson however, should matter to the rest of us.

Walter Brasch is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. distinguished service award. His latest book is Before the First Snow; a major theme of the book looks at issues of racism and bigotry. The book is available from Greeley & Stone Publishers or Amazon.

Scott Beason

Republican legislators acted with racist and political motives when they testified for the prosecution in the federal Alabama bingo case, a U.S. District judge says in a new ruling.

Sen. Scott Beason (R-Gardendale) and Rep. Benjamin Lewis (R-Dothan) drew harsh words from Judge Myron Thompson. The public likely will focus on Beason’s role in the story because he has received national attention for sponsoring Alabama’s strict and controversial immigration law. But Lewis, now a state district judge in Houston County, is a close ally to former Governor Bob Riley and was appointed to a judgeship by Riley. Democrats have pointed to that appointment as a possible quid pro quo in exchange for Lewis’ no vote on bingo legislation.

Considering Lewis’ close ties to Riley, and Riley’s close ties to current House Speaker Mike Hubbard, Judge Thompson’s ruling could be seen as a full-blown condemnation of the Alabama GOP. Reports al.com:

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in an order today lambasted two key prosecution witnesses in the State House vote-buying case as being motivated by political ambition and racial prejudice.

Thompson said Republicans Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale and former Rep. Benjamin Lewis of Dothan had ulterior motives when they assisted investigators in the case. Beason and Lewis were key prosecution witnesses in the case, in which VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and others were charged with offering and taking bribes to try to get a gambling bill approved in the Alabama Legislature. The two Republicans said they approached FBI agents after they felt gambling interests made improper offers to try to secure their votes on the bill.

Ironically, Thompson ruled for the prosecution in the order–while thrashing the prosecution’s two key witnesses. At the crux of his order, Thompson found that statements of alleged co-conspirators could be admitted at trial. (See the full order below.)

The public, however, is likely to remember Thompson’s words about GOP legislators:

“The evidence introduced at trial contradicts the self-serving portrait of Beason and Lewis as untouchable opponents of corruption. In reality, Beason and Lewis had ulterior motives rooted in naked political ambition and pure racial bias,” Thompson wrote.

“The court finds that Beason and Lewis lack credibility for two reasons. First, their motive for cooperating with F.B.I. investigators was not to clean up corruption but to increase Republican political fortunes by reducing African-American voter turnout. Second, they lack credibility because the record establishes their purposeful, racist intent,” Thompson wrote.

Those words pretty much shoot holes through the GOP’s contention that it is driven by a desire to bring “honest government” to Alabama. A federal judge obviously is not buying it. From al.com:

Beason wore a wire for the FBI, and the recordings picked up a conversation among Republicans talking about the effect a gambling referendum would have on voter turn-out during an election.

They talked about how “every black, every illiterate,” would be taken to the polls on “HUD-financed buses.”

In another conversation, Beason used the word “aborigines” to refer to people at Greenetrack, a casino in predominately black Greene County.

Thompson said such statements “demonstrate a deep-seated racial animus and a desire to suppress black votes.”

Racist rhetoric, political hi jinks, voter suppression? Yep, that’s the kind of “honest government” Alabamians can look forward to from the GOP.
Bingo Order–GOP RacistsRoger Shuler, a regular contributor to The Public Record, resides in Birmingham, Alabama. A 1978 graduate of the University of Missouri, Shuler worked 11 years as a reporter and editor for the Birmingham Post-Herald before working 19 years in several editorial positions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He blogs at Legal Schnauzer.

A billboard questioning the validity of Barack Obama's birth certificate and by extension his eligibility to serve as President of the U.S. The billboard is part of an advertising campaign by the far right-wing website WorldNetDaily. Photo/Wikimedia

The latest garbage spewing hate as it circles the Internet in a viral state of panic continues a three year smear against Barack Obama.

The attacks had begun with the extreme right wing spitting out Obama’s full name—Barack HUSSEIN Obama, as if somehow he wasn’t an American but connected to the Iraqi dictator who, despite the Bush Administration’s best efforts, had no connections to 9/11.

When the right-wingers and Tea Party Pack get tired of their “cutesy” attempts to link Obama to militant Muslims, they launch half-truths and lies to claim he wasn’t born in the United States. Like Jaws, Jason, or Freddy Krueger, “birther” propaganda keeps returning, even when independent state officials and analysts proved the claims false.

The issue simmered on Fox TV and talk radio until Donald Trump, the man with the planet-sized ego and the bacteria-sized brain, inserted his persona into the issue, while pontificating about becoming the next president. The media, exhausted from having to cover the antics of Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, turned their news columns over to the man who would be God—if only it paid better.

The Wing Nut Cotillion, with Trump getting the headlines, then demanded Obama produce a long-form birth certificate—which he did while leading a combined White House-CIA-Pentagon effort to find and destroy Osama bin Laden. The truth still hasn’t quieted the conspiracy nuts.

Not willing to accept truth and logic, the extreme right wing, grasping for anything they could find, have attacked the raid that killed bin Laden. Among their screeches are that bin Laden isn’t dead . . . that he was killed a week earlier or even years earlier . . . that Obama had hidden the death until there was a more political time to reveal it . . . that it was George W. Bush (who publicly said six months after 9/11 that he didn’t care about bin Laden) who deserves all the credit . . . and that while Navy SEALS should get credit, Obama is too weak to have overseen any part of the mission.

And now from the caves of ignorance and hatred comes a much-forwarded letter, which the anonymous author says “shouldn’t surprise anyone.” Written as fact, the letter informs us Barack Obama: “never held a ‘real’ job, never owned a business and as far as we know, never really attended Harvard or Columbia since those transcripts have never been released and no one remembers him from their time at either school.”

The email of hate further “enlightens” us that “Being a community activist only gives someone insite [sic] on how to assist the less fortunate and dregs of society on how to acquire government housing and government benefits without ever contributing one penny in taxes.”

That’s right. The Whackadoodles Wearing Tinfoil Caps crowd has escaped again.

Among those community activists who worked with the “dregs of society,” apparently on ways to scam the government, are St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), founder of the Franciscan order and patron saint of animals and the environment; Jacob Riis (1849–1914), a journalist and photographer who exposed the squalor of slums and tenement buildings; Dorothy Day (1897–1980), a journalist who founded the Catholic Worker Movement that advocated nonviolent action to help the poor and homeless, and who the archdiocese of New York, at the direction of Pope John Paul II, began a process leading to beatification; and Jane Addams (1860–1935), who fought for better conditions for children and mothers, was active in the progressive campaigns of Teddy Roosevelt and who, like Roosevelt, earned a Nobel Peace Prize. Those who rail against community activists for not having “real” jobs would also oppose Saul Alinsky (1909–1972), who tirelessly established the nation’s most effective organizational structure to help the poor and disenfranchised to gain a voice against political, economic, and social oppression; Dr. Benjamin Spock (1903–1998), America’s foremost pediatrician, for leading antiwar campaigns; Cesar Chavez (1927–1993), who helped get farm workers respectable pay and decent working conditions; Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) who, with hundreds of thousands of others, forced a nation to finally confront its racism; and innumerable leaders of the feminist and gay rights communities who got America to confront their other prejudices. All were community activists.

Not dregs because they have “real” jobs are the bankers and Wall Street investors who brought about the housing crisis that led to the worst depression in the past seven decades. Also exempt from contempt are the business owners who downsized, right-sized, and shipped their production overseas, throwing millions of Americans out of work.

Barack Obama, castigated for not having a “real job,” worked more than a year as research associate and editor at the Business International Corp., three years as director of Developing Community Projects, a church-based group for eight Catholic parishes, and summer jobs at law firms. Other “not real” jobs include being an author, civil rights lawyer, and a professor of Constitutional law at one of the nation’s more prestigious colleges. Frankly, it’s rather nice to have a president who actually understands the Constitution—as opposed to the rabble who misquote, misstate, and misappropriate it all the time.

Those propagating the email of hate believe Obama couldn’t earn degrees from Ivy League colleges; the subtext is as clear as their refusal to believe in an integrated nation. So, I contacted the registrars at Columbia and Harvard. In less than 10 minutes, the registrar at Columbia confirmed that Barack Obama received a B.A. in political science, and the registrar at Harvard Law School confirmed Obama received a J.D. These are public records. Anyone can ask the same questions, and get the same answer. Logic alone should have shot down these accusations. Obama was editor of the Harvard Law Review, something as easy to verify as his graduation, and he passed the Illinois bar exam—which requires graduation from college and law school, and a personal character test—also a matter of public record.

Even if Obama provided official transcripts, which are confidential, the wing nuts of society will claim that, like the birth certificate and the death of bin Laden, the transcripts were faked.

The truth is that the politics of hate, combined with media complicity and Internet access, has led not to a discussion of issues but to character assassination, with racism and bigotry as its pillars.

Walter Brasch’s latest book is Before the First Snow, literary historical fiction that explores the counterculture between 1964 and 1991. The book, to be published June 20, is available at Amazon.com. Click here to preview the book trailer.

The Face of Fear

Although organizers had planned for 7,000 attendees, about 2,000 showed up and several thousand more attended, virtually, via the Internet.

There weren’t many body piercings or tattoos visible among the activists at the summit; no horns or forked tails were detected; nor were there very many colonial costumes or tri-cornered hats in evidence.  There was, however, an abundance of serious faces and crossed arms.

There were as many women as men in attendance, but the most striking thing was the absolute absence of faces of color.  None.  Not a single Black, Hispanic or Asian face could be seen in the crowd.  This is not to say that the “Patriots” are racist; they cheered former CEO Herman Cain, the conservative African-American Republican presidential candidate who claims that liberals are destroying the American Dream.

When Tea Party leader Mark Meckler was asked about the absence of faces of color, he said he doesn’t “pay attention to color” and he doesn’t know why there aren’t more.  He didn’t answer when asked if the Tea Party intended to do anything to attract minority members.

Many women wore crosses on neck chains, but Stars of David and “peaceful coexistence” pendants were not displayed. There were numerous references by speakers to America as a Christian nation, including a prayer by Congressman David Swickart that called on all members to become “soldiers for the message.”  Another speaker said a “Christian Nation doesn’t need health care reform,” only Good Samaritans to help others.  The prayer service on Sunday morning was held by Al Larson, who seeks to establish a “network of dangerous men in and through our churches who so treasure Christ as Leader in their hearts that they are willing to risk anything to follow Him.”

If nothing else, the Patriots are very patriotic.  Sessions were opened with the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance to the flag, and all veterans were encouraged to stand and offer a military salute.

The Patriots want a government that does nothing more than what it is authorized to do by the Constitution.  The conference tote bags contained three copies of the Constitution, and the overriding theme of the Summit was a reduction of the federal government to conform to the powers set forth in Article I of the document.

Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition called upon the audience to restore the nation to the principles on which it was founded, and said, if the government fails to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, “there is a moral obligation to overthrow the government, by force if necessary.”  He stated America was settled with “three tools: the axe, the plow and the Bible.”  Then he added a fourth – the gun.

Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce told the crowd it was time for a “rag tag army” led by the “congregations” to step up and fight against illegal immigration and the failure of government to do its job.

More than half of the audience appeared to be of retirement age and more than a few carried oxygen bottles; however, most cheered when Yaaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute stated “social security was the most immoral scheme ever devised by politicians” because it forces the responsible to care for the irresponsible.

Howard Sprague, a retired financial advisor who collects social security, believes it would be unfair to take social security away from those who were already receiving it, but that future generations should have a choice to opt in or out of social security and Medicare.  Retiree Ralph Westburg wants to replace social security for the next generation with individual payments into private insurance company annuities; however, he also wasn’t willing to give up his own social security and Medicare benefits.

The only crack in the solid wall of conservatism was exposed by the few young people who were in attendance. Unlike older participants who declined to talk about “social issues,” Alexander Falkenstein and Carlos Alfaro of Students for Liberty, a libertarian youth organization, favor gay human rights and freedom of choice for women.  They oppose the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.  They believe in free market ideals; however, they fear the political power of big corporations.  They stated the U.S. should be placing goods rather than troops in other countries.

More than anything else that can be said, the Patriots are fearful.  They fear the loss of the quality of life they and their parents enjoyed following World War II; however, they also believe that the unions who led the battle for the wages and benefits they received are becoming too powerful.  They fear the influx of immigrants and the loss of “American” jobs; however, they overlook that every single one of them is either an immigrant or the descendant of immigrants.  They fear the loss of the moral values they were raised with; however, they are quick to deny others the choices they have had the freedom to make.

Those who join the Tea Party Patriots could be your parents, the veteran next door, the Little League coach, or the guy at the hardware store.  They are hard-working, conservative, self-sufficient people who are afraid for the future of their families and their way of life.  Having been empowered by the rewards of their efforts, they now feel helpless to confront the forces that threaten them.  They feel compelled to do something, anything, to defend their beliefs.  They are drawn to the Tea Party to meet like-minded patriotic people and to “make a difference.”

The fears of the Patriots are not unreasonable.  However, it is not reasonable for their leaders to encourage and to take advantage of their fears; nor is it right that the leaders sell out the membership to those who finance their efforts to influence Patriots to act against their own self interest.

The Public Faces

In addition to the prayers and patriotic programs, the American Policy Summit frequently took on the atmosphere of an ongoing infomercial as CFO Jenny Beth Martin threw tee shirts out into the crowd and CEO Mark Meckler raced up and down the aisles giving away free copies of books that were on sale in the Exhibit Hall.

Both have ties to the Republican Party, Martin as a “former paid consultant for local Republican candidates,” according to USA Today, and Meckler as a “petition circulation” manager for the Lincoln Club of Orange County, a GOP lobbying group, and for other Republican candidates and causes.  However, the “huckster” image of the Tea Party Patriots’ summit may be due to Meckler’s background as a “network marketer” for Herbalife, which has a long history for making false claims about its products and for running a pyramid-style marketing scheme.

According to Mother Jones, Meckler was a top 1% distributor, a member of the “president’s team,” each of whom have to book more than $200,000 a month.  In 1999, Meckler and his wife wrote that multilevel marketing can provide a “lifestyle offering total time freedom” and an opportunity to build an “unlimited residual income stream.”  In 2002, the couple claimed a monthly income of $20,000.

In 2004, Herbalife settled a class-action lawsuit in which 8,700 low-level distributors claimed that the company was in fact a pyramid scheme in which the only winners were those at the top and the losers were the 90% at the bottom.

Meckler ceased being a Herbalife distributor in 2004; however since at least 2007 he has worked for Shai Pritz, a fellow member of Herbalife’s president’s team, as general counsel and chief operating officer of UniqueLeads.  The company provides marketing services to companies, such as Herbalife, who are a part of the “affiliate marketing” industry, which has been investigated and charged with credit card fraud, among other illegal practices.

Meckler’s job at UniqueLeads is to help affiliate marketers avoid such criminal charges, and it appears he had to rescue his license to practice law in 2006 in order to do so.  At that time, his license had been suspended by the California State Bar for more than five years for failure to pay his bar dues and for noncompliance with continuing legal education requirements.
In a comprehensive three-part series of articles published just prior to the Phoenix summit conference, Mother Jones extended the parallels between TPP and multilevel marketing companies it had established in its earlier article.  In both organizations, members are recruited through the use of fear tactics into an elite and “enlightened” group, which ultimately fails to actually accomplish anything except to maintain its own organization and to reward the organizers.

Although TPP received an anonymous donation of $1 million last year and books a steady stream of online contributions from its claimed 15 million supporters, it has never accounted for the money it has received – neither to the government, nor to its members.

In addition, it has signed agreements with at least three fund-raising companies to make use of its membership lists to raise even more money.  These companies keep as much as 75% of the funds they raise for their operating expenses, especially for the salaries of their officers, and they are closely affiliated with the Republican Party and ultra-conservative evangelical organizations.

According to TPP’s website privacy policy it has the right to use submitted information for “TPP’S internal marketing and solicitation purposes . . .   We never share the personal information that you supply to TPP, other than to allow Third Party service providers such as TPP’s contracted merchandise vendors, donation management vendors, email vendors, etc. to provide contracted services on behalf of TPP . . .   By agreeing to these terms, you hereby consent to disclosure of any record or communication to any Third Party when TPP, in its sole discretion, determines the disclosure to be appropriate in accordance with this provision.”

Laura Boatright, a former TPP regional coordinator in Southern California says, “Tea Party Patriots?  I can’t attribute one victory to them at all.  Where’s the success with what they’ve done with all this money?  My view is that it’s just a career plan” for its officers.

The year before her incorporation of Tea Party Patriots in Georgia in 2009, Jenny Beth Martin and her husband, Lee, declared bankruptcy.  They claimed debts of more than $1.4 million resulting from a failed “temp” agency that supplied thousands of Spanish-speaking immigrant workers to local food production businesses, including Coca-Cola.

Lee was not allowed to discharge the payroll taxes he had withheld from his employees and diverted from the taxing authorities, and the Martins continued to owe $510,000 to the federal government and $172,000 to the state of Georgia.  They lost their five-bedroom home in Woodstock, matching Lincoln Navigators, and club membership, and Jenny Beth had to go to work as a house cleaner.

According to its website, “Tea Party Patriots, Inc. operates as a social welfare organization organized under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.  Contributions to the corporation are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes.”  As such, it is not required to pay taxes on its income although it is required to file tax returns; however, even though its bylaws were ratified in February 2009 and it should have filed a return in April 2010, it has failed to do so.  By declaring that its fiscal year ends on May 31st, TPP has delayed its first filing until April 2011, more than two years after its incorporation.

Although Jenny Beth Martin is listed as the Chief Financial Officer of TPP, its day-to-day finances are overseen by Lee Martin, who serves as the financial gatekeeper and de facto human resources manager.  He is assisted by Jenny Beth’s cousin, who formerly worked as Lee’s operations coordinator at the failed temp agency and is now Jenny’s “right-hand man.”   Lee says, “if people want to get paid, the bill goes through me for administrative purposes.”

Lee was personally involved in offering a $20,000 payoff to TPP’s former technology manager, Rob Gaudet, if he would sign a nondisclosure agreement about the conditions of his employment severance.  Gaudet refused to agree that he left on good terms or that he would refrain from making negative comments about TPP.

In addition to IRS, local tea party groups have also been kept in the dark, and some are growing increasingly concerned about the financial operations of the TPP.  Laura Boatright says, “You’d think they’d lead by example, you’d think they’d open their books and not hide behind their tax status.”  Cindy Chafian, another coordinator from Southern California complains that the national organization does not share resources: “They make it seem like they help local groups, [but] none of that money ever goes back to local groups.”  Former Georgia state coordinator, Joy McGraw complains that, “There are a lot of other people in the country who’ve done events and have gotten screwed over.  We are all volunteers.  We do not get paid like [Martin] does.  They don’t say, ‘Thank you.’  They use and abuse you.”  Former New Mexico state coordinator, Jeanie Backus Coates warned other activists that TPP was using telemarketers to raise money from them.  She was upset that the national organization was pressuring local groups to turn over their membership contact lists.

There does not appear to be any true commonality of interests between the leadership of the TPP and the rank and file members recruited and used by the leaders for their own selfish purposes.

Behind the Masks

It is almost impossible to obtain information beyond the public faces of TPP.  Its website does not list any officers or directors on the site’s About Us Page, but it does have a prominent “Donate to Tea Party Patriots” link that takes you to a PayPal connection.  The address listed by the Georgia Secretary of State is Suite 620-322 at 1025 Rose Creek Drive, Woodstock, Georgia 30189, which is a UPS Store in a strip mall.

Although TPP was allegedly incorporated by Jenny Beth Martin in 2009, its antecedents are closely associated with FreedomWorks, which was already heavily engaged in the organization of anti-government protests when TPP was formed.

FreedomWorks was created in 2004 by Dick Armey, C. Boyden Gray, Jack Kemp and Bill Bennett, all of whom had served in powerful Republican political positions.  They are leaders of the conservative, free-market movement that supports the privatization of social security and opposes regulation of tobacco, climate and asbestos legislation and health care reform.  At least, initially in 2009, TPP’s activities were directly orchestrated by FreedomWorks.

As Martin and Meckler were flying around the country aboard “Patriot One” attending Tea Party Patriot rallies during the last weeks of the 2010 campaign, Meckler complained that the rival Tea Party Express (which is funded by a GOP consulting firm) was a “fake, they’re not from the grass roots. These are longtime Republican political activists with their own agenda.” However, the luxury executive jet enjoyed by Martin and Meckler was made available by Ray Thompson, the founder and former CEO of Semitool, who has been a major donor to the Republican Party for 15 years.

Pastor William Temple, who regularly attends tea party events in Georgia, compared “the jet-set Tea Party Patriots leadership to Nancy Pelosi and her alleged misuse of US Air Force resources.”

Oil companies continue to make exorbitant profits by cutting corners on safety, both for their workers and the environment, and by raising the price of gasoline to record levels; however, how many patriots are aware that their movement is being secretly subsidized by the Koch brothers?

Koch Industries is the second-largest private company in America with annual revenues exceeding a hundred billion dollars.  Koch was originally founded to construct oil refineries for Stalin’s communist government and today specializes in manipulating the free market and obtaining special treatment from the government.

At the Policy Summit, the TPP prominently displayed its association with the Health Care Compact Alliance, which seeks to conduct an end run around the health care reform act.  The alliance is headed by Eric O’Keefe, who with his wife Leslie Graves is connected to David Koch through the Citizens in Charge Foundation and Americans for Limited Government Foundation.

The source and amounts of funding for the Alliance remain secret as the organization “respects the wishes of its donors to keep their identities confidential”; however, it started with abundant financial resources required to place teams in 37 states to secure local legislative approval of the Compact.

The Compact would shift the problems of health care affordability and coverage to the states resulting in a race to the bottom in the quality of care; by allowing states to establish their own regulations and by allowing insurance companies to operate across state lines, it will likely be impossible to create community-rated risk pools and to obtain effective negotiating power with drug companies and medical suppliers.

Corporate moguls, such as the Koch brothers and health care industry executives, only have one vote each, but by spreading a little chump change of the billions they take in each year, to educate, fund and organize the TPP and other “grassroots” organizations, they have been able to convert their private agendas into a mass movement against the interests of its own members – those who will ultimately pay the tab.

William John Cox is a retired prosecutor and public interest lawyer, author and political activist.  His efforts to promote a peaceful political evolution can be found at VotersEvolt.com, his writings are collected at WilliamJohnCox.com and he can be contacted at u2cox at msn.com.

We know that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was holding a “Congress on the Corner” meeting outside a Safeway grocery store.

We know that a 22-year-old named Jared Lee Loughner is in FBI custody, and has been charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the United States and two counts of intent to kill employees of the United States. We know that six people are dead, that 14 were wounded, several of whom were in grave or critical condition. We know there will be additional state charges filed against Loughner.

We know that among the dead are John Roll, a Republican and the senior federal judge in Arizona, who had come by the rally to support his friend, the Democratic representative; and Christina-Taylor Green, a nine-year-old who was born on 9/11, and died on another day of violence. We have heard the names of George Morris, one of those shot, who tried to protect his wife, Dorothy, who didn’t survive; of Dorwin Stoddard, 76, who was killed while trying to protect his wife, Mary; of Phyllis Schneck, a 79-year-old widow who lived in  Tucson eight months a year to avoid the snows of her native New Jersey; and of Gabe Zimmerman, 30, Giffords’ outreach director.

We know that Loughner was rejected by the Army, withdrew from a community college prior to being suspended, became more abusive the past year, and that many, even before the shootings, have called him mentally unstable.

We know the shooter used a Glock 19 9-mm. semi-automatic weapon, with a 33-bullet magazine, which he purchased legally. We know that Congress did not renew the assault weapons ban, which allowed civilians to own pistols but with only a 10-bullet magazine capacity. And, we also know that sales of Glock pistols following the murders, in a nation steeped in a gun culture, increased by 60 percent in Arizona and 5 percent nationally.

We know that Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a conservative in his 30th year in office, called Arizona a “mecca of prejudice and bigotry,” and condemned the “the kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh,” whom he called “irresponsible” and who bases his talk show upon partial and wrong information to inflame his listeners. Three months earlier, the sheriff, possibly the most respected law enforcement officer in Arizona, said the Tea Party “brings out the worst in America,” and implied that the atmosphere of hate was partially responsible for the resulting murders.

While most Tea Partiers are White, middle-aged or senior citizens who are angry but not violent, whenever there is violence, whenever there is racism, discrimination, or homophobia, there are Tea Party sympathizers present.

We know that armed citizens, some carrying signs that advocate violence, attend Tea Party rallies, and speak of the overthrow of government, while apparently not understanding that their actions border on sedition.

We know that numerous members of Congress, including Rep. Giffords, had received death threats after they voted for health care reform. We know that some Tea Party leaders openly urged their followers to throw bricks through the windows of those who supported health care reform, and that several offices were vandalized.

We know that during the 2010 mid-term elections, Sarah Palin had targeted 20 Democratic representatives, including Rep, Giffords, by placing cross-hairs targets on their districts on a map of the United States. “When people do that,” said Giffords at the time, “they have to realize that there are consequences to that action,” We know Palin frequently uses gun analogies and has called for her supporters to “take up arms,” exhorting them not to retreat but to rearm. After the murders, Palin claimed the cross-hairs weren’t really targets but surveyors’ marks.

We know that Eric Fuller, a 63-year-old disabled veteran who was one of those shot in Tucson, lashed out against hate speech. “If you are going to scream hatred and preach hatred, you’re going to sow it after a while if you’ve got a soap box like they’ve got,” said Fuller.

We also know there are liberals who have threatened others, and that the rhetoric of the Radicals of the 1960s, with limited media, may have been close to the rhetoric of the Reactionaries of the 21st century. But, the instances of liberal threats pale in comparison to those launched by the extreme right-wing, which is adept at full use of the newer social media, as well as near-monopolies on radio and television talk shows.

We also know the extreme right-wing, usually without facts or bending facts to their own purposes, fired back at Sheriff Dupnik and others.

Rush Limbaugh, with absolutely no evidence, not only claimed the sheriff is a “fool,” but that the Democratic party “seeks to profit” from the shootings, but that Loughner knows he has “the full support” of the Democrats.

We know that Glenn Beck, two days after the murders, finally spoke out, extending sympathies—and condemning those who argued that a climate of hate was partially responsible for the tragedy. This is the same Glenn Beck who in June erroneously claimed that the media and those in Washington “believe and have called for a revolution. You’re going to have to shoot them in the head.” This is the same Glenn Beck who, on his website, posted a picture of him holding a pistol. And, we also know he defended Sarah Palin, stupidly charging that attacks on her following the tragedy could somehow destroy the republic.

We know that four days after the murders in Tucson, four volunteer officials of the Arizona Republican party resigned, citing the threat of violence by the Tea Party faction. Anthony Miller, chairman of Legislative District 20, a heavy Republican area near Phoenix, told the Arizona Republic that during his re-election campaign, Tea Party members threatened him, some making hand gestures imitating a gun. Many resorted to racial hatred, calling Miller “McCain’s boy.” Miller, an Afro-American, was on John McCain’s paid campaign staff in 2010. McCain’s opponent for Senate was a Tea Party sympathizer, with heavy support of controversial and racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix.

We know that 27,000 people of almost every American demographic and political belief attended a memorial service at the University of Arizona. We know that President Obama told that audience and the nation that Americans, in honor of those who gave their lives, need to be civil, that we should “use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.”

We know that the day of the memorial service, Palin, on her Facebook page, launched an eight-minute video, defensive and accusatory, in which she claimed she and the extreme right-wing, not the 20 hit by gunfire, were true victims. She refused to acknowledge that a climate of hate could have been a part of what surrounded the killer. In that video, Palin called media criticism of extreme right-wing rhetoric and hate speech “blood libel,” a phrase associated with extreme anti-Semitism. The term refers to accusations that Jews use the blood of Christian children in the making of matzos for Passover and other rituals. Giffords is a Jew. Gabriel Zimmerman was a Jew.

Two days after President Obama’s speech and Sarah Palin’s whining defense, in a daily newspaper in northeastern Pennsylvania appeared a letter to the editor, written by one of the leaders of an organization allied with the Tea Party movement. In that letter, the writer incredulously, and with no knowledge, blamed the Pima County sheriff for “his official inactions/failures” and college professors. She wrote that Loughner was a “left-wing philosophy professor’s PERFECT STUDENT. . . . [who was] subjected to listening to liberal ideology.” Although she never attended college, she blamed “the politics of our liberal universities where our young people are being taunted and challenged to be violent in the name of ‘social justice.’”

We know that it isn’t liberals, most of whom fully understand not just the words but the meaning of the First Amendment, who are the ones who try to shout down opposing views. And, while incensed at the violence that often comes from hate speech, liberals don’t demand that the government shut down free expression, only that persons recognize there may be a correlation.

Yes, we know a lot. But, one thing we don’t know is why these “super patriots” of the Reactionary Right who believe they and no one else has truth or knowledge of how to improve the nation, can advocate violence and, thus, destroy the principles of reasoned discussion advocated by our Founding Fathers.

Walter Brasch is a professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University. His most recent book is Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush. He can be reached at brasch@bloomu.edu.

Cross-posted from Shannyn Moore’s website and The Mudflats.

It feels strange weighing in on a house of worship thousands of miles away, well, at least for me. A proposed mosque two blocks from Ground Zero has Palin tweeting on a Sunday afternoon.

According to Politico:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s City Hall hit back at Palin, first tweeting “@SarahPalinUSA mind your business.”

The aide, policy hand Andrea Batista Schlesinger, followed that up with:

“@SarahPalinUSA whose hearts? Racist hearts?”

Bloomberg has defended the plan for the mosque, arguing that blocking it would impinge on religious freedom

This is a local issue for New Yorkers. I’m weighing in on Sarah Palin. She’s local for Alaskans.

9/11 for NYC, was a day many Alaskans couldn’t fathom. I’d never been there. My father didn’t know about the terrorist attack for weeks because he was on the Koyukuk River hunting moose. Another hunter was informed after a military escort surrounded his small aircraft on his return to town. Last year I visited New York City and wept when I realized how terrifying it must have been. I had no context until I stood in the canyons of buildings.

Do you want to guess how many mosques are in Wasilla?

The “stab through the heart” of 9/11 was felt by many, including Muslims. This article tells of some victims that day:

Imagine being the family of Salman Hamdani. The 23-year-old New York City police cadet was a part-time ambulance driver, incoming medical student, and devout Muslim. When he disappeared on September 11, law enforcement officials came to his family, seeking him for questioning in relation to the terrorist attacks. They allegedly believed he was somehow involved. His whereabouts were undetermined for over six months, until his remains were finally identified. He was found near the North Tower, with his EMT medical bag beside him, presumably doing everything he could to help those in need. His family could finally rest, knowing that he died the hero they always knew him to be.

Imagine being Baraheen Ashrafi, nine months pregnant with her second child. Her husband, Mohammad Chowdhury, was a waiter at Windows of the World restaurant, on the top floors of Tower One. The morning of September 11, they prayed salaat-l-fajr (the pre-dawn prayer) together, and he went off to work. She never saw him again. Their son, Farqad, was born 48 hours after the attacks — one of the first 9/11 orphans to be born.

I wonder why Palin can’t think bigger than 140 characters. She makes up words. “Refudiate“.

What about the thousands of Muslims who serve in our military? Does that yellow magnet on your car say “Support the Christian Troops”?

Maybe Sarah Palin’s soon to be released, little book of “Clever Sayings That Rock!” will include George Santayana’s “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Almost 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned in 26 different camps after the Pearl Harbor attacks. 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the US Military during the same time.

Shannyn Moore is an award winning broadcaster, political commentator, and blogger based in Anchorage, Alaska. She can be heard on her daily talk radio show in Alaska on KUDO 1080AM Anchorage and KXLJ 1330AM Juneau from 11am-2pm AST. Her weekly television show, Moore Up North, is broadcast every Saturday at 4pm statewide on KYES Channel 5. Shannyn was a contributing author to the 2009 book on Sarah Palin titled Going Rouge.

But the event went on.

And so did the paranoid, conspiratorial assertions–that President Obama was born in another country, that he has covered up his college transcripts, that he is pushing a communist/socialist agenda, that he is protecting terrorists and endangering our country, etc.

The organizers of the convention made great efforts to limit access to the press, and even held “new-media training” sessions to help the Tea Partiers sound and look better on camera–the more people see inside this movement, the less like it. But we got ourselves into the event, where the right-wing, fringe sentiments were on plain display.

That said, these Tea Partiers–able to pay the cost of attendance–are more affluent than those at the 9.12 DC March, and more self-conscious of they are portrayed in the media. There were fewer signs and homemade t-shirts here, but the attitudes, if more subtle in delivery, were the same.

This New Left Media film was produced and edited by Chase Whiteside (interviews) and Erick Stoll (camera).

Luis Ramirez

Dick Wolf, who created “Law & Order” and its two successful spin-offs, “Law & Order: SVU” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” should probably consider establishing a branch office in Pennsylvania.

It seems that whenever any of the New York City cops take a road trip to find a fugitive or track down a witness, they go to Pennsylvania. Apparently, New Jersey is only a buffer zone.

Part of the reason why Pennsylvania routinely figures into the hour-long dramas may be because Wolf, a New Yorker, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Another possibility, although much more remote, may be because his first of three wives was named Susan Scranton.

Nevertheless, Pennsylvania has been the site of sufficient plots the past couple of years as the three TV series have increased their levels of social consciousness.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general has already issued 25 arrest warrants for state legislators and their aides of both political parties—including former House Speaker John Perzel, a Republican, and Bill DeWeese, the House Democratic majority leader. They are accused of a variety of charges, including theft, conflict of interest, obstruction, and conspiracy.

But it is northeastern Pennsylvania that is fertile ground for the writers. Luzerne County, with Wilkes-Barre as the county seat, has provided the background for an episode of “Law & Order: SVU.” The episode aired in May 2009 had a plot set in New York City but featured Pennsylvania misconduct that included an undercurrent of corrupt judges who took kickbacks for sentencing juveniles to a privately-run juvenile detention center. (An episode of ABC-TV’s “The Good Wife,” which aired in December 2009, also featured the plot about a corrupt judge who sent cases to a private detention center.) When that plot finally plays out, there are also stories to be developed about corrupt courthouse officials, corrupt school board officials and, just recently, the vice-chair of the county board of commissioners, a former pro football player, who accepted a bribe.

Nearby Schuylkill County, specifically the people of Shenandoah, played a critical part in an April 2009 “Law & Order” hate crime story about the beating and murder by teens of an undocumented Hispanic worker. In Shenandoah, 25-year-old Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, an undocumented Mexican with no criminal history, was beaten by a gang of high school football players in July 2008. In the “Law & Order” episode, the victim was also an undocumented Hispanic who was targeted by a gang of high school basketball players who had anonymously made a video, “Beaner Hunt: Taking Back America One Street at a Time.” In both the Ramirez Zavala case and the fictional “Law & Order” case, a mother covers up evidence; people in the town spew racial hatred, with many claiming if the victim wasn’t an “illegal,” he would still be alive; a “windbag” TV pundit rants about illegals taking over the country; and a jury refuses to present a guilty verdict on all but the least of the charges against the teens.

The Ramirez Zavala murder is likely to provide seed for several more episodes. This past week, the FBI arrested two teens who had been convicted by an all-White jury only of simple assault, and four police officers, including the chief. Derrick Donchak, 19, and Brandon Piekarski, 18, are charged with federal hate crimes. A third teen, Colin J. Walsh, had accepted a plea bargain and is in federal prison. Among the charges against Chief Matthew Nestor, Lt.

William Moyer, and Officer Jason Hayes are conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly manipulating and covering up the facts of the murder; Moyer was also charged with witness and evidence tampering and providing false testimony to the FBI. In an unrelated case, Nestor and Capt. James Gennarini are charged with several counts of extortion and civil rights violations in illegal gambling operations. An unindicted coconspirator is Brandon Piekarsky’s mother, Tammy, who was dating Officer Hayes. U.S. District Court judge Malachy Mannion at the arraignment said that the evidence against the officers was “strong,” and that they depict a “vile set of activities.”

Another “Law & Order” episode could focus upon the death of 18-year-old David Vega, who Shenandoah police claimed hanged himself in the town’s jail in November 2004. The police could have issued a citation to Vega, who was arguing about a Giants–Eagles football game with friends and relatives, all of whom were vocal, none of whom had attacked anyone. But, the police arrested Vega, locked him in the town jail, and then within two hours claimed he had committed suicide by hanging. A more realistic story would be the brutal beating by racist police and a subsequent cover-up, combined with the coroner accepting the police version.

No charges were filed against Chief Matthew Nestor; Capt. Raymond Nestor (the chief’s father), or James Gennarini, who are alleged to have beaten Vega. Vega’s parents, however, have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Attorney John P. Karoly, Allentown, says that based upon an independent investigation and several depositions, there is “significant evidence” to back up charges against the police. The suit charges that an independent second autopsy confirmed that Vega “suffered extensive, massive injuries consistent with a profound beating” and “did not die of hanging.”

Police neglect and an attack upon David N. Murphy Sr., an Afro-American, who was recovering at home from spinal fusion surgery, could be the base of another episode. In March 2009, according to a civil law suit filed by Karoly in federal court, Chief Matthew Nestor and Officer George Carado, who lied about having a warrant, arrested Murphy on a claim he was selling prescription medicine to his wife, refused to allow him to take needed medication, punched him in his back, and left him alone overnight in the police station.

During the night, Murphy had a heart attack and lay on the floor several hours crying out in pain. However, before seeking medical treatment, Shenandoah police took Murphy for arraignment before a district justice. The DJ ordered the police to take Murphy to a hospital. Instead, the police, according to Karoly, who is also Murphy’s attorney, took him to the Schuylkill County prison. Only when the prison wouldn’t admit him because of his medical condition did Shenandoah police take the victim to a hospital.

In a sworn affidavit, Murphy says Nestor told him that the police “would harass me and put me in jail as soon as I come to Shenandoah if I filed a lawsuit or tried to press charges on him,” and that if Murphy filed suit, “I wouldn’t make it out of the police station’s cells next time.” The complaint further alleges that “Nestor said I could end up like the Mexican that hung himself, that tapes can be erased or edited.” (The Shenandoah police station did not have surveillance cameras at the time of Vega’s death.)

“Law & Order” writers could also look at a “suicide” in Coaldale, about 20 miles east of Shenandoah. James Hill, 17, was visiting Greg Altenbach and his parents in January 2004. A corrupt police chief performed only a cursory investigation and decided that Hill committed suicide with a .22 semi-automatic rifle.

However, Police Chief Shawn Nihen rejected a coroner’s report that concluded Hill couldn’t have killed himself. Nihen, who was friends with the family in whose house Hill died, as well as Altenbach’s mother, stepfather, and a friend who witnessed the accidental shooting, had tried to cover up evidence. Nihen also had known that Shawn Becker, the stepfather, was forbidden by the courts to have a gun in the house. Nihen and Coaldale police officer Michael Weaver were later convicted of planting evidence in several cases. Altenbach later acknowledged he had fired the gun, and is now in prison after conviction for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Future stories of “Law and Order” may continue to be “ripped from the headlines,” but in northeastern Pennsylvania, they are torn from greed and racial and cultural hatred.

Walter Brasch is a professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University. His most recent book is Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush. He can be reached at brasch@bloomu.edu.

Screengrab of the Facebook poll asking whether President Obama should be killed. Image credit: The Political Carnival. Click on graphic for enhanced view.

A Facebook poll that asked users to vote on whether they believed President Obama should be killed was removed Monday from the popular social networking website and is now the subject of an investigation by the Secret Service.

Blogger GottaLaff at The Political Carnival broke the story Sunday about the existence of the Facebook poll.

The poll, which was removed from Facebook Monday after GottaLaff and others contacted the Secret Service Sunday evening, is just the latest example of right-wing extremism aimed at Obama.

The poll asked: “Should Obama Be Killed?”

The four multiple choice answers were: “yes,” “maybe,” “if he cuts my healthcare,” “no.” More than 730 people took the poll before it was removed Monday.

According to Raw Story, as of noon Monday, 90 percent of the poll’s respondents voted “no.” However, a little more than five percent voted yes, 2.6 percent voted maybe, and 1.9 percent voted “if he cuts my health care.”

“The application that enabled a user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning and was disabled,” Barry Schnitt, director of policy communications for Facebook, told Raw Story. “We’re following up [with] the developer to ensure the offending content has been removed and that they have better procedures in place going forward to monitor their user-generated content.”

In an e-mail sent Monday to blogger GottaLaff, the developer of the application used to create the Facebook poll took issue with the fact that the blogger reached out to the Secret Service, saying “this could have been resolved in a much less public and destructive way…”

Some facts:
1. Polls is a third-party application and are not affiliated with Facebook
2. Polls are created by other users on Facebook, not me or Facebook
3. There is a mechanism for reporting polls and we take action after a
poll has been reported a sufficient number of times
4. If a poll is egregious enough (and this one certainly was), you should have just contacted me directly. Facebook provides links to contact the developer (that’s me!). I would have deleted the application in a second. I’ve deleted polls in the past that have to do with killing gays, etc. As it stands now, Facebook has disabled the entire application (not just that one poll), which is frustrating for me and will be taking up most of my time for the next few days. I’m sure I’ll also get a call from the Secret Service which will be awesome. I understand you’re enjoying your 15 minutes of blogging fame and are feeling pretty righteous right now, but keep in mind this could have been resolved in a much less public and destructive way if you had taken the time to reach out to me first.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told ThePlumLine’s Amanda Erickson that the agency is “aware” of the poll and “taking the appropriate investigative steps.”

A month ago, CNN reported that death threats against Obama increased by 400 percent. The revelation was made following a month of intense townhall meetings centered on healthcare reform. One attendee carried an assault rifle to a townhall meeting in Phoenix, Arizona where Obama was speaking.

“A CNN source with very close to the U.S. Secret Service confirmed to me today that threats on the life of the president of the United States have now risen by as much as 400 percent since his inauguration, 400 percent death threats against Barack Obama — quote — ‘in this environment” go far beyond anything the Secret Service has seen with any other president,’” CNN’s Rick Sanchez reported last month.